Airmen Aim High: U.S. Air Force Celebrates 75th Anniversary
By MS. KATHY ALWARD, STAFF WRITER
The U.S. Air Force celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, keeping in mind the bravery of American Airmen and the skills required of them to defend the United States in the air, in space, and in cyberspace. The following timeline overviews the history of the U.S. Air Force and highlights the many accomplishments made over the past 75 years.
1903-1911: AIR FLIGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME
- After Wilbur and Orville Wright achieved their dream as inventors and aviation pioneers by taking the first airplane flight on Dec. 17, 1903, a decade of innovation followed that helped the United States set a course as one of the most powerful and advanced countries in the world.
- An official new aeronautical division took charge of “air machines†and military ballooning on Aug. 1, 1907.
- First Lt Thomas E. Selfridge became the first officer to fly solo on May 19, 1908. Selfridge was working with Dr. Alexander Graham Bell on experiments using kites to fly. According to the 127th Wing: “Strapped into the center of a giant kite created by Bell, Selfridge made his first flight on Dec. 6 of that year, rising to 168 feet as the kite was pulled by a tugboat on Lake Bras d’Or.â€
1912-1939: WORLD WAR I: THE UNITED STATES INTRODUCES AIRCRAFT FOR BATTLE
- On July 28, 1914, World War I started in Europe.
- The first U.S. Air Force pilot was shot down by an enemy airplane on March 11, 1918.
- The 96th Aero Squadron carried out the first American daylight bombing mission on June 12, 1918, on Dommary-Baroncourt, France.
- The first American military member practiced skydiving using a backpack-type parachute to jump from an airplane on May 19, 1919.
1940–1945: WORLD WAR II: THE SKIES BECOME A BATTLEGROUND
- All the world’s superpowers and many additional countries fought in the deadliest war in human history, World War II. Much of the battle was fought from the sky, including the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and the U.S. atomic bombings of two Japanese cities almost four years later.
- On April 18, 1942, Col James H. “Jimmy†Doolittle led the first U.S. air raid, known as the Doolittle Raid, using 16 B-25 bombers over Tokyo.
- On Aug. 5, 1943, Col Jacqueline Cochran, an accomplished pilot, became the first director of the new Women Air Force Service Pilots.
1946-1949: UNITED STATES BECOMES A LEADING SUPERPOWER
- The Cold War—a period following World War II between March 12, 1947, and Dec. 3, 1989—was a time of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States and their respective allies, the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc. The United States was recognized as the world’s only superpower when the Iron Curtain fell in 1989 after the Cold War.
- The first Secretary of the Air Force, W. Stuart Symington, was sworn in on Sept. 18, 1947, when the U.S. Air Force officially became its own service branch.
- On Sept. 25, 1947, President Harry S. Truman appointed the first U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen Carl A. Spaatz.
- On July 8, 1948, SSgt Esther Blake became the first woman to enlist in the U.S. Air Force.
1950–1953: THE KOREAN WAR
- The United States proved itself a global military power in the Korean War, an international conflict between North Korea and South Korea, with China and the Soviet Union backing North Korea and the war ending in a stalemate.
- On March 15, 1951, an LC-97A Stratofreighter successfully refueled a B-47 bomber in the first successful in-flight refueling.
- On Feb. 1, 1952, the Air Force purchased the first high speed digital computer, a vacuum tube-based Univac 1.
1954–1964: THE DECADE AIRMEN SET NEW RECORDS
- Airmen flew higher, faster, and farther in this decade. Col Joseph W. Kittinger Jr., then a Captain, set the record for the highest jump and longest free fall in parachute jumping on Aug. 16, 1960.
- Col Virgil R. Grissom traveled into space as the first Air Force astronaut on July 21, 1961.
- Three B-52 Stratofortresses completed the first around-the-world nonstop flight by a jet aircraft on Jan. 18, 1957.
- A human voice was heard from space for the first time on Dec. 18, 1958, when the Air Force launched the first communications satellite into orbit.
1965–1973: THE VIETNAM WAR
- From 1965 to 1973, the United States battled to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia with air superiority, new tactics, and more sophisticated weapons during the Vietnam War. On Feb. 18, 1965, the Air Force launched the first aerial raid, sending B-57s and F-100s to strike Vietcong targets.
- On June 3, 1965, Maj Edward H. White became the first U.S. astronaut to walk in space.
1974–1989: TIME OF RELATIVE PEACE AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES
- On June 28, 1976, female cadets were first introduced to the Air Force Academy, the first of three emerging Department of Defense service academies.
- On May 18, 1980, the Air Force airlifted 61 people to safety using SR-71 airplanes following the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Washington State.
- On June 18, 1981, the world’s first stealth combat aircraft, the F-117 Nighthawk, flew for the first time.
1990–1999: U.S. AIR FORCE MOST ADVANCED AIR FORCE IN THE WORLD
- The United States launched Operation Desert Storm. More than 1,200 flying combat missions were launched within the first 14 hours, and Kuwait was liberated from Iraqi occupation on Jan. 17, 1991.
- The Air Force scored its first F-16 aerial victory on Dec. 27, 1992, by shooting down an Iraqi MiG-25 when patrolling the southern no-fly zone of Iraq.
- Col Jeannie M. Leavitt became the first female fighter pilot in the Air Force on Feb. 10, 1994.
2000–PRESENT: WAR ON TERRORISM
- The United States began participating in the war on terrorism after it was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. B-2 Spirit bombers flew 44 hours roundtrip in the longest bombing mission in history, from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
- A C-17 Globemaster III that airdropped 32,400 pounds of humanitarian supplies to four locations in Afghanistan in 40 minutes set the record for the most cargo dropped in the shortest amount of time to multiple drop zones.
Source: https://www.airforce.com/mission/history/overview