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 | 1909 Aug, 01 | An Aeronautical Division was established in the the Offic of the Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army. This is generally considered to be the birth of the U.S. Air Force.
See also: United States Signal Corps, |
| 1947 Jul, 26 | The National Security Act was passed, creating the independant US Air Force, replacing the USAAF.
See also: United States Army Air Force, |
| 1949 | The National Security Amendment Act of 1949 reorganized the military services, with the US Air Force under the Department of Defense. |
| 1951 May, 29 | Capt. Charles F. Blair flew his P-51D Mustang "Excalibur III" 3,375 miles from Bardufoss, Norway, to Fairbanks, AK. becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the North Pole. The flight took 10 hours 29 minutes.
See also: Blair, Charles F. |
| 1954 Jan, 07 | The Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter, made its first flight at the Air Force plant in Burbank, Ca. The Starfighter was flown by Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier. |
| 1954 Aug | B-47 crew members of the 306th Bomb Wing from MacDill AFB, Fl. set a Jet endurance record for 35 hours of continuous flying.
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| 1955 Jan, 06 | A B-47 crew of the Strategic Air Command's 43rd Bomb Wing, set a jet endurance record after remaining airborne for approximately 47 hours and 35 minutes, covering more than 21,000 miles.
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| 1955 May, 18 | Operation Handclasp II: Four F-84G Thunderjets flew non-stop from Tokyo, Japan to Williamstown (130 miles north of Sydney, Australia). These jets covered 4,840 miles in 12 hours 10 minutes with a cruising spped of 483 mph.
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| 1955 Aug, 20 | Col. Horace A. Hanes (USAF) set a high altitude speed record of 822.135 mph at Edwards AFB, in a North American F-100C Super Sabre. |
| 1955 Sep, 01 | Col. Horace A. Hanes (USAF) was awarded the Thompson trophy during the National Air Show at Philadelphia, Pa., for his speed record of 822.135 mph which he established on Aug 20th.
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| 1955 Sep, 05 | Capt. Edward D. Kenny was awarded the Bendix trophy after winning the Bendix cross-country race, setting a new world's record time of 3 hours 1 minute 56 seconds, with an average speed of 616.208 mph in a Republic [F-84F}.
Capt. Kenny represented the Air Training Commad in the race during the 1954 National Air Show held at Cox Municipal Airport, Vandalia, Oh.
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| 1955 Sep, 06 | Capt. Eugene Sonnenberg won the Thompson Trophy for completing the 1000km course with at average speed of 692 mph during the National Air Show held at Cox Municipal Airport, Vandalia, OH.
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| 1956 Feb, 26 | Lt. Col. Robert R. Scott and Lt. Richard Hill III of the 405th Fighter Bomber Wing, set a new transcontinental speed record, averaging 672 mph during their flight from California to Langley AFB VA in
F-84F
Thunderstreak jets.
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| 1956 Sep, 03 | The Bendix Trophy was presented to Capt. Pete Fernandez at the National Air Show, Oklahoma City, OK. Capt Fernandez averaged 666.66 mph in an Air Force
F-100C
Super Sabre during the flight from George AFB, to Oklahoma City.
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| 1956 Nov | Led by Lt. Col Marcus L. Hill Jr. Eight B-52B aircraft (four from the 93 Heavy Bombing Wing and four from the 42nd Heavy Bombing Wing) made a non-stop flight completely circling the U.S., Canada and the North.
The aircraft were in the air for 30 hours 30 minutes and covered 16,000 miles
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| 1957 Jan, 18 | Operation Power Flight: Three B-52B aircraft of the 93rd Bobm Wing, led by Maj. Gen. Archie J. Olds, Jr., flew non-stop around the world from Castle AFB, CA. to March AFB, CA. covering 24,325 miles in 45 hours 19 minutes.
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| 1957 May, 02 | The 27th Strategic Fighter Wing received the first F-101A delivered to an operational unit. |
| 1957 May, 06 | The 17th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron received the first F-101A. |
| 1957 May, 21 | Maj. Robinson Risner established a record when he flew a North American F-100F Super Sabre "Spirit of St. Louis II" across the atlantic to Paris over the same route used by Charles Lindbergh 30 years prior.
Maj. Risner made the 3680 mile flight in 6 hours 37 minutes, while Lindbergh's required 33 hours 30 minutes. His flight originated at McGuire AFB, NJ and was officially timed from Floyd Bennett Field,NY, to Le Bourget Field, Paris, France.
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| 1957 Jul, 29 | Capt. Kenneth D. Chandler (USAF) won the Bendix trophy after flying from Chicago to Andrews AFB Md., in 54 mins, 45 seconds to set a Bendix air race record of 679 mph. All participants flew Convair
F-102A
Delta Daggers.
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| 1957 Nov, 27 | Operation Sun Run: Four RF-101A aircraft set new speed records over a recognized course, flying from Los Angeles, CA. to New Jersey. Two of the Aircraft landed at McGuire AFB, NJ., the other two returned to California, landing at March AFB.
1st Lt. Gustav Klatt flew eastbound in 3 hours 7 minutes 43 seconds (781.7 mph). Capt Robert Sweet broke the westbound record flying 3 hours 36 minutes 33 seconds (677.7 mph) and round trip in 6 hours 46 minutes 36 seconds (721.85 mph).
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| 1957 Dec | An RF-101A was flown from Tachikawa AB, Japan, to Hickham AFB, Hawaii, in 6 hours 3 minutes, setting a point to point record. |
| 1957 Dec, 12 | Operation Fire Wall: Maj. Adrian Drew, of the 27th Fighter Bomber Wing, Begstrom AFB, TX. established a world speed record of 1,207.6 mph in a
F-101A
Voodoo (sn 53-2426) in a course over Edwards AF, CA.
See also: Drew, Adrian |
| 1958 Apr, 08 | A Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker established a world, non-stop, unrefueled record for a flight from Tokyo to Lajes Air Base in the Azores. The flight took 18 hours 45 minutes and covered 10,229.3 miles.
During the course of the flight a world speed record between Tokyo and Washington, DC., of 13 hours 45 minutes 46.5 seconds (492.26 mph) was also established.
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| 1958 May, 06 | Maj. Howard Johnson set a new world altiture record for an operational aircraft. In a Lockheed F-104A
Starfighter, Maj. Johnson reached an altitude of 91,249 ft.
See also: Johnson, Howard |
| 1958 May, 16 | Capt. Walter W Irwin established a new world speed record of 1,404.1 mph over the precision speed measuring course at Edwards AFB, CA., in a Lockheed
F-104A
Starfighter.
See also: Irwin, Walter W. |
| 1958 May, 22 | Two F-101C aircraft flew a 5,600 mile circuit starting and endind at Bergstrom AFB, TX., in 11 hours 35 minutes (air refueled). |
| 1958 Aug, 10 | Seven F-101Cs were ferried nonstop from Bergstrom AFB to RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk, in 11 hours 2 minutes. |
| 1958 Sep, 25 | Operation Long Leap: An F-101A flew 1,896 miles between Carswell AFB, TX. and Bermuda. This was the longest non-stop / un-refueled flight for any century series fighter. |
| 1958 Dec | An F-104A piloted by Lt. Einar K. Envoldson of the 538th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Larson AFB, WA., established a new time-to-climb record, reaching 82,020.8 ft in 4 minutes 26.03 seconds at NAS Point Mugu, CA.
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| 1958 Dec, 15 | A Boeing B-52G made a record flight around the US, covering 9,000 non-refueled miles in 18 hours 30 minutes.
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| Maj. Joseph W. Rogers set a new world speed record of 1520.9 mph in a Convair F-106 Delta Dart on a 15 km measured course across the Mojave desert.
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| 1959 Apr, 08 | Col. Edward H. Taylor set a new world speed record of 700.047 mph in a McDonnell RF-101C over a closed 621 mile (1,000 km) course.
See also: Taylor, Edward H. |
| 1959 Apr, 15 | Capt. George Edwards of the 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (Shaw AFB, SC.) flew an average of 816.28 mph over a closed 310.7 mile (500km) course in a McDonnell
RF-101C
, establishing a new closed circuit record.
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| 1959 Aug, 07 | Operation Julius Caesar: Two F-100F Super Sabres commanded by Brig. Gen. Charles F. Blair flew non-stop from Weatherfield RAF Station, England to Eielson AFB, AK. over the north pole. The first flight by jet fighter over the North Pole.
The 9 hour 37 minute flight of more than 4,700 miles was made to study the feasibility of deploying this type of aircraft via the polar route, as well as flight testing the navigational systems under Arctic conditions.
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| 1959 Dec, 06 | Major William J. Davis and Capt. Walter J. Hodgson piloted a Kaman H-43B Huskie rescue helicopter to 29,846 ft breaking the previous heavy lift helicopter altitude record (21, 982 ft). |
| 1959 Dec, 11 | Brig. Gen. Joseph H. Moore (Commander of USAF 4th Tactical Fighter Wing) set a new speed record for a 100 km (62.4 mile) closed circuit reaching 1,216.48 in his F-105B Thunderchief. |
| 1959 Dec, 14 | Capt. Joseph B. Jprdan, flying a Lockheed F-104C Starfighter set a new altitude record when he reached 103,395.5 ft over the Edwards AFB. Flight Test Center California.
During this flight, Capt. jordan reached 98,424 ft 930,000 m) in only 15 minutes 4.92 seconds. This was the first aircraft taking off on its own power to reach the 30,000 m and 100,000 ft altitudes.
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| 1960 Aug, 01 | The Convair B-58A Huster, the USAF's first supersonic bomber, entered service with the 43rd Bomb Wing at Carxwell AFB, TX. |
| 1961 May, 10 | A USAF Convair B-58A Hustler set a new speed record of 1,302 mph, and was awarded the Bleriot Trophy.
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| 1962 Mar, 05 | The USAF set a new world speed record over a recognized course (Unlimited) for a flight from Los angeles to New York in a Convair
B-58A
(Sn 59-2458), averaging 1,214.65 mph. This flight earned the USAF the Bendix trophy for 1962.
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| 1962 Apr, 26 | The 1962 Bendix Trophy was awarded to the USAF for its record-breaking transcontinental flight between Los Angeles and New York on March 5th '62. The presentation was made to Gen. Frederic H. Smith Jr., USAF Vice chief of staff.
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| 1989 Jan, 07 | list Gen. Daniel E. Riley, USAF Contract Management Division Commander, was presented the 1,000th T-38 by Northrop Corporation.
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