This is a list ofaviation-related events from 1942:

• TheUnited States Coast Guard begins to use thenational insignia forUnited States Army,United States Navy, andUnited States Marine Corps aircraft on its own aircraft for the first time. The practice has continued ever since.^[1]

• The U.S.Joint Chiefs of Staff begin to consider how to create a transportation system in theChina-Burma-India Theater, primarily involving transport aircraft.^[2]
• LieutenantIvan Chisov of theSoviet Air Force miraculously survives a fall from 22,000 feet (6,700 meters) without a parachute after departing a heavily damagedIlyushin Il-4 twin-engined medium bomber. After achieving a terminal velocity of about 150 mph (240 km/h), he is decelerated when he hits the lip of a snow-covered ravine, sliding down with decreasing speed until he stops at the bottom, suffering a broken pelvis and severe spinal injuries.^[3]
• TheSoviet Unionparachutes 2,000 troops behind German lines atMedyn, nearTula, in support ofSoviet Army offensive operations.^[4]
• January 4–7 –Soviet Air Force aircraft attack forwardLuftwaffe airfields atRzhev andVelikiye Luki while Germantransport aircraft are using them to resupply German ground units. The Soviets claim nineJunkers Ju 52s destroyed on the ground and oneDornier Do 217 shot down in aerial combat.^[5]
• January 6
  • Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft based atTruk begin attacks on theAustralian air base atRabaul.^[6]
  • The first phase of the1941–42 winter Soviet counter-offensive comes to an end after 33 days. Since it began on December 5, 1941, the Soviet Air Force has flown 16,000 sorties in support of it, about half of them in direct support ofSoviet Army ground forces and about 70 percent of them in the offensive's northern sector.^[7]
• January 11 – Japanese aircraft drop 324 naval paratroopers as part of a successful assault againstDutch forces defending theMenado Peninsula onCelebes.^[8]
• January 12 – The Sovietaeronautical engineer and aircraft designerVladimir Petlyakov dies in the crash of aPetlyakov Pe-2 nearArzamas in theSoviet Union.
• January 13 –Heinkel test pilot Helmut Schenk becomes the first person to escape from a stricken aircraft with anejection seat after the control surfaces of the first prototypeHe 280 V1 ice up and become inoperable. The fighter, being used in tests of the Argus As 014pulsejets forFieseler Fi 103cruise missile development, had had its regular HeS 8A turbojets removed, and had been towed aloft from theErprobungstelle Rechlin central test facility in Germany by a pair ofMesserschmitt Bf 110C tugs in a heavy snow-shower. At 2,395 meters (7,858 feet), Schenk finds he has no control, jettisons his towline, and ejects.^[9]
• January 16 –Transcontinental & Western Air Flight 3 crashes intoPotosi Mountain inNevada, killing all 22 aboard including movie starCarole Lombard.
• January 24 – The Japanese aircraft carriersHiryū andSōryū begin strikes onAmbon.^[10]
• January 28
  • TheUnited States Army Air Forces activate theEighth Air Force^[11] to serve inEngland as a strategic air force inEurope.
  • Piloting aLockheed PBO-1 Hudson patrol bomber over theNorth Atlantic, U.S. Navy ChiefAviation Machinist's Mate Donald Francis Mason attacks a German submarine, which submerges and escapes. Thinking he had sunk it, he signals "SIGHTED SUB, SANK SAME." It becomes one of the most famous signals of World War II.^[12]
• January 30
  • Six Imperial Japanese NavyMitsubishi A6M Zero (Allied reporting name "Zeke") fightersshoot down theQantasShort Empireflying boat G-AEUH offWest Timor in theNetherlands East Indies, killing 13 of the 18 people on board.
  • Canadian Pacific Air Lines is formed by the acquisition and merger ofArrow Airways andCanadian Airways, along with all the various subsidiaries of the latter.
• January 31 – During the winter of 1941–1942, Royal Air Force Bomber Command experiences a 2.5 percent loss rate among its aircraft attacking Germany.^[13]

• TheUnited States Army Air Forces redesignate various organizations as theFifth (in theFar East),Sixth (in thePanama Canal Zone),Seventh (in theTerritory of Hawaii), andEleventh (in theTerritory of Alaska) Air Forces.^[14]
• The CommandingGeneral of the U.S. Army Air Forces,Henry H. Arnold, tellsPresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt that an air cargo route betweenIndia andChina should be established to make up for the likely imminent loss ofRangoon,Burma, toJapanese forces.^[15] Roosevelt orders Arnold to commandeer 25 civilianDouglas DC-3s to begin the airlift.^[16]
• Royal Air Force Bomber Command begins using "Shaker" – long-burningflares – to illuminate targets for its aircraft.^[17]
• TheLuftwaffe'sFliegerkorps II greatly intensifies its bombing campaign againstMalta.^[18]
• February 1 – TheU.S. Navy aircraft carriersUSS Enterprise (CV-6) andUSS Yorktown (CV-5) launch air strikes against Japanese bases in theMarshall Islands. It is the first offensive operation by American forces inWorld War II.^[19]
• February 8 – Dr.Fritz Todt, the GermanReich Minister for Armaments and Ammunition, dies in the crash of aJunkers Ju 52 shortly after takeoff fromRastenburg,East Prussia.
• February 11–13 – 250Messerschmitt Bf 109 andFocke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters and 30Messerschmitt Bf 110 night fighters participate inOperation Thunderbolt, the GermanLuftwaffe's defense of thebattlecruisersScharnhorst andGneisenau andheavy cruiserPrinz Eugen as they make the "Channel Dash" (Operation Cerberus) fromBrest, France, toWilhelmshaven andBrunsbüttel, Germany, via theEnglish Channel andStrait of Dover. On February 12, sixFleet Air ArmFairey Swordfish – all of which are shot down; their commander,Lieutenant CommanderEugene Esmonde receives a posthumousVictoria Cross for the attack – and some Royal Air ForceCoastal CommandBristol Beauforts attempt torpedo attacks, but score no hits.^[20]
• February 12
  • The U.S. Army Air Forces activate theTenth Air Force for service inChina,Burma, andIndia.^[21]
  • Germandive bombers sink the British destroyerHMS Maori at Malta.^[22]
• February 13 – One hundred Japanese aircraft drop 700 Japanese paratroopers ontoPalembang onSumatra.^[23]
• February 19 –Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft conduct a devastatingraid onDarwin, Australia, where 45 ships are in the harbor. Known as the "Great Darwin Raid", it is both the first and the largest air attack in history against Australian territory. A first wave of 188Mitsubishi A6M (Allied reporting name "Zero") fighters,Aichi D3A1 (Allied reporting name "Val")dive bombers, andNakajima B5N2 (Allied reporting name "Kate")torpedo bombers from theaircraft carriersAkagi,Kaga,Hiryū, andSōryū is followed by a second wave of 54 land-basedMitsubishi G3M2 (Allied reporting name "Nell") andMitsubishi G4M1 (Allied reporting name "Betty") bombers.Allied losses in the raid are eight ships sunk (including the U.S. Navy destroyerUSS Peary (DD-226)), three ships run aground, 25 ships damaged (including thehospital shipManunda), 30 aircraft destroyed, 310 people killed, and 400 people wounded; Japanese bombs also destroy the town's hospital and damage itspost office, and the explosion of the dockedcargo shipNeptuna – loaded with ammunition – virtually destroys the harbor's facilities and sets fire to several large oil-storage tanks. In exchange, the Japanese lose three Vals, one Zero, two men killed, and one man captured. Flying aCurtiss P-40E Warhawk,United States Army Air Forces (USAAF)Lieutenant Robert Oestreicher shoots down two Vals, while Zeroes shoot down four other USAAF P-40Es; the six downed aircraft are the first confirmed aerial victories ever to occur over Australia. Although Japanese carrier aircraft never strike Darwin again, Japanese land-based aircraft will bomb the town 63 more times, the last raid taking place in mid-November 1943.^[24]
• February 20 – The first combat between carrier-type aircraft of theJapanese andU.S. navies takes place betweenRabaul-based Japanese aircraft and fighters from the aircraft carrierUSS Lexington (CV-2) north of theSolomon Islands. The Americans lose two planes and one pilot, but claim to have shot down most of the 18 Japanese attackers; LieutenantEdward H. "Butch" O'Hare shoots down fivebombers to become the second U.S. Navy ace and the first in World War II.^[25]
• February 21 –Air MarshalArthur T. Harris assumes command ofRAF Bomber Command. Known to the press as "Bomber" Harris, he will command Bomber Command for the remainder of World War II.^[26]
• February 26 – FirstIntercontinental Division (ICD) flight, with ex-TWABoeing 307 Stratoliners in USAAF service, but manned by civilian TWA crews, beginning the transatlantic passenger and critical cargo aerial ferry service between North American and Europe.
• February 26–27 (overnight) – 49 British bombers attackKiel, Germany, with the loss of three aircraft. They score two hits on the GermanbattlecruiserGneisenau, killing 116 of her crew and damaging her so badly that she never is seaworthy again.^[20][27]
• February 27 – The aircraft tender USSLangley (AV-3), which once had been the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier asUSS Langley (CV-1), is sunk by Japanese aircraft in theIndian Ocean while trying to deliverCurtiss P-40 fighters fromAustralia toJava.^[28]
• February 28 – Since February 1, theLuftwaffe'sFliegerkorps II has flown 2,497 sorties against Malta, including 222 attacks against airfields alone.^[29]

• TheSoviet Union redesignates the Ilyushin DB-3F as theIlyushin Il-4.
• March 1 – The U.S. Navy sinks a German submarine for the first time in World War II when a Patrol Squadron 82 (VP-82)Lockheed PBO-1 Hudson piloted byEnsign William TepuniUSNR sinksU-656 offCape Race,Newfoundland.^[30]
• March 3 – Three Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A6M Zero fightersshoot down theKNILMDouglas DC-3 airlinerPelikaan (tail number PK-AFV) as it approachesBroome, Australia, forcing it to make abelly landing in shallow surf atCarnot Bay, thenstrafe it, killing or seriously injuring four of the 12 people on board. A JapaneseKawanishi H6K (Allied reporting name "Mavis")flying boat bombs the wreckage the following day. A shipment ofdiamonds worthA£150,000 to A£300,000 aboard the plane disappears, apparently stolen.
• March 3–4 (overnight) – 235 British bombers – the largest number sent against a single target to date – attack theRenault vehicle factory atBoulogne-Billancourt inParis in an attempt at night precision bombing. Three-quarters of the bombs hit the factory, but 367 French civilians are killed and 10,000 rendered homeless by errant bombs. The death toll in fact is greater than in any single attack on a German city thus far in the war.^[31]
• March 4 – Aircraft from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrierUSS Enterprise (CV-6) raid Japanese bases onMarcus Island.^[32]
• March 4–5 (overnight) – Two Imperial Japanese NavyKawanishi H8K (Allied reporting name "Emily")flying boats fly fromWotje, refuel from a submarine atFrench Frigate Shoals, and fly on to bombOahu in theHawaiian Islands, returning safely. The mission is unsuccessful because of heavy cloud cover in theHonolulu area. It is the first combat flight of the H8K.^[33]
• March 5 – TheCivil Air Patrol begins maritime patrols off theUnited States East Coast.^[34]
• March 7 – The Royal Air Force commitsSupermarine Spitfires to the defense of Malta for the first time, flying 15 of them to the island from the aircraft carriersHMS Argus andHMS Eagle.^[35]
• March 8–9 (overnight) through 10-11 (overnight) – Royal Air Force Bomber Command bombsEssen, Germany, on three consecutive nights with 211, 187, and 126 aircraft respectively, losing a combined total of 16 bombers. The raids are the combat debut of theGee navigation aid, raising British hopes that precision bombing of theKrupp armaments factory will be achieved, but it is not hit, and bombs in fact do far more damage to neighboring towns than to Essen itself. The third raid includes twoAvro Lancasters, the first use of the Lancaster against a German target.^[36]
• March 9
  • TwelveFairey Albacoretorpedo bombers from the aircraft carrierHMS Victorious attack the GermanbattleshipTirpitz while she is at sea offNorway. They score no hits, andTirpitz shoots down two Albacores. It is the only time thatAllied forces attackTirpitz while she is in the open sea.^[37][38]
  • TheUnited States Army Air Forces are reorganized, with the separate Air Force Combat Command (the combat element) andUnited States Army Air Corps (the logistics and training element) discontinued.GeneralHenry H. Arnold, formerly Chief of the Army Air Forces, becomes Commanding General of Army Air Forces.^[39] The term "Air Corps" survives until 1947, but only as a reference to the aviation branch of service of theUnited States Army without indicating any formal organization.
  • The U.S. Navy commissionsAir Transport Squadron 1 (VR-1), the first of 13 squadrons it will establish for theNaval Air Transport Service during World War II, atNorfolk, Virginia.^[40]
• March 10 – The U.S. Navy aircraft carriersUSS Lexington (CV-2) andUSS Yorktown (CV-5) launch a 104-aircraft raid from south ofNew Guinea and over theOwen Stanley Mountains via a 7,500-foot (2,286-meter) pass to strike Japanese shipping offLae andSalamaua, New Guinea.^[41]
• March 12–13 (overnight) – 68 BritishVickers Wellington bombers raidKiel, Germany, losing five of their number.^[36]
• March 20 – TheLuftwaffe'sFliegerkorps II further escalates its bombing campaign againstMalta as truly massive air raids begin with a goal of forcing the island'santiaircraft artillery to exhaust its ammunition and personnel, followed by large attacks on airfields and aircraft on the ground, and finally the destruction of naval forces,dockyards, and other military installations.^[42]
• March 21 – HMSEagle makes the second delivery of Spitfires to Malta, flying off nine.^[35][43]
• March 22 – TheSecond Battle of Sirte takes place betweenRoyal Navy and Italian forces in the Mediterranean. The Italians fail to prevent a convoy of four Allied cargo ships from arriving at Malta, and an attack by ItalianSavoia-Marchetti SM.79torpedo bombers is ineffective.^[35][43]
• March 23–26 –Fliegerkorps II dedicates 326 aircraft to the destruction of the four Allied cargo ships that have arrived at Malta, sinking three of them and a destroyer and damaging one of them.^[44]
• March 26 –Fliegerkorps II begins attacks on Malta's submarine base, sinking the British submarineHMS P39 and damaging two other submarines. From this time, submarines at Malta submerge all day while in port.^[22]
• March 26–27 (overnight) – 115 British bombers attack theRuhr.^[45]
• March 29 – HMSEagle makes the third delivery of Spitfires to Malta, flying off seven.^[35][43]
• March 29–30 (overnight) – In an experiment to see whether a first wave of bombers could start a conflagration in a city center that would guide later waves of bombers to the city during an area bombing attack, 234 British bombers attackLübeck, Germany. The experiment succeeds, with the center of Lübeck largely destroyed and over 300 people killed.^[46]
• March 31
  • AnImperial Japanese Navy task force centered around the aircraft carriersAkagi,Ryūjō,Hiryū,Sōryū,Shōkaku, andZuikaku begins a very destructive raid againstBritish forces in theIndian Ocean.
  • Since March 1, theLuftwaffe'sFliegerkorps II has flown 4,927 sorties against Malta.^[29] In addition to attacks on airfields and other facilities, they have sunk two British destroyers and a British submarine, damaged two other submarines, and badly damaged thelight cruiserHMS Penelope.^[22]
  • TheSoviet Air Force claims to have flown 49,000 sorties against the GermanArmy Group Center since January 1.^[47]
• March 31-April 1 (overnight) – The Royal Air Force places the new4,000-lb (1,814-kg) high-capacity "Cookie" bomb – its largest bomb to date and its first "blockbuster" bomb – into service in a raid onEmden, Germany. The RAF will drop 68,000 "Cookie" bombs during World War II.^[48]

• Royal Air Force Bomber Command raidsRostock four times to continue experiments with a first wave of bombers setting a city center on fire to guide later waves to the target. The raids succeed. Of the 520 bombers that take part, eight are lost.^[46]
• TheLuftwaffe'sFliegerkorps X joinsFliegerkorps II in the heavy German air campaign againstMalta.^[22]
• The U.S. Army Air Forces create theNinth Air Force.^[49]
• TheFisher Body Division ofGeneral Motors creates an Aircraft Division. It eventually will design theFisher P-75 Eagle.^[50]
• April 1 – At Malta's submarine base, German aircraft sink the BritishsubmarineHMS Pandora, damage the submarineHMS P36 beyond repair, and badly damage the submarineHMS Unbeaten.^[22]
• April 4 – At Malta, German aircraft sink theGreek submarineGlaucos and badly damage thePolish submarineSokol.^[51]
• April 5 – 105 aircraft from the Japanese aircraft carriersAkagi,Hiryū,Sōryū,Shōkaku, andZuikaku strikeColombo,Ceylon. A second wave sinks the Britishheavy cruisersHMS Cornwall andHMS Dorsetshire southwest of Ceylon.
• April 9 – 129 aircraft from the Japanese aircraft carriersAkagi,Hiryū,Sōryū,Shōkaku, andZuikaku strikeTrincomalee,Ceylon. A second wave sinks the British aircraft carrierHMSHermes that afternoon offBatticaloa, Ceylon.^[52]Hermes becomes the first aircraft carrier ever to be sunk by aircraft.
• April 10 – The Japanese carrier raiding force departs the Indian Ocean, having destroyed an aircraft carrier, two heavy cruisers, twodestroyers, three lesser warships, 23merchant ships, and over 40 aircraft. No Japanese aircraft carrier will operate in the Indian Ocean again.
• April 10–11 (overnight) – The Royal Air Force introduces its new 8,000-pound (3,600 kg) "Super Cookie" bomb – its largest bomb to date and second of its "blockbuster" bombs – into service in a raid onEssen, Germany. Too big for thebomb bay of theShort Stirling andVickers Wellington, it can be carried only by theHandley Page Halifax andAvro Lancaster.^[48]
• April 12 – The Admiral Superintendent ofMalta Dockyard reports that due to German air attacks on Malta's naval base "practically no workshops were in action other than those underground; all docks were damaged; electric power, light and telephones were largely out of action."^[51]
• April 17 – TwelveAvro Lancaster bombers – six each fromNo. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron andNo. 97 Squadron – carry out the longest low-level penetration thus far in World War II and the first daylight raid by the Lancaster in an attack on a submarinediesel engine factory atAugsburg, Germany. The two squadrons fail to rendezvous and four of the No. 44 Squadron bombers, led bySouth African Air ForceSquadron LeaderJohn Dering Nettleton, are shot down by German fighters shortly after crossing theNorth Sea, but Nettleton pushes on with the two surviving Lancasters and attacks the target against heavyantiaircraft artillery fire. He is awarded theVictoria Cross for the mission. No. 97 Squadron loses one Lancaster.^[53]
• April 18
  • Lieutenant ColonelJames Doolittle leads the first U.S. attack on the Japanese mainland, leading a force of sixteen U.S. Army Air ForcesNorth American B-25 Mitchells flying from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrierUSS Hornet against targets in and around Tokyo in what comes to be known as the "Doolittle Raid".
  • Thanks tolabor,management, and financial problems at theBrewster Aeronautical Corporation, the U.S. Navy seizes control of the firm and places it under the oversight of the Navy'sBureau of Aeronautics. The Navy putsGeorge Conrad Westervelt in charge of the company. In May, the Navy also will appoint a newboard of directors for Brewster.^[54]
• April 20
  • InOperation Calendar, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrierUSS Wasp (CV-7) flies off 46 Spitfires to Malta. Detecting their arrival withradar,Fliegerkorps II immediately attacks their airfields, destroying almost all of them within three days.^[55]
  • The first official demonstration of ahelicopter in theUnited States takes place.^[56]
• April 21 –Lieutenant CommanderEdward H. "Butch" O'Hare becomes the first U.S. Navy aviator to receive theMedal of Honor.
• April 22 – The U.S. Army Air Forces formChina Ferry Command to support theAllied war effort in theChina-Burma-India Theater.
• April 29–30 (overnight) – TheArmstrong Whitworth Whitley makes its last raid inRAF Bomber Command service in an attack onOstend, Belgium.^[57]
• April 30 – Since April 1, theLuftwaffe'sFliegerkorps II andFliegerkorps X have flown 9,599 sorties againstMalta, dropping over 6,700 tons (6,078,200 kg) of bombs on or around the island, and the British have lost 30 aircraft on the ground. Royal Air Force fighters on Malta have flown 350 sorties, destroying about half of the aircraft theAxis has lost over the island during April.^[58] Since 15 April, Malta has undergone 115 air raids, with a daily average of 170 German bombers attacking.^[59]

• France's only aircraft carrier, the obsoleteBéarn, is demilitarized atMartinique.^[60]
• May 2 – The Japaneseseaplane carrierMizuho sinks with the loss of 101 lives after the U.S. Navy submarineUSS Drum (SS-228) had torpedoed her late the previous evening 40 nautical miles (74 kilometres) offOmaezaki, Japan. There are 472 survivors.^[61]
• May 3 – In a raid on theArctic convoyPQ 15, sixHeinkel He 111s of theLuftwaffe's I.Gruppe,Kampfgeschwader 26, make Germany's firsttorpedo bomber attack of World War II. They sink twomerchant ships outright and damage a third, which a German submarine later sinks.^[62] Three of the He 111s are lost.
• May 4
  • USS Yorktown (CV-5) launches three air strikes against Japanese shipping atTulagi, sinking aminesweeper and damaging a destroyer and a few other ships.^[63]
  • ThreeBristol Blenheims ofNo. 15 Squadron,South African Air Force, on a familiarisation flight fromKufra, Libya,become lost over theLibyan Desert and are forced to land due tofuel exhaustion. One of them is found on May 9 with its entire crew of three dead of exposure, and the other two on May 11 with eight of the nine men with them dead of gunshots or exposure.
• May 5
  • Rabaul-based Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft raidPort Moresby, New Guinea.^[64]
  • Operation Ironclad, theBritish invasion of theVichy French-controlled island ofMadagascar, begins with a destructive surprise strike at dawn by aircraft from the British aircraft carrierHMS Indomitable on French airfields in the vicinity ofDiego Suarez.^[65]
  • Royal Air ForceNorth American Mustang Mark.I tactical reconnaissance aircraft ofNo. 26 Squadron see combat over theEnglish Channel. It is the first combat action by any version of the P-51 Mustang.^[66]
• May 6 – Four U.S. Army Air ForcesBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses attack the Japanese aircraft carrierShōhō south ofBougainville, but do not damage her.^[67]
• May 7
  • TheBattle of the Coral Sea, the first battle ever fought between aircraft carriers, begins between a U.S. force centered around the aircraft carriersUSS Lexington (CV-2) andUSS Yorktown (CV-5) and a Japanese force with the aircraft carriersShōhō,Shōkaku, andZuikaku. Early in the morning, a 56-plane strike fromShōkaku andZuikaku sinks adestroyer and fatally damages anoiler. Later in the morning, a 93-plane strike fromLexington andYorktown sinksShōhō – the first Japanese carrier ever sunk – prompting an Americandive bomber pilot to send one of World War II's most famous radio messages, "SCRATCH ONE FLATTOP." In the evening, confused Japanese carrier pilots mistakeYorktown for their own carrier and begin to fly a landing pattern before realizing their mistake.^[68]
  • On Madagascar, Diego Suarez falls to invading British forces. Since the invasion began on May 5, aircraft from the British aircraft carriers HMSIndomitable andHMS Illustrious have suppressedVichy French aircraft, supported British ground forces ashore, attackedcoastal artillery, a wrecked a Frenchsloop, and sunk a Frencharmed merchant cruiser and two Frenchsubmarines.^[65]
• May 8 – On the morning of the second and final day of the Battle of the Coral Sea, the two sides launch airstrikes at almost the same time. The strike by 84 aircraft fromLexington andYorktown badly damagesShōkaku. Shortly afterwards, the 70-plane strike fromShōkaku andZuikaku sinksLexington – the first American aircraft carrier ever sunk – and badly damagesYorktown, after which both sides retire with the Japanese abandoning their plans for anamphibious invasion of Port Moresby.Shōkaku's damage andZuikaku's aircraft losses will keep them out of combat for two months, forcing them to miss theBattle of Midway in June. The Battle of the Coral Sea ends as the first naval battle in which ships of the opposing sides never sight one another.^[69]
• May 9
  • The U.S. Navy aircraft carrierUSS Wasp (CV-7) and British aircraft carrierHMS Eagle fly off a massive reinforcement of 60Supermarine Spitfire to Malta.^[70]
  • Chief of Staff of the United States ArmyGeneralGeorge C. Marshall proposes the creation of an organization within theU.S. Army Air Forces similar to theRoyal Air Force'sCoastal Command. His proposal eventually will lead to the establishment of theArmy Air Forces Antisubmarine Command.
• May 10 – The commander ofLuftflotte 2,Field MarshalAlbert Kesselring, reports toBerlin that "the neutralization of Malta is complete," marking the end of the heavy German air campaign against the island that had begun the previous December. The same day, the newly arrived Spitfires confrontAxis aircraft with a superior force over the island for the first time in months, shooting down 12 German aircraft for the loss of three Spitfires.^[71]
• May 12 – The initial submission of theLuftwaffe'sAmerika Bomber trans-oceanic range strategic bomber design competition arrives in the offices ofReichsmarschallHermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the Third Reich's Luftwaffe.^[72]
• May 13 – Construction of the German aircraft carrierGraf Zeppelin resumes after a two-year hiatus.^[73][74]
• May 15 – The U.S. Navy's Naval Air Transport Service flies it first transoceanic flight and initiates service in the Pacific with a flight byAir Transport Squadron 2 (VR-2) fromAlameda, California, toHonolulu, Hawaii.^[40]
• May 22 –Imperial Japanese Army Air Force aceTateo Katō iskilled in action when a gunner aboard aBristol Blenheim Mark IV ofRoyal Air ForceNo. 60 Squadron shoots down hisNakajima Ki-43Hayabusa ("peregrine falcon";Allied reporting name "Oscar") fighter in flames over theBay of Bengal. Katō is credited with 18 kills at the time of his death.^[75]
• May 27 – 108 German aircraft attackConvoy PQ 16 in theArctic Ocean.^[76]
• May 27–29 – After the aircraft carrierUSS Yorktown (CV-5) arrives atPearl Harbor,Territory of Hawaii, with serious damage from the Battle of the Coral Sea that her task force commander estimates will take 90 days to repair, thePearl Harbor Navy Yard repairs her in two days, making her available for theBattle of Midway.^[77]
• May 30–31 (overnight) – Royal Air Force Bomber Command carries outOperation Millennium, its first "thousand-bomber raid", in which 1,047 British bombers attackCologne, Germany, killing 480 people and injuring 5,000 and destroying 13,000 homes and damaging 30,000. Forty-one bombers are lost. Fifty-seven more British aircraft operate as nightintruders in support of the attack.^[78] TheArmstrong Whitworth Whitley, retired by Bomber Command a month earlier, participates in a bombing raid for the last time, as Whitleys borrowed fromOperational Training Units flesh out the Bomber Command force for the raid.^[57]
• May 31
  • Since May 1, the Germans and Italians have lost 40 aircraft over Malta in exchange for 25 British planes lost in combat. The British have lost only six aircraft on the ground, 24 fewer than the previous month.^[79]
  • Since January 1, Royal Air Force Bomber Command has dispatched 12,029 sorties, losing 396 aircraft; German night fighters have shot down 167 of them, an average of 34 British bombers per month. Since February 1, aircraft losses in British bombing raids on Germany have averaged 3.7 percent.^[13]

• Royal Air Force Bomber Command mounts 20 major raids against Germany in June and July, losing 307 bombers (4.9 percent of the attacking force), as well as an additional 63 bombers lost on lesser raids.^[80] Beginning in June, Bomber Command monthly loss rates begin to hover consistently around 5 percent, which the British believe is the maximum sustainable loss rate.^[13]
• June 1 – Because of the similarity of the red disc in the center of thenational insignia for U.S. military aircraft toJapanese markings, the United States adopts a new national insignia without the red disc, consisting simply of a white star centered in a blue circle. The new marking will remain in use until July 1943.^[81]
• June 1–2 (overnight) – Royal Air Force Bomber Command mounts what is nominally its second "thousand-bomber raid" – 956 bombers actually participate – targeting Essen, Germany. Industrial haze spoils the attack; the British bombers kill only 15 people in Essen and destroy only 11 homes there, while widely scattered bombs strikeOberhausen,Duisburg, and at least eleven other cities and towns, which suffer more damage than Essen itself.^[82]
• June 3 – In an effort to decoy U.S. forces away from planned Japanese landings onMidway Atoll and to cover planned Japanese landings onAttu andKiska, aircraft from the carriersJunyo andRyūjō strikeDutch Harbor in theAleutian Islands. Although only 12 planes, all fromRyūjō, manage to reach Dutch Harbor, they inflict considerable damage.^[83]
• June 4
  • 32 aircraft fromJunyo andRyūjō conduct another damaging strike against Dutch Harbor. Small strikes by U.S. NavyConsolidated PBY Catalinaflying boats and U.S. Army Air Forces bombers against the two Japanese aircraft carriers are ineffective.^[84]
  • TheBattle of Midway begins with a predawn torpedo strike by U.S. NavyConsolidated PBY Catalinas against Japanese ships, which damages anoiler. After sunrise, 108 aircraft from all four Japanese aircraft carriers –Akagi,Kaga,Hiryū, andSōryū – carry out a destructive strike onMidway Atoll, shooting down 17 and severely damaging seven of the atoll's 26 fighters. A series of Midway-based strikes by various types of aircraft against the Japanese carriers sees the combat debut of theGrumman TBF Avenger, but achieve no hits and suffer heavy losses. All three U.S. aircraft carriers –USS Enterprise (CV-6),USS Hornet (CV-8), andUSS Yorktown (CV-5) – launch strikes against the Japanese carriers; their 41Douglas TBD Devastatortorpedo bombers arrive first and achieve no hits, losing all but four of their number, butEnterprise's andYorktown'sDouglas SBD Dauntlessdive bombers arrive and inflict lethal damage onAkagi (which sinks on June 5) andKaga andSoryu (which both sink later on June 4). A retaliatory strike byHiryu fatally damagesYorktown (which sinks on June 7), butEnterprise andYorktown dive bombers then fatally damageHiryu (which sinks on June 5). The loss of all four of their carriers cause the Japanese to cancel the Midway operation and withdraw. It is widely considered to be the turning point of World War II in the Pacific.^[85]
• June 6
  • Flying 112 sorties, carrier aircraft fromEnterprise andHornet sink the Japaneseheavy cruiserMikuma as she withdraws from the Midway area, bringing the Battle of Midway to an end. ThreeDouglas TBD Devastators participate; it is the last combat mission for the Devastator.^[86]
  • Four U.S. Army Air ForcesConsolidated B-24 Liberator bombers led byMajor GeneralClarence L. Tinker take off from Midway to attack the Japanese bomber base onWake Island. Tinker's plane disappears after take-off and no wreckage or bodies are ever found.^[87]
• June 8 – Conducting experimental visual and photographic observations during night flight, the U.S. NavyblimpsG-1 andL-2 are destroyed in a mid-air collision, killing 12.
• June 10 – A U.S. Army Air ForcesConsolidated LB-30 Liberator on a reconnaissance flight discovers that Japanese forces have occupiedKiska in theAleutian Islands.^[88]
• June 11 – In response to orders fromAdmiralChester W. Nimitz to "bomb the enemy out of Kiska," U.S. Army Air ForcesBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress andConsolidated B-24 Liberator bombers and U.S. NavyConsolidated PBY Catalinaflying boats begin a bombing campaign against Japanese forces at Kiska in the "Kiska Blitz". The PBYs bomb almost hourly for 72 hours before withdrawing on July 13, while Army Air Forces continue with twice-daily raids until late June.^[89] Flying a 1,200-mile (1,900 km) round trip, the Army bombers will continue to raid Kiska from a base onUmnak until September.^[90]
• June 14–16 – German and Italian aircraft join Italian surface warships and submarines in opposingOperation Harpoon, an Allied Malta resupply convoy fromGibraltar escorted by the British aircraft carriersHMS Argus andHMS Furious, andOperation Vigorous, a simultaneous resupply convoy fromAlexandria, Egypt; Royal Air Force and U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft from Malta and North Africa provide support to the convoys. Before the remnants of the Harpoon convoy arrive at Malta and the Vigorous convoy turns back to Alexandria,Axis aircraft sink threemerchantcargo ships, fatally damage three destroyers, a cargo ship, and atanker, and damage the Britishlight cruisersHMS Birmingham andHMS Liverpool. Royal Air ForceBristol Beauforttorpedo bombers knock the ItalianbattleshipLittorio out of action for two months, and disable the Italianheavy cruiserTrento, allowing a British submarine to sink her.^[91]
• June 20 – InNorth Africa,Axis forces begin the final phase of theBattle of Gazala with a massive aerial bombardment ofTobruk by between 296 and 306 aircraft. Tobruk surrenders the next day.^[92]
• June 21–22 – In response to an erroneous report that a Japanese task force is threateningNome in theTerritory of Alaska, 55 U.S. Army Air Forces and commandeered civilian aircraft carry out the first mass airlift in U.S. military history, carrying 2,272 men, 20antiaircraft guns, and tons of supplies in 179 trips fromAnchorage to Nome over a 24-hour period. The airlift will continue until early July.^[93]
• June 23 – Germany's latestfighter aircraft, aFocke-Wulf Fw 190, is captured intact when itmistakenly lands atRAF Pembrey in Wales.
• June 25–26 (overnight) – Royal Air Force Bomber Command flies its third "thousand-bomber raid", with 1,067 bombers targetingBremen, badly damaging the city in exchange for the loss of 55 bombers;night fighters of IIGruppe of theLuftwaffe'sNachtjagdgeschwader 2 alone shoot down 16 of them.^[82] TheAvro Manchester bomber flies its last combat mission in this raid.^[94]
• June 26 – The U.S. Navy's Naval Air Transport Service initiatives service between theUnited States West Coast and theTerritory of Alaska with a flight byAir Transport Squadron 2 (VR-2).^[40]
• June 30
  • AUnited States NavyMartin PBM Mariner sinksU-158, the first of ten German submarines PBMs will sink during World War II.^[95]
  • Staffing of theUnited States Army Air Forces′Air Corps Tactical School ends, although the school will not formally be abolished until 1946.

• TheLuftwaffe'sFliegerkorps II is recalled to bases inSicily to conduct a new concentrated bombing campaign againstMalta.Axis aircraft drop 700 tons (635,036 kg) of bombs and destroy 17 British aircraft on the ground, but the strength of Malta's Royal Air Force fighter defense forces them to suspend their offensive by July 15 after losing 65 aircraft in exchange for 36 BritishSupermarine Spitfire.^[96]
• July 1 – TheUnited States Army Air Forces establish theAir Transport Command, a centralized, strategic air transport service directed by theUnited States Department of War.^[97]
• July 5 – An American reconnaissance plane discovers that the Japanese are building an airfield onGuadalcanal.^[98]
• July 7 – The U.S. Army Air Forces activate theChina Air Task Force.^[99]
• July 10 – TheCommander-in-Chief, United States Navy,AdmiralErnest J. King, orders U.S. Navysea frontier commanders to establish a system by whichcommercial aviators can reportsubmarine sightings. By November, the five major U.S.airlines, theNaval Air Transport Service, the U.S. Army'sAir Transport Command, and Britishflying boats ontransatlantic routes all are involved.^[100]
• July 15 – TheRepublic of China Air Force'sAmerican Volunteer Group – the "Flying Tigers" – is transferred to theUnited States Army Air Forces, in which it becomes the23rd Fighter Group. In its six months of Chinese service, the unit has claimed 286 Japanese aircraft in exchange for 12 of its own lost in air-to-air combat.^[101]
• July 18 – TheMe 262 third prototype makes its first flight under jet power, test-piloted byFritz Wendel. Previous flight attempts starting in April 1941 by the first prototype airframe had been driven by aJunkers Jumo 210 piston engine, spinning a propeller in the fuselage's nose before any of its intended jet engines were flight-ready.
• July 22 – The firstLockheed P-38F Lightning fighters of the U.S. Army Air Forces'14th Fighter Group departPresque Isle, Maine, for theUnited Kingdom viaIceland. They become the first fighters to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.^[102]
• July 28–29 (overnight) – 256 British bombers attackHamburg, Germany, with the loss of 30 aircraft, an unacceptably high 11.7 percent loss rate.^[13]
• July 31 – The vast, 800 km (500 mi)searchlight belt Germany has developed to guidenight fighters to British bombers along their routes into and out of Germany is ordered disbanded so that the searchlights may be reallocated to the point defense of individual German cities. The searchlight belt is replaced by an even deeper belt of ground radars, allowing far more radar-controlled interception of enemy aircraft by German night fighters.^[103]

• The U.S. Navylight cruiserUSS Cleveland (CL-55) conducts the first shipboard tests ofanti-aircraft ammunition employing the Mark 32 ("VT")proximity fuse, firing atdrone aircraft over theChesapeake Bay.
• August 2 – The firstyanagi trans-oceanic submarine mission by theImperial Japanese Navy is carried out by theJapanese submarine I-30, intended to make contact and conduct transfer of military technology withNazi Germany arrives in occupied French waters^[104] on this date, and is escorted to theLorient U-boat base; among the items of transfer are the blueprints for the IJN'sType 91 aerial torpedo, which Germany intended to produce for its own needs as theLufttorpedo LT 850.^{[citation needed]}
• August 4 – TheLockheed P-38 Lightning fighter scores its first aerial victories, when two P-38s of the343rd Fighter Group flown byU.S. Army Air ForcesLieutenants K. Ambrose and S. A. Long shoot down two JapaneseKawanishi H6K4flying boats near theAleutian Islands.^[102]
• August 7 –Operation Watchtower, the U.S. invasion ofGuadalcanal,Tulagi,Gavutu, andTanambogo, begins. The aircraft carriersUSS Enterprise (CV-6) andUSS Saratoga (CV-3) cover the landings with airstrikes, and U.S. Army Air ForcesBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb Japanese airfields atRabaul. Rabaul-based Japanese aircraft attack U.S.transports and their escorts off Guadalcanal, and dogfights with aircraft fromEnterprise andSaratoga ensue.^[105]
• August 8 –U.S. Marines capture the partially completed Japanese airstrip on Guadalcanal.^[106] They will rename itHenderson Field, and it will be the focal point of the six-monthGuadalcanal campaign. Offshore, Rabaul-based Japanese aircraft damage a U.S. transport, which becomes a total loss.^[107]
• August 11 –Axis opposition toOperation Pedestal – an Allied resupply convoy to Malta escorted by the British aircraft carriersHMS Victorious,HMS Indomitable, andHMS Eagle, against which 1,000 Axis aircraft have gathered inSicily andSardinia – begins when the German submarineU-73 hitsEagle with fourtorpedoes in theMediterranean Sea about 80 nautical miles (150 kilometres) north ofAlgiers.Eagle sinks in eight minutes, with the loss of 131 of her crew and 16Sea Hurricane fighters. German torpedo planes launch ineffective attacks on the convoys, and a strike by Royal Air ForceBristol Beaufighter destroys five and damages 14 of the German aircraft on the ground after they return to base.^[108][109]
• August 12
  • The first American aircraft – a U.S. NavyPBY-5A Catalina amphibian – lands on Guadalcanal's Henderson Field.^[110] Aircraft based there will become known as the "Cactus Air Force".
  • German and Italian aircraft attack the Pedestal convoy in the Mediterranean, damaging HMSIndomitable, sinking a destroyer and amerchantcargo ship, and possibly inflicting fatal damage on two other cargo ships. Italian aircraft employ three new weapons for the first time: themotobombatorpedo, a new bomb dropped byRe.2001 fighters designed to cause maximum damage on aircraft carrierflight decks, and an explosive-laden unmannedSavoia-Marchetti SM.79 bomber controlled as aguided missile by aCANTfloatplane. Themotobombas strike no targets, one of the flight-deck bombs is dropped onto the deck of HMSVictorious but breaks up and fails to explode, and the SM.79drone goes out of control and flies inland to crash inAlgeria.^[111]
• August 13 – Attacking the Pedestal convoy, Axis aircraft sink two more cargo ships and inflict additional damage on atanker.^[112]
• August 14 – Flying aLockheed P-38 Lightning fighter of the27th Fighter Squadron,Lieutenant Elza Shaham becomes the first U.S. Army Air Forces pilot to score an aerial victory in Europe during World War II when he shoots down a GermanFocke-Wulf Fw 200C-3 Condor.^[102]
• August 16 – During a routineantisubmarine warfare patrol over the Pacific Ocean offCalifornia, the two-man crew of the U.S. NavyblimpL-8 disappears. The unmanned blimp then drifts over California and eventually crashes on a street inDaly City, California. A U.S. Navy investigation concludes that the crew left the blimp voluntarily without theirparachutes, but determines no reason for them to have done so.L-8 is repaired and returns to service, but no trace of the two missing crewmen is ever found.^[113]
• August 17 – Heavy bombers of theUnited States Army Air Forces'Eighth Air Force carry out their first raid, attacking a railroad marshalling yard atRouen, France.^[114]
• August 18–19 (overnight) – Royal Air Force Bomber Command'sPathfinder Force flies its first mission, with 31 Pathfinder aircraft attempting to mark the target – the German submarine base atFlensburg – for a main force of 87 bombers. The raid is a complete failure; Flensburg is untouched, and the aircraft scatter their bombs widely over the towns ofSønderborg andAabenraa inDenmark. One Pathfinder aircraft and three other bombers fail to return.^[115]
• August 19 – The SovietSinyavino Offensive, an unsuccessful attempt to break theSiege of Leningrad, begins, supported by theSoviet Air Force′s14th Air Army. Although the 14th Air Army has a two-to-one superiority in numbers over opposingLuftwaffe forces, the Germans maintain air superiority in the area until the offensive ends on 10 October.^[116]
• August 20 – The U.S. Army Air Forces activate theTwelfth Air Force.^[117]
• August 21
  • Flying aGrumman F4F Wildcat, U.S. Marine CorpsMajor John L. Smith scores the first aerial victory by a Henderson Field-based aircraft, shooting down aMitsubishi A6M Zero over Guadalcanal.^[118]
  • BaronCarl-August von Gablenz, the founder ofDeutsche Luft Hansa, is among two people killed when theSiebel Si 204 he is piloting suffers a mechanical failure and crashes atMühlberg, Germany.^[119]
• August 24
  • Flying aSpitfire Mark V specially modified for high-altitude flight, Royal Air ForceFlying Officer George Reynolds intercepts a GermanJunkers Ju 86P reconnaissance plane – nearCairo, Egypt, at 37,000 feet (11,000 meters). Based onCrete and beginning reconnaissance operations over Egypt in May, Ju 86Ps of theLuftwaffe′s Long-Range Reconnaissance Group 123 previously had flown with impunity becauseAllied fighters could not reach their operating altitude. Although the Ju 86P climbs to 42,000 feet (13,000 meters), Reynolds manages to fire at it before it escapes. The RAF concludes that it must further lighten a Spitfire so that it can intercept the Ju 86Ps.^[120]
  • TheLuftwaffe begins high-altitude nuisance raids against England byJunkers Ju 86R bombers carrying one 250 kg (550 lb) bomb each and capable of flying as high as 47,000 feet (14,000 meters). On the first day, two Ju 86R-2s drop one bomb each onCamberley andSouthampton, doing little damage, and aPolish Royal Air ForceSpitfiresquadron that attempts to intercept the Ju 86Rs fail to reach the altitude of the bombers. TheLuftwaffe will conduct ten more of the raids over the next three weeks.^[121]
• August 24–25 – TheBattle of the Eastern Solomons takes place north of theSolomon Islands. It includes an aircraft carrier action on August 24, during which U.S. Navy carrier aircraft sink the Japanese aircraft carrierRyūjō, while Japanese carrier aircraft heavily damage the U.S. aircraft carrierUSS Enterprise (CV-6).^[122]
• August 24–25 (overnight) – 226 British bombers attackFrankfurt-am-Main, Germany, but most of their bombs land well west of the city; 16 aircraft do not return, including five Pathfinders.^[115]
• August 25
  • U.S. Marine CorpsDouglas SBD Dauntlessdive bombers conduct the first bombing raid by Henderson Field-based aircraft, attacking Japanese shipping approaching Guadalcanal.^[123]
  • Dunbeath air crash: Flying in poor visibility, a Royal Air ForceNo. 228 SquadronShort Sunderland crashes into a hillside nearDunbeath, Scotland, killing all but one of the 15 people on board includingPrince George, Duke of Kent.
• August 26 –Adolf Hitler orders the incompleteheavy cruiserSeydlitz to be completed as an aircraft carrier.^[124]
• August 27–28 (overnight) – 306 British bombers attackKassel, Germany, with the loss of 31 aircraft, a high loss rate of 10.1 percent. However, the Pathfinders are more effective and the sky over Kassel is clear, and the raid is moderately successful.^[125]
• August 28 – ALuftwaffe high-altitude Junkers Ju 86R bomber drops a 250 kg (550 lb) bomb intoBristol, England, during the morning rush hour, destroying several buses, killing 48 civilians, and injuring 56 others.^[121]
• August 28–29 (overnight) – A raid by 159 British bombers againstNuremberg, Germany, suffers an even higher loss rate of 14.5 percent as 23 aircraft fail to return, although the raid again is moderately successful. "Red Blob", Bomber Command's firsttarget indicator, is used to mark the target for the first time, glowing a distinctive red.^[126]
• August 29
  • Flying a Spitfire Mark V specially modified for high-altitude flight, Royal Air ForcePilot Officer George Genders intercepts a German Junkers Ju 86P high-altitude reconnaissance plane over Egypt and damages it before his guns jam. Itditches in theMediterranean Sea on its way back to its base on Crete, giving the Allies their first victory over a Ju 86P flying at high altitude.^[127]
• August 31 – Since June 1, Royal Air Force Bomber Command has dispatched 11,169 sorties and lost 531 aircraft, of which German night fighters have shot down 349, averaging 116 kills per month.^[13]

• Italy begins conversion of thepassenger linerMS Augustus into its second aircraft carrier, originally namedFalco ("falcon") and later renamedSparviero ("Sparrow"). The conversion will halt when Italy surrenders to the Allies in September 1943 and never will be completed.^[124]
• The U.S. Navy andPan American World Airways sign a contract under which theNaval Air Transportation Service takes control of Pan American'sMartin M-130 andBoeing 314flying boats for Navy use in service betweenCalifornia and theTerritory of Hawaii for the duration of World War II. Pan American employees become Navy personnel until the end of the war.^[128]
• September 1–2 (overnight) – Due to heavy German jamming ofGee, Royal Air Force Bomber Command Pathfinder aircraft go astray, marking the wrong city, and the force of 231 British bombers that sets out to attackSaarbrücken instead bombsSaarlouis 15 km (9.3 mi) to the northwest.^[129]
• September 2
  • Operating in support of German ground forces opposing the SovietSinyavino Offensive, an unsuccessful attempt to break theSiege of Leningrad, theLuftwaffe′sJagdgeschwader 54 andJagdgeschwader 77 complete a two-day stretch in which they shoot down 42 aircraft of theSoviet Air Force′s14th Air Army. German pilots report Soviet aircraft refusing combat over the front during the offensive – which lasts from 19 August to 10 October – thanks to the one-sided results, promptingJosef Stalin to threaten tocourt-martial any Soviet pilot who refuses to engage German aircraft.^[116]
  • The only test flight of theSovietAntonov A-40winged tank is partially successful. Although A-40'saerodynamic drag forces theTupolev TB-3 towing it to detach it early to avoid crashing, the A-40 glides to a successful landing and drives back to base as a conventionalT-60 tank. The A-40 project nonetheless is abandoned due to the lack of aircraft powerful enough to tow it.
• September 4–5 (overnight) – 251 British bombers attackBremen, Germany. For the first time, Bomber Command uses three waves of Pathfinders – "illuminators" dropping flares followed by "visual markers" who drop colored target indicators followed by "backers-up" who dropincendiary bombs – to mark the target. Bremen suffers serious damage.^[129]
• September 5 – Flying a Spitfire Mark V specially modified for high-altitude flight, Royal Air ForcePilot Officer George Genders intercepts a German Junkers Ju 86P high-altitude reconnaissance plane overEgypt and chases it 80 miles (130 km) out to sea over theMediterranean. Genders runs out of fuel and is forced toditch his Spitfire off the Egyptian coast and make a 21-hour swim to shore, but not before he damages the Ju 86P enough to force it to descend to a lower altitude, where another Spitfire damages it further and forces it to crash-land behind German lines in theNorth African desert. After two inconclusive encounters at altitude between Ju 86Ps and Spitfires over Egypt in October, theLuftwaffe will withdraw the Ju 86P from high-altitude flights over defended targets.^[127]
• September 6 – The U.S. Navy's Naval Air Transport Service makes its first flight toNaval Station Argentia in theDominion of Newfoundland, the beginning of an expansion of its service along theUnited States East Coast and in the Atlantic which by the end of September will reach thePanama Canal Zone andRio de Janeiro, Brazil, and briefly will includeIceland.^[40]
• September 7 – The Naval Air Transport Service establishes a detachment at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which begins survey flights as a first step in establishing routes betweenSan Francisco, California, andBrisbane, Australia.^[40]
• September 9
  • An Imperial Japanese NavyYokosuka E14Yfloatplane (Allied reporting name "Glen") launched by the submarineI-25 makes two attacks against the coast ofOregon in the United States, dropping four 76 kg (168 lb)phosphorus bombs in an attempt to startforest fires. They become known as theLookout Air Raids. It is the only time that an enemy aircraft bombs thecontinental United States during World War II.^[130]
  • The Britishescort aircraft carrierHMS Avenger joinsConvoy PQ 18, bound fromLoch Ewe, Scotland, toArchangel in theSoviet Union, as an escort. She is the first aircraft carrier to escort anArctic convoy;
• September 10 – TheUnited States Army Air ForcesAir Transport Command establishes theWomen's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), an organization of civilian women pilots who ferry military aircraft from factories to airfields to free male pilots for combat duty.
• September 10–11 (overnight) – Royal Air Force Bomber Command employs "Pink Pansy" – a target indicator that creates an instantaneous pink flash – for the first time during a raid by 479 bombers onDüsseldorf, Germany. It is the most successful Pathfinder-led raid yet, but 33 bombers (6.9 percent) are lost.^[129]
• September 12
  • Flying aSupermarine Spitfire modified for high-altitude flight, Royal Air Force Pilot Officer Emanuel Galatzine intercepts a GermanJunkers Ju 86R bomber over southernEngland. During a 45-minute dogfight, Galatzine makes four firing passes at the Ju 86R, reaching an altitude of 44,000 feet (13,000 meters) before the Ju 86R escapes over theEnglish Channel. It is the highest combat engagement ofWorld War II. Learning that even the twin-Jumo 207diesel-powered Ju 86R has become susceptible to interception, theLuftwaffe never flies one over theUnited Kingdom again.^[131]
  • After GermanBlohm und Voss BV 138flying boat snoopers draw awayHawker Sea Hurricane fighters from HMSAvenger, GermanHeinkel He 111 bombers attack Convoy PQ 18, sinking eightmerchant ships. withtorpedoes.^[132]
• September 13 – U.S. Army Air Forces bombers fly a 1,200-mile (1,900 km) round-trip raid against Japanese forces atKiska in theAleutian Islands fromUmnak for the last time. They will begin flying raids fromAdak, 400 miles (640 km) closer to Kiska, the following day.^[133]
• September 13–14 – GermanHeinkel He 111s andJunkers Ju 88s attack Convoy PQ 18.Hawker Sea Hurricanes from HMSAvenger remain with theconvoy and put up a more effective defense, and no merchant ships are lost. During the three days of German air attacks, the Sea Hurricanes defending PQ 18 shoot down five German aircraft and damage 21 others.^[134]
• September 14
  • Chief of Staff of the United States ArmyGeneralGeorge C. Marshall informsChief of Naval OperationsAdmiralErnest J. King that he is directing the establishment of theArmy Air Forces Antisubmarine Command.^[135]
  • In the first U.S. strike fromAdak, the U.S. Army Air Forces fly the first combined zero-altitude strike by fighters and bombers of World War II. TwelveConsolidated B-24 Liberators, 14Lockheed P-38 Lightnings, and 14Bell P-39 Airacobras attack Japanese forces atKiska. Flying 240 miles (390 km) at wave-top level and attacking at an altitude of 50 feet (15 meters), they sink two Japanese ships and set three on fire and destroy threemidget submarines, several buildings, and 12 Japanesefloatplane fighters, and kill over 200 Japanese soldiers.^[136]
• September 15
  • The Japanese submarineI-19 torpedoes and sinks the U.S. Navy aircraft carrierUSS Wasp (CV-7) southeast of theSolomon Islands.^[137]
  • GermanLuftwaffeaceHans-Joachim Marseille shoots down seven BritishCurtiss Kittyhawk fighters on a single mission overNorth Africa. Among them is his 150th aerial victory.
  • TheUnited States Army Air ForcesAir Transport Command establishes the 319thWomen's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD), a second organization of civilian women ferry pilots and rival of theWomen's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) established five days earlier. Neither the WAFS nor the WFTD acknowledges the existence of the other.
• Mid-September – The British aircraft carrierHMS Illustrious supports a Britishamphibious landing during a week of attacks on the southern coast ofVichy French-controlledMadagascar during theBritish occupation of the island.^[65]
• September 16–17 (overnight) – 369 British bombers attack Germany, losing 39 of their number, a very high 10.6 percent loss rate. One Germannight fighter pilot,HauptmannReinhold Knacke, shoots down five bombers during the night.^[13]
• September 21 –Convoy PQ 18 arrives atArchangel in theSoviet Union. During its voyage, aircraft from the British aircraft carrierHMS Avenger have attacked 16 German submarines and contributed to the sinking of one, andAvenger's fighters and the convoy'santiaircraft guns have shot down 41 German aircraft. Because of these high losses, German aircraft rarely attackArctic convoys again.^[132]
• September 30
  • German aceHans-Joachim Marseille is killed when his Bf 109G aircraft catches fire. He has 158 victories at the time.
  • Since June 1, German night fighters defending Germany have shot down 435 British bombers.^[138]
  • The pilot of anImperial Japanese NavyNakajima A6M2-N (Allied reporting name "Rufe")floatplane fighter discovers the American base onAdak in theAleutian Islands, a month after it was established. Japanese aircraft fromKiska bomb Adak daily for the next five days, but their biggest raid, on October 4, consists of only three planes. The rest of the raids consist of one plane each, and Adak suffers almost no damage.^[139]

• The U.S. Army Air Forces activate theIndia Air Task Force.^[99]
• U.S. military planners decide that no newBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses will be sent to thePacific Theater after the end of the month. Thereafter, U.S. Army Air Forces units in the Pacific will begin to re-equip with the longer-rangedConsolidated B-24 Liberator, and all new B-17 production will be devoted to thestrategic bombing campaign in theEuropean Theater.^[140]
• October 3 – The first A4 rocket, later dubbed theV-2, flies fromPeenemünde, covering 190 km (120 mi) in 296 seconds at five times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 84.5 km (52.5 mi).
• October 9 – TheUnited States Army Air Forces establish theArmy Air Forces School of Applied Tactics atOrlando Army Airbase,Florida.
• October 14 – The JapanesebattleshipsKongō andHarunabombard Guadalcanal's Henderson Field,^[141] firing 973 14-inch (356-mm) shells in 1 hour 23 minutes. The shelling kills 41 men and leaves only 42 aircraft operational out of 90 at the airfield.
• October 18 – ARoyal Air ForceVickers Wellington of the Czech-mannedNo. 311 Squadroncrashes on approach toRAF Northolt, killing all on board and six on the ground.
• October 21 – On a flight fromHawaii toCanton Island, aBoeing B-17D Flying Fortress carrying the top-scoring U.S.World War Iace,Eddie Rickenbacker, on a tour of U.S. Pacific bases strays hundreds of miles off course due to faulty navigational equipment and ditches in the Pacific Ocean due to fuel exhaustion. All seven men aboard get intolife rafts. They will remain adrift for 22 days before being rescued.^[142]
• October 22–23 (overnight) – In support ofAllied operations inNorth Africa,RAF Bomber Command mounts the first of 14 night attacks against targets inItaly, the last of which is flown on the night of December 11–12. The series of raids consists of night attacks onGenoa,Milan, andTurin and one daylight raid against Turin. Dispatching 1,752 sorties against Italian targets, it loses only 31 bombers (1.8 percent). During the same period, Bomber Command flies only five major night attacks against Germany.^[17]
• October 23 – A U.S. Army Air ForcesLockheed B-34 Lexington bomber collides with aDouglas DC-3airliner operating asAmerican Airlines Flight 28 overCalifornia. The B-34 lands safely, but the DC-3 crashes intoChino Canyon, killing all 12 people on board including songwriterRalph Rainger.
• October 26 – An aircraft carrier action takes place northeast of the Solomon Islands during theBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands. U.S. Navy carrier aircraft badly damage the Japanese aircraft carriersShōkaku andZuihō, while Japanese carrier aircraft fatally damage the aircraft carrierUSS Hornet (CV-8). The abandonedHornet is finished off by Japanese destroyers early the next morning.^[143] becoming the only U.S.fleet carrier ever to be sunk by enemy surface ships.

• November 6 – The Martin Marauder I (British designation for theMartin B-26A Marauder) makes its operational debut in theRoyal Air Force, flying withNo. 14 Squadron inEgypt.^[144]
• November 7 – A U.S. Army Air Forces bomber discovers that Japanese forces are occupyingAttu in theAleutian Islands. American aircraft soon begin a bombing campaign against Attu.^[145]
• November 8 –Operation Torch – theAllied amphibious landings inFrench North Africa – take place, supported by the British aircraft carriersHMS Victorious,HMS Formidable,HMS Argus,HMS Avenger,HMS Biter, andHMS Dasher with 160 aircraft and the American carriersUSS Ranger (CV-4),USSSangamon (ACV-26),USS Suwannee (ACV-27),USS Chenango (ACV-28), andUSSSantee (ACV-29) with 136 aircraft.^[146][147] French aircraft resist the landings, strafing the landing beaches at least five times, and aerial combat occurs between U.S. NavyGrumman F4F Wildcats and FrenchDewoitine D.520 andCurtiss Hawk 75A fighters.^[148] During theNaval Battle of Casablanca that day, U.S. Navy aircraft bomb and strafe French ships, helping to sink or wreck thelight cruiserPrimauguet, adestroyer leader, and twodestroyers.^[149] OffAlgiers, 21 GermanJunkers Ju 88s andHeinkel He 111s attack Allied ships, fatally damaging thetransportUSS Leedstown (AP-73) and damaging other ships.^[150]
• November 9 – French high-level bombers attack U.S. landing beaches in North Africa and U.S. ships offshore, but do no damage.^[151]SOC-3floatplanes from thelight cruiserUSS Savannah (CL-42) experiment with the use ofdepth charges to destroy Frenchtanks, with great success.^[152] Six F4F Wildcats from USSRanger engage 11 Dewoitine D.520s, shooting down five and damaging four, and a loneMesserschmitt Bf 109 is shot down over the beach.^[153]
• November 10 – USSChenango flies off 75 U.S. Army Air ForcesCurtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters, which establish a base atPort Lyautey,French Morocco.^[154]Douglas SBD Dauntlessdive bombers from USSRanger damage the FrenchbattleshipJean Bart inCasablanca harbor.^[155]
• November 11 – Hostilities between Allied and French forces in French North Africa end. Since November 8, U.S. Navy planes have shot down 20 French aircraft in air-to-air combat and destroyed many more on the ground, losing 44 U.S. Navy aircraft in exchange.^[156]
• November 13 – A U.S. NavyVought OS2U Kingfisherfloatplane rescues U.S.World War IaceEddie Rickenbacker and two other survivors of a ditchedBoeing B-17D Flying Fortress from alife raft. They had been adrift in the Pacific for 22 days.^[142]
• November 14 – During theNaval Battle of Guadalcanal, U.S. Navy aircraft from the aircraft carrierUSS Enterprise (CV-6) and U.S. Marine Corps aircraft from Henderson Field fatally damage the crippled Japanese battleshipHiei inIronbottom Sound north ofGuadalcanal in a series of air strikes during the day.Hiei sinks that evening.^[157]
• November 14 – The German submarineU-155 torpedoes and sinks the British aircraft carrierHMS Avenger offGibraltar with the loss of all but 17 of her crew.^[158]
• November 16 – AConsolidated B-24D Liberator of the1st Antisubmarine Squadron based atSt. Eval in theUnited Kingdom flies the first operational mission of theU.S. Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command.^[159]
• November 20 – The completion of theAlaska ("Alcan") Highway allows the opening of theNorthwest Staging Route. It includes flights of American-madeLend-Lease aircraft fromGreat Falls, Montana, toFairbanks,Territory of Alaska, where they are turned over to Soviet pilots who fly them toNome, Alaska, and then on toSiberia via the Alaska-Siberia (ALSIB) route. By December 31, theUnited States will have supplied 148 aircraft to theSoviet Union via this route.^[160]
• November 24 – ItalianWorld War I ace and aviation pioneerGuido Masiero and Italiantest pilotFrancesco Agello are killed when theMacchi C.202 fighters they are testing collide in mid-air in heavy fog overMilan, Italy.
• November 28 –Royal Australian Air Force pilotFlight SergeantRon Middleton earns a posthumousVictoria Cross for valour in bringing his crew and crippled bomber home after a raid onTurin, Italy.

• The Royal Air Force begins airborne jamming of GermanFreya andMammut radars withMandreljammers carried aboardBoulton Paul Defiants ofNo. 515 Squadron flying over theNorth Sea off the coast of theNetherlands on a patrol line known as the "Mandrel Screen".^[48]
• Royal Air Force bombers begin to employ "Tinsel", a device to jam German night-fighter controllers' speech radio frequencies.^[48]
• December 1 –Germany orders the complete dissolution of theVichy French armed forces, including theVichy French Air Force.
• December 3 – AVickers Wellington bomber specially equipped with electronic measuring equipment collects thefrequency of the airborneLichtenstein radar used by Germannight fighters for the first time. The information will allow the British to field an operationaljammer to counter the radar in late April 1943.^[161]
• December 4 –United States Army Air Forces bombers make their first raid onItaly.
• December 9 – 18 U.S. Army Air ForcesBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses conduct the first major air strike against theJapanese airfield atMunda Point onNew Georgia in the Solomon Islands. Air strikes against the airfield become routine thereafter.^[162]
• December 13 – U.S. NavyConsolidated PBY Catalinaflying boats begin night harassment raids against Munda airfield.^[162]
• December 15 – AWestern AirlinesDouglas DC-3A-191 (registration NC16060) crashes nearFairfield, Utah, after performing a violent maneuver during a flight fromSalt Lake City Municipal Airport inSalt Lake City, Utah, toLos Angeles, California. Seventeen of the 19 people on board die.^[163][164]
• December 17 – A U.S. Army Air Forces reconnaissance and bombing raid onAmchitka in theAleutian Islands destroys every building in the desertedAleut village there, although no Japanese are on the island.^[165]
• December 20–21 (overnight) – Ade Havilland Mosquito of Royal Air Force Bomber Command uses theOboe blind bombing targeting system operationally for the first time in a raid against a power station atLutterade in theNetherlands.^[166]
• December 24 – A major U.S. airstrike against Munda airfield destroys fourMitsubishi A6M Zeroes in the air, 10 more on takeoff, and 12 waiting to take off. Later in the day, additional strikes destroy Japaneselandingbarges and bomb the airfield's runway.^[167]
• Late December – U.S. Army Air ForcesBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses conduct a weeklong series of nightly strikes against Japanese shipping inSimpson Harbor atRabaul onNew Britain, sinking onetransport and damaging three transports and thedestroyerTachikaze.^[168]
• December 30 – 31 U.S. Army Air Forces and U.S. Navy aircraft drop 42,000 pounds (19,000 kg) of bombs in a night raid onKiska, but the Japanese trick them into bombing a wrecked hulk instead of a newly arrived, fully loadedtransport. They do damage somemidget submarines and destroy aNakajima A6M2-N (Allied reporting name "Rufe")floatplane fighter on the water in exchange for the loss of four aircraft.^[169]
• December 31
  • A small force ofAxis bombers attacksCasablanca,French Morocco.^[170]
  • During 1942, the U.S. Army Air Forces'Eleventh Air Force has destroyed at least 50 Japanese aircraft in theAleutian Islands campaign in exchange for the loss of 12 aircraft in combat and almost 80 to other causes. Japanese non-combat aircraft losses in theAleutian Islands have been equally high. Since October 1, Eleventh Air Force aircraft have dropped 500,000 pounds (230,000 kg) of bombs on Japanese bases in the Aleutians.^[171]
  • During 1942, German night fighters defending Germany have shot down 687 British bombers.^[138]
• December 31-January 1 (overnight) – Guided by anOboe-equipped Mosquito, eight Pathfinder ForceAvro Lancasters bomb on sky markers suspended byparachute for the first time in a raid onDüsseldorf. Bomber Command previously had employed only ground markers, and the new capability allows British bombers to bomb through ten-tenths cloud cover.^[172]

• Early 1942 –Focke-Wulf Fw 191

• January 7 -Supermarine Seafire
• January 13 -Sikorsky XR-4helicopter^[173]

• Bell XP-39E, later redesignated XP-76, prototype of the plannedBell P-76 and early predecessor of theBell P-63 Kingcobra^[174]
• Miles M.30 X-Minor
• February 14 –Douglas C-54 Skymaster, first version of theDouglas DC-4 to fly
• February 23 –Polikarpov ITP
• February 27 –Blackburn Firebrand

• Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 rotor kite
• March 20 -Mitsubishi J2MRaiden ("Thunderbolt"),Allied reporting name "Jack"^[175]

• April 24 -Miles M.25 Martinet prototypeLR241
• April 26 -XB-28 Dragon

• Aichi B7ARyusei ("Shooting Star"),Allied reporting name "Grace"^[176]
• Aichi E16AZuiun ("Auspicious Cloud"),Allied reporting name "Paul"^[177]
• May 1 –Miles M.35 Libellula
• May 6 –Kawanishi N1K1Kyofu ("Mighty Wind"),Allied reporting name "Rex"^[178]
• May 21 –Northrop XP-61 Black Widow prototype^[179]

• June 26 –Grumman XF6F-1 Hellcat prototype^[180]

• Kawasaki Ki-66^[181]
• July 3 – Martin XPB2M-1, prototype of theMartin JRM Mars
• July 5 –Avro York^[182]
• July 10 –Douglas A-26 Invader
• July 16 –Junkers Ju 290
• July 18 –Messerschmitt Me 262 (first flight under jet power)

• August 1 –Junkers Ju 252
• August 24 – XC-87, prototype of theConsolidated C-87 Liberator Express
• August 31 –Martin-Baker MB 3^[183]

• September 2 –Hawker Tempest
• September 7 – Consolidated XB-32 Dominator, prototype of theConsolidated B-32 Dominator
• September 12 –Miles M.38 Messenger
• September 21 –Boeing XB-29 Superfortress prototype

• North American A-36 Apache, also known as A-36 Invader and precursor to P-51 Mustang
• October 1^[184] or 2^[185] –Bell XP-59A Airacomet prototype
• October 18  Payen PA-22

• Kyushu K11WShiragiku ("White Chrysanthemum")^[186]
• November 1 –Westland Welkin
• November 4 or 11 (sources vary) –Latécoère 631
• November 8 – Grumman XF4F-8, prototype of theEastern Aircraft FM-2 Wildcat^[187]
• November 11 –Lockheed XP-49^[188]
• November 15 –Heinkel He 219
• November 18 –Tachikawa Ki-77^[189]
• November 23 –Vought V-173^[190]
• November 30 – North American XP-51B, originally designated XP-78, the firstP-51 Mustang with aPackard Merlin engine^[66]

• Messerschmitt Me 264
• December 7 –Bell XP-63 Kingcobra prototype^[174]
• December 19 –Piaggio P.119
• December 26 –Kawasaki Ki-78^[191]
• December 27
  • Kawanishi N1K1-JShiden ("Violet Lightning"),Allied reporting name "George"^[192]
  • Mitsubishi Ki-67Hiryu ("Flying Dragon"),Allied reporting name "Peggy"^[193]

• Aichi H9A^[194]
• Beriev Be-4 withSoviet Naval Aviation in theBlack Sea Fleet
• Cessna UC-77 and UC-77A with theUnited States Army Air Forces
• Autumn 1942 –Nakajima J1NGekko ("Moonlight"),Allied reporting name "Irving", with theImperial Japanese Navy^[195]

• Grumman TBF Avenger withUnited States NavyTorpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8)

• Avro Lancaster withNo. 44 Squadron,Royal Air Force
• North American Mustang Mark I, Royal Air Force version of the P-51A Mustang, withNo. 26 Squadron^[66]

• Saab 17 with theFlygvapnet^[196]

• Douglas P-70 with theUnited States Army Air Forces^[197]
• Henschel Hs 129 with the GermanLuftwaffe

• Nakajima Ki-44Shoki ("Devil-Queller"),Allied reporting name "Tojo", with 47th Independent Squadron,Imperial Japanese Army Air Force^[198]
• Yokosuka D4YSuisei ("Comet"),Allied reporting name "Judy", aboard theImperial Japanese Navyaircraft carrierSoryu^[199]

• Auster I withNo. 654 Squadron,Royal Air Force^[200]

• September 7 –Vought F4U Corsair withUnited States Marine CorpsMarine Fighter Squadron 124^[201]

• Beriev Be-2 bySoviet Naval Aviation
• Blohm & Voss BV 142 by the GermanLuftwaffe
• Late 1942 –Saunders-Roe A.36 Lerwick by theRoyal Canadian Air Force′sNo. 422 andNo. 423 Squadrons

• Avro 652 by theRoyal Navy′sFleet Air Arm

• 1942 in aviation
• Aviation by year

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