1933 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1933:

Events

January

• January 16 - Jean Mermoz and crew make a non-stop flight from Senegal to Brazil, across South Atlantic, in 17 hours 27 minutes.

February

• February 6-8 - Gayford and Nicholetts make the first non-stop flight from England to South Africa in a Fairey Long-Range Monoplane. The 5,309 mile (8,544 km) flight is a new distance record. They take 57 hours 25 minutes.
• February 6-9 - Jim Mollison flies a de Havilland Puss Moth from the United Kingdom to Brazil, via Senegal, across South Atlantic. He becomes the first person to fly solo across the North and South Atlantics.
• February 25 - USS Ranger, the US Navy's first ship designed from the outset as an aircraft carrier, is launched.

April

• April 1 - the Indian Air Force is formed
• April 3 - two British aircraft, the Westland PV-3 and Westland PV-6 make the first flight over Mount Everest
• April 4 - US Navy airship USS Akron crashes during a storm, killing 76 of its 79 crew.
• April 29 - the Reichsluftfahrtministerium ("Reich Aviation Ministry") is formed by the Nazi government.

May

• May 7-8 - Stanislaw Skarzynski flies the South Atlantic from Senegal to Brazil in a small single-seater tourist airplane RWD-5bis, in 20 hours 30 minutes, over a distance of 3,582 km (2,238 miles). The RWD-5bis was the smallest plane to have ever flown the Atlantic - empty weight below 450 kg (990 lb), loaded 1100 kg. It is a part of 17,885 km Warsaw - Rio de Janeiro flight from April 27 to June 24.

July

• July 14-22, Wiley Post, flying a Lockheed Vega, makes the first around the world solo flight. His flight begins and ends at Floyd Bennett Field in New York, with stops at Berlin, Moscow, Irkutsk and Alaska - a total distance of 25,099 km (15,596 miles).

• July 15-17, Lithuanians Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas were supposed to make a non-stop flight from New York City to Kaunas, Lithuania in Bellanca aeroplane, but fatally crashed in Germany after 37 hours, 11 minutes, covering distance of 6411 km, only 650 km short of their final destination.

August

• August 5-7 - Maurice Rossi and Paul Codes fly a Blériot 110 from New York to Rayal, Syria, establishing a new distance record of 9,104 km (5,657 miles).

September

• September 7-8 - six US Navy Consolidated P2Y flying boats make a non-stop formation flight from Norfolk, Virginia to the Panama Canal, covering 2,059 miles (3,314 km) in 25 hours 20 minutes.
• September 28 - Lemoine sets a new altitude record of 13,661 m (44,820 ft) in a Potez 50

October

• October 4-11 - Sir Charles Kingsford Smith sets a new solo flight record between England and Australia of 7 days 4 hours. He flies a Percival Gull.
• October 15 - the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine is started for the first time.
• October 31 - Air France is founded.

December

• December 1 - Indian National Airways commences the first daily service in India, between Calcutta and Dacca.

First flights

February

• February 8 - Boeing 247
• February 10 - Hawker Demon
• February 19 - Vultee V-1

April

• April 21 - USS Macon

May

• May 27 - De Havilland Leopard Moth

June

• June 21 - Supermarine Walrus

July

• Bloch MB.200
• Curtiss XF12C
• July 1 - Douglas DC-1

August

• August 14 - Tupolev ANT-14
• August 24 - Blackburn Shark

October

• October 11 - Blackburn Perth

December

• December 31 - Polikarpov I-16

Entered service

• PZL P.7a - Polish Air Force