1947 in aviation: Difference between revisions

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{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}

* January 7 – Pioneering aviator [[Helen Richey]] is found dead at the age of 37 in her New York City apartment, apparently having committed suicide with an overdose of [[sleeping pill]]s.<ref>Lynch, Adam, "Hometown Heroine," ''Aviation History'', March 2012, p. 58.</ref>

* January 8

** A U.S. [[Joint Intelligence Committee (United States)|Joint Intelligence Committee]] report predicts that by 1956 the Soviet Union will have atomic bombs and strategic bombers capable of delivering them to the [[continental United States]].<ref name="Ross">Ross, Steven T., ''American War Plans 1945–1950: Strategies For Defeating the Soviet Union'', Portland, Oregon: Frank Cass, 1996, {{ISBN|0-7146-4192-8}}, p. 54.</ref>

** A U.K. [[United Kingdom cabinet committee|Cabinet sub-committee]] approves [[High Explosive Research]], a civil project to develop an independent British [[atomic bomb]].

* January 11 – The [[BOAC]] [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|Douglas C-47A]] ''G-AGJX'' [[1947 BOAC Douglas C-47 crash|crashes]] into a hill at [[Stowting]] in southeast England, killing eight of the 16 people on board and injuring all eight survivors. Among the injured is Member of Parliament [[Tom Horabin]].

* January 16 – The [[Burmese Air Force]] is founded.

* January 17 – The U.S. Joint Intelligence Committee notes that the Soviet Union maintains a peacetime deployment of 5,000 combat aircraft in Europe.<ref name="Ross" />

* January 25

** A [[Spencer Airways]] [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|Douglas Dakota]] [[1947 Croydon Dakota accident|crashes]] on takeoff into a parked and empty [[Czech Airlines]] [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]] at [[Croydon Airport]] near London, England, killing 12 of the 23 people aboard the Spencer Airlines plane.

** A Philippine plane crashes in Hong Kong, with $5&nbsp;million worth of gold and money.

* January 26 – A [[KLM]] [[Douglas DC-3|Douglas DC-3 Dakota]] crashes after take-off from [[Copenhagen]], Denmark, killing all 22 on board, including [[Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten]] of Sweden, and American operatic soprano and musical theater and film actress [[Grace Moore]].<ref name="famous40s">[http://planecrashinfo.com/famous1940s.htm planecrashinfo.com Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents: 1940s]</ref>

* January 30 – [[Transcontinental and Western Air]] inaugurates history's first regularly scheduled all-cargo air service to operate over the [[North Atlantic Ocean]].<ref>[http://twaflightattendants.com/liftoffhtml/historytimeline.html TWA History Timeline] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410102544/http://twaflightattendants.com/liftoffhtml/historytimeline.html |date=April 10, 2015 }}</ref>

* February 25 – The U.S. [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] recommend that the United States use atomic bombs early in any war with the [[Soviet Union]] and call for an increase in the American inventory of atomic weapons.<ref name="Ross" />

* February 28 – In a single flight, U.S. Army Air Forces [[Captain (United States)|Captain]] [[Robert E. Thacker]] (pilot) and Lieutenant [[John M. Ard]] (co-pilot) in the [[North American P-82 Twin Mustang|North American P-82B Twin Mustang]] [[Fighter (aircraft)|fighter]] ''Betty Jo'' make both the longest nonstop flight without [[aerial refueling]] by a fighter aircraft, about 4,968 [[statute mile]]s (7,994&nbsp;km) from [[Hickam Field]] in the [[Territory of Hawaii]] to [[La Guardia Field]] in New York City, and the fastest flight between Hawaii and New York City up to that time, 14 hours 31&nbsp;minutes 50&nbsp;seconds at an average speed of {{convert|342|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. It remains both the longest non-stop flight by a piston-engined fighter<ref>Angelucci, Enzo, ''The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present'', New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 340.</ref> and the fastest Hawaii-to-New York City flight by a piston-engined aircraft<ref>[https://www.modelaircraft.org/files/ThackerColRobertERet.pdf The AMA History Program Presents: Biography of COL. ROBERT E. THACKER, RET.]</ref> in history.

* March 3 – In Naval Strategic Planning Study 3, the Strategic Plans Division of the Office of the [[Chief of Naval Operations]] asserts that U.S. Navy aircraft carriers will be able to operate successfully against the coast of the [[Soviet Union]] in the face of substantial land-based Soviet air power, stating that the carriers are "the only weapon in the possession of the U.S. which can deliver early and effective attacks against Russian air power and selective shore objectives in the initial stages of a Russo-American conflict." The findings anger U.S. Air Force planners, who view strategic attacks against the Soviet Union as a strictly Air Force mission.<ref>Isenberg, Michael T., ''Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945–1962'', New York: St. Martin's Press, {{ISBN|0-312-09911-8}}, p. 131.</ref>

* March 5 – The 26th country ratifies the [[Convention on International Civil Aviation]], permitting a permanent organization to replace the [[Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization]] (PICAO).<ref name="www2.icao.int">[http://www2.icao.int/en/tcb/Pages/history.aspx icao.int International Civil Aviation Organization History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231164515/http://www2.icao.int/en/tcb/Pages/history.aspx |date=December 31, 2012 }}</ref>

* March 14 – [[Saudi Arabian Airlines]] begins regular domestic services.

* March 16 – [[Saudi Arabian Airlines]] begins regular international services.

* March 21 – [[Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela]] (LAV) inaugurates its first service to the United States with a route between [[Caracas]] and [[Idlewild Airport]] in New York City, using [[Lockheed Constellation]]s it had purchased earlier in the year.

* March 24 – [[Reeve Aleutian Airways]] is founded.

* April 1 – [[Jat Airways|JAT Jugoslovenski Aerotransport]] commences operations as the [[flag carrier]] of the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]. It replaces [[Aeroput]], Yugoslavia's first civilian airline and the flag carrier of the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] from 1927 to April 1941, when the [[German invasion of Yugoslavia]] knocked it out of business and destroyed most of its property. Aeroput never resumes flight operations and will be dissolved in [[1948 in aviation#December|December 1948]].

* April 4 – The [[International Civil Aviation Organization]] (ICAO) is formed under the terms of the [[Convention on International Civil Aviation]], replacing the [[Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization]] (PICAO), which had operated since [[1945 in aviation#June|June 1945]].<ref name="www2.icao.int"/>

* April 27 – A [[United Airlines]] [[Douglas DC-6]] becomes the first DC-6 to be placed in overseas service when it flies from San Francisco, California, to [[Honolulu]], [[Territory of Hawaii]].<ref name="hawaii1940">[http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/chronology-of-aviation-in-hawaii/1940-1949 Aviation Hawaii: 1940–1949 Chronology of Aviation in Hawaii]</ref>

* May 1 – United Airlines begins daily scheduled service between San Francisco and Honolulu.<ref name="hawaii1940"/>

* May 2 – [[Swissair]] attempts its first flight to New York City, flying a [[Douglas DC-4]] from Switzerland via [[Shannon Airport]] in Ireland and [[Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador|Stephenville]] in the [[Dominion of Newfoundland]]. Fog at New York City's [[LaGuardia Airport]] forces the airliner to divert to Washington, D.C., where it arrives 20 hours 55 minutes after departing Switzerland.

* May 15 – The U.S. [[Joint War Planning Committee]] reports that the [[Soviet Air Force]] has 13,100 combat aircraft and that the Soviet satellite states have another 3,309, and that a month after the beginning of mobilization this could increase to 20,000 Soviet and 3,359 satellite state aircraft. It estimates that in an offensive in central Europe, the Soviet Union would employ 7,000 [[attack aircraft]]<ref>Ross, Steven T., ''American War Plans 1945–1950: Strategies For Defeating the Soviet Union'', Portland, Oregon: Frank Cass, 1996, {{ISBN|0-7146-4192-8}}, pp. 36–37, 40.</ref>

* May 17 – Flying [[Eastern Airlines]]' first [[Lockheed L-749 Constellation]] on its delivery flight, Eastern pilot [[Dick Miller]] sets a new record time for a flight from [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], California, to Miami, Florida, of 6 hours, 54 minutes, 57 seconds.<ref>Bedwell, Don, "Beating the Odds," ''Aviation History'', March 2016, p. 46.</ref>

**A [[Philippine Army Air Corps]] [[Douglas C-47]] on its way to Paris to pick up [[Vice President of the Philippines]] [[Elpidio Quirino]] and bring him back to the Philippines crashes into the side of [[Mount Katanglad]] near [[Malaybalay]], the Philippines, killing all 18 people on board.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470518-0 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]</ref>

**During an [[air show]] in [[Burlington, Iowa|Burlington]], Iowa, a [[United States Navy]] [[F4U Corsair]] fighter crashes into a [[sandlot baseball]] game near the municipal airport and catches fire, killing its pilot and two teenagers on the ground and injuring seven other people.<ref>{{cite web| title = Three Killed in Plane Crash| work = The Eugene Register-Guard| publisher =United Press| date = May 19, 1947| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zUQVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EwgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6948,3239729&dq=airshow+crash|access-date=July12, 2009}}</ref>

* May 28 – [[British South American Airways]] conducts trials of non-stop flights from London to Bermuda using [[aerial refueling]] over the [[Azores]].

**A [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Douglas C-54 Skymaster|Douglas C-54D Skymaster]] crashes on approach to [[Naval Air Station Atsugi]], Japan, at the end of a flight from [[Kimpo Airport]] in [[Seoul]], South Korea, killing all 41 people on board. It is the worst aviation accident in Japanese history at the time.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470529-3 Aviation safety Network: Accident Description]</ref>

**A [[Flugfélag Islands]] [[Douglas C-47|Douglas C-47A-25-DK]] on a domestic flight in Iceland from [[Reykjavík Airport]] in [[Reykjavík]] to [[Akureyri Airport]] in [[Akureyri]] flies into the side of [[Hestfjall]] Mountain at the side of [[Hédinsfjördur]], killing all 25 people on board. The wreckage is found the following day.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470529-2 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]</ref>

**The [[Douglas DC-4]] ''Mainliner Lake Tahoe'', operating as [[United Airlines Flight 521]], fails to become airborne while attempting to take off from [[LaGuardia Airport]] in New York City, runs off the end of the runway, and slams into an embankment, killing 42 of the 48 people on board. It is the worst aviation disaster in American history at the time, although the death toll will be exceeded in a crash the following day.

* May 30 – During a flight from [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], New Jersey, to Florida, an [[Eastern Air Lines]] DC-4 disintegrates in flight at an altitude of {{convert|6000|ft|m}} and crashes into a swamp near [[Baltimore]], Maryland, killing all 53 people on board. It replaces the previous day{{'}}s United Airlines crash as the deadliest airline accident in American history. Among the dead are two relatives of a man who had died the previous day in the United crash. The 97 deaths in the two crashes exceed the entire [[commercial aviation]] death toll in the United States for 1946.<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2000/09/21/2000-09-21_runway_18_air_safety__may-ju.html ''New York Daily News'' Runway 18 Air Safety, May–June 1947, Chapter 197]{{dead link|date=November 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

* June 4 – [[Orient Airways]], the first and only [[Muslim]]-owned airline in the [[British Raj]], begins flight operations.

* June 17 – [[Pan American World Airways]] inaugurates what are considered the world's first scheduled commercial round-the-world flights, although the service actually operates between New York City and San Francisco without crossing the [[continental United States]]. Flight One, operated by a [[Douglas DC-4]], departs San Francisco and stops at [[Honolulu]], Hawaii; [[Midway Atoll]]; [[Wake Island]]; [[Guam]]; [[Manila]], the Philippines; [[Bangkok]]; and [[Calcutta]], where it meets Flight Two, a [[Lockheed Constellation]] that had flown from [[LaGuardia Airport]] in New York City. In Calcutta, the two aircraft swap flight designations; the DC-4 then turns back and continues as Flight Two to San Francisco, while the Constellation turns back and continues as Flight One, stopping at [[Karachi]]; [[Istanbul]]; London; [[Shannon, Ireland|Shannon]], Ireland; and [[Gander, Newfoundland|Gander]], [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]] before arriving at LaGuardia Airport.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}}

** [[Pan American Airways]] Flight 121, the [[Lockheed L-049 Constellation]] ''Clipper Eclipse'' (registration NC88845) carrying 36 people on a flight from [[Jinnah International Airport|Karachi Airport]] in [[Karachi]], [[British India]], to [[Istanbul Atatürk Airport|Istanbul-Yesilköy Airport]] in [[Istanbul]], Turkey, feathers its number one propeller due to engine problems, then suffers overheating in its other three engines. As it descends, the number two engine nacelle catches fire and the engine detaches from the airliner, which makes a belly landing near [[Mayadin]], Syria. Fourteen of the people on board die; it is the worst aviation accident in Syrian history at the time.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470619-0 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]</ref> Future ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' creator [[Gene Roddenberry]] is among the survivors.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}}

** [[United States Army Air Forces]] Colonel [[Albert Boyd]] sets a new official world airspeed record of {{convert|623.62|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} in a Lockheed [[P-80 Shooting Star]].<ref>Angelucci, Enzo, ''The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present'', New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 274.</ref> (This is still marginally slower than unofficial German speed records in rocket-powered aircraft during [[World War II]]).

* June 22 – At the Wilson-King Sky Show in [[St. George, Utah|St. George]], Utah, a light plane involved in the [[air show]] experiences brake failure on landing and crashes into cars parked at the edge of the airfield, killing a teenaged girl. The pilot and the dead girl{{'}}s mother and infant sister are injured.<ref>{{cite web| title = Plane Hits Cars, Kills Girl| publisher = The Deseret News| date = June 23, 1947| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=o9MNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kXcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6775,6657198&dq=airshow+crash| access-date =July12, 2009 }}</ref>

* June 24 – [[Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting]]: American businessman and aviator [[Kenneth Arnold]] is piloting a [[CallAir A-2]] at about {{convert|9200|ft|m}} near [[Mineral, Washington]] (near [[Mount Rainier]]) when he sights what he reports to be a group of disc-like [[unidentified flying object]]s flying in a chain which he clocks at a minimum of {{convert|1200|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. He refers to them as looking like saucers, leading the press to coin the term "[[flying saucer]]," which soon enters everyday speech.

* June 30 – The Evaluation Board for [[Operation Crossroads]] submits its final report on the [[1946 in aviation#July|July 1946]] atomic bomb tests at [[Bikini Atoll]]. It finds that an atomic attack could go beyond stopping a country{{'}}s military effort and in addition wreck its economic and social structure for lengthy periods, and could even depopulate large portions of the earth{{'}}s surface, threaten the existence of civilization, and cause the extinction of mankind. It recommends that the United States develop a large inventory of atomic weapons and the means to deliver them promptly and be prepared to strike first, with legal authority to launch a massive atomic strike to preempt a foreign strike if there are indications that an adversary is preparing one.<ref name="Ross" />

* July 3

** The [[Philippine Air Force]] is formed.

** [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Douglas C-54 Skymaster|C-54G Skymaster]] ''45-519'' crashes in the Atlantic Ocean {{convert|294|mi|km}} off Florida after loss of control caused by turbulence from a storm, killing the 6 crew.<ref>{{ASN accident|title=45-519|id=19470703-0|accessdate=2013-11-07}}</ref>

* July 13 – A [[Burke Air Transport]] [[Douglas DC-3]]C (registration NC79024) operating a non-scheduled passenger flight from [[Daniel Field]] in [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]], Georgia, to [[Miami International Airport]] in Miami, Florida, begins a gradual descent after suffering engine trouble, culminating in a crash-landing among trees and stumps outside of [[Melbourne, Florida|Melbourne]], Florida. Fourteen of the 36 people on board die.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470713-0 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]</ref>

* July 15 – [[Northwest Airlines]] launches the first commercial passenger service from the U.S. to Asia's Far East along the North Pacific route with Douglas DC-4 ''The Manila'', linking [[Minneapolis/St. Paul]] (USA) and Tokyo (Japan), Shanghai (China) and [[Manila]] (Philippines) by way of Edmonton (Canada) ([[wiktionary:technical stop|technical stop]]), [[Anchorage]] (Alaska USA) and Shemya (USA) (technical stop). The Northwest Seattle—Anchorage service offered a connection (at Anchorage) with this new operation to the Orient. [[Seoul]] (South Korea) was included as a stop on the Northwest Airlines route to the Orient in August 1947.

* July 21 – An [[Argentine Air Force]] [[Douglas C-54 Skymaster|Douglas C-54A-1-DO Skymaster]] attempting to join a 200-plane flyover of [[Buenos Aires]] as part of a celebration of the birth of [[José de San Martín]] fails to gain altitude during takeoff from [[El Palomar Airport]] in [[El Palomar, Buenos Aires|El Palomar]], Argentina. It runs through a crowd of spectators, crosses a railroad, and catches fire, killing 14 of the 19 people in board the aircraft and three people on the ground.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470721-0 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]</ref>

* July 26 – President of the United States [[Harry S. Truman]] signs the [[National Security Act of 1947]], creating the [[United States Department of Defense]]. Among its many provisions is one which states that the soon-to-be established [[United States Air Force]] "shall include aviation forces both combat and service not otherwise assigned." This wording allows the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps to retain their aviation forces upon the establishment of the independent Air Force in September 1947.<ref>Isenberg, Michael T., ''Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945–1962'', New York: St. Martin's Press, {{ISBN|0-312-09911-8}}, p. 111.</ref>

* July 29 – In the [[Netherlands East Indies]], the three surviving aircraft of the [[Indonesian Air Force]] bomb Dutch forces at [[Ambarawa]], [[Salatiga]], and [[Semarang]], disproving the Dutch claim of having destroyed the entire Indonesian Air Force.<ref>[http://www.gimonca.com/sejarah/sejarah08.shtml Sejarah Indonesia: An Online Timeline of Indonesian History: The War for Independence 1945 to 1950]</ref>

* July 31 – A [[Republic of China Air Force]] [[C-47 Skytrain]] crashes in China during a flight from [[Tihua]] to [[Lanzhou]], killing all 26 people on board.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470731-0 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description.]</ref>

* Bad weather forces a [[U.S. Marine Corps]] pilot down in [[Communism|communist]]-controlled territory near [[Qingdao]], China, during the [[Chinese Civil War]]. A landing party of U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy sailors destroys his plane to prevent its capture but fails to retrieve him, and the Chinese Communists return him to U.S. custody only after lengthy negotiations.<ref>Marolda, Edward J., "Asian Warm-Up to the Cold War", ''Naval History'', October 2011, pp. 29–30.</ref>

* August 2 – [[1947 BSAA Avro Lancastrian Star Dust accident|BSAA ''Star Dust'' accident]]: The [[British South American Airways]] [[Avro Lancastrian]] ''Star Dust'' ([[Aircraft registration|tail number]] G-AGWH) disappears over the [[Andes]] during a flight from [[Buenos Aires]], Argentina, to [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]], Chile, with the loss of all 11 people on board. Its wreckage finally will be discovered in [[glacial ice]] on Argentina{{'}}s [[Tupungato]] mountain in 1998.

* August 3 – A [[Tushino air parade]] in Moscow in the Soviet Union presents the newest Soviet jets including the [[Yakovlev Yak-19]], [[Lavochkin La-150]], [[Lavochkin La-156]], [[Lavochkin La-160]], [[Sukhoi Su-9 (1946)|Sukhoi Su-9]], and [[Sukhoi Su-11 (1947)|Sukhoi Su-11]], among others. The [[Tupolev Tu-4]] heavy bomber – a reverse-engineered copy of the [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] – also makes its first appearance, making Western analysts aware of its existence for the first time.

* August 4 – In an assessment of the defense of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] from Soviet invasion if Soviet forces reached the [[Pyrenees]], the U.S. [[Joint Warfare Planning Committee]] reports that the [[Spanish Air Force]] has only 330 combat aircraft, all obsolete, and that the [[Portuguese Air Force]] is small and also obsolete, and that they would face about 1,000 Soviet aircraft. It finds that a defense of the peninsula at the Pyrenees would require the deployment of 739 ground-based combat aircraft and nine aircraft carriers to the area.<ref>Ross, Steven T., ''American War Plans 1945–1950: Strategies For Defeating the Soviet Union'', Portland, Oregon: Frank Cass, 1996, {{ISBN|0-7146-4192-8}}, pp. 41–42.</ref>

* August 5 – A [[List of wheel-well stowaway flights|wheel-well stowaway]] inside a [[KLM]] [[Reciprocating engine|piston]] aircraft survives a flight from [[Lisbon]], Portugal to [[Natal, Rio Grande do Norte|Natal]], Brazil.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/1990s/media/AM96-25.pdf| title =Survival at High Altitudes: Wheel-Well Passengers|publisher =[[FAA]]|date=October 1996| access-date =April 21, 2014}}</ref>

* August 6 – A [[United States Navy]] [[Consolidated PBY Catalina|PBY-5A Catalina]] amphibious [[flying boat]] carrying an [[United States Army|Army]]-Navy [[American football]] team disappears during a flight from [[Kodiak, Alaska|Kodiak]], Alaska, to [[Dutch Harbor, Alaska|Dutch Harbor]], Alaska. No wreckage or any sign of the 20 people on board is ever found.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470806-1 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]</ref>

* August 9 – [[Douglas Aircraft Company|Douglas Aircraft]] ceases production of the [[Douglas DC-4]].

* August 10 – [[British European Airways]] (BEA) begins the world's first regular cargo-only airline service.

**[[Copa Airlines]], the national airline of Panama, begins flight operations.

* August 20 – Flying the [[Douglas Skystreak|Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak]], U.S. Navy [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[Turner F. Caldwell]] sets a new world air speed record of {{convert|640.796|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} over [[Muroc, California|Muroc]], California, the first aircraft ever officially to exceed [[Heini Dittmar]]'s October 2, 1941, unofficial record of {{convert|624|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, set in a [[Messerschmitt Me 163A]] rocket fighter prototype.<ref>Wooldridge, E.T., Captain (ret.), USN, "Snapshots From the First Century of Naval Aviation," ''Proceedings'', September 2011, p. 54.</ref>

** A [[British Overseas Airways Corporation]] [[Short Sandringham|Short S.25 Sandringham 6]] (registration G-AHZB) flying boat is damaged beyond repair in a hard landing at Bahrain Marine Air Base in Bahrain at the end of a flight from [[Karachi]], killing 10 of the 26 people on board.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470823-1 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]</ref>

* August 25 – Flying the Douglas Skystreak, [[United States Marine Corps]] [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Marion Carl]] achieves another world air speed record, reaching {{convert|650|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.

* August 28 – The [[Norwegian Air Lines]] [[Short Sandringham|Short S.25 Sandringham 6]] [[flying boat]] ''Kvitbjørn'' [[Kvitbjørn disaster|crashes]] into Klubben Mountain near [[Lødingsfjellet]] in [[Lødingen]], Norway, killing all 35 people on board. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Norwegian history at the time.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470828-0 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]</ref>

* August 29 – The U.S. Joint Warfare Planning Committee reports that in East Asia as of July 1 the Soviet Union has about 2,200 aircraft, increasing to 3,000 by 135 days after the start of war, opposed by 978 aircraft of the U.S. Army Air Forces in East Asia and the [[Territory of Alaska]], 212 British and [[British Empire]] aircraft in the [[Theater (warfare)|theater of war]], and 480 operational [[Republic of China Air Force]] aircraft.<ref>Ross, Steven T., ''American War Plans 1945–1950: Strategies For Defeating the Soviet Union'', Portland, Oregon: Frank Cass, 1996, {{ISBN|0-7146-4192-8}}, p. 44.</ref>

* September 6 – In an early test of the feasibility of fielding naval strategic missiles, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier {{USS|Midway|CV-41}} launches a [[V-2 rocket]] off her [[flight deck]] while steaming in the Atlantic Ocean off Bermuda.<ref>Isenberg, Michael T., ''Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945–1962'', New York: St. Martin's Press, {{ISBN|0-312-09911-8}}, p. 657.</ref>

* September 17 – The [[United States Army Air Forces]] are separated from the [[United States Army]] and become an independent armed service, the [[United States Air Force]].

* September 18 – The [[United States Department of the Air Force]] is created, and [[Stuart Symington|W. Stuart Symington]] becomes the first [[United States Secretary of the Air Force]].<ref name="chartwell11">{{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Air Force Combat Units of World War II|orig-year= 1961|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf |edition=reprint|year=1983|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-912799-02-1|lccn=61060979|page=11}}</ref>

* September 19 – A [[United States Air Force]] [[Douglas C-54 Skymaster|Douglas C-54D-5-DC Skymaster]] crashes at [[Rio de Ocono]], Peru, after an in-flight fire during a flight from [[El Alto International Airport|El Alto Airport]] in La Paz, Bolivia, to [[Jorge Chávez International Airport|Limatambo Airport]] in [[Lima, Peru|Lima]], Peru, killing all 14 people on board.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470919-0 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]</ref>

* September 23 – The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff recommend that the [[United States Government]] pass legislation authorizing the [[United States Armed Forces]] to launch an atomic attack on the Soviet Union if one is required to prevent a Soviet atomic attack on the United States.<ref>Ross, Steven T., ''American War Plans 1945–1950: Strategies For Defeating the Soviet Union'', Portland, Oregon: Frank Cass, 1996, {{ISBN|0-7146-4192-8}}, p. 18.</ref>

* September 24 – [[Cyprus Airways]] is founded. The [[flag carrier]] of Cyprus, it will begin flight operations in [[1948 in aviation#April|April 1948]].

* September 26 – General [[Carl Andrew Spaatz|Carl A. Spaatz]] becomes the first [[Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force]].<ref name="chartwell11"/>

* September 30 – The U.S. Joint Warfare Planning Committee reports that the Soviet Union lacks a strategic air force and poses no threat to the United States or Canada. It finds that the Soviets have about 100 heavy bombers that could reach Greenland and the [[Azores]] if Soviet ground forces captured forward bases for them in Norway and Spain, and about 100 medium bombers capable of striking [[Bear Island (Norway)|Bear Island]], [[Spitsbergen]], [[Jan Mayen]], Iceland, and the [[Faeroe Islands]].<ref>Ross, Steven T., ''American War Plans 1945–1950: Strategies For Defeating the Soviet Union'', Portland, Oregon: Frank Cass, 1996, {{ISBN|0-7146-4192-8}}, p. 46.</ref>

* The [[International Civil Aviation Organization]] (ICAO) becomes an agency of the United Nations linked to the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council]] (ECOSOC).<ref name="www2.icao.int"/>

* October 8 – A modified [[de Havilland Mosquito]] launches an expendable, unmanned, rocket-powered 30-percent-scale model of the cancelled British [[Miles M.52]] supersonic research aircraft at high altitude, planning for it to reach [[Mach number|Mach 1.3]] 70 seconds after launch, but the model explodes just after launch. A second flight will take place in [[1948 in aviation#October|October 1948]] and will be successful.

* October 14 – U.S. Air Force [[Captain (U.S. Air Force)|Captain]] [[Chuck Yeager]] takes the rocket-powered [[Bell X-1]] past the [[sound barrier|speed of sound]] in the first controlled, [[supersonic]], level flight. The flight, which achieves [[Mach number|Mach]] 1.06, sets a new world air speed record of {{convert|807.2|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. A few days later, the same aircraft sets a new world altitude record, reaching {{convert|21372|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}}.<ref>Donald, David, ed., ''The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft'', New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, {{ISBN|0-7607-0592-5}}, p. 115.</ref>

* October 16 – A [[Société Aérienne du Littoral]] [[Bristol Freighter|Bristol Type 170 Freighter I]] (registration F-BCJN) flying from [[Marseille Provence Airport|Marseille–Marignane Airport]] outside [[Marseille]], France, to [[Oran Es Sénia Airport]] outside [[Es Sénia]], [[French Algeria]], crashes into the [[Mediterranean Sea]] off [[Cartagena, Spain|Cartagena]], Spain, killing 41 of the 43 people on board.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19471016-0 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description.]</ref>

* October 24 – [[United Airlines Flight 608]], a [[Douglas DC-6|DC-6]] (NC37510) en route to Chicago from Los Angeles, catches fire and crashes while attempting an emergency landing at the [[Bryce Canyon]], [[Utah]], airport, killing all 52 people aboard. American professional football player [[Jeff Burkett]] is among the dead.<ref name="famous40s"/> It is the first crash of a DC-6 and the second-deadliest air crash in U.S. history at the time.

* October 26 – November7– Rhulin A. Thomas makes the first solo coast-to-coast flight by a deaf pilot. ([[Cal Rodgers|Calbraith Perry Rodgers]] was an earlier deaf pilot who flew coast-to-coast in 1911, but was supported by a team on the ground.)

* October 28 – A [[Beechcraft Bonanza]] [[1947 Oregon Beechcraft Bonanza crash|crashes]] in stormy weather southwest of Dog Lake in the [[Fremont National Forest]] near [[Bly, Oregon|Bly]], Oregon, killing all four people on board, including [[Governor of Oregon]] [[Earl Snell]], [[Oregon Secretary of State]] [[Robert S. Farrell, Jr.]], and [[Oregon State Senate]] President [[Marshall E. Cornett]].<ref name="famous40s"/>

* November 2 – With [[Howard Hughes]] at the controls, the [[Hughes H-4 Hercules]], also known as the "Spruce Goose," makes its first flight, traveling at {{convert|135|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} for about a mile (1.6&nbsp;km) at an altitude of {{convert|70|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} over [[Long Beach Harbor]] in California with 32 people on board. Both the largest [[flying boat]] and the aircraft with the largest [[wingspan]] ({{convert|319|ft|11|in|m|abbr=off|disp=semicolon|sp=us}}) ever built, it never flies again.

* November 28 – The [[North American B-25 Mitchell|B-25 Mitchell]] ''Tailly II'' crashes in [[French Algeria]] {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} north of [[Colomb-Béchar]], killing all 13 people on board. [[French Army]] General [[Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque]] and his staff are among the dead.<ref>[http://www.valeursactuelles.com/histoire/les-morts-mysterieuses-4-leclerc-lenigme-du-13e-passager-27403 Fonton, Mickaël,『Les morts mystérieuses : 4. Leclerc, l’énigme du 13e passage,』valeursactuelles.com, 8 May 2010.]</ref>

* December 1 – The [[United States Marine Corps]] commissions its first helicopter [[Squadron (aviation)|squadron]], [[HMX-1|Marine Experimental Helicopter Squadron 1 (HMX-1)]]. It is based at [[Marine Corps Air Station Quantico]], [[Virginia]].

* December 17 – In the first Israeli combat action using an aircraft in the [[1947–1949 Palestine war]], pilot [[Pinchas Ben-Porat]] and a gunner from [[Beit Eshel]] remove the doors from an [[RWD 13]] for an improvised machine gun and hand grenade attack on a [[Bedouin]] ground force assaulting [[Nevatim]], successfully driving the raiders away.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cohen |first= Eliezer |translator-last1=Gordis |translator-first1=Jonathan |date=1993 |title=Israel's best defense: the first full story of the Israeli Air Force |location=New York City |publisher=Orion Books |pages=8–9 |isbn=0-517-587904}}</ref>

* December 27 – An [[Air India]] [[Douglas C-48|Douglas C-48C-DO]] [[1947 Korangi Creek crash|crashes]] into [[Korangi Creek]] shortly after takeoff from [[Karachi]], Pakistan, killing all 23 people on board. It is the first fatal airline accident in Pakistan's history as an independent country.

* January 15 – [[Kaman K-125]]<ref>Bridgman 1948, p. 273c</ref>

* April 30 – [[Nord 2100 Norazur]]<ref>Bridgman 1948, p. 150c</ref>

**[[Douglas Skystreak]]<ref>Bridgman 1948, p. 246c</ref>

* June 4 - [[Morane-Saulnier MS.603|Morane-Saulnier MS.600]]<ref name="fana607p76">de Narbonne June 2007, p. 76</ref>

* June 10 - [[Arsenal Air 100]]<ref>de Narbonne June 2007, p. 77</ref>

* June 15 - [[SIPA S.90|SIPA S.901]]<ref>de Narbonne June 2007, p. 79</ref>

* June 22 – [[Martin XB-48]]<ref>Bridgman 1948, p. 290c</ref>

** [[Avions Fairey Junior]]<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Tipsy Junior: Advanced Performance of Diminutive Single-seater on 60 h.p. |magazine=[[Flight International|Flight]] |date=31 July 1947 |page=115 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1947/1947%20-%201261.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305144900/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1947/1947%20-%201261.html |archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref>

* August 29 – [[Nord 1500 Noréclair]]<ref>Bridgman 1948, p. 149c</ref>

* [[Hodek HK-101]]<ref>Plocek 2001, p. 62</ref><ref name="vhu">{{cite web |title=Kýlovka HK-101, ČSR, 1947 |website=Vojenský Historický Ústav Praha |url= http://www.vhu.cz/exhibit/kylovka-hk-101-csr-1947/ |access-date=10 December 2022 |language=cs}}</ref><ref name="idnes">{{cite web |last=Folprecht |first=Radek |title=Sportovní stíhačku Hodek HK-101 sestřelil Vítězný únor |website=iDNES.cz |url=https://www.idnes.cz/technet/technika/sportovni-stihacka-hodek-hk-101-konstrukter-vincenc-hodek.A160804_220734_tec_technika_erp |date=22 August 2016 |language=Czech |access-date=10 December 2022}}</ref>

* October 1

:: North American XP-86, prototype of the [[North American F-86 Sabre|F-86 Sabre]], by [[George Welch (pilot)|George Welch]]<ref>Angelucci, Enzo, ''The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present'', New York: Orion Books, 1987, {{ISBN|978-0-517-56588-9}}, p. 342.</ref>

:: [[Beechcraft Model 34|Beechcraft Model 34 Twin-Quad]]<ref>Bridgman 1948, p. 217c</ref>

* October 10 – [[Arsenal O.101]]<ref>de Narbonne 2008, p. 79</ref>

* November 3 – [[Piper PA-15 Vagabond]]<ref>''Archive'' 1993 no. 4, p. 101</ref>

* November 23 – [[Convair XC-99]]<ref>Bridgman 1948, p. 241c</ref>

* December 3 – [[Beriev Be-8]] ([[NATO reporting name]] "Mole")<ref name="Donald, David 1997, p. 121"/>

* December 17 – Boeing XB-47, prototype of the [[Boeing B-47 Stratojet|B-47 Stratojet]]<ref>Bridgman 1948, p. 224c</ref>

* December 30 – Mikoyan-Gurevich I-310, prototype of the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15|MiG-15]]

*{{cite magazine |title=Aircraft Production List: 6: The Piper Vagabond: Part One |magazine=Archive |publisher=[[Air-Britain]] |year=1993 |issue=4 |pages=101–102 |issn=0262-4923}}

* Bridgman, Leonard. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1948''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd, 1948.

* {{cite magazine |last=de Narbonne |first=Roland |title=June 1947, dans l'aéronautique française: L'aviation légère et sportive à l'honneur |magazine=Le Fana de l'Aviation |date=June 2007 |issue=451 |pages=75–79 |language=fr }}

* {{cite magazine |last=de Narbonne |first=Roland |title=Juillet 1948, dans l'aéronautique française: Trop vite, trop tôt, le NC 211 "Cormoran" |magazine=Le Fana de l'Aviation |date=July 2008 |issue=464 |pages=76–79 |language=fr }}

* {{cite magazine |last=Plocek |first=Pierre |title=Le Hodek Hk-101, Chasseur de Sport |magazine=Le Fana de l'Aviation |date=February 2001 |issue=375 |pages=60–65 |language=fr}}

[[Category:Aviation by year]]