March 26, 1999
1999: Operation ALLIED FORCE. An F-15 shoots down two MiG-29s in aerial combat over Yugoslavia on the third day of the operation.
March 25, 1944
1944: Fifteenth Air Force makes its first operational delivery of a VB-1 Azon radio-controlled bomb against the Avisio Viaduct to cut the Brenner Pass between Italy and greater Germany.
March 24, 1945
1945: Operation VARSITY. An Allied airborne and amphibious assault crosses the Rhine River. More than 2,000 transports and gliders from the IX Troop Carrier Command drop two airborne divisions near Wesel, Germany, in daylight.
March 23, 1903
1903: The first patent on the Wright Brothers’ airplane, based on their 1902 glider, is filed. It is issued on 22 May 1906.
March 22-23, 1944
1944: Through 23 March, Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupts and buries Pompeii airdrome, where the 340th Bomb Group was conducting operations. Lava cinders destroy or damage some 88 B-25s in what may have been the
March 19, 2003
2003: Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Circa 9:30 PM EST, US forces begin the air war against Iraq with Tomahawk cruise missile strikes.
March 18, 1945
1945: Lt George Green lands and rescues downed wingman Maj Pierce McKennon by seating him on his lap, using Mustang “2-in-1” trick.
March 17, 1981
1981: At Long Beach, the Douglas Aircraft Company turns over the 1st KC-10 (79-0434) to Lt Gen Edgar S. Harris, 8AF Commander (shown here with McGuire AFB markings).
March 15, 1967
1967: The Sikorsky HH-53B, the largest and fastest helicopter in the USAF inventory, makes its first flight.