1.
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
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The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft, over 4,500 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Although no longer being purchased by the U. S. Air Force, in 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta. The F-16 has an internal M61 Vulcan cannon and 11 locations for mounting weapons, the F-16 has also been procured to serve in the air forces of 25 other nations. As of 2015, it is the second most common operational military aircraft in the world. Experiences in the Vietnam War revealed the need for air superiority fighters, boyds work called for a small, lightweight aircraft that could maneuver with the minimum possible energy loss, and which also incorporated an increased thrust-to-weight ratio. Air Force F-X proponents remained hostile to the concept because they perceived it as a threat to the F-15 program, however, the Air Forces leadership understood that its budget would not allow it to purchase enough F-15 aircraft to satisfy all of its missions. The Advanced Day Fighter concept, renamed F-XX, gained political support under the reform-minded Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard. As a result, in May 1971, the Air Force Prototype Study Group was established, with Boyd a key member and this was the region where USAF studies predicted most future air combat would occur. The anticipated average flyaway cost of a version was $3 million. This production plan, though, was only notional as the USAF had no plans to procure the winner. Five companies responded and in 1972, the Air Staff selected General Dynamics Model 401 and Northrops P-600 for the prototype development. GD and Northrop were awarded contracts worth $37.9 million and $39.8 million to produce the YF-16 and YF-17, respectively, with first flights of both prototypes planned for early 1974. To overcome resistance in the Air Force hierarchy, the Fighter Mafia, the high/low mix would allow the USAF to be able to afford sufficient fighters for its overall fighter force structure requirements. The mix gained broad acceptance by the time of the flyoff, defining the relationship of the LWF. The YF-16 was developed by a team of General Dynamics engineers led by Robert H. Widmer. The first YF-16 was rolled out on 13 December 1973, and its 90-minute maiden flight was made at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California and its actual first flight occurred accidentally during a high-speed taxi test on 20 January 1974. The test pilot, Phil Oestricher, decided to lift off to avoid a potential crash, the slight damage was quickly repaired and the official first flight occurred on time
2.
Hahn Air Base
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Hahn Air Base was a frontline NATO facility in Germany for over 40 years during the Cold War. It was the home of the United States Air Forces 50th Fighter Wing for most of those years as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe and it was one of several USAFE bases in Germany all within 100 km of each other. Beyond their location in the heart of US Army and other NATO troop concentrations, these air bases were situated to reach all locations within Europe. In 1951, occupying French forces founded an air base on the site which about 40 years later would become Hahn Air Base and the present day Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. In September 1952, the United States took over the installation, and began to erect the seventh largest USAF base in Europe and the second largest in Germany. The initial USAF unit at Hahn was the 7356th Air Base Group, whose mission was to get the base up and running, Base facilities then consisted of pre-fabricated barrack buildings, heated by coke-burning pot belly stoves, outdoor latrines, and tents for motorpool personnel to work in. An L-5B was the first aircraft assigned to Hahn to fill administrative flight requirements, with most of the construction completed by mid-1953, the primary mission of the Hahn Air Base was the reception of the 50th Fighter Bomber Wing. The aircraft were deployed to Hahn from Clovis AFB New Mexico during Operation Fox Able 27 on 10 August 1953 and this marked the first mass flight of an entire tactical wing from the U. S. to continental Europe. The operational squadrons of the 50th FBW were, 10th Fighter-Bomber 81st Fighter-Bomber 417th Fighter-Bomber The 417th FBS was commanded for a time by Chuck Yeager. The 81st flew the North American F-86F Sabre, with markings of dark blue for the 10th, yellow for the 81st. The wing conducted operations in support of USAF, NATO. In the autumn of 1955, the wing was upgraded to the F-86H, the primary mission of the 50th Fighter-Bomber Wing was the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons against Warsaw Pact forces in the event of an invasion of Western Europe. Its secondary missions were tactical air defense and support for NATO ground forces, due to the vulnerability of West Germany to Soviet attack, USAF planners did not want their tactical nuclear weapons in locations that could be quickly overrun by Warsaw Pact forces. When construction was completed at Toul-Rosières Air Base France, the 50th Fighter-Bomber Wing was moved there on 17 July 1956, in August 1954 the Air Defense Command 496th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from Hamilton AFB California arrived at Hahn flying the North American F-86D Sabre to stand air defence alert. Although based at Hahn, the 496th FIS was assigned to the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Ramstein Air Base, the squadron won the Hughes Trophy as the best fighter-interceptor squadron in the USAF in 1955. It stood alert and deployed regularly to Wheelus Air Base, Libya, later added other European bases as weapons training deployments. On 10 December 1959 the 496th was upgraded to the Convair F-102A/TF-102B Delta Dagger, the 496th was the second European squadron, after the 525th FIS at Bitburg Air Base to receive the F-102. With the transition to the F-102, the 496th operated under the USAFE 86th Air Division at Ramstein Air Base West Germany on 1 July 1960 and this transfer was made in order that all USAF fighter assets in Europe could be concentrated in one command
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
5.
Flight test
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The flight test phase can range from the test of a single new system for an existing vehicle to the complete development and certification of a new aircraft, launch vehicle, or reusable spacecraft. Therefore, the duration of a flight test program can vary from a few weeks to many years. There are typically two categories of flight test programs – commercial and military, commercial flight testing is conducted to certify that the aircraft meets all applicable safety and performance requirements of the government certifying agency. Since commercial aircraft development is funded by the aircraft manufacturer and/or private investors. These civil agencies are concerned with the safety and that the pilot’s flight manual accurately reports the aircraft’s performance. The market will determine the suitability to operators. Normally, the certification agency does not get involved in flight testing until the manufacturer has found. Military programs differ from commercial in that the government contracts with the manufacturer to design. These performance requirements are documented to the manufacturer in the aircraft specification, in this case, the government is the customer and has a direct stake in the aircraft’s ability to perform the mission. Since the government is funding the program, it is involved in the aircraft design. Often military test pilots and engineers are integrated as part of the flight test team. The final phase of the aircraft flight test is the Operational Test. OT is conducted by a government-only test team with the dictate to certify that the aircraft is suitable, Flight testing of military aircraft is often conducted at military flight test facilities. The US Navy tests aircraft at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the U. S. Air Force Test Pilot School and the U. S. Naval Test Pilot School are the programs designed to teach military test personnel. In the UK, most military flight testing is conducted by three organizations, the RAF, BAE Systems and QinetiQ, all launch vehicles, as well as a few reusable spacecraft, must necessarily be designed to deal with aerodynamic flight loads while moving through the atmosphere. Many launch vehicles are flight tested, with more extensive data collection. Reusable spacecraft or reusable booster test programs are more involved. For both commercial and military aircraft, as well as vehicles, flight test preparation begins well before the test vehicle is ready to fly
6.
Air Force Materiel Command
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Air Force Materiel Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. AFMC was created on July 1,1992 through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command, AFMC is headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The commander of AFMC is General Ellen M. Pawlikowski and the commander is Major General Warren D. Berry. AFMC is one of ten Air Force Major Commands and has a workforce of approximately 80,000 military and it is the Air Force’s largest command in terms of funding and second in terms of personnel. AFMC’s operating budget represents 31 percent of the total Air Force budget, the command develops, acquires and sustains the aerospace power needed to defend the United States and its interests for today and tomorrow. This is accomplished through research, development, testing, evaluation, acquisition, maintenance and program management of existing and future USAF weapon systems and their components. In 1947, AMC bases were transferred to the newly established United States Air Force, with such as the storage depot in Maywood. The material procurement role was transferred, Air Force Materiel Command was activated on July 1,1992 as part of a post-Cold War, USAF-wide reorganization that resulted in the merger of AFLC and AFSC into a single major command. Following the establishment of AFMC, subsequent Base Realignment and Closure actions also saw significant reductions in AFMC infrastructure, AFMC Commanders, General Ronald W. Yates, 1992-1995 General Henry Viccellio Jr. June 1995-May/June 1997 General George T. Babbitt, Jr. May 1997 –2000 General Lester Lyles, May 2000 - October 2003 General Gregory S. Martin,2003 -2005 General Bruce A. Carlson,2005 -2008 General Donald J. Hoffman,2008 -2012 General Janet C. Wolfenbarger,2012 -2015 General Ellen M, from cradle-to-grave, AFMC provides the work force and infrastructure necessary to ensure the United States remains the worlds most respected Air and Space Force. AFMC headquarters is the unit located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In 2012, there was a reorganization and several new centers were organized. The center is located at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas
7.
Tinker Air Force Base
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Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U. S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located geographically in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The base, originally known as Midwest Air Depot, is named in honor of Oklahoma native Major General Clarence L. Tinker, the commander of OC-ALC is Lieutenant General Bruce A. Litchfield. The host unit at Tinker is the 72d Air Base Wing which provides services and support for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, the Wing and Installation Commander of Tinker Air Force Base is Col. Stephanie Wilson. Tinker AFB is home to major Department of Defense, Air Force, the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex is the largest air logistics center in the Air Force Materiel Command. It provides depot maintenance, product support, services and supply chain management and it is the contracting office for the Air Forces Contract Field Teams program. The 72d Air Base Wing is a multi-unit, multi-mission wing that includes base services and support for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, associate organizations, dependents, and retirees. Oklahoma Wing Civil Air Patrol Headquarters is located at the base ops building, the Flying Castle Composite Squadron is a Civil Air Patrol squadron that is composed of cadet and senior members that meet Tuesday evenings. The 552d Air Control Wing flies Air Combat Commands E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, the E-3s radar and other sensors provide deep-look surveillance, warning, interception control and airborne battle management. The 552 ACW encompasses 3 groups, 552d Operations Group, 552d Maintenance Group, two Air Reserve Component wings operate twelve KC-135R Stratotanker air refueling aircraft at Tinker. The aircraft are operationally gained by Air Mobility Command, but the two units have different administrative chains, the 507th Air Refueling Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command is one of two Air Force Reserve flying units in the state of Oklahoma and administratively reports to Fourth Air Force. As an associate unit, the 507 ARW also operates the Federal Aviation Administrations British Aerospace 125-800 aircraft in the aviation standards, the Oklahoma Air National Guards 137th Air Refueling Wing assumed an aerial refueling mission in 2008 in accordance with the 2005 BRAC Recommendations. The wing also operates facilities for E-6B aircraft at Travis AFB, California and Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Defense Mega Center Oklahoma City is the branch of the Defense Information Systems Agency. The Mega center operates computer systems for the base and serves 110 other bases in 46 states, support to the Air Logistics Center is primarily for programmed depot maintenance for aircraft and engines. DLA Document Services provides a portfolio of document services including traditional offset printing, on-demand printing. DLA Document Services locations in Oklahoma include Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, while these partnerships are technically separate facilities, Tinkers security perimeter is extended around these facilities. The MROTC is a 370-acre MRO facility, on the south east site of Tinker AFB, sharing runways, the facility currently houses three hangars, one leased by Boeing, a second hangar for 767 for lease, and a third hangar designed to accommodate Boeing 707-300 class aircraft. A 50-year lease-purchase agreement was executed in September 2008 between Oklahoma County and the Air Force, covering the 2.5 million square foot facility, previously, the largest single building at the base was Building 3001 at 1,300,000 square feet
8.
European Theater of Operations, United States Army
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The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed US Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and it was bordered to the south by the North African Theater of Operations, US Army, which later became the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. As the armies advanced, both these zones and the areas into which they were divided would shift forward to new areas of control. Major General James E. Chaney, an Army Air Corps officer, arrived in the United Kingdom on 18 May 1941, SBOPS also had the role of studying British use of Lend Lease supplies. His formal title was the Special Army Observer in the United Kingdom, after the United States entered the war, SPOBS was succeeded by United States Army Forces in the British Isles, actually SPOBS under a new name. At the time of the ARCADIA Conference, December 1941 – January 1942, daley, and make him in turn responsible to General Chaney, designated as CG, USAFBI. Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee became Chief, Services of Supply, U. S. Army Forces British Isles, on June 8,1942, the United States Department of War officially established ETOUSA in its place. Its mission was to conduct planning for the retaking of Europe and to exercise administrative. The 133rd Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division was the first United States Army unit sent to Europe in World War II, the first battalion arrived in Belfast in late January 1942, followed by the rest of the regiment in February. These units were designated as U. S. Army Northern Ireland Forces, the 133rd and 168th Infantry Regiments trained in the peat bogs, and performed border guard patrols between British Northern Ireland and the neutral Irish Free State. The remaining unit of the division, the 135th Infantry Regiment, until SHAEF was operational ETOUSA liaised closely with the British in the planning and organising of Operation Overlord. General Dwight D. Eisenhower had multiple command appointments, he replaced Chaney in late June 1942 and he then relinquished command of ETOUSA to Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews in February 1943, who was killed in an air crash in May. He was replaced by Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, in December 1943 it was announced that Eisenhower would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. In January 1944 he resumed command of ETOUSA and the month was officially designated as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. He served in a role until the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945. From February 1944, SHAEF was the command and ETOUSA administrative command. Some units were transferred between operational commands and administrative commands at different times, by the end of 1944, Eisenhower, through SHAEF, commanded three powerful Allied army groups. The British 21st Army Group and French elements of the 6th Army Group were not part of ETOUSA, the ETOUSA planning staff in London was usually referred to by its Army Post Office number, APO887
9.
Distinguished Unit Citation
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The unit with the most Presidential Unit Citations is the USS Parche with 9 citations. The Army citation was established by Executive Order 9075 on 26 February 1942, superseded by Executive Order 9396 on Dec.2,1943, as with other Army unit citations, the PUC is in a larger frame than other ribbons, and is worn above the right pocket. All members of the unit may wear the decoration, whether or not they participated in the acts for which the unit was cited. Only those assigned to the unit at the time of the action cited may wear the decoration as a permanent award, for both the Army and Air Force, the emblem is a solid blue ribbon enclosed in a gold frame. The Air Force PUC was adopted from the Army Distinguished Unit Citation after the Air Force became a military branch in 1947. By Executive Order 10694, dated Jan,10,1957 the Air Force redesignated the Distinguished Unit Citation as the Presidential Unit Citation. The Air Force PUC is the color and design as the Army PUC but slightly smaller. The Citation is carried on the units colors in the form of a blue streamer,4 ft long and 2.75 in wide. For the Army, only on rare occasions will a larger than battalion qualify for award of this decoration. The Navy citation was established by Executive Order 9050 on 6 February 1942, the Navy version has blue, yellow, and red horizontal stripes, and is the only Navy ribbon having horizontal stripes. These are only worn by persons who meet the criteria at the time it is awarded to the unit, unlike the Army, those who later join the unit do not wear it on a temporary basis. The current decoration is known as the Department of Homeland Security Presidential Unit Citation. A Coast Guard version of the award was awarded to all U. S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary personnel responding to Hurricane Katrina by President George W. Bush for rescue, the United States Public Health Service Presidential Citation was established in 2015. The design was finalized by the Army Institute of Heraldry on 17 August 2015, two units of the Free French Forces were awarded Presidential Unit Citations during World War II. On April 22,1986, the 1st Fighter Group Força Aérea Brasileira was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in the Po Valley region of Italy in World War II. The Brazilians, operating in Italy in support of Allied forces, destroyed in one day over 45 vehicles, strafed pontoon bridges on the River Po, eleven missions of 44 sorties were flown destroying nine motor transports and damaging 17. One Belgian-Luxembourgian battalion of the Belgian United Nations Command was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation once for actions during the Battle of the Imjin River, the Colombia Battalion received the citation while attached to the American 21st Infantry Regiment in 1951. One Dutch unit, the Netherlands Detachment United Nations, part of the Regiment Van Heutsz, was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation twice for actions during the Korean War, the first citation was awarded after the battle near Wonju and Hoengson in February 1951
10.
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
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The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1954 and was the first independent Air Force decoration created, the Air Force Longevity Service Award would follow in 1957 with most of the standard Air Force awards established in the early to mid 1960s. The Outstanding Unit Award is awarded to any unit of the U. S, multiple awards of the Outstanding Unit Award are denoted by oak leaf clusters on the ribbon. Until 2004, the Outstanding Unit Award was the senior most unit award in the U. S. Air Force and it is awarded to personnel who were assigned or attached to the unit receiving the award during the period it was awarded for. Non-USAF personnel personnel assigned to USAF units awarded the Outstanding Unit Award are also eligible to wear the ribbon on their uniforms, however, the ribbon does not come in the larger size of unit awards common to the U. S. Army
11.
413th Flight Test Group
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The 413th Flight Test Group is a United States Air Force Air Force Reserve Command unit. It is stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia as a tenant unit, the 413 FTG conducts flight tests on aircraft after the programmed depot maintenance is completed. Its history goes back to 1944 when the 413th Fighter Group flew very long range escort missions of Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortress bombardment groups against Japan. During the Cold War, the unit was a Strategic Air Command fighter-escort wing, today, the groups units are stationed throughout the United States to help conduct functional flight tests. The group is a partnership between the Air Force Materiel Command and the Air Force Reserve Command and is the supervisor of all the depot flight test units. The group manages five squadrons and two flights is made up of 140 full-time Airmen,78 traditional reservist and nine civil servants. Once PDM is completed, members of the crew begin a variety of ground checks to make sure the aircraft is ready for a functional test flight. Once the aircraft is deemed airworthy, then the airplane is delivered to the station and is configured to fly whatever mission it is assigned to fly. The 413th Fighter Groups aircraft flew very long range escort missions of B-29 Superfortress bombardment groups against Japan, constituted as 413th Fighter Group on 5 October 1944 and activated on 15 October. Trained for very-long-range operations with P-47N Thunderbolts, moved to the South West Pacific Area, April–June 1945. The group was assigned to the Twentieth Air Force VII Fighter Command, was reassigned to the Seventh Air Force early in August 1945. Flew a few strafing missions from Saipan to the Truk Islands in May before beginning operations from Ie Shima in June, engaged in dive-bombing and strafing attacks on factories, radar stations, airfields, small ships, and other targets in Japan. Made several attacks on shipping and airfields in China during July, flew its only escort mission on 8 August 1945 when it covered B-29s during a raid against Yawata, Kyoto, Japan. Served as a part of the air defense and occupation force for the Ryukyu Islands after the war, inactivated on Okinawa on 15 October 1946. Activated as part of Tactical Air Command in 1954, trained to achieve and maintain combat readiness by participation in tactical exercises, firepower demonstrations, joint training with US Army and US Marine Corps units, and tactical evaluations. Provided augmentation of Sixteenth Air Force in Spain, through deployment of assigned squadrons on a rotational basis, Maurer, Maurer, ed. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History, Maurer, Maurer, ed. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History, Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977
12.
Rockwell B-1 Lancer
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The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a four-engine supersonic variable-sweep wing, jet-powered heavy strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force. It was first envisioned in the 1960s as a bomber with Mach 2 speed. It was developed into the B-1B, primarily a low-level penetrator with long range and it is commonly called the Bone. Designed by Rockwell International, development was delayed multiple times over its history due to changes in the perceived need for manned bombers, the initial B-1A version was developed in the early 1970s, but its production was canceled, and only four prototypes were built. The need for a new once again surfaced in the early 1980s. However, by point, development of stealth technology was promising an aircraft of dramatically improved capability. Production went ahead as the B version would be operational before the Advanced Technology Bomber, the B-1B entered service in 1986 with the USAF Strategic Air Command as a nuclear bomber. It first served in combat during Operation Desert Fox in 1998, the B-1B has supported U. S. and NATO military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. The USAF had 66 B-1Bs in service in September 2012, the B-1B is expected to continue to serve into the 2030s, with the Long Range Strike Bomber to start supplementing the B-1B in 2030. In 1955 the U. S. Air Force issued requirements for a new bomber combining the payload, in December 1957, the U. S. Air Force selected North American Aviations B-70 Valkyrie for this role. The Valkyrie was a bomber that could cruise at Mach 3 at high altitude. By the late 1950s, however, anti-aircraft surface-to-air missiles could threaten high-altitude aircraft, the USAF Strategic Air Command were aware of these developments and had begun moving its bombers to low-level penetration even before the U-2 downing. Even at somewhat higher altitudes, radar systems of the era were subject to clutter from stray returns from the ground and other objects, bombers flying at low altitudes could remain under these angles simply by keeping their distance from the radar sites. This combination of effects made SAMs of the era ineffective against low-flying aircraft, the switch from high-altitude to low-altitude flight profiles severely affected the B-70, whose design was highly tuned to provide the desired high-altitude performance. Planners outlined a series of low-level profiles for the B-70, the result would be an aircraft with somewhat higher subsonic speed, but less range than the B-52 it was meant to replace. Although never intended for the role, the B-52s flexibility allowed it to outlast its intended successor as the nature of the air war environment changed. The B-52s huge fuel load allowed it to operate at altitudes for longer times. The much smaller bomb bay of the B-70 would have made it less useful in this role
13.
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
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The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and it has been operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The bomber is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds of weapons, the B-52 took its maiden flight in April 1952. Built to carry weapons for Cold War-era deterrence missions, the B-52 Stratofortress replaced the Convair B-36. A veteran of wars, the B-52 has dropped only conventional munitions in combat. The B-52s official name Stratofortress is rarely used, informally, the aircraft has become referred to as the BUFF. The B-52 has been in service with the USAF since 1955. As of December 2015,58 were in service with 18 in reserve. The B-52 completed sixty years of service with its original operator in 2015. After being upgraded between 2013 and 2015, it is expected to serve into the 2040s, the aircraft was to have a crew of five or more turret gunners, and a six-man relief crew. It was required to cruise at 300 mph at 34,000 feet with a radius of 5,000 miles. The armament was to consist of a number of 20 mm cannon and 10,000 pounds of bombs. On 13 February 1946, the Air Force issued bid invitations for these specifications, with Boeing, Consolidated Aircraft, and Glenn L. Martin Company submitting proposals. On 5 June 1946, Boeings Model 462, an aircraft powered by six Wright T35 turboprops with a gross weight of 360,000 pounds. On 28 June 1946, Boeing was issued a letter of contract for US$1.7 million to build a full-scale mock-up of the new XB-52 and do preliminary engineering and testing. However, by October 1946, the air began to express concern about the sheer size of the new aircraft. In response, Boeing produced Model 464, a smaller version with a 230,000 pound gross weight. Boeing responded with two powered by the T-35 turboprops
14.
Boeing E-3 Sentry
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The Boeing E-3 Sentry, commonly known as AWACS, is an American airborne early warning and control aircraft developed by Boeing as the prime contractor. The E-3 is distinguished by the rotating radar dome above the fuselage. Production ended in 1992 after 68 aircraft had been built, in the mid-1960s, the US Air Force was seeking an aircraft to replace its piston-engined Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star, which had been in service for over a decade. After issuing preliminary development contracts to three companies, the USAF picked Boeing to construct two airframes to test Westinghouse Electric and Hughess competing radars, both radars used pulse-Doppler technology, with Westinghouses design emerging as the contract winner. Testing on the first production E-3 began in October 1975, the first USAF E-3 was delivered in March 1977, and during the next seven years, a total of 34 aircraft were manufactured. NATO, as an identity, also had 18 aircraft manufactured. The E-3 was also sold to the United Kingdom and France, in 1991, when the last aircraft had been delivered, E-3s participated in Operation Desert Storm, playing a crucial role of directing coalition aircraft against the enemy. Throughout the aircrafts service life, numerous upgrades were performed to enhance its capabilities, in 1963, the USAF asked for proposals for an Airborne Warning and Control System to replace its EC-121 Warning Stars, which had served in the airborne early warning role for over a decade. The new aircraft would take advantage of improvements in technology and in computer aided radar data analysis. Contracts were issued to Boeing, Douglas, and Lockheed, the latter being eliminated in July 1966, in 1967, a parallel program was put into place to develop the radar, with Westinghouse Electric and the Hughes Aircraft being asked to compete in producing the radar system. In 1968, it was referred to as Overland Radar Technology during development tests on the modified EC-121Q, the Westinghouse radar antenna was going to be used by whichever company won the radar competition, since Westinghouse had pioneered in the design of high-power RF phase-shifters. Boeing initially proposed an aircraft, but tests indicated it would not outperform the already-operational 707. To increase endurance, this design was to be powered by eight General Electric TF34s and it would carry its radar in a rotating dome mounted at the top of a forward-swept tail, above the fuselage. Boeing was selected ahead of McDonnell Douglass DC-8-based proposal in July 1970, initial orders were placed for two aircraft, designated EC-137D as test beds to evaluate the two competing radars. The first EC-137 made its flight on 9 February 1972. Favorable test results led to the selection of Westinghouses radar for the production aircraft, Hughess radar was initially thought to be a certain winner, simply because much of its design was also going into the new F-15 Eagles radar program. The Westinghouse radar used a pipelined fast fourier transform to digitally resolve 128 Doppler frequencies, Westinghouses engineering team won this competition by using a programmable 18-bit computer whose software could be modified before each mission. This computer was the AN/AYK-8 design from the B-57G program, and this radar also multiplexed a beyond-the-horizon pulse mode that could complement the pulse-Doppler radar mode
15.
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker
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The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is a military aerial refueling aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype and it is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transport aircraft. The KC-135 was the US Air Forces first jet-powered refueling tanker, the KC-135 entered service with the United States Air Force in 1957, it is one of six military fixed-wing aircraft with over 50 years of continuous service with its original operator. The KC-135 is supplemented by the larger KC-10, studies have concluded that many of the aircraft could be flown until 2040, although maintenance costs have greatly increased. The aircraft will eventually be replaced by the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, like its sibling, the commercial Boeing 707 jet airliner, the KC-135 was derived from the Boeing 367-80 jet transport proof of concept demonstrator, which was commonly called the Dash-80. The KC-135 is similar in appearance to the 707, but has a fuselage and is shorter than the 707. The KC-135 predates the 707, and is quite different from the civilian airliner. Boeing gave the future KC-135 tanker the initial designation Model 717, in 1954 USAFs Strategic Air Command held a competition for a jet-powered aerial refueling tanker. Lockheeds tanker version of the proposed Lockheed L-193 airliner with rear fuselage-mounted engines was declared the winner in 1955, in the end, orders for the Lockheed tanker were dropped rather than supporting two tanker designs. Lockheed never produced its jet airliner, while Boeing would eventually dominate the market with a family of airliners based on the 707. In 1954, the Air Force placed an order for 29 KC-135As. The first aircraft flew in August 1956 and the initial production Stratotanker was delivered to Castle Air Force Base, California, the last KC-135 was delivered to the Air Force in 1965. These basic features make it resemble the commercial Boeing 707 and 720 aircraft. The USAF EC-135 Looking Glass was subsequently replaced in its role by the U. S. Navy E-6 Mercury aircraft, the KC-135Q variant was modified to carry JP-7 fuel necessary for the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, segregating the JP-7 from the KC-135s own fuel supply. The tanker also had special fuel systems for moving the different fuels between different tanks, the only external difference between a KC-135R and a KC-135T is the presence of a clear window on the underside of the empennage of the KC-135T where a remote controlled searchlight is mounted. It also has two ground refueling ports, located in rear wheel well so ground crews can fuel both the body tanks and wing tanks separately. Eight KC-135R aircraft are receiver-capable tankers, commonly referred to as KC-135R, All eight aircraft were with the 22d Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB, Kansas, in 1994. They are primarily used for extension and Special Operations missions
16.
Squadron (aviation)
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In most armed forces, two or more squadrons will form a group or a wing. Some air forces use the term squadrons for non-flying ground units. In contrast to United States Air Force units where flying squadrons are separate from supporting administrative and aircraft maintenance squadrons, in United States Marine Corps Aviation the nomenclature squadron is also used to designate all battalion-equivalent, aviation support organizations. These squadrons include, wing headquarters, tactical air command, air control, air support, aviation logistics, wing support, exceptions are USN helicopter mine countrmeasures squadrons, USMC composite medium tilt-rotor squadrons, heavy helicopter and light/attack helicopter squadrons, and Marine attack squadrons. Although part of U. S. naval aviation, United States Coast Guard aviation units are centered on an air station versus a squadron or group/wing organizational structure, the one exception to this is the Coast Guards Helicopter Interdiction Squadron, which is engaged primarily in counter-narcotics interdiction operations. In U. S. Army Aviation, flying units may be organized in battalions or squadrons reporting to an aviation brigade, an escadron is the equivalent unit in Frances Armée de lAir. It is normally subdivided into escadrilles of eight aircraft, in the Air Training Corps of the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations, a Squadron is a group of cadets who parade regularly. In the U. S. Civil Air Patrol, a squadron is the administrative unit. In the Swedish Air Force a helicopter squadron is a detachment from the Helicopter Wing
17.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
18.
Victory in Europe Day
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It thus marked the end of World War II in Europe. The term VE Day existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory, on 30 April 1945, Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin. Germanys surrender, therefore, was authorised by his successor, Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz, the administration headed by Dönitz was known as the Flensburg Government. The act of surrender was signed on 7 May in Reims, France and on 8 May in Berlin. The former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries have historically celebrated the end of World War II on 9 May, however, the Baltic countries now commemorate VE day on 8 May. In Ukraine from 2015,8 May was designated as a day of Remembrance and Reconciliation, upon the defeat of Germany, celebrations erupted throughout the world. From Moscow to Los Angeles, people celebrated, in the United Kingdom, more than one million people celebrated in the streets to mark the end of the European part of the war. Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander incognito among the crowds, in the United States, the victory happened on President Harry Trumans 61st birthday. He dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, flags remained at half-staff for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period. Truman said of dedicating the victory to Roosevelts memory and keeping the flags at half-staff that his wish was that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day. Later that day, Truman said that the victory made it his most enjoyable birthday, massive celebrations also took place in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and especially in New Yorks Times Square. As the Soviet representative in Reims had no authority to sign the German instrument of surrender, the surrender ceremony was repeated in Berlin on 8 May, where the instrument of surrender was signed by supreme German military commander Wilhelm Keitel, by Georgy Zhukov and Allied representatives. East Germany as Tag der Befreiung, a holiday from 1950 to 1966. Between 1975 and 1990, as Tag des Sieges, France as Victoire 1945 Slovakia as Deň víťazstva nad fašizmom Czech Republic as Den vítězství or Den osvobození Poland as Narodowy Dzień Zwycięstwa – National Victory Day. Norway as Frigjøringsdagen Ukraine День памяті та примирення Ukraine День перемоги над нацизмом у Другій світовій війні — from 2015
19.
Korean War
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The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, China came to the aid of North Korea, and the Soviet Union gave some assistance. Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the days of World War II. In August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, as a result of an agreement with the United States, U. S. forces subsequently moved into the south. By 1948, as a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea was split into two regions, with separate governments, both governments claimed to be the legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither side accepted the border as permanent. The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union, on that day, the United Nations Security Council recognized this North Korean act as invasion and called for an immediate ceasefire. On 27 June, the Security Council adopted S/RES/83, Complaint of aggression upon the Republic of Korea and decided the formation, twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing 88% of the UNs military personnel. After the first two months of war, South Korean forces were on the point of defeat, forced back to the Pusan Perimeter, in September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Inchon, and cut off many North Korean troops. Those who escaped envelopment and capture were rapidly forced back north all the way to the border with China at the Yalu River, at this point, in October 1950, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war. Chinese intervention triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951, after these reversals of fortune, which saw Seoul change hands four times, the last two years of fighting became a war of attrition, with the front line close to the 38th parallel. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate, North Korea was subject to a massive bombing campaign. Jet fighters confronted each other in combat for the first time in history. The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when an armistice was signed, the agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no treaty has been signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war. Periodic clashes, many of which are deadly, continue to the present, in the U. S. the war was initially described by President Harry S. Truman as a police action as it was an undeclared military action, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. In South Korea, the war is referred to as 625 or the 6–2–5 Upheaval. In North Korea, the war is referred to as the Fatherland Liberation War or alternatively the Chosǒn War. In China, the war is called the War to Resist U. S
20.
Cannon Air Force Base
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Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately 7 miles southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Force Special Operations Command, the population of the Cannon AFB CDP was 2,245 as of the 2010 census. The host unit at Cannon is the 27th Special Operations Wing, which activated on 1 October 2007, Cannon AFB was established in 1942 as Army Air Base, Clovis. The commander of the 27th Special Operations Wing is Colonel Tony D. Bauernfeind, the Command Chief Master Sergeant is Paul J Henderson II. The AC-130W is assigned to the 73rd Special Operations Squadron, with all twelve becoming operational in 2010, Cannon Air Force Base is named in honor of General John K. Cannon. In 1950 he returned to Europe as Commander in Chief of USAFE, General Cannon retired in 1954 as Commanding General, Tactical Air Command. The history of the began in the late 1920s, when a civilian passenger facility. Portair Field was used as a terminal for early commercial transcontinental flights, flew passengers in the Ford Trimotor “Tin Goose” by day, in the 1930s Portair was renamed Clovis Municipal Airport. After the United States entered World War II, the first military unit to use the facility was a glider detachment, on 6 July 1942 the base was assigned to Second Air Force. In 1943, the military began to use the facility as a bomber base, Clovis AAF was assigned to II Bomber Command, Second Air Force. On 8 April 1943, the base was renamed Clovis Army Air Field, the 16th Bomb Wing arrived in January 1943. Known USAAF groups assigned to Clovis AAF were, 302d Bombardment Group Served as a training unit. 450th Bombardment Group Trained with B-24s, transferred to Fifteenth Air Force in Italy. 498th Bombardment Group Trained with B-29 Superfortresses, transferred to Twentieth Air Force in Saipan. 497th Bombardment Group Trained with B-29 Superfortresses, transferred to Twentieth Air Force in Saipan. 472d Bombardment Group Trained with B-29 Superfortresses, 500th Bombardment Group Trained with B-29 Superfortresses. Transferred to Twentieth Air Force in Saipan, 93d Bombardment Group Arrived at Clovis AAF for inactivation. 467th Bombardment Group Trained with B-29s Superfortresses, on 16 April 1945, Clovis AAF was transferred from jurisdiction of Second Air Force to Continental Air Command
21.
Air National Guard
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When Air National Guard units are used under the jurisdiction of the state governor they are fulfilling their militia role. However, if federalized by order of the President of the United States and they are jointly administered by the states and the National Guard Bureau, a joint bureau of the Army and Air Force that oversees the National Guard of the United States. The ANG of the territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands have no aircraft assigned, ANG units typically operate under Title 32 USC. However, when operating under Title 10 USC all ANG units are operationally-gained by an active duty USAF major command. ANG units of the Combat Air Forces based in the Continental United States, conversely, CONUS-based ANG units in the Mobility Air Forces, plus the Puerto Rico ANGs airlift wing and the Virgin Islands ANGs civil engineering squadron are gained by the Air Mobility Command. The vast majority of ANG units fall under either ACC or AMC, established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U. S. S. When not in a status, the Air National Guard operates under their respective state. The exception to rule is the District of Columbia Air National Guard. Because both state Air National Guard and the Air National Guard of the United States relatively go hand-in-hand, Air National Guard of the United States units or members may be called up for federal active duty in times of Congressionally sanctioned war or national emergency. The United States Air National Guard has about 110,000 men and women in service, even traditional part-time air guardsmen, especially pilots, navigators/combat systems officers, air battle managers and enlisted aircrew, often serve 100 or more man-days annually. As such, the concept of Air National Guard service as representing only one weekend a month, the Georgia Air National Guard and the Kansas Air National Guard previously flew the B-1B Lancer prior to converting to the E-8 Joint STARS and KC-135R Stratotanker, respectively. In addition, the 131st Fighter Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard transitioned from flying the F-15C/D Eagle at St and these proposals were eventually overruled and cancelled by the U. S. Congress. As state militia units, the units in the Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command and they are under the jurisdiction of the United States National Guard Bureau unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. Air National Guard units are trained and equipped by the United States Air Force, the state ANG units, depending on their mission, are operationally gained by a major command of the USAF if federalized. Air National Guard personnel are expected to adhere to the moral and physical standards as their full-time active duty Air Force. The same ranks and insignia of the U. S. Air Force are used by the Air National Guard, the Air National Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in a service members home state or equivalent. The creation of the regiments was caused by the perceived need to defend the Bay Colony against American Indians. This organization formed the basis of subsequent colonial and, post-independence, state and this distinction accounts for why there are no National Guard components in the U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps or U. S. Coast Guard
22.
Selfridge Air National Guard Base
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Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917. In 1971, Selfridge ANGB became the largest and most complex joint Reserves Forces base in the United States, U. S. Army Garrison-Selfridge serves the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command supporting tank construction in the Detroit area. Civil Air Patrol civilian organizations at Selfridge are the 176th Selfridge Composite Squadron, Selfridge Air National Guard Base is named after 1st Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge. Selfridge was detailed for duty in April 1908 after being an assistant to Professor Alexander Graham Bell who was conducting aeronautical experiments in Nova Scotia. He was killed on 17 September 1908 while flying as a passenger with Orville Wright at Fort Myer, Selfridge was the first person to be killed in a crash of a powered aircraft. Joy, who took a great interest in aviation and led the company to begin developing aircraft engines for use in aircraft engaged in World War I combat in Europe. In the spring of 1917, lobbying began in Washington to locate an airfield at the site of the Joy Aviation Field on Lake St. Clair. The United States had just officially entered World War I on 7 April, proponents of the site pointed out the advantages of the fields proximity to the auto capital of the nation and the availability of the lake for practice bombing. The United States Army leased the 640 acres of land, and construction commenced immediately to provide the necessary road and rail access to the site. Within a month, the newspaper was reporting that 1,000 men were at work at the field constructing hangars, barracks, supply depots, machine shops and a school building. On 9 July, the first training aircraft, a Curtiss JN-4D arrived at the new airfield, the first pilots were members of the 8th and 9th Aero Squadrons, and Captain Byron Q. Jones was the first commander at Selfridge. Actual training of pilots began on 16 July 1917, three months after war was declared. Some of these students, a few of them from Mount Clemens area, were given a few flights and then, during the summer of 1917,72 men won aviator ratings and logged over 3,700 flying hours. From that time on, hundreds of men passed through Selfridge Air Pilot School for the four weeks of training which qualified them for a commission. Then they were on their way as instructors to the front or to the flying schools. From this school, which lasted until the end of March 1918,700 qualified mechanics were graduated, six squadrons from Kelly Field, Texas, were sent to Selfridge for study in the shops. The training center suffered a setback in March 1918, as the Clinton River flooded the entire site and all personnel were evacuated to schools
23.
50th Pursuit Group
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The 50th Operations Group is a component of the 50th Space Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Space Command. The group is stationed at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, the group was activated in January 1941 as the 50th Pursuit Group and began training under Third Air Force. In May 1942 it was reassigned to the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics, the group moved to the European Theater of Operations in the Spring 1944 expansion of Ninth Air Force in England in preparation for Operation Overlord. It few its first combat mission on 1 May 1944, the group moved to France in late June and continued in combat until V-E Day. During combat operations over Western Europe, the unit received two Distinguished Unit Citations and it returned to the United States, where it was inactivated on 7 November 1945. In June 1949 the group was activated as a unit at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts. In 1950, it became the 50th Fighter-Interceptor Group, the group was called to active duty in connection with the Korean War in June 1950, but was inactivated a few days later and its personnel were transferred to other units. Once the group transitioned from North American F-51 Mustangs to North American F-86 Sabres, it deployed to Germany and it moved to Toul-Rosières Air Base, France in 1956, and was inactivated there in late 1957. Since then, the group has managed a variety of surveillance, the 50th Operations Group stood up at Falcon Air Force Base 30 January 1992, the same day as its parent, the 50th Space Wing. Its crews, formerly the crews of the 1002d Operations Group, monitored satellites during launch operations, maneuvered them into proper orbits and it comprises over 1,100 active duty, reserve, and civilians. It trains the more than 500 system operators that form its space operations crews, the groups space operations centers track, monitor telemetry and command satellites during launch, early-orbit and on-orbit operations. They resolve anomalies with satellites when they occur and dispose of the satellites when missions are terminated, 2d Space Operations Squadron The squadron performs the command and control mission for the Global Positioning System. GPS is the militarys largest and the worlds most widely used satellite constellation and it operates the spacecraft constellation through a Master Control Station, located on Schreiver Air Force Base and a worldwide network of monitor stations and dedicated ground antennas. 3d Space Operations Squadron The squadron mission is to provide reliable space-borne communications for the National Command Authority, United States military, to fulfill its mission, it conducts day-to-day command and control for the Defense Satellite Communications System and the Wideband Global SATCOM. The Wideband Global SATCOM system initially operates with a combination of DSCS, the ground segment consists of a fixed site located in the Satellite Operations Building at Schriever Air Force Base and a site at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The squadron also operated three geographically distributed Advanced Ground Mobile vehicles, as the Advanced Extremely High Frequency network becomes fully operational it will add 5000 additional terminals and serve forces from Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It implements the wing Weapons and Tactics program, while overseeing space modernization and it is also responsible for processing the daily Space Duty Order and maintaining crew force management records. The group was first activated as the 50th Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field, the group initially consisted of the 10th, 11th and 12th Pursuit Squadrons
24.
Northeast Air District
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The First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida and its primary mission is the air defense of the Contiguous United States, United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Its mission lineage can be traced to the Air Defense Command, during the war, its primary mission became the organization and training of combat units prior to their deployment to the overseas combat air forces. First Air Force is commanded by Lieutenant General R. Scott Williams and its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sgt. The command has responsibility for ensuring the air sovereignty and air defense of the Contiguous United States, United States Virgin Islands. As the CONUS Region for NORAD, the bi-national North American Aerospace Defense Command, 1AF is also the designated air component for the United States Northern Command. USNORTHCOMs area of responsibility includes the continental United States, Alaska, Canada and Mexico, the command is unique in both its mission and composition. First Air Force has been an Air Combat Command organization since 1 June 1992 and its subordinate units are located throughout the continental United States. It was redesignated First Air Force on 9 April 1941 with a mission for the defense of the Northeast, AAFSC would eventually expand that mission to the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean until the antisubmarine mission was taken over completely by the Navy in mid-1943. The First Air Force became predominantly a fighter OTU and RTU organization, most P-47 Thunderbolt fighter groups were trained by I Fighter Command, along with P-39/P-63 Airacobra groups, C-47 Skytrain and later C-46 Commando groups by I Troop Carrier Command. Air Defense Wings were also organized for the metropolitan areas along the northeast coast. By 1944 the likelihood of an air attack along the eastern seaboard was remote, and these air defense wings were reduced to paper units. By 1944, the vast majority of the USAAF was engaged in operations in various parts of the world, such as the Eighth Air Force in Europe. First Air Force Headquarters was located at Fort Slocum, New York, the command was originally assigned the region of the New England states, along with New York and New Jersey. The command was inactivated on 23 June 1958 for budgetary reasons, First Air Force was reactivated at Stewart Air Force Base, Newburgh, N. Y. on 20 January 1966 due to the inactivation of the ADC Air Defense Sectors. First Air Force assumed responsibility for the ADC 21st, 33d, 34th, 35th and it also was responsible for the air defense of Greenland, Iceland and parts of Canada. By July 1968, First Air Force had again assumed responsibility for the air defense of the eastern seaboard. On 16 January 1968 Air Defense Command was re-designated Aerospace Defense Command as part of a restructuring of USAF air defense forces, ADCOM reassigned the units under the inactivated First Air Force were reassigned primarily to the 20th, 21st or 23d Air Divisions
25.
Third Air Force
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The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa. Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany and it is responsible for all U. S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa operations and support activities in the U. S. European Command and U. S. Africa Commands areas of responsibility, during the war, its primary mission became the organization and training of combat units prior to their deployment to the overseas combat air forces. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Phillip L. Easton, the command directs all USAFE and AFAFRICA forces engaged in contingency and wartime operations in the United States European Command and United States Africa Command areas of responsibility. It also has a mission as the U. S. militarys primary liaison to the British government. Through the Partnership for Peace program, Third Air Force manages military contact, Third Air Force is also responsible for contingency planning and support of American security interests in Africa. It is composed of more than 25,000 military people, Third Air Force is assigned more than 200 aircraft, while tasked to provide support servicing to thousands of other transient aircraft that visit its bases each year. It was redesignated Third Air Force on 26 March 1941 with a mission for the defense of the Southeast and it moved to offices in downtown Tampa on 8 January 1941. MacDill Field was one of two major Army Air Corps bases established in the Tampa Bay area in the prior to World War II. Tampas Drew Field Municipal Airport, established in 1928 was leased by the Air Corps in 1940, a major expansion of the airport was initiated and Drew Army Airfield was opened in 1941. Two secondary Army Airfields, Brooksville Army Airfield and Hillsborough Army Airfield were built and opened in early 1942 to support the operations of MacDill. The Bonita Springs Auxiliary Field, located near Fort Myers provided an emergency landing field for MacDill. All of these came under the jurisdiction of Third Air Force. III Fighter Command, the arm, was headquartered at Drew Field. Third Air Force initially provided air defense for the southeastern United States and flew patrols along coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean. Third Air Force primarily trained B-25 Mitchell and B-26 Marauder medium bomber groups and A-20 Havoc, Third Air Force also provided support to the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics in Florida. Also by 1944, the majority of the Numbered Air Forces of the AAF were fighting in parts of the world, such as the Eighth Air Force in Europe. When the Army Air Forces reorganized in 1946, Tactical Air Command was established as one of its three major commands
26.
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
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The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production, the Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. P-40 Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps and after June 1941, USAAF-adopted name for all models, making it the official name in the U. S. for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the P-40B and P-40C, P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941. However, between 1941 and 1944, the P-40 played a role with Allied air forces in three major theaters, North Africa, the Southwest Pacific, and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska, the P-40s performance at high altitudes was not as important in those theaters, where it served as an air superiority fighter, bomber escort and fighter-bomber. The P-40 offered the advantage of low cost, which kept it in production as a ground-attack aircraft long after it was obsolete as a fighter. On 14 October 1938, Curtiss test pilot Edward Elliott flew the prototype XP-40 on its first flight in Buffalo, the first prototype placed the glycol coolant radiator in an underbelly position on the fighter, just aft of the wings trailing edge. USAAC Fighter Projects Officer Lieutenant Benjamin S. Kelsey flew this prototype some 300 miles in 57 minutes, hiding his disappointment, he told reporters that future versions would likely go 100 miles per hour faster. Kelsey was interested in the Allison engine because it was sturdy and dependable, Curtiss engineers worked to improve the XP-40s speed by moving the radiator forward in steps. Seeing little gain, Kelsey ordered the aircraft to be evaluated in a NACA wind tunnel to identify solutions for better aerodynamic qualities, from 28 March to 11 April 1939, the prototype was studied by NACA. Based on the data obtained, Curtiss moved the glycol coolant radiator forward to the chin, other improvements to the landing gear doors and the exhaust manifold combined to give performance that was satisfactory to the USAAC. Without beneficial tail winds, Kelsey flew the XP-40 from Wright Field back to Curtisss plant in Buffalo at an speed of 354 mph. Further tests in December 1939 proved the fighter could reach 366 mph, an unusual production feature was a special truck rig to speed delivery at the main Curtiss plant in Buffalo, New York. The rig moved the newly built P-40s in two components, the main wing and the fuselage, the eight miles from the plant to the airport where the two units were mated for flight and delivery. The P-40 was conceived as an aircraft and was agile at low and medium altitudes. At medium and high speeds it was one of the tightest-turning early monoplane designs of the war, and it could out turn most opponents it faced in North Africa and the Russian Front. In the Pacific Theater it was out-turned at lower speeds by the lightweight fighters A6M Zero, the American Volunteer Group Commander Claire Chennault advised against prolonged dog-fighting with the Japanese fighters due to speed reduction favouring the Japanese
27.
North American P-51 Mustang
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The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North American Aviation in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission, the Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force. Rather than build an old design from another company, North American Aviation proposed the design, the prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940,102 days after the contract was signed, and first flew on 26 October. The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine and it was first flown operationally by the RAF as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber. The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C model transformed the Mustangs performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, the P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian and Pacific theaters. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft, despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After the Korean War, Mustangs became popular civilian warbird and air racing aircraft, in April 1940 the British government established a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self. Self was given responsibility for Royal Air Force production and research and development, and also served with Sir Wilfrid Freeman. Self also sat on the British Air Council Sub-committee on Supply and one of his tasks was to organize the manufacturing and supply of American fighter aircraft for the RAF. At the time, the choice was limited, as no U. S. aircraft then in production or flying met European standards. The Curtiss-Wright plant was running at capacity, so P-40s were in short supply, North American Aviation was already supplying its Harvard trainer to the RAF, but was otherwise underutilized. NAA President Dutch Kindelberger approached Self to sell a new medium bomber, instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture the Tomahawk under license from Curtiss. Kindelberger said NAA could have an aircraft with the same engine in the air sooner than establishing a production line for the P-40. In March 1940,320 aircraft were ordered by Sir Wilfred Freeman who had become the head of the Ministry of Aircraft Production. The NA-73X, which was designed by a led by lead engineer Edgar Schmued, followed the best conventional practice of the era. One was a wing designed using laminar flow airfoils which were developed co-operatively by North American Aviation and these airfoils generated very low drag at high speeds. The results of this test showed the superiority of the wing designed with the NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils, the other feature was a new cooling arrangement that reduced the cooling drag. It was later discovered that, after lot of development, the assembly could take advantage of the Meredith Effect
28.
IX Fighter Command
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The IX Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Erlangen and it was inactivated on 16 November 1945. IX Fighter Command was the tactical fighter air arm of Ninth Air Force in the Western Desert Campaign in North Africa during 1942-1943. Reassigned to England, it became the dominant tactical air force over the skies of Western Europe during the 1944 Battle of Normandy, after its inactivation, the majority of its units were incorporated into the postwar United States Air Force Tactical Air Command. In Egypt during January 1943, IX Fighter Command became the organization for Ninth Air Force fighter units assigned to the Western Desert Campaign. IX Fighter Command was reassigned to England in November 1943 as part of Normandy invasion planning and its subordinate units were reassigned to the Twelfth Air Force. During the winter of 1943/44 IX Fighter Command expanded at a rate so that by the end of May 1944. On D-Day IX Fighter Command units carried out air attacks on German forces in Normandy area with P-51 Mustang. Air cover during the amphibious assault by Allied forces on the beaches of France was flown by P-38 Lightnings. With the beaches secure, grups began deploying to France on June 16,1944, by early August most IX Fighter Command groups were transferred to bases in France and assigned to the U. S. Twelfth Army Group. Air Force Combat Units of World War II, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History. U. S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields, D-Day to V-E Day, Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
29.
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
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The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II era fighter aircraft produced by the United States between 1941–1945. Its primary armament was eight. 50-caliber machine guns and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry five-inch rockets or a load of 2,500 pounds. When fully loaded the P-47 weighed up to eight tons making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine which was used by two U. S. Navy fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair. The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat, the P-47 was one of the main United States Army Air Forces fighters of World War II, and served with Allied air forces including France, Britain, and Russia. Mexican and Brazilian squadrons fighting alongside the U. S. were equipped with the P-47, the armored cockpit was relatively roomy and comfortable, offering good visibility. A modern-day U. S. ground-attack aircraft, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, both had fled from their homeland to escape the Bolsheviks. In 1939, Republic Aviation designed the AP-4 demonstrator powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engine with a belly-mounted turbocharger. While the resulting Republic P-43 Lancer was in limited production, Republic had been working on an improved P-44 Rocket with a powerful engine. The latter was an aircraft powered by the Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled V-12 engine. The United States Army Air Corps backed the project and gave it the designation XP-47, as the war in Europe escalated in spring 1940, Republic and the USAAC concluded that the XP-44 and the XP-47 were inferior to the Luftwaffe fighters. Republic unsuccessfully attempted to improve the design, proposing the XP-47A, kartveli then designed a much larger fighter, which was offered to the USAAC in June 1940. The Air Corps ordered a prototype in September, to be designated the XP-47B, the XP-47A, which had little in common with the new design, was abandoned. The XP-47B was of construction with elliptical wings, with a straight leading edge that was slightly swept back. The air-conditioned cockpit was roomy and the seat was comfortable—like a lounge chair. Main and auxiliary self-sealing fuel tanks were placed under the cockpit, the cowling admitted cooling air for the engine, left and right oil coolers, and the turbosupercharger intercooler system. At full power, the pipes glowed red at their forward ends, the complicated turbosupercharger system with its ductwork gave the XP-47B a deep fuselage, and the wings had to be mounted in a relatively high position. This was problematic since long-legged main landing gear struts were needed to provide clearance for the enormous propeller
30.
Normandy landings
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The Normandy landings were the landing operations on Tuesday,6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, planning for the operation began in 1943. Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces, the amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06,30, the target 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors, Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their positions, particularly at Utah. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs, at Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled, using specialised tanks. The Allies failed to any of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, German casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 men. Allied casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead, museums, memorials, and war cemeteries in the area now host many visitors each year. Between 27 May and 4 June 1940, over 338,000 troops of the British Expeditionary Force, after the German Army invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin began pressing his allies for the creation of a second front in western Europe. In late May 1942 the Soviet Union and the United States made a joint announcement that a. full understanding was reached with regard to the urgent tasks of creating a front in Europe in 1942. Instead of a return to France, the Western Allies staged offensives in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. By mid-1943 the campaign in North Africa had been won, the Allies then launched the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and subsequently invaded Italy in September the same year. By then, Soviet forces were on the offensive and had won a victory at the Battle of Stalingrad. The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion within the year was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. Initial planning was constrained by the number of landing craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean. At the Tehran Conference in November 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill promised Stalin that they would open the second front in May 1944. Four sites were considered for the landings, Brittany, the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy, as Brittany and Cotentin are peninsulas, it would have been possible for the Germans to cut off the Allied advance at a relatively narrow isthmus, so these sites were rejected
31.
Normandy
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Normandy is one of the regions of France, roughly corresponding to the historical Duchy of Normandy. Administratively, Normandy is divided into five departments, Calvados, Eure, Manche, Orne and it covers 30,627 km², forming roughly 5% of the territory of France. Its population of 3.37 million accounts for around 5% of the population of France, Normans is the name given to the inhabitants of Normandy, and the region is the homeland of the Norman language. The historical region of Normandy comprised the region of Normandy, as well as small areas now part of the départements, or departments of Mayenne. For a century and a following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by Norman. Archaeological finds, such as paintings, prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times. Celts invaded Normandy in successive waves from the 4th to the 3rd century BC, when Julius Caesar invaded Gaul, there were nine different Celtic tribes living in Normandy. The Romanisation of Normandy was achieved by the methods, Roman roads. Classicists have knowledge of many Gallo-Roman villas in Normandy, in the late 3rd century, barbarian raids devastated Normandy. Coastal settlements were raided by Saxon pirates, Christianity also began to enter the area during this period. In 406, Germanic tribes began invading from the east, while the Saxons subjugated the Norman coast, the Roman Emperor withdrew from most of Normandy. As early as 487, the area between the River Somme and the River Loire came under the control of the Frankish lord Clovis, the Vikings started to raid the Seine Valley during the middle of the 9th century. As early as 841, a Viking fleet appeared at the mouth of the Seine, after attacking and destroying monasteries, including one at Jumièges, they took advantage of the power vacuum created by the disintegration of Charlemagnes empire to take northern France. The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Norwegian Viking leader Hrólfr Ragnvaldsson, Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered vassalage to the king of the West Franks, Charles the Simple, through the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for his homage and fealty, Rollo legally gained the territory which he, the name Normandy reflects Rollos Viking origins. The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local Gallo-Romance language and they became the Normans – a Norman-speaking mixture of Saxons and indigenous Franks and Celts. Besides the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent conquests of Wales and Ireland, Norman families, such as that of Tancred of Hauteville, Rainulf Drengot and Guimond de Moulins played important parts in the Norman conquest of southern Italy and Crusades. They also carved out a place for themselves and their descendants in the Crusader states of Asia Minor, the 14th century Norman explorer Jean de Béthencourt established a kingdom in the Canary Islands
32.
United States Army North
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The United States Army North is a formation of the United States Army Service Component Command of United States Northern Command. As the joint force land component command, it is responsible for defense and defense support of civil authorities. It is garrisoned at Fort Sam Houston, Texas and it was officially activated on 5 January 1943 at Oujda, French Morocco and made responsible for the defence of Algeria and Morocco. Writing to Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers in late March 1944, Clark explained the difficulties of the fighting in Italy so far, which could be said of the whole campaign. The Fifth Army first saw action during the Salerno landings, the landings at Salerno, part of the Allied invasion of Italy. Due to the low numbers of American troops available in the Mediterranean Theater it was made up of one American. They were the U. S. VI Corps, under Major General Ernest J. Dawley, at Salerno, VI Corps landed on the right flank, and X Corps on the left flank. Progress was initially slow, due in part to a lack of initiative by Dawley, the VI Corps commander, however, heavy naval and air bombardment, along with a parachute drop by elements of the U. S. On 20 September, by time the Fifth and Eighth Armies had linked up, Major General Dawley. Dawley was temporarily made deputy commander, and was soon replaced in command of VI Corps by Major General John P. Lucas. Progress was then good for a couple of weeks and the Fifth Army crossed the Barbara Line and they had established a position on the Winter Line, which included the formidable defensive positions at San Pietro Infine in the Liri Valley and at Monte Cassino. By this point, Fifth Army had been reinforced by a second American corps, II Corps, commanded by Major General Geoffrey Keyes. By the end of November Clarks Fifth Army had almost doubled in size, with the addition of French General Alphonse Juins French Expeditionary Corps, from 130,247 men to 243,827. VI Corps, with its experience of amphibious landings at Salerno, was chosen for the assault and withdrawn from the line and they made a second attempt to capture Monte Cassino in conjunction with the amphibious assault by VI Corps, which again failed. VI Corps landed at Anzio, unopposed, on 22 January 1944 in Operation Shingle, the fault, however, was not due to Lucass incompetence, it was due instead to wishful thinking, faulty operational planning, and the German armys ability to respond forcefully and aggressively. After the failure of Shingle, a reorganisation took place. Previously the Apennines had been the rough dividing line between Fifth and Eighth Armies, however, the dividing line was shifted westwards, to allow the concentration of both armies on the western side of Italy for maximum firepower to break through to Rome. British V Corps was left on the Adriatic coast to pin down any German units there, Fifth Army was relieved of responsibility for Cassino and the final phases of that battle saw Indian, New Zealand and finally Polish troops thrown against the fortress
33.
Military occupation
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Military occupation is effective provisional control by a certain ruling power over a territory which is not under the formal sovereignty of that entity, without the volition of the actual sovereign. Military government may be characterized as the administration or supervision of occupied territory. Military government is distinguished from law, which is the temporary rule by domestic armed forces over disturbed areas. The rules of government are delineated in various international agreements, primarily the Hague Convention of 1907. A country that establishes a government and violates internationally agreed upon norms runs the risk of censure, criticism. In the current era, the practices of government have largely become a part of customary international law. Article 42 of the 1907 Hague Convention on Land Warfare specify that erritory is considered occupied when it is placed under the authority of the hostile army. The form of administration by which an occupying power exercises government authority over occupied territory is called military government, neither the Hague Conventions nor the Geneva Conventions specifically define or distinguish an act of invasion. The terminology of occupation is used exclusively, the clear distinction has been recognized among the principles of international law since the end of the Napoleonic wars in the 19th century. These customary laws of belligerent occupation which evolved as part of the laws of war gave some protection to the population under the occupation of a belligerent power. The first two articles of that state, Art. Territory is considered occupied when it is placed under the authority of the hostile army. The occupation extends only to the territory where such authority has been established, in 1949 these laws governing belligerent occupation of an enemy states territory were further extended by the adoption of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Much of GCIV is relevant to protected persons in occupied territories and Section III, Article 6 restricts the length of time that most of GCIV applies, The present Convention shall apply from the outset of any conflict or occupation mentioned in Article 2. In the territory of Parties to the conflict, the application of the present Convention shall cease on the close of military operations. GCIV emphasised an important change in international law, the Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. S. are not signatory to this additional protocol. The military government of the occupying power will continue past the point in time when the peace treaty comes into force. Military government continues until legally supplanted is the rule, as stated in Military Government and Martial Law, by William E. Birkhimer, see Birkhimer, p. 25–26, No proclamation of part of the victorious commander is necessary to the lawful inauguration and enforcement of military government
34.
Continental Air Command
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Continental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. During the Korean War, ConAC provided the necessary augmentation to the regular Air Force while it rebuilt itself under wartime conditions, later, during the 1950s, it was a training force for reservists with no prior military service. ConAC provided peacetime airlift missions for the Air Force and it was mobilized twice in 1961 and 1962 by president Kennedy for the Berlin and Cuban Missile Crisis. Lastly, it was used by president Lyndon B. Johnson for airlift operations into the Dominican Republic and it was inactivated in 1968 and replaced by Headquarters, Air Force Reserve. After the end of World War II, the Truman Administration was determined to bring the Federal budget back into balance, an enormous deficit had built up, so expenditure was cut, resulting in relatively little money for the new United States Air Force to modernize its forces. Planning for reserve forces took place, in any event. Their single firm conviction about the nature of the program was that it must provide opportunities for pilots to fly. This was fundamentally different from the National Guard concept, the National Guard is the designated state militia by the Constitution of the United States. Although the Air National Guard fulfills state and some federal needs, in the first place, not every person in the United States with an obligation or desire for military service wants to serve in a state militia. Second, the prescribed nature and organization of the National Guard does not provide for service as individuals. As the Army Air Forces demobilized in 1945 and 1946, inactivated unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State Air National Guard bureaus, as individual units were organized, they began obtaining federal recognition, and the state Air National Guard units were established. The Army Air Forces Air Reserve program was approved by the War Department in July 1946, Army Air Forces Base Units were organized by Air Defense Command at each training location. They were located at both Army Airfields and civil airports where the Air Force retained partial jurisdiction after turning over the facility to the community after the end of World War II. The reservists were to report to a unit located in their area. The base unit furnished the personnel to operate the detachment and provided base services. ADC programmed to have AT-6 Texans, AT-11 Kansans and P-51 Mustangs available for pilots to fly four hours per month to train and maintain proficiency. ADC intended to activate forty base units operational by 1 July, by the end of 1946, the command had organized Air Reserve training detachments at seventy bases and airfields. On 21 February 1947, Headquarters Army Air Forces informed ADC to eliminate twenty-nine reserve training detachments as quickly as possible, the Air Force Reserve was affected by fundamental legislation pertaining to the parent Air Force
35.
4th Fighter Wing
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The 4th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Ninth Air Force. It is stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, the wing is one of three Air Force units that can trace its history to another country. The wings 4th Operations Group had its origins as the Royal Air Force Eagle Squadrons, the group was credited with the destruction of 1,016 enemy aircraft, more than any other American fighter unit, and produced 38 aces. The 4th Operations Group is the largest organization in the 4th Fighter Wing, 4th Maintenance Group The 4th Maintenance Group consists of four squadrons and more than 2,300 military and civilian personnel. The group is responsible for the support used to maintain, mobilize. The group consists of approximately 340 personnel comprising both part-time Traditional Reservists and full-time Air Reserve Technicians and Active Guard and Reserve, collectively, they make up an operational fighter squadron, the 307th Fighter Squadron and the 414th Maintenance Squadron. The 307 FS reports operationally to the 4th Operations Group and the 414 MXS to the 4th Maintenance Group, as the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing it flew the North American F-86 Sabre during the Korean War and was the top MiG-killing organization during the conflict. The 4 Wing moved to Japan following the Korean armistice in 1953, the 4th transitioned to the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in early 1967. The readiness posture of the wing was given a true test in early 1968 when the North Koreans seized the USS Pueblo, elements of the 4th moved to Korea within 72 hours. The wing ended deployments to in Thailand in the summer of 1974, in 1974, the wing mission reverted to training, with increased emphasis on short-term European contingency support. Elements of the deployed to Norway in June 1974. Two short-term deployments to Spangdahlem AB, West Germany, were conducted in July, the wing executed short-term deployments to South Korea and Japan during 1977 and assumed a dual-based mission with Ramstein AB in October of that year. In 1980 the 4th TFW became one of the first squadrons in the Rapid Deployment Force, the 337th Fighter Squadron was activated 1 April 1982 and inactivated 1 July 1985. The overall mission commitment was restructured to reflect worldwide contingency emphasis in October 1986, in 1988 the 4th TFW began transitioning to the F-15E Strike Eagle. The first F-15E arrived on 29 December 1988, and the 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron became the first operational F-15E squadron in the Air Force on 1 October 1989. The transition from the F-4E to the F-15E was completed on 1 July 1991, at the height of conversion training, the 4th TFW was one of the first units tasked to react to Iraqs invasion of Kuwait. The 335th and 336th Tactical Fighter Squadrons and support personnel deployed to Saudi Arabia, the combat record of the 4th TFW in Saudi Arabia was exceptional, with the 336th TFS flying 1,088 combat missions Drring Operation Desert Storm. The unit dropped more than six-million pounds of bombs on Scud missile sites, bridges, most of the missions were flown at night
36.
North American F-86 Sabre
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The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in that war and its success led to an extended production run of more than 7,800 aircraft between 1949 and 1956, in the United States, Japan and Italy. Variants were built in Canada and Australia, the Canadair Sabre added another 1,815 airframes, and the significantly redesigned CAC Sabre, had a production run of 112. The Sabre was by far the most-produced Western jet fighter, with production of all variants at 9,860 units. North American Aviation had produced the propeller-powered P-51 Mustang in World War II, by late 1944, North American proposed its first jet fighter to the U. S. Navy, which became the FJ-1 Fury. It was an unexceptional transitional jet fighter that had a wing derived from the P-51. Initial proposals to meet a United States Army Air Forces requirement for a medium-range, single-seat, in early 1945, North American Aviation submitted four designs. The USAAF selected one design over the others, and granted North American a contract to build three examples of the XP-86, despite the gain in speed, early studies revealed the XP-86 would have the same performance as its rivals, the XP-80 and XP-84. It was also feared that, because these designs were advanced in their development stages. Crucially, the XP-86 would not be able to meet the top speed of 600 mph. The North American F-86 Sabre was the first American aircraft to take advantage of research data seized from the German aerodynamicists at the end of World War II. By 1944, German engineers and designers had established the benefits of swept wings based on designs dating back to 1940. Study of the data showed that a wing would solve their speed problem. Because development of the XP-86 had reached a stage, the idea of changing the sweep of the wing was met with resistance from some senior North American staff. Despite stiff opposition, after results were obtained in wind tunnel tests. Many Sabres had the 6–3 wing retrofitted after combat experience was gained in Korea and this modification changed the wing airfoils to the NACA 0009-64 mod at the root and the NACA0008. 1–64 mod at the tip. Delays caused by the major redesign meant that manufacturing did not begin until after World War II, the XP-86 prototype, which would lead to the F-86 Sabre, was rolled out on 8 August 1947. The maiden flight occurred on 1 October 1947 with George Welch at the controls, flying from Muroc Dry Lake, the United States Air Forces Strategic Air Command had F-86 Sabres in service from 1949 through 1950
37.
120th Fighter-Bomber Squadron
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The 120th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Colorado Air National Guard 140th Wing located at Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, Colorado. The 120th is equipped with the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, the squadron is a descendant organization of the World War I 120th Aero Squadron, established on 28 August 1917. The 120th Fighter Squadron was the first federally recognized Air National Guard unit, thus, their motto is, First in the Air Guard. The current mission of the 120th is to operate at the highest levels of military and domestic policy protecting the midwest America, also the 120th Fighter squadron has deployed five times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, most recently to Joint Base Balad, Iraq in 2010. The 120th Fighter Squadron dates its origins to the 120th Aero Squadron, organized at Kelly Field, in July 1917, the men of the squadron were first organized at Fort Thomas, Kentucky where the recruits, about 160 of the, were sent to Kelly Field. There the squadron was placed into training, learning infantry drill. On 1 November, the squadron was ordered to Ellington Field, Houston, upon arrival, the squadron was ordered to begin the work of operating the field for the Air Service. A civilian construction firm, the American Construction Company, Houston, was contracted to put up the Hangars, the first duty of the squadron was to assemble about 100 airplanes, and put them in a flyable condition for use as training planes. On 30 January 1918, the squadron was ordered for duty and moved to the Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City. There the squadron was equipped for overseas duty, on 16 February, the squadron, was ordered to report to the Port of Entry, Hoboken, New Jersey for boarding on the former Cunard Liner RMS Carmania for transport. After an uneventful Atlantic crossing, it arrived at Liverpool, England on 4 March, the next day the squadron was moved to the American Rest Camp Romsey, near Winchester, England. There, the squadron trained with the British soldiers at the station, maintained the camp and this work continued until 9 August when orders were given for the squadron to divide into Flights. A and B Flights were ordered to RFC Stamford, England, while C Flight was ordered to RFC Grail and this meant that the squadron had completed its training in England and was ready for duty at the front. After about a month of training, the squadron was re-combined at Southampton for transfer to France. After processing, the squadron was ordered to report to the 2d Air Instructional Center, Tours Aerodrome, a great many of the men were not fitted for the jobs assigned and required training in order to be of useful service. It then was moved to Kelly Field, Texas, where it was demobilized on 17 May 1919, on 27 June 1923 the 120th Aero Observation Squadron, 45th Division, Aviation was mustered into service as part of the Colorado Army National Guard. Initially composed of eight officers and 50 enlisted members, the unit flew Curtis JN-4Es - an aircraft which proved to be unsuitable for flying at Denver elevations, one year later, the 120th began flying out of Lowry Field. The brand new airfield was named in honor of 2nd Lt. Francis B, Lowry who was shot down and killed near Crepion, France in 1918 while on a photographic mission
38.
Colorado Air National Guard
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The Colorado Air National Guard is the aerial militia of the U. S. State of Colorado. It is, along with the Colorado Army National Guard, an element of the Colorado National Guard, the units of the Colorado Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Colorado through the office of the Colorado Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Colorado Air National Guard is headquartered in Centennial, and its commander is currently Major General H. Michael Edwards. The Colorado Air National Guard 120th Fighter Squadron was the first federally recognized Air National Guard unit after the Second World War, under the Total Force concept, Colorado Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Colorado ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. They are able to survive and operate through all phases of trans/post nuclear attack, the Colorado Air National Guard origins date to 28 August 1917 with the establishment of the 120th Aero Squadron as part of the World War I American Expeditionary Force. The 120th served in France on the Western Front, then after the 1918 Armistice with Germany was demobilized in 1919. The Militia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, if federalized by Presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the Militia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units, on 27 June 1923 the 120th Observation Squadron, 45th Division, Aviation was mustered into service as part of the Colorado Army National Guard. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. Initially composed of eight officers and 50 enlisted members, the unit flew Curtis JN-4Es - an aircraft which proved to be unsuitable for flying at Denver elevations, one year later, the 120th began flying out of Lowry Field. The brand new airfield was named in honor of 2nd Lt. Francis B, Lowry who was shot down and killed near Crepion, France in 1918 while on a photographic mission. Mobilization for World War II took place on January 6,1941,11 months prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the unit, then 19 officers and 116 enlisted members, moved to Biggs Field, Texas. These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units, the modern Colorado ANG received federal recognition on 3 July 1946 as the 86th Fighter Wing at Buckley Field, Denver. Its 140th Fighter Group was also formed at Buckley Field, with the 120th Fighter Squadron equipped with F-51 Mustangs, the 200th Airlift Squadron flies C-21A Learjets with a Special Air Mission for VIP personnel, along with aeromedical evacuation. The 137th Space Warning Squadron at Greeley Employs the Air Forces only strategic survivable, mobile ground system to receive early warning data
39.
West Germany
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West Germany is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation on 23 May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990. During this Cold War era, NATO-aligned West Germany and Warsaw Pact-aligned East Germany were divided by the Inner German border, after 1961 West Berlin was physically separated from East Berlin as well as from East Germany by the Berlin Wall. This situation ended when East Germany was dissolved and its five states joined the ten states of the Federal Republic of Germany along with the reunified city-state of Berlin. With the reunification of West and East Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, enlarged now to sixteen states and this period is referred to as the Bonn Republic by historians, alluding to the interwar Weimar Republic and the post-reunification Berlin Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany was established from eleven states formed in the three Allied Zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, US and British forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Its population grew from roughly 51 million in 1950 to more than 63 million in 1990, the city of Bonn was its de facto capital city. The fourth Allied occupation zone was held by the Soviet Union, as a result, West Germany had a territory about half the size of the interbellum democratic Weimar Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided among the Western and Eastern blocs, Germany was de facto divided into two countries and two special territories, the Saarland and divided Berlin. The Federal Republic of Germany claimed a mandate for all of Germany. It took the line that the GDR was an illegally constituted puppet state, though the GDR did hold regular elections, these were not free and fair. For all practical purposes the GDR was a Soviet puppet state, from the West German perspective the GDR was therefore illegitimate. Three southwestern states of West Germany merged to form Baden-Württemberg in 1952, in addition to the resulting ten states, West Berlin was considered an unofficial de facto 11th state. It recognised the GDR as a de facto government within a single German nation that in turn was represented de jure by the West German state alone. From 1973 onward, East Germany recognised the existence of two German countries de jure, and the West as both de facto and de jure foreign country, the Federal Republic and the GDR agreed that neither of them could speak in the name of the other. The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had worked for an alignment with NATO rather than neutrality. He not only secured a membership in NATO but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present-day European Union, when the G6 was established in 1975, there was no question whether the Federal Republic of Germany would be a member as well. With the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, symbolised by the opening of the Berlin Wall, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and accede to the Federal Republic in 1990. Its five post-war states were reconstituted along with the reunited Berlin and they formally joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, raising the number of states from 10 to 16, ending the division of Germany
40.
NATO
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved
41.
Southwest Asia
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Western Asia, West Asia, Southwestern Asia or Southwest Asia is the westernmost subregion of Asia. The concept is in limited use, as it overlaps with the Middle East. The term is used for the purposes of grouping countries in statistics. The total population of Western Asia is an estimated 300 million as of 2015, in an unrelated context, the term is also used in ancient history and archaeology to divide the Fertile Crescent into the Asiatic or Western Asian cultures as opposed to ancient Egypt. As a geographic concept, Western Asia almost always includes the Levant, Mesopotamia, the term is used pragmatically and has no correct or generally agreed-upon definition. In contrast to this definition, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation in its 2015 yearbook also includes Armenia and Azerbaijan, unlike the UNIDO, the United Nations Statistics Division excludes Iran from Western Asia and include Turkey, Georgia, and Cyprus in the region. These four countries are listed in the European category of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, the Olympic Council of Asias multi-sport event West Asian Games are contested by athletes representing these thirteen countries. Among the regions sports organisations are the West Asia Basketball Association, West Asian Billiards and Snooker Federation, West Asian Football Federation, Western Asia was in use as a geographical term in the early 19th century, even before Near East became current as a geopolitical concept. Use of the term in the context of contemporary geopolitics or world economy appears to date from the 1960s, Western Asia is located directly south of Eastern Europe. The region is surrounded by seven major seas, the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. The Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts in eastern Iran naturally delimit the region somewhat from Asia itself, three major tectonic plates converge on Western Asia, including the African, Eurasian, and Arabian plates. The boundaries between the plates make up the Azores-Gibraltar Ridge, extending across North Africa, the Red Sea. The Arabian Plate is moving northward into the Anatolian plate at the East Anatolian Fault, several major aquifers provide water to large portions of Western Asia. In Saudi Arabia, two large aquifers of Palaeozoic and Triassic origins are located beneath the Jabal Tuwayq mountains and areas west to the Red Sea. Cretaceous and Eocene-origin aquifers are located beneath large portions of central and eastern Saudi Arabia, including Wasia, flood or furrow irrigation, as well as sprinkler methods, are extensively used for irrigation, covering nearly 90,000 km² across Western Asia for agriculture. Western Asia is primarily arid and semi-arid, and can be subject to drought, the region consists of grasslands, rangelands, deserts, and mountains. Water shortages are a problem in parts of West Asia, with rapidly growing populations increasing demands for water. Major rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates, provide sources for water to support agriculture
42.
Gulf War
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The Iraqi Armys occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, an array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost, the war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board US bombers during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991 and this was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait. The coalition ceased its advance, and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel. The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself, Gulf War, a problem with these terms is that the usage is ambiguous, having now been applied to at least three conflicts, see Gulf War. The use of the term Persian Gulf is also disputed, see Persian Gulf naming dispute, with no consensus of naming, various publications have attempted to refine the name. Other language terms include French, la Guerre du Golfe and German, Golfkrieg, German, Zweiter Golfkrieg, French, most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the wars operational phases. Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the conflict from 17 January 1991. Operation Desert Sabre was the US name for the offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations from 24–28 February 1991, in itself. Operation Desert Farewell was the given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwaits liberation. Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations, Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict. Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations Operazione Locusta was the Italian name for the operations, in addition, various phases of each operation may have a unique operational name. The US divided the conflict into three campaigns, Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991
43.
Ninth Air Force
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The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces Air Combat Command. It has been headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, from 1990, units were deployed to the Middle East against Iraq, and from 2001 against threats emanating from Afghanistan. In this role, the organization was known as United States Air Forces Central, until August 2009, the Ninth Air Force shared its commander with USAFCENT. S. This article deals with the current organization, as the lineage of the organization currently belongs to USAFCENT. This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, archives of the Ninth Air Force Association Digital Collection at The University of Akron Archival Services Ninth Air Force Association
44.
First Air Force
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The First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida and its primary mission is the air defense of the Contiguous United States, United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Its mission lineage can be traced to the Air Defense Command, during the war, its primary mission became the organization and training of combat units prior to their deployment to the overseas combat air forces. First Air Force is commanded by Lieutenant General R. Scott Williams and its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sgt. The command has responsibility for ensuring the air sovereignty and air defense of the Contiguous United States, United States Virgin Islands. As the CONUS Region for NORAD, the bi-national North American Aerospace Defense Command, 1AF is also the designated air component for the United States Northern Command. USNORTHCOMs area of responsibility includes the continental United States, Alaska, Canada and Mexico, the command is unique in both its mission and composition. First Air Force has been an Air Combat Command organization since 1 June 1992 and its subordinate units are located throughout the continental United States. It was redesignated First Air Force on 9 April 1941 with a mission for the defense of the Northeast, AAFSC would eventually expand that mission to the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean until the antisubmarine mission was taken over completely by the Navy in mid-1943. The First Air Force became predominantly a fighter OTU and RTU organization, most P-47 Thunderbolt fighter groups were trained by I Fighter Command, along with P-39/P-63 Airacobra groups, C-47 Skytrain and later C-46 Commando groups by I Troop Carrier Command. Air Defense Wings were also organized for the metropolitan areas along the northeast coast. By 1944 the likelihood of an air attack along the eastern seaboard was remote, and these air defense wings were reduced to paper units. By 1944, the vast majority of the USAAF was engaged in operations in various parts of the world, such as the Eighth Air Force in Europe. First Air Force Headquarters was located at Fort Slocum, New York, the command was originally assigned the region of the New England states, along with New York and New Jersey. The command was inactivated on 23 June 1958 for budgetary reasons, First Air Force was reactivated at Stewart Air Force Base, Newburgh, N. Y. on 20 January 1966 due to the inactivation of the ADC Air Defense Sectors. First Air Force assumed responsibility for the ADC 21st, 33d, 34th, 35th and it also was responsible for the air defense of Greenland, Iceland and parts of Canada. By July 1968, First Air Force had again assumed responsibility for the air defense of the eastern seaboard. On 16 January 1968 Air Defense Command was re-designated Aerospace Defense Command as part of a restructuring of USAF air defense forces, ADCOM reassigned the units under the inactivated First Air Force were reassigned primarily to the 20th, 21st or 23d Air Divisions
45.
Eastern Air Defense Force
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The Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base and it was inactivated on July 1,1960. EADF was a command and control organization of Air Defense Command. Its origins date to 1 March 1949 when Continental Air Command reorganized Air Defense Command when it became an operating agency. Air defense units within the Continental United States were given to the Eastern and Western Air Defense Liaison Groups, organizations stationed west and south of that delineation were transferred to CADF. CADF organizations in the southeast were reassigned to the EADF, established as Eastern Air Defense Force and organized September 1,1949. USAF Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 Maurer, Maurer, Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History, Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History, searching the skies, the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command
46.
Tactical Air Command
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Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 1 June 1992 and its personnel and equipment absorbed by Air Combat Command. Tactical Air Command was established to provide a balance between strategic, air defense, and tactical forces of the post–World War II U. S. Army Air Forces followed by, in 1947, the U. S. Air Force. In 1948, the Continental Air Command assumed control over air defense, tactical air, after two years in a subordinate role, Tactical Air Command was established as a major command. World War II showed the effectiveness of air power in supporting army ground forces. However, the demobilization in late 1945 meant that the huge air armada that had brought Germany to her knees. Following the end of World War II, Headquarters United States Army Air Forces had little funding and most wartime personnel had been released from active duty and returned to civilian life. Many USAAF aircraft were being sent to storage or scrapyards, although the tension with the Soviet Union meant that combat military air forces were still needed. The big questions were how large and what kind of forces, a major realignment of the USAAF was undertaken in early 1946. As part of the realignment, three major divisions within the Continental United States were formed, Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command. Each was given a specific responsibility, using assets prescribed to accomplish the assigned mission, Tactical Air Command was formed to command, organize, equip, train and administer assigned or attached forces. It was to plan for and participate in tactics for fighter, light bombardment and these included tactical fighters, tactical bombers, tactical missiles, troop carrier aircraft, assault, reconnaissance, and support units. TAC also planned for and developed the capability to deploy tactical striking forces anywhere in the world, during its existence, Tactical Air Command deployed personnel, material and/or aircraft to Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia in support of its prescribed mission. TACs original authorization was 25,500 officers and enlisted men, aircraft assets available consisted of propeller-driven North American P-51 Mustangs, Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and a handful of the new jet-powered Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars. TAC was also given control of the Third Air Force, Ninth Air Force, on 18 September 1947, the United States Air Force was established as a separate military force, with TAC as one of its major commands. At the time, there was only one U. S. Air Forces in Europe tactical air unit available in Europe, TAC was called upon to send additional units and aircraft to Europe to reinforce the 86 FG. The 36th Fighter Group, flying Lockheed F-80B Shooting Stars, was transferred from Howard AFB in the Panama Canal Zone to Furstenfeldbruck Air Base near Munich. In addition to fighter aircraft, TAC also deployed available C-47 Skytrain transports to Europe, transferring them to USAFE
47.
363d Expeditionary Operations Group
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The 363d Expeditionary Operations Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 363d Air Expeditionary Wing, stationed at Prince Sultan AB and it was inactivated on 24 August 2003. The Group has its origins in the 363d Fighter Group, activated on 1 August 1943 at Hamilton Field, initially a IX Fighter Command fighter group, the unit was credited with 41 victories but lost 43 of its own aircraft in the process. The 363d TRG was the eyes of General George S. Pattons Third Army during its advance through France, the 363d Training Group has its origins as the 363d Fighter Group, being activated on 1 August 1943 at Hamilton AAFld, California. The original fighter squadrons trained with Bell P-39 Airacobras at Hamilton and other airfields in California, the group moved to England in December 1943 for duty with the Ninth Air Force. At RAF Keevil, the group was re-equipped with North American P-51 Mustang in January 1944, Squadron designations were changed to 160th, 161st and 162d Fighter Squadrons and assigned Fuselage Codes. However, a number of Mustangs were lost, albeit mostly to ground fire. During operations from the United Kingdom, the group was credited with 41 victories, the 380th, 381st and 382nd squadrons were redesignated as the 160th, 161st and 162nd Reconnaissance Squadrons respectively. It received two Belgian citations for reconnaissance activities, including the support of the assault on the Siegfried Line. The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was reactivated on 29 July 1946 at Brooks Army Air Field, equipped initially with two squadrons flying Lockheed FP-80A Shooting Stars for daylight and Douglas FA-26C Invaders for night reconnaissance. In June 1948, the FP-80A was redesignated the RF-80A, the FA/RB-26C was a B-26 with all guns removed and cameras installed throughout the aircraft. Additionally, aircraft intended for night reconnaissance were equipped with flash bombs. Some aircraft were modified for electronic reconnaissance with the installation of radar. The FP/RF-80A was an F-80A, with a longer and deeper nose to house cameras in place of the guns in the nose of the aircraft, after the end of the Korean War, the RF-80As were partially brought up to F-80C standards. These RF-80Cs had improved camera installations in a nose of modified contour The group was placed under the newly activated 363d Reconnaissance Wing on 15 August 1947 and it was reassigned to Langley Army Air Field, Virginia in December 1947 by the newly established USAF. It was redesignated the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing on 27 August 1948, for budgetary reasons unit was inactivated on 26 April 1949, however it was again activated on 1 September 1950 at Langley. On 1 April 1951, the 363d TRG was transferred to Shaw AFB, the groups mission was to fly photographic, electronic and electronic intelligence missions to support both air and ground operations by American or Allied ground forces. In 1954, the RF-84F Thunderflash was assigned to the 363d TRG, the RF-84F was the photographic reconnaissance version of the F-84F Thunderstreak
48.
136th Airlift Wing
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The 136th Airlift Wing is a unit of the Texas Air National Guard, stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas. If activated to service, the wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command. The 136th Airlift Wings C-130 Hercules mission is to perform the tactical portion of the airlift mission, the aircraft is capable of operating from rough, dirt strips and is the prime transport for air dropping troops and equipment into hostile areas. The wing is collocated with the navy, marines, air force reserve, coast guard and army at the Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base, the 136th Airlift Wing is composed of 5 groups,19 units and 1 geographically separated unit. Moved to England, arriving in January 1944, began operations with IX Fighter Command on 14 March when the group flew a fighter sweep over the English Channel coast of France. Made strafing and bombing attacks on airfields, rail and highway bridges, trains, vehicles, flak positions, supported the landings in Normandy early in June 1944 and began operations from the Continent later the same month. Operated with the Allied forces that pushed across the Rhine and into Germany, after V-E Day, served with the Army of Occupation, being assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe. Inactivated in Germany on 20 August 1946 The wartime 368th Fighter Group was re-designated as the 136th Fighter Group and it was organized at Love Field Airport, Dallas, Texas and was extended federal recognition on 27 January 1947 by the National Guard Bureau. The 136th Fighter Group was bestowed the lineage, history, honors, the group was assigned to the Texas Air National Guard 63d Fighter Wing. The 136th Fighter Group initially consisted of the following, 111th Fighter Squadron, stationed at Ellington Field, 181st Fighter Squadron, stationed at Love Field, Dallas. 182d Fighter Squadron, stationed at Brooks Field, San Antonio, in addition, the 136th Material Squadron, 136th Combat Support Squadron and 136th Medical Squadron were activated and assigned to the group at Hensley Field as support elements. F-51D Mustangs were assigned to the Fighter Squadrons, and the mission of the unit was the air defense of Texas, in mid-1950 the Texas Air national Guard received its first jet aircraft, when a few F-84B Thunderjets were assigned to the 181st Fighter Squadron in June. As a result of the Korean War, the Texas Air National Guard was federalized and placed on active-duty status on 10 October 1950, being assigned to Ninth Air Force, Tactical Air Command. TAC ordered the 136th Fighter Group to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, where the unit was re-designated to a Fighter-Bomber unit, at Langley, the 136th Fighter-Bomber Wing consisted of the following units, 111th Fighter-Bomber Squadron 182d Fighter-Bomber Squadron 154th Fighter-Bomber Squadron. The Love Field-based 181st was also re-designated as a Fighter-Bomber Squadron, however it remained in Dallas and its F-84Bs were reassigned as they lacked the range of the Mustangs. At Langley AFB, the 136th trained with their F-51D Mustangs, unfortunately losing two 111th FBS pilots in a training accident on 15 December. A third pilot was killed on 27 January 1951 in another accident, in February 1951, the aged F-51Ds that the unit had been flying since its activation in 1947 were replaced by F-84E Thunderjets, and the squadron began transition training on the jet fighter-bomber. Most of the training place at Langley, although some pilots were sent to Shaw AFB
United States
United States Air Force
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
