On This Day in History

  1968: Det 1, 37th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Nakhon Phanom RTAFB picks up the 1,000th downed airman to be rescued since the unit began operations in Southeast Asia.

1990: The combined Lockheed and USAF F-117A Stealth Fighter design team receives the Robert J. Collier Trophy for 1989.

  1949: MACKAY TROPHY. Through 2 March, from Carswell AFB Capt James Gallagher and crew fly the 43rd Bomb Group’s B-50 Lucky Lady II (No. 46-010), on the first nonstop around-the-world flight. They fly 23,452

1975: Brig Gen Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to exceed the speed of sound, flies his last Air Force sor­tie in an F-4 at Edwards AFB.

(Wilbanks above, Levitow below) 1967 and 1969:      MEDAL OF HONOR. Two are awarded on this day in separate years. 1967: Capt Hilliard A. Wilbanks: http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3443/wilbanks-hilliard-a.php A1C John L. Levitow: http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3343/levitow-john-l.php

  1945: P-47 Thunderbolts attack the Berchtesgaden railway station for the first time, however, the fighters do not attack Hitler’s nearby Eagle’s Nest retreat.

  1944: Thru 25 Feb, 8AF and 15AF begin the “Big Week”of air raids on German aircraft production to reduce the Luftwaffe threat. Fighter escorts lower bomber loss rate to 6%. While the bombing proves

1936: Brig Gen William “Billy” Mitchell dies at Doctor’s Hospital, New York City. He is later buried in Milwaukee.

1918: The “Lafayette Escadrille” transfers to American forces as the 103d Pursuit Squadron and begins operations on the front under tactical control of the French. The “Lafayette Escadrille” was a unit in the French military

1913: The Army tests Lawrence Sperry’s Gyrostabilizer, or automatic pilot, for the first time.