On This Day in History

1942:    From the carrier USS Hornet, located 668 miles off Tokyo, Lt Col James H. Doolittle leads 16 B-25s in the first raid on Japan. The range of the mission causes most of the raiders […]

  1998:    The 20th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, FL receives the Air Force’s first production-modified MH-53J Pave Low III helicopter from Lockheed Martin.

  1949:    BERLIN AIRLIFT’S BIGGEST DAY. Military aircraft deliver a record 12,940 tons of supplies to Berlin in 1,398 flights within 24 hours.

  1941:    Igor Sikorsky flies a Vought-Sikorsky in the first officially recorded rotor helicopter flight in the western hemisphere, flying for 1 hour 5 minutes 14.5 seconds at Stratford, CT.

  1981: SPACE SHUTTLE’S MAIDEN VOYAGE. The Space Shuttle Columbia launches on the first flight of a reusable spacecraft.

1944: MEDAL OF HONOR. Lt Edward Michael receives medal for saving himself, crew member, and B-17 with successful crash landing. Citation: http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/2890/michael-edward-s.php 1966: MEDAL OF HONOR. Pararescueman A1C William H. Pitsenbarger hoists nine soldiers to

  1967: Operation POKER DICE. SAC beds down B-52s at U-Tapao with the first 3 aircraft arriving during the day. Later in the day they fly their first bombing mission from U-T.

  1974: Between 9 April and 11 May, USAF conducts the flyoff between the A-10 and A-7.

  1942: Using aircraft acquired from Pan American Airlines, the Army begins the largest airlift in World War II. Two DC-3s airlift gasoline and lubricating oil over the Himalaya Mountains from Dinjan in eastern India

1 943:     Operation FLAX. North West African Air Force attacks Axis air transport service between Italy via Sicily to Tunisia; 201 enemy aircraft are destroyed.