On This Day in History

1970:   Two HH-53s complete the 1st nonstop transpacific helicopter flight as they land at Da Nang AB, South Vietnam, after a 9,000-mile flight from Eglin AFB, FL.

1954:   Lockheed pilots Stanley Beltz and Roy Wimmer fly the YC-130 t Hercules transport on its first flight.

1990:   President George H. W. Bush calls-up 200,000 ANG and AFRES personnel for Operation DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. Some 15,300 reservists, roughly 22 percent of the reserve force, are volunteers.

1923:   The first airways lighting occurs when 18- and 36-inch electric arc beacons are used to light 42 landing fields between Chicago and Cheyenne. They were visible for 50 miles.

1953:   Dr. Werner von Braun and his team join US Army personnel at Cape Canaveral in firing the first Redstone (Redstone No. 1). It was our first truly ballistic missile.

1943:   8AF sends over 300 B-17s on raid of Schweinfurt and Regensburg, losing 60; leadership re-evaluates need for fighter escort.

1960:   Capt Joseph W. Kittinger Jr. jumps from 102,800 feet over New Mexico; he reaches speeds over 600 mph during 13:08 minute descent.

1945:   VICTORY DAY–JAPAN. The Japanese government announces its intention to surrender “unconditionally.”

1912:   Sgt. Vernon Burge receives rating as the U.S. Army’s first enlisted pilot.

1953:   The XC-99, the world’s largest plane to date, makes its first transatlantic flight from Kelly AFB to Frankfurt, Germany, with 60,000 pounds of cargo. For size comparison, The XC-99 is shown in flight c.