* August 21 – Flying a Vought F8U-1 Crusader fighter, U. S. Navy Commander R. W. " Duke " Windsor sets a U. S. national speed record over a course, averaging 1, 015. 428 mph ( 1, 635. 150 km / hr ) at China Lake, California.

* July 16 – Flying a Vought F8U-1P Crusader photographic reconnaissance aircraft, United States Marine Corps Major John H. Glenn sets a North American transcontinental speed record, flying from Los Alamitos, California, to Floyd Bennett Field in New York City nonstop in 3 hours, 28 minutes, 50 seconds, at an average speed of 723. 517 mph ( 1, 165. 084 km / hr ) with three aerial refuelings.

* October 23-In Operation Blue Moon, six U. S. Navy RF-8 Crusader photographic reconnaissance aircraft flying from Key West, Florida, conduct the first American low-level flights over Cuba, flying at 400 mph ( 644 km / hr ) only a few hundred feet off the ground.

hr: Nacionalni park Kings Canyon