• The probe-and-drogue
aerial refueling system, in which the tanker aircraft trails a hose with a stabilizing conical
drogue at its end which mates to a fixed probe mounted on the receiving aircraft, is perfected. It is superior to and replaces the looped-hose system which had been in use since 1934, and it remains in use today. • With its
runways repaired
Leningrad′s Shosseynaya Airport (the future
Pulkovo Airport) reopens; it had been closed since 1941 because of the proximity of
German forces during the
Siege of Leningrad. Only cargo and mail flights will take place until
February 1948, when scheduled passenger service finally will resume. •
Iraqi Airways is founded. It will begin flight operations in
January 1946.
January • January 1 – The
Luftwaffe targets
Allied airfields in
Europe in "
Operation Bodenplatte", occurring during the German withdrawal from the
Battle of the Bulge. • January 2 • Japanese aircraft attack
United States Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress bases on
Saipan for the last time. • U.S. Army Air Forces
Twentieth Air Force B-29s based at
Calcutta, India, bomb
Bangkok,
Siam. •
Admiral Sir
Bertram Ramsay dies in the crash just after takeoff of a
Lockheed Hudson at
Toussus-le-Noble, France. • January 3 – The
United States Navy creates its first
aircraft carrier task group devoted to night flying,
Task Group 38.5, consisting of the carriers and and six
destroyers. • January 3–4 – U.S. Navy
Task Force 38 begins its support of the U.S.
invasion of Lingayen Gulf with carrier air strikes against Japanese forces and facilities on
Formosa, the
Pescadores, the
Sakishima Gunto, and
Okinawa, with the loss of 22 U.S. aircraft. Bad weather curtails the strikes and makes
bomb damage assessment impossible, although the task force believes it has destroyed about 100 Japanese aircraft. • January 4 • A single Japanese bomber destroys 11 U.S. Navy
PV-1 Ventura patrol aircraft parked at
Tacloban Airfield on
Leyte. • The
escort carrier is fatally damaged by a Japanese
kamikaze in the
Sulu Sea and scuttled later in the day. • The Japanese make their last
kamikaze attack on the U.S.
invasion force off
Mindoro, causing a
cargo ship carrying ammunition to explode, killing all 71
merchant mariners on board. • January 5 –
Kamikazes damage the U.S. escort carrier and
heavy cruiser and the
Australian heavy cruiser in the
South China Sea west of
Manila Bay. • January 6 • Twentieth Air Force B-29s raid the
Ōmura aircraft factory on
Kyushu. • January 7 • In clearer weather, Task Force 38 aircraft employ the "Big Blue Blanket" tactic over Luzon, flying 757 sorties, shooting down all four Japanese aircraft that they meet in the air and claiming another 75 destroyed on the ground. Task Force 38 loses 10 planes in combat and 18 due to non-combat causes. Eleven U.S. escort carriers in Lingayen Gulf contribute another 143 sorties, and U.S. Army Air Forces planes also participate. In Lingayen Gulf,
kamikazes sink a destroyer and a destroyer-minesweeper. • The second-highest-scoring American
ace of World War II, U.S. Army Air Forces
Major Thomas McGuire, is killed when his
P-38 Lightning stalls at low altitude and crashes during a
dogfight with a Japanese
Nakajima Ki-43 (
Allied reporting name "Oscar") fighter near
Manapla over
Negros Island in the
Philippines. He has 38 kills at the time of his death. • January 8 • A
kamikaze again damages the heavy cruiser HMAS
Australia in Lingayen Gulf. Out in the
South China Sea,
kamikazes damage the escort carriers and and an
attack transport. • The
Pan American World Airways Martin M-130 flying boat China Clipper, operating as Flight 161, strikes a blacked-out boat and
crashes while landing at
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, killing between 23 and 25 of the 30 people on board. • January 9 • U.S. forces
invade Luzon, landing at Lingayen Gulf. During the day,
kamikazes attacking ships in the gulf damage the battleship and the light cruiser . • Task Force 38 carrier aircraft strike Japanese targets at
Formosa and
Miyako-jima in foul weather, flying 717 sorties and dropping 212 tons (192,325 kg) of bombs. They shoot down all four Japanese aircraft they encounter in the air and claim 42 more on the ground, in exchange for the loss of 10 U.S. aircraft. They also sink a number of
merchant ships and small naval craft. It is the last of seven days of Task Force 38 support to the Lingayen landings, during which it has flown 3,030 combat sorties, dropped 9,110 bombs – totaling about 700 tons (635,036 kg) of bombs – and lost 46 planes in combat and 40 to non-combat causes. • B-29s based at
Kunming, China, attack Japanese shipping along the coast of Formosa, while
Mariana Islands-based B-29s drop 122 tons (110,678 kg) of bombs on Japan. • January 11 – U.S. Army Air Forces
Twentieth Air Force B-29s based at Calcutta bomb
Singapore. • January 12–13 –
Kamikazes resume attacks in Lingayen Gulf, damaging a
destroyer escort, a destroyer-transport, an
attack transport, and several
merchant ships. • January 13 – A
kamikaze damages the escort carrier in the South China Sea off the mouth of Lingayen Gulf. It is the last successful
kamikaze attack in the waters of the
Philippine Islands. • January 14 – U.S. Army Air Forces
Twentieth Air Force B-29s bomb Formosa. • The German
submarine torpedoes the British escort aircraft carrier in the
Irish Sea near the
Clyde Lightvessel.
Thane never again is seaworthy. • January 16 • Task Force 38 aircraft strike
Hong Kong,
Hainan, and
Canton and sweep the coast of China from the
Liuchow Peninsula to
Swatow. Hampered by bad weather, they sink two merchant ships and damage four others and destroy 13 Japanese planes in exchange for the loss of 22 U.S. aircraft in combat and five to non-combat causes. • The new
British Pacific Fleet departs
Ceylon for
Australia. • January 16–20 – The U.S. Army Air Forces
Fourteenth Air Force destroys over 100 Japanese planes on the ground in and around
Shanghai, China. • The British
East Indies Fleet aircraft carriers and support the landings of the
26th Indian Infantry Division on
Ramree Island off the coast of
Burma. • January 22 • Task Force 38 aircraft conduct an early morning night strike against Formosa, sinking a large tanker in exchange for the loss of three U.S. aircraft, then fly 682 sorties during daylight hours to strike and conduct
photographic reconnaissance missions against
Okinawa, the Sakishima Gunto,
Ie Shima, and
Amami O Shima, destroying 28 Japanese aircraft, all on the ground. Task Force 38 then retires to its base at
Ulithi Atoll. During January 1945, its aircraft have destroyed 300,000 tons of Japanese shipping and claimed 615 Japanese planes destroyed in exchange for the loss of 201 U.S. carrier aircraft. • U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft begin a heavy bombing campaign against Japanese forces on
Corregidor. By the time U.S. ground forces land on Corregidor on February 15–16, they will drop over 3,200 tons (2,903,021 kg) of bombs on the island. • January 24 • Twentieth Air Force B-29s bomb
Iwo Jima. •
British Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers launch strikes against the Japanese-controlled oil refinery at
Pladjoe,
Sumatra. The refinery never recovers its full capacity during World War II. • January 26 – The British aircraft carriers HMS
Ameer and HMS
Shah support the landings of the
Royal Marines on
Cheduba Island off the coast of
Burma. • January 31 • Part of the left
wing of the
Australian National Airways Stinson Model A Tokana (registration VH-UYY) separates from the aircraft at an altitude of about as it flies near
Redesdale, Victoria, Australia. The airliner
crashes, killing all 10 people on board. • The U.S. Army Air Forces′
Seventh Air Force begins two weeks of day-and-night bombing of
Iwo Jima.
February • The
U.S. Navy's first recorded use of jet-assisted take-off (
JATO) takes place, when it is used to lift a
PBM-5 Mariner off of a stretch of the
Colorado River near
Yuma, Arizona, where the Mariner had been forced down. • Two
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Mitsubishi Ki-46-IV (
Allied reporting name "Dinah") reconnaissance aircraft fly 2,301 km (1,430
statute miles) at an average speed of , a notable combination of speed and endurance for the time. • Japans
Urgent Dispersal of Plants Act orders the dispersal of Japanese industry to underground, semi-underground, and surface sites, with aircraft plants taking top priority. Although it does not become a general effort until April or May, Japanese officials predict completion of the mandated dispersal by December 1945. • Ceremony at
Boeing Wichita plant to mark delivery of the 1000th
Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber to the United States Army Air Forces. • February 1–4 – Employing air
command and control procedures pioneered by
United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Keith B. McCutcheon, Marine Air Groups
24 and
32 provide highly effective
close air support on Luzon for
United States Army forces driving on
Manila. • February 2 – The Horten H.IX V2, the second prototype and first powered prototype of the
Horten Ho 229, makes it first flight at
Oranienburg, Germany. It is the world's first flight by a
turbojet-powered
flying wing. • February 3 – Bound for the
Kola Inlet in the
Soviet Union,
Convoy JW 64 becomes the first
Arctic convoy to depart from the
River Clyde. Its escort, designated
Operation Hotbed, includes the British
escort aircraft carriers and .
Campania carries the first
night fighter involved in a
convoy escort operation, a
Fairey Fulmar equipped with
aircraft interception radar. • February 3 – The heaviest American strategic bombing raid on Berlin of the war (over one thousand bombers and 575
P-51 Mustang escorts) is carried out by the 8th Air Force, with highly decorated USAAF Lt. Col.
Robert Rosenthal in command of the 8th's First Air Division Among the nearly 3,000 German lives lost in the raid, was the notorious Nazi
Volksgerichtshof justice,
Roland Freisler. • February 4 • The
British Pacific Fleet arrives at
Fremantle, Australia. • The Royal Air Force
Gloster Meteor F.3 jet fighter deploys to Melsbroeck in Belgium to operate with the 2nd Tactical Air Force. • February 6 •
SS-Obergruppenführer Hans Kammler cancels the German
Henschel Hs 117 surface-to-air missile and
air-to-air missile project. • The
United States Coast Guard's efforts to develop the
United States Department of the Navys capability to use the
helicopter as an
antisubmarine warfare platform come to an end. • February 7 – 12 German
Junkers Ju 88s attack
Convoy JW 64 during its voyage from the Clyde to the Kola Inlet. An escorting
corvette shoots one down. • German Junkers Ju 88s attack Convoy JW 64 in the
Arctic Ocean. • February 12 –
United States Army Air Forces Twentieth Air Force B-29s bomb Iwo Jima. In this raid and their January 24 and 29 raids, they have dropped a combined total of 367 tons (332,940 kg) of bombs on the island. • February 16 • During the U.S. seizure of
Corregidor, the
United States Army's
503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team conducts a
paratrooper assault onto the island. • U.S. Navy surface ships conduct a two-day pre-invasion bombardment of Iwo Jima. Operating from the
escort aircraft carrier , U.S. Navy
Observation Composite Squadron 1 (VOC-1) makes the
Pacific Theater debut for such squadrons, in which pilots trained in
artillery observation direct surface ship gunfire from
fighters and
torpedo bombers, augmenting or replacing the more vulnerable shipboard
floatplanes carried for that purpose. • February 18 – The Horten H.IX V2, the second prototype and first powered prototype of the Horten Ho 229, suffers an engine failure during its third test flight and crashes at Oranienburg, Germany, killing its pilot,
Leutnant Erwin Ziller. The third prototype is never completed, and the crash brings the Ho 229 program to an end. • February 20 – 25 German
Junkers Ju 88s attack
Convoy RA 64 with
torpedoes as it steams from the
Kola Inlet to the
River Clyde.
Wildcats from the British aircraft carriers and shoot down at least three of them. • February 21 – Japanese
kamikaze attacks strike U.S. ships off Iwo Jima. They badly damage the aircraft carrier , which suffers 123 killed and missing and 192 wounded and the loss of 42 aircraft and is out of action for three months; sink the escort carrier with the loss of 218 of her crew; and damage the escort carrier and
netlayer .
Bismarck Sea is to date the last U.S. aircraft carrier sunk by enemy action. • February 22 – The Allies launch
Operation Clarion a 24-hour campaign in which nearly 9,000 Allied aircraft attack targets across Germany in an effort to destroy all means of transportation. Targets include railway marshalling yards, railway level crossings, and railway signal boxes, bridges, canal locks, and other transportation infrastructure. • February 23 – March 2 – The
night fighter squadron aboard , operating off Iwo Jima, keeps planes airborne for a record 174 consecutive hours. • February 24 – Not realizing that
Women's Auxiliary Air Force Leading Aircraftwoman Margaret Horton is still sitting on the tailplane of his
Spitfire to hold it down while he taxis on a windy day at a British airfield,
Flight Lieutenant Neil Cox takes off with her draped across the tail cone. Ordered to land immediately without knowing why, he returns to base and lands safely, with Horton uninjured. • February 25 • Carrier aircraft of the U.S. Navys Task Force 58 strike targets around Tokyo, but bad weather forces the cancellation of many strikes. •
Allied forces capture an intact German Arado Ar 234B
Blitz (Lightning) jet bomber for the first time.
March • March • The Mexican airline
Aerovias Braniff begins operations. It has a fleet of three
Douglas DC-3s and flies from
Mexico City and
Monterrey, Mexico, to
Laredo, Texas. • The
United States Army Air Forces begins evaluation of the
Radioplane OQ-17 target drone (at this time designated RP-18). • March 1 • Carrier aircraft of U.S. Navy
Task Force 58 strike
Okinawa and conduct
photographic reconnaissance flights over Okinawa,
Kerama Retto,
Minami Daito, and
Amami O Shima. • The worlds first vertical launch of a crewed rocket takes place when the German
Bachem Ba 349 Natter rocket fighter takes off under rocket power. The 55-second flight ends in tragedy when the aircraft crashes, killing its pilot,
Luftwaffe test pilot Lothar Sieber. • March 2 – German forces employ the
Henschel Hs 297 surface-to-air anti-aircraft rocket system for the first time, firing it at
Allied fighter-bombers in the vicinity of
Remagen, Germany. • March 4 • Task Force 58 returns to base at
Ulithi Atoll. During its two-week cruise to the Tokyo area and Okinawa its pilots have claimed 393 Japanese aircraft shot down and 250 destroyed on the ground, in exchange for the loss of 84 planes, 60 pilots, and 21 aircrewmen in combat and 59 planes, eight pilots, and six aircrewmen in non-combat incidents. • Low on fuel after a raid on Japan, a B-29 Superfortress lands on Iwo Jima, the first of about 2,400 B-29s to do so before World War II ends in August. • March 5 – A
Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed Hudson crashes into the
Coral Sea just off the coast of
Queensland, Australia, just north of the mouth of the
Barron River, killing everyone on board including
Australian Army Major Generals George Vasey and
Rupert Downes. • March 6 –
Operation Spring Awakening, the last major German offensive of World War II, begins in
Hungary. The
Luftwaffe commits about 900 aircraft in support of the offensive, while 965 aircraft of the Soviet
17th Air Army support the Soviet and Bulgarian defenders. • March 9 – Disappointed in
strategic bombing results against
Japan with
B-29 Superfortresses employing high-altitude daylight bombing as used in
Europe, the
United States Army Air Forces Twentieth Air Force switches to low-altitude night bombing of Japan using
incendiary bombs for the rest of
World War II. • March 9–10 – The
Great Tokyo Air Raid (
USAAF codename
Operation Meetinghouse), an overnight
incendiary bombing raid by
B-29 Superfortresses on
Tokyo, is the single most destructive air raid during World War II, even with the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki being considered as single events. It creates a
conflagration which destroys of the city, killing an estimated 88,000 to 125,000 people, injuring at least 41,000 and perhaps as many as a million people, and leaving probably a million people homeless. • March 10 – The
Government of Poland recreates
LOT Polish Airlines, which had not operated since 1939. It will resume operations in 1946. • March 11 –
Luftwaffe pilot Helmut Gerstenhauer and two copilots arrive at
Werder, Germany, completing a flight in a
Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 helicopter begun from
Tempelhof Airport in
Berlin on 26 February. Bound for
Danzig, navigational problems and bad weather force them to stop at
Crailsheim,
Würzburg, and
Meiningen on 26 February, Werder on 27 February (which they reach after a flight from Meiningen),
Prenzlau on 28 February, and
Stolp on 1 March, before finally departing Stolp on 5 March and arriving at Danzig later that day after a flight over the advancing
Soviet Army. Ordered to return to Werder, they make a lengthy flight from Danzig to Werder via
Garz. The entire 13-day journey has covered – an unofficial helicopter record at the time – with a flight time of 16 hours 25 minutes. • March 13–14 – A
Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster of
No. 617 Squadron bombs the
Bielefeld Viaduct in Germany in the first operational use of the
Grand Slam bomb. • March 14 –
Transportes Aéreos Portugueses, the future
TAP Portugal, is founded. It will begin flight operations in
September 1946. • March 15 – The U.S. Navy assigns responsibility for the evacuation of wounded personnel to the
Naval Air Transport Service. • March 17 – Training for U.S. Army Air Forces service, American actor
Bobby Hutchins dies in the mid-air collision of two
North American AT-6 Texan trainers at
Merced Army Airfield in
Merced, California. The other pilot survives. • March 18 – Carrier aircraft of the U.S. Navys
Task Force 58 strike
Kyushu. • March 19 – Task Force 58 strikes ships in Japans
Inland Sea, damaging the
battleship , the aircraft carriers and , and 14 other ships, followed by fighter sweeps over Kyushu. Counterattacks by Japanese aircraft damage the aircraft carriers , which suffers 101 killed and 269 wounded but remains in action for several more days, and , which suffers 724 killed or missing and 265 wounded.
Franklin survives to limp home to the United States despite near-fatal damage – probably the most severely damaged aircraft carrier every to make it back to port – and never returns to service. • March 21 – The
Imperial Japanese Navy uses its
Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka ("Cherry Blossom") rocket-powered human-guided anti-shipping
kamikaze attack plane operationally for the first time, but without success. • March 22 – is damaged by a
flight deck fire caused by American
antiaircraft fire, and Task Force 58 retires from Japanese waters. During its strikes on Kyushu and the Inland Sea it has claimed 528 Japanese aircraft destroyed; Japan admits to 163 aircraft lost in air-to-air combat and additional Japanese planes destroyed on the ground. • March 23 – April 1 – Task Force 58 conducts strikes on Okinawa and vicinity. • March 23 – The
British Pacific Fleet, centered around the aircraft carriers , , , and , departs
Ulithi Atoll to begin operations as
Task Force 57 of the
United States Fifth Fleet. • Allied forces begin large-scale crossings of the
Rhine River in
Operation Varsity. The operation involves 2,000
transport aircraft and
gliders. • March 25 • Japanese aircraft make their last raid on Iwo Jima. U.S. Army Air Forces
P-61 Black Widow night fighters based on the island shoot down several of the Japanese planes and drive off the rest. • The Japanese high command issues an alert for
Operation Ten-Go, a concentrated air attack against amphibious forces preparing to invade Okinawa. • March 26 • The United States declares the Iwo Jima operation "completed". • The British Pacific Fleet conducts its first combat operation as
Task Force 57 under the command of the
United States Fifth Fleet, launching airstrikes against Japanese airfields on
Miyako-jima in the
Sakishima Gunto. • March 27 • In support of the upcoming U.S. invasion of
Okinawa, Twentieth Air Force B-29s strike airfields and an aircraft factory on
Kyushu and lay
naval mines in
Shimonoseki Strait. • A
kamikaze damages the battleship off Okinawa, killing 11 and wounding 49. • Flying a
Yakovlev Yak-3 with a French fighter group in the
Soviet Air Force,
French Air Force pilot
Roger Sauvage, history's only
black fighter ace, scores his 16th and final victory, shooting down a German
Focke-Wulf Fw 190. • The final
V-2 missile to hit
England falls in
Kent. • March 31 • Twentieth Air Force B-29s again raid Japanese airfields on Kyushu.
April • April 1 • The
Nakajima Aircraft Company comes under the control of the Japanese government and is renamed the First Munitions Arsenal. •
Operation Iceberg, the American invasion of
Okinawa, begins the
Okinawa campaign. Ohkas score hits on the
battleship and three of her escorts, and a
kamikaze hits the aircraft carrier , the first British aircraft carrier hit by a
kamikaze.
Indefatigable suffers 14 killed, but resumes air operations an hour later. • April 4 – During trials for
rubber decks to be installed aboard future aircraft carriers,
Royal Navy test pilot Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown declares an emergency and lands his
Fleet Air Arm Bell Airacobra AH574 aboard the aircraft carrier . It is the worlds first carrier landing by an aircraft with retractable
tricycle landing gear. • April 6 – U.S. Navy aircraft from , , and strike Japanese airfields and other targets on
Miyako Jima and
Ishigaki Jima in the
Sakishima Gunto. • April 6–7 – The Japanese begin
Operation Ten-Go with the first and largest of ten major
Kikusui ("Floating
Chrysanthemum")
kamikaze attacks against
Allied naval forces off Okinawa, committing 355
kamikazes and 341 bombers. On the first day, they sink two
destroyers, a
destroyer-minelayer, a
tank landing ship, and two civilian
ammunition ships and badly damage eight destroyers, a
destroyer escort, and a
minelayer. The Americans claim 357 Japanese planes destroyed. On the second day, the Japanese damage the battleship , a destroyer, and a destroyer escort. • April 7 • Accompanying B-29 Superfortresses,
P-51 Mustangs of the U.S. Army Air Forces
15th,
21st, and
506th Fighter Groups based on
Iwo Jima become the first
Allied fighters to escort bombers all the way to
Tokyo, Japan, and back. The escort flights last seven to eight hours. Fifty-four B-29s land on Iwo Jima during the day. • 386 carrier aircraft of Task Force 58 attack an
Imperial Japanese Navy task force bound for Okinawa while it is steaming in the
East China Sea, sinking the battleship , the
light cruiser , and four of their eight escorting destroyers. It ends the last offensive sortie by Japanese surface ships of World War II. • April 8 – German test pilot
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg is shot down and killed, aged 42. • April 9 • Over 300 Royal Air Force bombers raid the
dockyard at
Kiel, Germany. They capsize the German
"pocket battleship" with a direct hit and several near misses. • The United Kingdom transfers the
escort carrier to France, which immediately
commissions her into the
French Navy as .
Dixmude is France's first aircraft carrier since the demilitarization of in 1942. • April 10 – The
Luftwaffe flies its final sortie over the
United Kingdom, a reconnaissance mission from
Norway by an
Arado Ar 234. • April 11 –
British Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers launch strikes against
Formosa. • April 13 – British Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers launch a second strike against Formosa. During the April 11 and 13 strikes, their aircraft shoot down at least 16 Japanese planes, destroy additional Japanese aircraft on the ground, and strike airfields and road and railroad targets, for the loss of three British aircraft. • April 15–16 • Task Force 58 launches fighter sweeps over Kyushu, claiming 29 Japanese aircraft shot down and 51 destroyed on the ground on the first day. • The third Japanese
Kikusui attack on ships off Okinawa includes 165
kamikazes. They sink the destroyer and a minesweeper and damage the aircraft carrier , three destroyers, a destroyer escort, a minesweeper, and a landing craft. • April 16 – The final
Soviet assault against Berlin begins with strikes by 150
Soviet Air Force night bombers of the
4th and
16th Air Armies against German positions in the early morning hours, coordinated with
mortar and
artillery attacks. By 1500 hours, 647 Soviet combat aircraft are in the air. The day ends with the Soviet Air Force having flown 5,300 sorties, claiming 131 German aircraft shot down in exchange for 87 Soviet aircraft. • April 18 • A German
Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter intercepts a U.S. Army Air Forces
Stinson L-5 Sentinel liaison aircraft carrying
United States Army Lieutenant General Alexander M. Patch from
Kitzingen to
Öhringen, Germany. The L-5s pilot,
Technical Sergeant Robert F. Stretton, maneuvers his aircraft skillfully enough to evade the Bf 109 and land Patch safely at Öhringen. Stretton later received the
Distinguished Flying Cross for the flight. • The German
ace Johannes Steinhoff, flying with the Luftwaffe's specialist all-jet squadron
JV 44, suffers severe burns and nearly fatal injuries when his
Messerschmitt Me 262 crashes on takeoff and explodes; his kill total is 176, including six while flying the Me 262, making him one of historys first jet aces. He survives and resumes flying postwar. • April 19 – The
International Air Transport Association is founded in
Havana, Cuba, with 57 member airlines from 31 countries. • April 20 • British Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers launch strikes against the
Sakishima Islands. • "
Morotai Mutiny": members of the
Australian First Tactical Air Force based on the island of
Morotai in the
Dutch East Indies tender their resignations to protest their belief that they are being assigned to missions of no military importance and in which they are not specialists; a subsequent inquiry effectively vindicates them. • A
Swordfish from the
merchant aircraft carrier (or "MAC-ship") drops two
depth charges on a
periscope sighting position in the last attack on a submarine by a MAC-ships aircraft. During World War II, no submarine makes a successful attack against a
convoy containing a MAC-ship. MAC-ship aircraft have attacked 12 German submarines; although they never sink one, their activities have proven very effective in convoy defense. • April 21 – The
Focke-Wulf Fw 200KB-1 Condor Hessen (registration D-ASHH) attempts the last scheduled flight in the history of
Deutsche Luft Hansa, a trip from
Berlin to
Munich. The airliner crashes and burns near
Piesenkofen shortly before its planned arrival in Munich, killing all 21 people on board. • April 22 – The last flight in Deutsche Luft Hansa's history, a non-scheduled flight from Berlin to
Warnemünde, takes place. After Germany surrenders in May, the
Allies dissolve the airline and seize its aircraft. • April 23 – The
United States Navy puts its first autonomously radar-guided bomb, the
SWOD-9 "Bat" into use, dropping it from
Consolidated PB4Y Liberators on Japanese shipping in
Balikpapan Harbour. • April 24 – Flying a
Messerschmitt Me 262,
Luftwaffe ace Günther Lützow is killed in combat with U.S. Army Air Forces
P-47 Thunderbolts near
Donauwörth, Germany. His credited with 110 kills. • April 25 • 275
B-17s escorted by four groups of
P-51 Mustangs attack the
Škoda Works armament factory in
Plzeň,
Czechoslovakia. It is the last heavy bomber mission by the
United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force against an industrial target. • The incomplete German aircraft carrier is scuttled at
Stettin to prevent her capture by the Soviet Union. • April 27–28 – The fourth Japanese
Kikusui attack on ships off Okinawa includes 115
kamikazes. They sink an
ammunition ship and damage four destroyers and the
hospital ship . • April 30 – May 7 – To divert Japanese attention from
Operation Dracula and suppress Japanese airpower in the
Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, aircraft from the British aircraft carriers and fly 400 sorties over eight days against Japanese airfields and shipping in the islands, losing one aircraft.
May • The
United States Strategic Air Forces control about 17,000 aircraft and 500,000 personal in the
European Theater of Operations. • Sine it began operations on
June 7, 1944, the
Balkan Air Force has flown 38,340 sorties, dropped 6,650 tons of bombs, delivered 16,440 tons of supplies, and flown 2,500 individuals into
Yugoslavia and 19,000 (mostly wounded) out. • May 1 – The U.S. Navys mixed-propulsion
Ryan FR Fireball becomes the first aircraft incorporating jet propulsion to qualify for use aboard
aircraft carriers. • May 2 – The British
East Indies Fleets
21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron – consisting of the aircraft carriers , , , and – begin support of
Operation Dracula, a British assault on
Rangoon,
Burma. Their aircraft fly 110 sorties, bombing Japanese forces in support of a British
amphibious landing. • May 3–4 – The fifth Japanese
Kikusui attack on ships off Okinawa includes 125
kamikazes. They sink three destroyers and two smaller ships and damage the aircraft carrier , the
light cruiser , four destroyers, a destroyer-minelayer, and three smaller ships. • May 4 • The British
Home Fleet carries out its last operation of World War II, a raid by 44
Avengers and
Wildcats from the aircraft carriers . , and against
Kilbotn, Norway, sinking a German
depot ship and
submarine. It is the last air raid against Norway of World War II. • A strafing attack by a Royal Air Force
fighter-bomber kills German
Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, his second wife, and his stepdaughter as they drive in
Lensahn, Germany. He is the only German field marshal killed by enemy action during
World War II. • A Martin Marauder of the
South African Air Force's
25 Squadron, operating as part of the
Balkan Air Force, is shot down during the
squadron's last mission of World War II. It is the last
B-26 Marauder lost in action. • May 4–5 – Carrier aircraft of the British Pacific Fleet strike airfields on the
Sakishima Gunto. • May 5–6 – The British aircraft carriers HMS
Emperor, HMS
Hunter, HMS
Khedive, and HMS
Stalker resume support of Operation Dracula, bombing Japanese forces south of Rangoon and attacking shipping off Burmas
Tenasserim coast. • May 9 – British Pacific Fleet carrier aircraft strike the Sakishima Gunto.
Kamikazes hit the aircraft carriers HMS
Formidable and . • May 10 – Sighting a Japanese
Kawasaki Ki-45 (
Allied reporting name "Nick" fighter flying high over Okinawa, U.S. Marine Corps
First Lieutenant Robert R, Klingman in an
F4U Corsair gives chase for over 185 miles and intercepts the Ki-45 at . Finding his guns frozen, he climbs well above the Corsairs service ceiling of and cuts off the Ki-45s tail with his propeller in several passes, causing it to crash. He then belly lands safely at
Kadena field on Okinawa. He receives the
Navy Cross for the action. • May 10–11 – The sixth Japanese
Kikusui attack off Okinawa includes 150
kamikazes. They damage two destroyers and the aircraft carrier , which suffers 353 killed, 43 missing, and 264 wounded. One of the most heavily damaged aircraft carriers to survive the war,
Bunker Hill is out of service for the rest of World War II. • May 12 – A
kamikaze hits the battleship at
Hagushi anchorage, Okinawa. • May 12–13 – Carrier aircraft of Task Force 58 strike targets on
Kyushu and
Shikoku. The British Pacific Fleets carriers strike the
Sakishima Gunto. • May 14 • A
kamikaze crashes on the
flight deck of the aircraft carrier , knocking her out of action for the rest of World War II. • The final
Arctic convoy of World War II,
Convoy JW 67, departs
Scapa Flow for the
Kola Inlet in the
Soviet Union escorted by the British aircraft carrier . It returns to the United Kingdom later in the month as
Convoy RA 67.
Queens presence as an escort is deemed necessary in case any German submarine commanders opt to ignore Germanys surrender and attack the convoy. • May 16–17 – British Pacific Fleet carrier aircraft strike Japanese airfields in the
Sakishima Gunto. • May 23–25 – The seventh
Kikusui attack off Okinawa involves 165
kamikazes. They sink a
destroyer-transport and two smaller ships and damage a destroyer and a destroyer-transport on May 25. • May 24–25 – British Pacific Fleet carrier aircraft make the final strikes of the war against the Sakishima Gunto, where all Japanese airfields have now been knocked out. • May 24/25 (overnight) – Five
Imperial Japanese Army Mitsubishi Ki-21 (
Allied reporting name "Sally") bombers carrying
Giretsu Kuteitai special airborne attack troops make a suicide raid on
Kadena and
Yontan airfields on Okinawa. Four are shot down, but the fifth belly lands on the principal runway at Yontan and disgorges ten
giretsu troops, who destroy seven and damage 26 planes, blow up two fuel dumps, and kill two Americans and wound 18 before being killed. Japanese planes also bomb
Ie Shima during the night. • May 27 – During the Seventh War Bond Air Show at the Army Air Forces Fair at
Wright Field in
Dayton, Ohio, the pilot of a U.S. Army Air Forces
Curtiss XP-55 Ascender fighter prototype (serial number
42-78847) attempts a slow roll during an exhibition flight after a low pass with a
P-38 Lightning and
P-51 Mustang on each
wing but loses altitude and crashes, sending flaming debris into occupied civilian ground vehicles on a highway near the airfield. The crash kills the XP-55s pilot and between two and four civilians (sources differ) on the ground. • May 27–29 – The eighth Japanese
Kikusui attack off Okinawa involves 110
kamikazes. They sink a destroyer and damage two destroyers, three
merchant ships, and an
attack transport. • May 31 –
Middle East Airlines is founded. It will begin flight operations in
January 1946.
June • The United States possesses the worlds first two
atomic bombs. • The
Nicaraguan airline
LANICA is founded. It will begin flight operations in
1946. • June 2–3 – Carrier aircraft of
Task Group 38.4 strike
Kyushu. • June 3–7 – The ninth
Kikusui attack off Okinawa involves only 50
kamikazes and causes no significant damage. • June 5 – A
typhoon strikes U.S. Navy
Task Force 38 southeast of Okinawa. The aircraft carriers , , , , , and are damaged and the task force loses 76 aircraft. • June 6 – The
Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization (PICAO) is established under the
Convention on International Civil Aviation, intended to operate until 26 countries ratify the convention and thereby permit the establishment of a permanent organization. • June 8 – Carrier aircraft of
Task Group 38.4 strike Kyushu. Aircraft bombing
Kanoya Air Field employ variable time fuzes on bombs for the first time as a means of attacking
revetted Japanese aircraft. • June 17 – 457
B-29 Superfortresses drop 3,195 tons (2,898,485 kg) of bombs on
Ōmuta and other cities in Japan. • June 19 • 481 B-29s drop 3,335 tons (3,025,492 kg) of bombs on
Toyohashi and other cities in Japan. • June 21–22 – The tenth and final Japanese
Kikusui attack off Okinawa involves only 45
kamikazes. They sink a
medium landing ship and the hulk of a
decommissioned destroyer and damage two
seaplane tenders and two smaller ships. • June 22 – 412 B-29s drop 2,290 tons (2,077,474 kg) of bombs on
Kure,
Wakayama, and other cities in Japan.
July • Japan produces 1,131 aircraft, its lowest monthly total since February 1943. • A U.S. Army Air Forces air intelligence report finds that Army Air Forces aircraft had destroyed 30,152 German aircraft during the war in Europe in exchange for 18,418 Army Air Forces aircraft destroyed. • Several manufacturers have built a combined total of 8,751
Airspeed Oxfords. •
Avro Canada is formed as a part of the
Hawker Siddeley Group and takes over the former
Victory Aircraft factory at
Malton, Ontario, Canada. •
Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela (LAV) makes its first international flights, inaugurating service between
Venezuela and
Boa Vista, Brazil. • July 1–3 – The U.S. Navy
escort carriers , , and with
Marine Air Group 2 embarked support
Australian Army amphibious landings at
Balikpapan,
Borneo. • July 2 • 532
B-29 Superfortresses drop 3,709 tons (3,365
metric tons/
tonnes) of bombs on
Kure,
Kumamoto, and other cities in Japan. • The shareholders of
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, meet to restart the airline and its operation. However,
JAT Jugoslovenski Aerotransport will replace Aeroput in
April 1947, and Aeroput will be dissolved in
December 1948 without having resumed flight operations. • July 4 – 483 B-29s drop 3,752 tons (3,404 metric tons/tonnes) of bombs on
Kōchi and other cities in Japan. In addition, 536 B-29s drop 3,872 tons (3,513 metric tons) of bombs on
Sendai and other cities in Japan. • July 15 • In a second day of air strikes on northern Honshu and Hokkaido, Task Force 38 aircraft completely disrupt the
Aomori-
Hakodate train ferry system and sink numerous
colliers, reducing the Japanese
coal-carrying capacity by 50 percent. • The
Balkan Air Force is disbanded. • July 16 – 471 B-29s drop 3,678 tons (3,337 metric tons/tonnes) of bombs on
Numazu and other cities in Japan. • July 19 • U.S. Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortresses strike
Hitachi, Japan. • July 20 – 473 B-29s drop 3,255 tons (2,953 metric tons/tonnes) of bombs on
Fukui and other cities in Japan. • 570 U.S. Army Air Forces B-29s drop 3,445 tons (3,125 metric tons/tonnes) of bombs on
Osaka and
Nagoya, Japan. • July 29 – U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 Mitchells and U.S. Navy aircraft from the aircraft carrier further damage the Japanese aircraft carrier
Kaiyo in
Beppu Bay. • Carrier aircraft of Task Force 38 strike the
Maizuru Naval Arsenal and the north coast of
Honshu, Japan.
August • After spending the
World War II years based at
Helensburgh, Scotland, the
Royal Air Force's
Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment moves back to its prewar base at
Felixstowe,
Suffolk. • August 1 –
Essair Lines becomes the first airline to operate as a "feeder" or "
local service" airline, a new category of airline established experimentally by the U.S.
Civil Aeronautics Board to provide commercial air service to smaller communities. Under a temporary certificate to operate in this way, Essair flies routes within
Texas. • August 2 • 855
B-29 Superfortresses drop 6,600 tons (5,987 metric tons) of bombs on
Toyama,
Tachikawa, and other cities in Japan. • August 6 • The B-29 Superfortress
Enola Gay drops the
atomic bomb "
Little Boy", the first
nuclear weapon used in warfare, over the Japanese city of
Hiroshima. In addition, 573 B-29s drop 4,122 tons (3,739 metric tons) of bombs on
Saga and other cities in Japan. • August 10 • Task Force 38 aircraft again strike northern Honshu heavily, striking two previously undetected Japanese airfields. • August 15 • Task Force 38 launches its last strike of the war, targeting Tokyo. A second strike jettisons its bombs in the sea when it receives word of the ceasefire agreement with Japan. In the final large dogfight of World War II, 15 to 20 Japanese planes jump six
F6F Hellcats of U.S. Navy
Fighter Squadron 88 (VF-88) from ; the Hellcats shoot down nine Japanese plans in exchange for four of their own. • An
Imperial Japanese Navy Nakajima C6N Saiun ("Painted Cloud") reconnaissance plane (
Allied reporting name "Myrt") is shot down by a
Lieutenant Commander Reidy five minutes before the armistice with Japan takes effect. It is the last confirmed air-to-air victory of World War II. • Seven
Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft make the last
kamikaze attack of World War II. • August 15 (August 14 east of the
International Date Line) –
VJ Day; Japan surrenders, ending the war in the Pacific theater and bringing World War II to an end. • August 18 • The last aerial combat of World War II takes place when two U.S. Army Air Forces
386th Bombardment Group B-32 Dominator bombers on a photographic mission come under fire from Japanese forces over
Tokyo despite the official cessation of hostilities three days earlier. After encountering ineffective Japanese antiaircraft fire, the bombers face an attack by Japanese fighters – Imperial Japanese Navy
Mitsubishi A6M5 Zeroes (Allied reporting name "Zeke") and what the U.S. airmen report as
Imperial Japanese Army Nakajima Ki-44s (Allied reporting name "Tojo"), although the latter probably are Japanese Navy
Kawanishi N1K-Js (Allied reporting name "George"). The Japanese ace
Saburō Sakai pilots one of the fighters, but later claims not to have fired his guns. Gunners aboard the B-32s claim two Japanese fighters shot down and one probable; aboard one of the B-32s, one man is wounded and another killed, the last U.S. Army Air Forces casualties of World War II. • Indian nationalist revolutionary
Subhas Chandra Bose reportedly dies in the crash of a Japanese aircraft at Matsuyama aerodrome (now
Taipei Songshan Airport) at
Taipei on Formosa (now
Taiwan), although the report of his death in the crash has since been disputed. • August 19 – Two
Mitsubishi G4M (
Allied reporting name "Betty") bombers carry Japan's surrender delegation to
Ie Shima. • August 25 – A U.S. Army Air Forces
P-38 Lightning fighter piloted by
Colonel Clay Tice becomes the first American aircraft to land in Japan following the armistice of August 15.
September • The first U.S. Navy aircraft carriers take part in
Operation Magic Carpet, which returns millions of American military personnel to the United States after World War II. Sixty-three U.S. aircraft carriers will take part before the operation concludes in September 1946. • September 2 – At the conclusion of the
surrender ceremony aboard the U.S. Navy
battleship in
Tokyo Bay, in which Japan formally surrenders to the
Allies to end
World War II, 450 Allied carrier planes and several hundred U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft perform a victory fly-by over the ships in the bay. • September 6 – A captured German
Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 V14, makes the first
helicopter crossing of the
English Channel when it flies from
Cherbourg Naval Base, France, to
RAF Beaulieu in the
New Forest,
Hampshire, England. • September 8 – The first British troops to arrive in the
Netherlands East Indies to accept the surrender of Japanese forces there arrive by air, parachuting into
Kemayoran Airport in
Batavia on
Java. • September 10 – Five escort carriers of the British
East Indies Fleets
21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron anchor off
Singapore to support
Operation Zipper, the British reoccupation of
Malaya. • October 1 – The first annual general meeting of the
International Air Transport Association begins in
Montreal,
Quebec, Canada. • October 2 – A U.S. Navy
PBM Mariner flying boat carrying
Rear Admiral William Sample and eight others disappears near
Wakayama, Japan. The wreckage and their bodies will not be discovered until November 19, 1948. • October 5 –
National Airlines Flight 16, a
Lockheed 18–50 Lodestar, overshoots the runway and crashes into a lake at
Lakeland, Florida. Two passengers drown, and several of the 13 survivors are injured. • October 16 – The U.S.
Joint Chiefs of Staff examine an intelligence report which states that the Soviet Air Force has 35,000 combat aircraft organized into 350 fighter
regiments and 230 bomber regiments, all dedicated either to ground support of the
Soviet Army or home
air defense, and that after post-World War II demobilization was complete 410 air regiments would remain. The report states that the Soviet Union has no strategic air force and assesses that it will not field its first atomic bomb until at least 1950. • October 23 – The U.S.
Joint Intelligence Staff assesses that the Soviet Union will require five to 10 years to field an atomic bomb and create a strategic air force. • October 24 – Using a
Douglas C-54 Skymaster,
American Export Airlines (AEA) begins the first scheduled commercial
transatlantic airline service by a landplane, operating between
New York City and
London. Since the new
London-Heathrow airport is not yet available for commercial operations, AEA uses
Bournemouth-Hurn Airport. • October 27 – British aircraft drop leaflets over
Surabaya on
Java in the
Netherlands East Indies demanding that
Indonesian Republican forces surrender to British forces. • American Export Airlines is renamed
American Overseas Airlines. • November 3 • The U.S.
Joint Intelligence Committee reports on the Soviet Unions vulnerability to atomic attack, finding that the United States does not have enough atomic weapons to destroy the Soviet
transportation system,
power grid, or
metals industry, or to be useful on conventional battlefields. It recommends that in the event of war the U.S. Army Air Forces make atomic strikes against 20 Soviet cities in an attempt to destroy
research and development centers, administrative centers, and
munitions and aircraft factories, but notes that the small yields of contemporary bombs means that even attacks that successfully bomb cities may be too inaccurate to destroy the intended targets. • The
Pan American World Airways Boeing 314 flying boat Honolulu Clipper, operating on an
Operation Magic Carpet flight carrying 26 American servicemen home to the
United States after World War II, makes a forced landing in the
Pacific Ocean 650 miles east of
Oahu in the
Hawaiian Islands without injury to passengers or crew, all of whom are rescued by a
tanker the following morning. U.S. Navy attempts to repair the aircraft fail, as do Navy efforts to tow it, and the Navy eventually sinks
Honolulu Clipper by gunfire on November 14. • November 6 – After its
piston engine fails, a mixed-propulsion
Ryan FR-1 Fireball fighter flown by
U.S. Marine Corps pilot J. C. West makes the first landing under jet power on an
aircraft carrier, landing aboard . • November 7 – Royal Air Force
Group Captain H. J. Wilson sets a new official airspeed record of in a
Gloster Meteor. Unofficial German speed records by the rocket-powered
Messerschmitt Me 163 during the war had already exceeded on October 2, 1941, and on July 6, 1944. • November 9 – After curtailing service during
World War II, flying only a single route between
Dublin and
England – to either
Liverpool or
Barton Aerodrome in
Manchester depending on the security situation at the time –
Aer Lingus restores its full flight schedule post-war. It inaugurates the return of its full flight schedule with a flight to
London. • November 10 • On
Java in the
Netherlands East Indies, British airstrikes support the opening of an offensive by British and
British Indian troops to take
Surabaya from
Indonesian nationalist forces during the
Battle of Surabaya, part of the
Indonesian National Revolution. •
South African Airways opens its first route to Europe when one of its
Avro York airliners lands at
Bournemouth, England, after a flight from
Palmietfontein near
Johannesburg, South Africa. • November 16 –
Pan American World Airways resumes
commercial seaplane service between
California and
Hawaii, using
Boeing Clipper aircraft it has leased to the U.S. Navy during World War II. • November 20 – A
United States Army Air Forces Boeing B-29 Superfortress flies from
Guam to
Washington, D.C., setting a new world unrefueled nonstop flight distance record of .
December • December 4 – A
de Havilland Sea Vampire Mk 5 becomes the first
jet aircraft to intentionally take off and land from an
aircraft carrier, . • December 5 –
Flight 19, a formation of five U.S. Navy
TBM Avengers with a total of 14 men aboard, vanishes without trace over the Atlantic Ocean east of
Florida. A U.S. Navy
PBM-5 Mariner flying boat sent to search for the Avengers also disappears with the loss of all 13 men aboard, apparently the victim of an accidental mid-air explosion. • December 8 – The U.S.
Joint Chiefs of Staff release a report on the effect of
atomic weapons on warfare. It finds that there is no effective defense against atomic weapons and that the appearance of such weapons in the hands of an adversary would seriously degrade American
national security. It also notes that the Soviet Union has better air defenses than does the United States, leaving the United States more vulnerable to atomic attack. It finds that in a war with the Soviet Union, the United States will have to seize forward bases from which to launch bombers for nuclear strikes, and that the United States will have to strike first to preempt a Soviet nuclear attack if the Soviet Union develops an atomic arsenal and the United States detects preparations for such an attack. • December 21 – The first flight by an American
turboprop-powered aircraft takes place, when the
Consolidated Vultee XP-81, previously flown with a
piston engine, flies under turboprop power for the first time. == First flights ==