World Aviation in 1941 - Part 1

Part 2

29 January
The Luftwaffe aircraft drop mines into the Suez Canal.

25 February
The Air Defence Force (PVO) is formed in the Soviet Union.

27 March
Following a coup d'etat by anti-Nazi elements in Yugoslavia, Hitler orders the invasion of both Yugoslavia and Greece.

6 April
The first aircraft ejection seat, a compressed air unit, is fitted to the German Heinkel He280 jet fighter.

9 April
An agreement is reached between the Danish government in exile and the United States, allowing the United States to build and operate airfields in Greenland.

15 April
Igor Sikorsky makes an officially recorded flight of 65 minutes 14 seconds during a demonstration of his VS300 at Sratford in Connecticut.

May
The Soviet Union brings RUS-1 and RUS-2 air defence radar sets into service.

10-11 May
Rudolf Hess, Deputy Führer of Germany, flies to United Kingdom in a Messerschmitt Bf110 and lands by parachute in Scotland. While the purpose of the flight is still a matter of controversy, it is thought that when he eventually identified himself he claimed his mission was one of peace.

13-14 May
The first major deployment of Boeing B17 Flying Fortress aircraft in the Pacific. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) flies 21 aircraft from Hamilton Field in California to Hickham Field in Hawaii.

20 June
The United States Army Air Force (USAAF) is formed with Major General H.H. Arnold as its Chief.

22 June
At 0430hrs Lieutenant Kokorev of the 124th Fighter Regiment, Red Air Force deliberately rams a German Messerschmitt Bf110. This is the first recorded instance of a battering ram attack during the Second Word War.

21-22 July
Lufwaffe bombers make their first night attack on Moscow.

1 August
The first use of Soviet 'parasite' Polikarpov I16SPB dive bombers, a variant of the standard fighter, carried under wings of the Tupolev TB3 heavy bomber, occurs during a successful attack on Constanza in Romania.

1 August
The United States bans the export of aviation fuel, except to the United Kingdom and unoccupied nations. This comes as severe blow to the Japanese and their continuing war in China.

7-8 August
A small force of Soviet Naval Aviation Il-4 (DB3F) bombers takes-off from Estonian Islands of Dagö and Saaremaa and attacks the Berlin area. The city was brightly lit and the raid precipitates the introduction of blackout regulations in the German capital.

18 August
President Roosevelt announces that Pan American World Airways (Pan-Am) is to ferry United States-built warplanes to British forces in the Middle East.

Part 2