On This Day in History

1965: The 1st Air Commando Squadron, 34th Tactical Group, Bien Hoa AB receives the Presidential Unit Citation. This is the first USAF unit so honored since the Korean War.

1993: At Minot AFB, Lt Col Patricia Fornes becomes the 740th Missile Squadron commander. She is the first woman to command a combat missile unit. Her father, Lt Col Glenn L. Fornes, also commanded the

  1936: Seversky Aircraft Company receives a contract to build P-35s for the Army. It was the Army’s first single-seat fighter with a closed cockpit and retractable landing gear.

  1918: The 96th Aero Squadron carries out the first American daylight-bombing mission in World War I from Amanty Airdrome against the occupied Dommary-Baroncourt rail yards in France. The squadron flies the Breguet 14B.2 bomber. 

  2007: ROBERT J. COLLIER TROPHY. The National Aeronautic Association presents its annual trophy to the Lockheed Martin Corporation and the USAF for developing the F-22 Raptor.

  1965: SAC declares the 400th Strategic Missile Squadron to be operational at Francis E. Warren AFB. This act ends the dep­loyment of 800 Minuteman 1 missiles in 16 squadrons.

1967: Project TURNKEY. The USAF completes a $52 million airbase at Tuy Hoa, Vietnam, in one year. It was the first base to be designed and built completely under Air Force supervision.

1974: Northrop’s YF-17 prototype makes its first flight at Edwards AFB. Northrop pilot Henry E. “Hank” Chouteau flies the jet for 61 minutes at altitudes up to 18,000 feet and speeds of 610 MPH. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_w92JPHLUg

  1980: In the first all-woman airlift mission, Capt Susan R. Regele flies a C-9 from Scott AFB. The crew includes two other pilots, two flight nurses, three aeromedical technicians, and a flight en­gineer.

1944: MEDAL OF HONOR. Lt Col Leon R. Vance Jr. receives the medal for his courage and valor. Citation: http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3033/vance-leon-r-jr.php Vance Air Force Base, Enid, Oklahoma (Vance’s hometown) is named in his honor.