1.
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
2.
Pennsylvania
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Pennsylvania /ˌpɛnsᵻlˈveɪnjə/, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle, Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest, the 5th most populous, and the 9th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The states five most populous cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, the state capital, and its ninth-largest city, is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has 140 miles of shoreline along Lake Erie and the Delaware Estuary. The state is one of the 13 original founding states of the United States, it came into being in 1681 as a result of a land grant to William Penn. Part of Pennsylvania, together with the present State of Delaware, had earlier been organized as the Colony of New Sweden and it was the second state to ratify the United States Constitution, on December 12,1787. Independence Hall, where the United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were drafted, is located in the states largest city of Philadelphia, during the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, was fought in the south central region of the state. Valley Forge near Philadelphia was General Washingtons headquarters during the winter of 1777–78. Pennsylvania is 170 miles north to south and 283 miles east to west, of a total 46,055 square miles,44,817 square miles are land,490 square miles are inland waters, and 749 square miles are waters in Lake Erie. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States, Pennsylvania has 51 miles of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Cities include Philadelphia, Reading, Lebanon and Lancaster in the southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, the northeast includes the former anthracite coal mining communities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston City, and Hazleton. Erie is located in the northwest, the state has 5 regions, namely the Allegheny Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and the Erie Plain. Straddling two major zones, the majority of the state, with the exception of the corner, has a humid continental climate. The largest city, Philadelphia, has characteristics of the humid subtropical climate that covers much of Delaware. Moving toward the interior of the state, the winter climate becomes colder, the number of cloudy days increase. Western areas of the state, particularly locations near Lake Erie, can receive over 100 inches of snowfall annually, the state may be subject to severe weather from spring through summer into fall. Tornadoes occur annually in the state, sometimes in large numbers, the Tuscarora Nation took up temporary residence in the central portion of Pennsylvania ca. Both the Dutch and the English claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their lands in America
3.
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
4.
Pennsylvania Air National Guard
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The Pennsylvania Air National Guard is the air force militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America. It is, along with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, an element of the Pennsylvania National Guard, as commonwealth militia units, the units in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Pennsylvania through the office of the Pennsylvania Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Pennsylvania Air National Guard is headquartered at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, under the Total Force concept, Pennsylvania Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Pennsylvania ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. Commonwealth missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. 201st Red Horse Civil Engineering Flight, located at Fort Indiantown Gap, regional Equipment Operators Training Site, located at Fort Indiantown Gap. 203d Weather Flight, located at Fort Indiantown Gap, 211th Engineering Installation Squadron, located at Fort Indiantown Gap. 258th Air Traffic Control Squadron, located at Johnstown-Cambria County Airport 270th Engineering Installation Squadron, 271st Combat Communications Squadron, located at Fort Indiantown Gap. 553d Air Force Band, located at Fort Indiantown Gap, lightning Force Academy, affiliated with the Community College of the Air Force and is located at Fort Indiantown Gap. Bollen Air-to-Ground Weapons Range, located at Fort Indiantown Gap, the Militia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, liable for immediate state service. If federalized by Presidential order, they fall under the military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the Militia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units, the Pennsylvania Air National Guard was formed on 27 June 1924 as the 103d Squadron, Pennsylvania National Guard, received federal recognition as a Corps Aviation unit. The 103d was founded and eventually commanded by Major Charles Biddle and this new National Guard squadron was based on the sod fields of Philadelphia Airport as a unit in the Army 28th Division. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II, the pilots of the 103d flew a wide variety of observation aircraft for the next 18 years. The most well-known of these aircraft was the JN-4 Jenny, the Jenny was an open-cockpit bi-plane, but was replaced in the 1930s and early 1940s with metal-skinned, prop-driven observation monoplanes. The list is long but shows the improvement in aircraft, PT-1, BT-1, O-1, O-2H, O-11, O-38, O-46, -47A, O-47B, O-49, O-52, O-57. The squadron also flew liaison type aircraft such as the L-4, the 103d Observation Squadron was ordered into active service on 125 November 1940 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps prior to the United States entry into World War II
5.
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
6.
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
7.
Air Combat Command
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Air Combat Command is one of ten Major Commands in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force at the Pentagon. ACC is headquartered at Langley Field, Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia and its commander is General Herbert Hawk Carlisle, with Major General Jerry D. Harris Jr. as Vice Commander, and Chief Master Sergeant Steve K. McDonald as the Command Chief Master Sergeant, in addition, ACC augments the forces of the United States European Command, United States Pacific Command and United States Central Command when needed. Air Combat Command consists of approximately 98,000 active duty members, in 2015, responsibility for the B-1 Lancer bomber fleet was also transferred from ACC to AFGSC. Air Combat Command was created 1 June 1992 after the inactivation of the Tactical Air Command, Strategic Air Command, furthermore, ACC had some KC-135 and KC-10 aerial refueling tankers and C-130 tactical airlift aircraft in its composite, reconnaissance, and certain other combat wings. In 1993, control of the ICBM force was transferred to the Air Force Space Command until transferred again to Air Force Global Strike Command on 1 Dec 2009. S, Air Force and the U. S. Navy. Historically, combat command was an air unit designation. During 1941 and early 1942, the air units of the War Department, formerly known as the GHQ Air Force. The AFCC was dissolved in the reorganization of the United States Army, effective 9 March 1942, not long after activation, ACC underwent organizational and mission changes. The first such change was the transfer of the combat search. With the realigning of search and rescue units, ACC gained additional resources, the formal transfer took place on 1 February 1993, when the Air Rescue Service was assigned to ACC. On 2 July of the year, the ARS was disestablished. The USAF Combat Rescue School was subsequently assigned to the 57th Wing at Nellis AFB, one of the most significant changes for Air Combat Command resulted from an overhaul of flying training responsibilities. Following its activation, ACC was responsible for aircrew training, including initial weapon system. On 1 July 1993, the 58th and 325th Fighter Wings—F-16 and F-15 training units transferred from ACC to Air Education and Training Command. Concurrently, Luke AFB, Arizona, and Tyndall AFB, Florida, for which those respective wings were the host units, however, on 1 October 2012, both Tyndall AFB and the 325th Fighter Wing returned to the control of ACC. The next major change resulted from a fine-tuning of aerial refueling. From its activation, Air Combat Command had assumed ownership of some C-130 Hercules theater airlift assets and KC-10 Extender, there was historical precedent for the reassignment of C-130s to Air Combat Command
8.
103d Fighter Squadron
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The 103d Fighter Squadron is an inactive unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. It was last assigned to the 111th Fighter Wing, stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove, Willow Grove, the squadron was inactivated on 31 March 2011. The squadron was a descendant organization of the Pennsylvania National Guard 103d Observation Squadron and it was one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. The Militia board authorized the Pennsylvania National Guard 103d Observation Squadron in June 1924, the 103d was founded and eventually commanded by Major Charles J. Biddle, who had flown in World War I as part of the famous Lafayette Escadrille. This new National Guard squadron was based on the sod fields of Philadelphia Airport as a unit in the Army 28th Division, the pilots of the 103d flew a wide variety of observation aircraft for the next 18 years. The most well-known of these aircraft was the JN-4 Jenny, the Jenny was an open-cockpit bi-plane, but was replaced in the 1930s and early 1940s with metal-skinned, prop-driven observation monoplanes. The list is long but shows the improvement in aircraft, PT-1, BT-1, O-1, O-2H, O-11, O-38, O-46, -47A, O-47B, O-49, O-52, O-57. The squadron also flew liaison type aircraft such as the L-4, the squadron conducted summer training at Langley Field, Virginia, 1924–27 and Middletown Air Depot, Pennsylvania, 1928-40. The entire squadron was called up to flood relief efforts in central. Inducted into active Federal service 17 February 1941 at Philadelphia, and transferred to the Harrisburg Municipal Airport, in February 1941, as the war in Europe raged, the unit was ordered to active service, performing antisubmarine patrols off the coast of New England. In 1943, the 103d finally moved into the latest combat aircraft, first, the pilots and maintenance personnel were given steady upgrades in equipment beginning with the P-39 Airacobra, P-40 Warhawks, and then the B-25 Mitchell. Eventually this culminated in training on the P-38 Lightning, or to be more specific, the twin-engine F-5C had all of the P-38s guns replaced by cameras. After a years worth of training, the 103d deployed to the China-Burma-India Theater of war in 1944 where it operated out of fields in India. It was heavily involved in reconnaissance activities over Burma, supporting the US Army forces fighting the Japanese in the jungles there. The 103d personnel stayed in that theater until the end of the war, the wartime 40th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron was re-designated as the 103d Bombardment Squadron and allotted to the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Philadelphia International Airport, and was extended federal recognition on 20 December 1948 by the National Guard Bureau, the 103d Bombardment Squadron was bestowed the history, honors, and colors of the 40th PRS. The squadron was equipped with B-26 Invader light bombers and assigned to the 111th Bombardment Group, the 103d was federalized on 10 October 1950 along with its parent 111th Composite Wing due to the Korean War. Many of the pilots and maintenance personnel were split off and sent for duty overseas as individuals assigned to combat units there
9.
Army National Guard
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The Army National Guard, in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is a militia force and a federal military reserve force of the United States. They are simultaneously part of two different organizations, the National Guard of the states, territories and the District of Columbia. The Army National Guard is divided into units stationed in each of the 50 states. Members or units of the Army National Guard may be ordered, temporarily or indefinitely, if mobilized for federal service, the member or unit becomes part of the Army National Guard of the United States, which is a reserve component of the United States Army. Individuals volunteering for active service may do so subject to the consent of their governors. Governors generally cannot veto involuntary activations of individuals or units for federal service, the President may also call up members and units of the Army National Guard, in its status as the militia of the several states, to repel invasion, suppress rebellion, or enforce federal laws. The Army National Guard of the United States is one of two organizations administered by the National Guard Bureau, the other being the Air National Guard of the United States. The Director of the Army National Guard is the head of the organization, Militia members were required to equip themselves, take part in regular training, and report to their units when called. This war resulted in hundreds of deaths, hundreds of Native Americans sold into slavery or scattered throughout North America, the militias of the Southern New England colonies fought Native Americans again in King Philips War from 1675 to 1676. This conflict led to the defeat of the Narragansets, further straining relationships between Native Americans and white Europeans, but enabling continued white settlement of New England. In addition, the colonists had little interest in paying the taxes to maintain permanent garrisons of British troops, the militias were also an early experiment in democracy, with company grade officers often elected by their men, and the higher officers appointed by colonial governors or legislatures. The colonies did not exert centralized control over the militias or coordinate their efforts, Training typically took place during musters each summer, with militia members reporting for inspection and undergoing several days of training in drill and ceremony. Militia members served throughout the Revolution, often near their homes, Militia units served in combat, as well as carrying out guard duty for prisoners, garrisoning of forts, and local patrols. On some occasions, militia members performed ineffectively, as at the Battle of Camden in North Carolina, on other occasions they performed capably, including the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Bennington, Battles of Saratoga, and Battle of Cowpens. Perhaps the most important role played by the militia was off the battlefield, during the period of the Articles of Confederation, the weak federal government reduced the Continental Army to a handful of officers and soldiers. The Articles of Confederation required each state to maintain a militia, such consent was not forthcoming in an era when the population still harbored a distrust of a standing army, so Congress largely left the defense of the new nation to the state militias. During the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Federalist delegates argued for a federal government. Federalists anticipated using the military to defend the country if it were attacked, anti-Federalists advocated limited federal government, and wanted continued state control over the militias
10.
Air Force Reserve Command
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The Air Force Reserve Command is a Major Command of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federally controlled Air Reserve Component of the U. S. Air Force, consisting of duly appointed commissioned officers, AFRC supports the Air Force mission to defend the United States through the control and exploitation of air and space by supporting Global Engagement. AFRC also plays an role in the day-to-day Air Force mission and is not strictly a force held in reserve for possible war or contingency operations. The inventory, both AFRC-controlled and active duty Regular Air Force-controlled, includes the latest, most capable models of aircraft that are assigned to the U. S. Air Force. On any given day,99 percent of AFRCs aircraft are mission-ready, in addition to flying units, AFRC has numerous ground organizations ranging from medical units to civil engineers, intelligence and space operations, and security forces, just to name a few. In combination with the Air National Guard, the Air Force Reserve comprises half of what is known as the Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force, AFRC forces are under the administrative control of the Commander, Air Force Reserve Command. The Air Force Reserve also contains other specialized capabilities not found in active duty Air Force units. A third unique mission set in the Air Force Reserve, Aerial Firefighting, is conducted in tandem with the Air National Guard, there are several categories of service for personnel in the Air Force Reserve. However, many Air Force Reservists, especially those in a flying status, serve well in excess of this minimum duty requirement. A smaller but equally important category of TR is the Individual Mobilization Augmentee and their job is to bring Air Force Reserve expertise to the planning and decision-making processes at senior levels within the Air Force, other services, and the Unified Combatant Commands. Like the Air National Guard, the Air Force Reserve Command also requires two categories of personnel to perform functions that require full-time manning. These full-time positions are filled via the two programs as employed by the Air National Guard, the Active Guard and Reserve program. Air Force Reservists who become members of the Active Guard and Reserve receive full active duty pay, the majority of AGRs are former TRs and they serve four-year controlled tours of special duty that can be renewed. S. Air Force, on the staffs of Unified Combatant Commands, on the Joint Staff, AFRC Recruiting is another field that employs AGR personnel. AGRs also have the option with good performance to serve 20 or more years on duty and receive a retirement after 20 or more years. Another category of Air Force Reservists serving full-time are those in the Air Reserve Technician Program, ARTs are accessed from either the active duty Regular Air Force, the AGR program, Traditional Guardsmen in the Air National Guard, or TRs in the Air Force Reserve. This category also includes all full-time ART personnel and they are predominantly assigned to the Unit Program or as IMAs. Standby Reserve Includes Reservists whose civilian jobs are considered key to defense or who have temporary disability or personal hardship
11.
913th Airlift Group
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The 913th Airlift Group is a United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is assigned to 22d Air Force and is stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base and it was activated 13 July 2014. The 913th Airlift Group trains and equips Air Force Reservists to perform the missions of tactical airlift. Communities were more likely to accept the smaller squadrons than the large wings, continental Air Command s plan called for placing Air Force Reserve units at fifty-nine installations located throughout the United States. Although this dispersal was not a problem when the wing was called to active service, mobilizing a single flying squadron. This reorganization would facilitate mobilization of elements of wings in various combinations when needed, however, as this plan was entering its implementation phase, another partial mobilization occurred for the Cuban missile crisis, with the units being released on 22 November 1962. The formation of troop carrier groups occurred in January 1963 for units that had not been mobilized, along with group headquarters, a Combat Support Squadron, Materiel Squadron and a Tactical Infirmary were organized to support the 327th. The group was equipped with Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars for Tactical Air Command airlift operations, the 913th performed air transportation for airborne forces, airdrops, airlandings, and extraction delivery of equipment and supplies, as well as airlift of personnel and cargo. During the Vietnam War the group also helped train Vietnam Air Force C-119 aircrews in 1967 and ferried aircraft to Southeast Asia in March 1968, in 1970, the 913th transitioned from the C-119 to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Beginning in 1977 the 913th participated in rotational Coronet Oak operations in the Panama Canal Zone flying airlift in support of U. S, in addition, it has performed humanitarian airlift and supported contingency operations worldwide, including operations in Southwest Asia and the Balkans. The unit was activated as the 913th Airlift Group at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, the group replaced Detachment 1, Twenty-Second Air Force, which had been established at Little Rock in March 2011. The 913th Airlift Group is the first C-130 classic associate unit in the U. S. Air Force, in October 2013, however, its predecessor had already begun transitioning to the combat airlift mission in association with the 19th Airlift Wing of Air Mobility Command. It flies the active duty Lockheed C-130J Hercules assigned to the 19th Operations Group, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas to accomplish all operational, citizen Airmen, a History of the Air Force Reserve, 1946-1994. Air Force History and Museums Program, 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. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History, willow Grove Air Reserve Station Home Page. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007
12.
2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission
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The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission preliminary list was released by the United States Department of Defense on May 13,2005. It was the fifth Base Realignment and Closure proposal generated since the process was created in 1988 and it recommended closing 22 major United States military bases and the realignment of 33 others. On September 15,2005, President George W. Bush approved the BRAC Commissions recommendations, Congress had a maximum of 45 days to reject the proposal by passing a joint resolution of disapproval, or the recommendations automatically enter into effect. Such a resolution was introduced to the House of Representatives on September 23,2005, the House took up debate of the resolution on October 26,2005. The resolution failed to pass by a 324-85 margin, thereby enacting the list of recommendations, the Secretary of Defense was required to begin implementing the recommendations by September 15,2007 and to complete implementation no later than September 15,2011. Anthony J. Principi, Chairman James H. Bilbray Philip Coyle Harold W. Gehman, the BRAC Commission disputed this claim, pointing out what it considered to be significant flaws in the Departments methodology. The Commission recalculated the 20-year savings of the DOD recommendation list at just above $37 billion, between late May and late August, the Commission reviewed the list and amended many of the Pentagons recommendations, removing several major installations from the closure list. The Commission calculated the overall 20-year savings to the government in carrying out its amended list of recommendations as close to $15 billion, major facilities slated for realignment include these, Army Human Resource Command in Missouri, moving to the Fort Knox Military Installation in Kentucky. United States Army Armor School in Fort Knox, Kentucky, moving to the Maneuver Center of Excellence in Fort Benning, walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D. C. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission resulted in a $35 billion increase in military spending, the military claims, however, that it also resulted in a reduction of $4 billion in annual spending
13.
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove
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Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove or NASJRB Willow Grove was a Naval Air Station owned by the U. S. The installation was transferred to the Pennsylvania Air National Guard and the changed to the Horsham Air Guard Station after the U. S. Navy departed in 2011. Flight activity began in 1926 when Harold Frederick Pitcairn constructed a hangar, the airfield was named after the nearest town Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. At the time, Horsham was a township with little significance. From 1926 to 1942 Pitcairn used the airfield for design, construction and testing of a number of aircraft, after the start of World War II, the United States purchased the property, under threat of eminent domain and launched a classified anti-submarine warfare program at the base. As part of its joint recruitment efforts, the base was an annual host to one of the largest air shows on the East Coast until 2006. Horsham Air Guard Station was home to the following, 111th Fighter Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard and it lost its aircraft to other ANG Squadrons and active duty components under BRAC. As of 2013, the Wing, now renamed the 111th Attack Wing, was slated to acquire ground control stations to remotely fly the MQ-9 Reaper, both MAG-49 and HMH-772 relocated to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in 2011. Patrol Squadrons 64 and 66 of the United States Naval Reserve operating the P-3 Orion, both VR-52 and VR-64 relocated to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in March 2011. 913th Airlift Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command, the 913 AW was inactivated by BRAC action on 30 September 2007. On November 13,2009, Pennsylvania dropped the plan for the JII based on the removal of the 111th Fighter Wing. Since then it is planned that a portion of the base will be used for the National Guard, the airfield shut down on March 31,2011, VP-64, VR-52, and a C-12 detachment were transferred to McGuire Air Force Base. On September 15,2011, the base was closed, the Pennsylvania Air National Guard took custody, and the facility was to be designated Willow Grove Air National Guard Base, or Horsham Air Guard Station per source. A handful of National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers remained, the surplus land with the runways was turned over to Horsham Township for redevelopment. Horsham and other adjoining townships in Montgomery and Bucks Counties were debating the nature of this redevelopment, in September 2015 the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority worked on an economic development conveyance application to acquire the base. An EDC transfer is one way for the Navy to dispose of surplus property
14.
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
15.
Low Countries
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Most of the Low Countries are coastal regions bounded by the North Sea or the English Channel. The countries without access to the sea have linked themselves politically and economically to those with access to one union of port. The Low Countries were the scene of the northern towns, newly built rather than developed from ancient centres. In that period, they rivaled northern Italy for the most densely populated region of Europe, all of the regions mainly depended on trade, manufacturing and the encouragement of the free flow of goods and craftsmen. Germanic languages such as Dutch and Luxembourgish were the predominant languages, secondary languages included French, Romance-speaking Belgium, the Romance Flanders, and Namur. Governor Mary of Hungary used both the expressions les pays de par deça and Pays dEmbas, which evolved to Pays-Bas or Low Countries, today the term is typically fitted to modern political boundaries and used in the same way as the term Benelux, which also includes Luxembourg. The name of the country the Netherlands has the same meaning. The same name of countries can be found in other European languages, for example German Niederlande, French, les Pays-Bas, and so on. In the Dutch language itself no plural is used for the name of the modern country, so Nederland is used for the modern nation and de Nederlanden for the 16th century domains of Charles V. In Dutch, and to an extent in English, the Low Countries colloquially means the Netherlands and Belgium, sometimes the Netherlands. For example, a Derby der Lage Landen, is an event between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium was renamed only in 1830, after splitting from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, politically, before the Napoleonic wars, it was referred to as the Southern, Spanish or later Austrian Netherlands. It is still referred to as part of the low countries, the region politically had its origins in Carolingian empire, more precisely, most of it was within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia. After the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia, the Low Countries were brought under the rule of various lordships until they came to be in the hands of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Hence, a part of the low countries came to be referred to as the Burgundian Netherlands also called the Seventeen Provinces up to 1581. Even after the secession of the autonomous Dutch Republic in the north. The Low Countries were part of the Roman provinces of Gallia Belgica, Germania Inferior and they were inhabited by Belgic and Germanic tribes. In the 4th and 5th century, Frankish tribes had entered this Roman region and they came to be ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, under which dynasty the southern part was re-Christianised
16.
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
17.
Douglas A-26 Invader
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A limited number of highly modified United States Air Force aircraft served in Southeast Asia until 1969. It was a fast aircraft capable of carrying twice its specified bomb load, a range of guns could be fitted to produce a formidable ground-attack aircraft. A re-designation of the type from A-26 to B-26 led to confusion with the Martin B-26 Marauder, which first flew in November 1940, about 16 months before the Douglas designs maiden flight. The A-26 was Douglas Aircrafts successor to the A-20 Havoc, also known as Douglas Boston, one of the most successful and widely operated types flown by Allied air forces in World War II. Designed by Ed Heinemann, Robert Donovan, and Ted R. Smith, the Douglas XA-26 prototype first flew on 10 July 1942 at Mines Field, El Segundo, with test pilot Benny Howard at the controls. Flight tests revealed excellent performance and handling, but problems with engine cooling led to cowling changes, repeated collapses during testing led to strengthening of the nose landing gear. The A-26 was originally built in two different configurations, the A-26B had a gun nose, which originally could be equipped with a combination of armament including.50 caliber machine guns, 20mm or 37mm auto cannon, or even a 75mm pack howitzer. Normally the gun nose version housed six.50 caliber machine guns, officially termed the all-purpose nose, the A-26Cs glass nose, officially termed the Bombardier nose, contained a Norden bombsight for medium altitude precision bombing. The A-26C nose section included two fixed M-2 guns, later replaced by underwing gun packs or internal guns in the wings. An A-26C nose section could be exchanged for an A-26B nose section, or vice versa, in a few man-hours, thus changing the designation. The flat-topped canopy was changed in late 1944 after about 820 production aircraft, alongside the pilot in an A-26B, a crew member typically served as navigator and gun loader for the pilot-operated nose guns. In an A-26C, that crew member served as navigator and bombardier, a small number of A-26Cs were fitted with dual flight controls, some parts of which could be disabled in flight to allow limited access to the nose section. A tractor-style jump seat was located behind the navigators seat, general George Kenney, commander of the Far East Air Forces stated that, We do not want the A-26 under any circumstances as a replacement for anything. Until changes could be made, the 3d Bomb Group requested additional Douglas A-20 Havocs, the 319th Bomb Group worked up on the A-26 in March 1945, joining the initial 3rd BG, with the 319th flying until 12 August 1945. The A-26 operations wound down in mid-August 1945 with only a few dozen missions flown, several of the A-20 and B-25 AAF units in the Pacific received the A-26 for trials, in limited quantities. Douglas needed better results from the Invaders second combat test, so A-26s began arriving in Europe in late September 1944 for assignment to the Ninth Air Force, the initial deployment involved 18 aircraft and crews assigned to the 553d Squadron of the 386th Bomb Group. This unit flew its first mission on 6 September 1944, no aircraft were lost on the eight test missions, and the Ninth Air Force announced that it was happy to replace all of its A-20s and B-26s with the A-26 Invader. Due to a shortage of A-26C variants, the groups flew a combined A-20/A-26 unit until deliveries of the glass-nose version caught up, besides bombing and strafing, tactical reconnaissance and night interdiction missions were undertaken successfully
18.
53d Fighter Wing
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The 53d Fighter Wing is a disbanded unit of the United States Air Force, last stationed at Philadelphia International Airport, Pennsylvania. It was withdrawn from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard and inactivated on 31 October 1950 and this wing is not related to the 53d Wing located at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida or that wings predecessor units, the 53d Fighter Group and the USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center. The wing was formed as a World War II command and control organization for newly organized troop carrier groups, the 53d was also engaged in aerial resupply and casualty evacuation of wounded personnel as well as theater troop transport operations. It operated until V-E Day, then supported occupation units in Germany until fall 1945, the wing was redesignated as a fighter wing and reactivated in 1947 as part of the PA ANG. Shortly before the wing was inactivated, its 113th Fighter Group was federalized for the Korean War, at the end of October 1950, the ANG converted to the wing-base organization. As a result, the wing was withdrawn from the Air National Guard, the 153d AC&W Gp was transferred directly to the PA ANG. afhra. af. mil/
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.
Far East Air Force (United States)
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The Far East Air Force was the military aviation organization of the United States Army in the Philippines just prior to and at the beginning of World War II. Formed on 16 November 1941, FEAF was the predecessor of the Fifth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces, initially the Far East Air Force also included aircraft and personnel of the Philippine Army Air Corps. Outnumbered operationally more than three-to-one by aircraft of the Japanese Navy and Army, the B-17s were the only combat aircraft of the FEAF to escape capture or destruction. FEAF, with only 16 Curtiss P-40s and 4 Seversky P-35 fighters remaining of its combat force, was broken up as an air organization. Nearly all ground and flying personnel were employed as infantry at some point during their time on Bataan, the surviving personnel and a small number of aircraft received from the United States were re-organized in Australia in January 1942, and on 5 February 1942 redesignated as 5 Air Force. With most of its aircraft based in Java, the FEAF was nearly destroyed a second time trying to stem the tide of Japanese advances southward, four years later Allen recommended the establishment of an air station in the Philippines. Ultimately attriting four of the Armys first 18 airplanes, aviation went temporarily out of business when the last plane crashed into Corregidors San Jose Bay on 12 January 1915. The first U. S. aviation unit stationed overseas was the 1st Company, 2nd Aero Squadron and it used four Martin S seaplanes to adjust battery fire for Fort Mills, but was demobilized at the end of World War I. An additional squadron, the 28th, was activated on 1 September 1922 at Nichols Field, on 25 January 1923 the three squadrons, all equipped with the Boeing DH-4, were redesignated, respectively, the 2nd Observation, 3rd Pursuit, and 28th Bombardment Squadrons. The air forces in the Philippines were a component of the Armys Philippine Department and their nominal head was the Air Officer, Philippine Department, a staff member who did not exercise command of any operational units. Installations and airfields were maintained by service forces assigned to the Philippine Department, the primary observation aircraft after the retirement of the DH-4 was the Thomas-Morse O-19. After 1931 the 4th Composite Group became a ground for aircraft that had become obsolete or worn out. On 31 May 1940, Maj. Gen. George C, Grunert, a mustang officer who had entered the Army during the Spanish–American War, took command of the Philippine Department. Of thirteen fields available for use throughout the islands, only Clark Field was considered a first rate facility, the group had only 26 of the 51 pilots authorized it by its table of organization and equipment. In a limited response to Grunerts requests, on 5 August 1940 Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C and these measures were considered by the War Department to be one-shot operations and not a shift in its defense policy for the Philippines. The senior Air Corps officer in the Philippines was Col. Col. Harrison H. C, Col. Lawrence S. Churchill, commanding the 4th Composite Group, was a year his junior in rank. While both colonels were fifty-one years old in 1941, neither had the confidence of Grunert, possibly because of open animosity each displayed against the other, in March 1941, Grunert wrote Marshall requesting that a general officer be transferred to Manila to command the Departments air force. The Philippine Department Air Force was formed on 6 May 1941 as the War Department hastily reversed course, the PDAFs only major unit, the 4th Composite Group, consisted of five squadrons based at two grass fields, Clark and Nichols
21.
Boeing B-29 Superfortress variants
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The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was produced in a large number of experimental and production models. Two aircraft were ordered in August 1940, and a third was ordered in December, a mockup was completed in the spring of 1941, and it first flew on September 21,1942. Testing continued until February 18,1943, when the prototype crashed. Flown by Boeings chief test pilot, Edmund T, eddie Allen on a two-hour powerplant performance test, leaking fuel from a filler cap in the wing leading edge ran down inside the leading-edge and ignited, spreading to the engines. The crash killed many élite Boeing personnel involved in the design, the YB-29 was an improved XB-29 and 14 were built for service testing. Testing began in the summer of 1943, and dozens of modifications were made to the planes, the engines were upgraded from Wright R-3350-13s to R-3350-21s. Where the XB-29 had three-bladed props, the YB-29 had four-bladed propellers, various alternatives to the remote-controlled defensive systems were tested on a number of them, particularly the fourth one delivered. After alternative arrangements had been tested, defensive armament was standardised at ten. 50-calibre machine guns in turret-mounted pairs. The YB-29 also featured a fire control system. The B-29 was the production version of the Superfortress. Since the new bomber was urgently needed, the design was developed in tandem with the service testing. In fact, the first B-29 was completed two months after the delivery of the first YB-29. Forty-six B-29s of this variant, built by the Glenn L. Martin Company at its Omaha plant, were used as the aircraft for the atomic bomb missions, some 2,513 B-29s were manufactured by Boeing-Wichita, Bell-Atlanta, and Martin-Omaha. Section source, Baugher and The B-29A was a version of the original B-29 production model. All 1,119 B-29As were built at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington, enhancements made in the B-29A included a better wing design and defensive modifications. Due to a weakness to head-on fighter attacks, the number of machine guns in the forward dorsal turrets was doubled to four. Where the wings of previous models had been made by the sub-assembly of two sections, the B-29A wing was built up from three and this made construction easier, and increased the strength of the airframe. The B-29A was produced until May 1946, when the last aircraft was completed and it was much used during the Korean War, but was quickly phased out when the jet bomber became operational
22.
3d Bombardment Squadron
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The 3d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 111th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, based at Travis Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 1 January 1953. Activated on 1 February 1940 at France Field, Panama Canal Zone, the unit was initially equipped with 4 Douglas B-18 Bolos and 1 B-17B. On 20 November 1940 it was redesignated as the 3rd Bombardment Squadron in keeping with the Air Corps-wide policy of configuring for future re-equipment. It is known that the squadron received at least three Boeing B-17B Flying Fortresses, one of the first Canal Zone-based units to operate the four-engined bomber. By the end of January 1942, the squadron had surrendered its interest in the B-17Es, although a single Northrop A-17 was also on strength by this time, another being added by mid-February 1942. In May 1942 the squadron moved to Seymour Island Airfield in the Galapagos Islands and it is not clear if the Squadron re-equipped with Consolidated LB-30 Liberators prior to deploying to the Galapagos Islands or not, but this seems likely, as no B-18s are known to have operated there. The unit did operate two Consolidated PBY-5 Catalinas from the Galapagos, on loan from the Navy, the entire 10 man crew was lost. Between 13 and 27 March, the unit was stood down, as its B-24Ds had been transferred to another unit and the unit was left with but one LB-30. On 18 February 1943, an entire Squadron, consisting of 56 officers and 320 other ranks, the unit which arrived at Cristobal had no designation, and was simply known to its members as X Squadron. In turn, the personnel who had, up to time, been the former members of the unit moved to Anton Army Airfield. It was an exchange of station and designation between two units that has not heretofore been recorded. The 3rd BSs stay at David was short-lived, as it was off again to distant shores, after three or four days unpacking at Talara, General Brett arrived at Talara and ordered the unit to move to Salinas Airfield, Ecuador to relieve the 25th Bomb Squadron there. Accordingly, the Squadron arrived at Salinas in complete exasperation as one put it on 26 May. The unit also had two Northrop A-17s by this time, unbelievably, the unit was returned to Talara Airfield by 16 June (although the Official USAF history says the unit was at David on 11 June 1943. The unit continued to participate in the never ending Pacific patrols but did, in fact, return to David again, from this time on, the unit became, essentially, a sort of Operational Training Unit for VI Bomber Command. This left the unit, still nominally at David, with, one aircraft from the Squadron flew coordinated patrols while further detached at distant Hato Field, Curaçao. While no definitive submarine attacks were made, there were many suspicious radar contacts
23.
970th Airborne Air Control Squadron
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The 970th Airborne Air Control Squadron is part of the 513th Air Control Group at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operates the E-3 Sentry aircraft conducting airborne command and control missions,29 March 1943 Seymour Island Army Airfield, Baltra, Galápagos Islands, c.13 May 1943 Howard Field, Canal Zone, c. It conducted replacement training from 1943 to 1945 and 1951 to 1952, the 970th monitored and located enemy radio transmitters and conducted psychological warfare operations in South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos from 1966 to 1972. It has trained for and flown air control missions since March 1996, the 29th Bombardment Squadron was constituted and assigned to the Puerto Rican Department, pursuant to instructions contained in War Department letter, AG320.2 -M M-C, dated 22 November 1940. The Squadron was activated on 1 April 1941, at Borinquen Field,10, Headquarters, Puerto Rican Department, dated 1 April 1941. They were assigned, along with the newly activated Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, and the 44th, the 29th left Tent City on 27 August 1941 and moved into new barracks across the runway. The elimination of mosquitoes, dust and dirt, rain and mud made things more pleasant for all members of the Squadron, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, they began flying combat anti-submarine patrols in B-18A type aircraft. A major replacement of 29th Squadron personnel took place in early 1943, late in November 1942, the Commanding Officer of Davis-Monthan Field, Tucson, Arizona unofficially activated by a Verbal Order nine flight crews for possible overseas assignment. The personnel of the squadron were, up to date, part of the 60th Bombardment Squadron. The three crews of the 60th had been static, acting as training personnel, while the other six crews had just completed Third Phase Training, all nine crews had been checked out in the B-24 Liberator. Later, Captain Carl M. Cramer assumed command, Captain Richard W. Kline became Commanding Officer of the squadron that departed from Davis-Monthan Field on 3 March 1943 and arrived at Camp Harahan, New Orleans on 6 March 1943. The entire squadron remained at Camp Harahan until 13 March 1943, the time was spent in physical training and preparing squadron and personal equipment for overseas shipment. On 3 March 1943 the Advance Party, consisting of four officers, melvin Naron proceeded to the USAT John L. Clem, where arrangements were made for the quartering and feeding of the squadron while at sea. The balance of the squadron embarked at Chalmette Slip, Jackson Barracks Area, twelve days later, on 3 April 1943, at about 1500 hours, the transport passed through the Submarine Net guarding the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. The squadron disembarked at Colon, Canal Zone, and traveled across the Isthmus by train to Howard Field, after lunch the squadron went on to Anton by truck convoy. It was soon learned that X was to be known and designated as the 29th Bombardment Squadron for the purpose of staging, the 29th Squadron was then transferred to the 6th Bombardment Group in May 1943. The subsequent four weeks were devoted to processing and this training would later prove to be of great value for the unit as a Patrol Squadron. S. Army Transport Frederick C. Johnson and headed for the Galapagos Islands, the three flight crews of Capt. Carver, Lt. Lange and Lt. Hansen flew to the Rock in B-24D’s on 13 May 1943
24.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
25.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
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The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate swept wings to achieve high transonic speeds, the MiG-15 is often mentioned, along with the F-86 Sabre, as the best fighter aircraft of the Korean War. The MiG-15 is believed to have one of the most widely produced jet aircraft ever made. Licensed foreign production may have raised the total to over 18,000. The MiG-15 remains in service with the North Korean Air Force as an advanced trainer, the first turbojet fighter developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB was the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9, which appeared in the years immediately after World War II. It used a pair of reverse-engineered German BMW003 engines, the MiG-9 was a troublesome design that suffered from weak, unreliable engines and control problems. Categorized as a jet fighter, it was designed with the straight-style wings common to piston-engined fighters. Stalin is said to have replied, What fool will sell us his secrets, however, he gave his consent to the proposal and Mikoyan, engine designer Vladimir Klimov, and others travelled to the United Kingdom to request the engines. Sample engines were purchased and delivered with blueprints, following evaluation and adaptation to Russian conditions, the windfall technology was tooled for mass-production as the Klimov RD-45 to be incorporated into the MiG-15. To take advantage of the new engine, the Council of Ministers ordered the Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB to build two prototypes for an advanced high-altitude daytime interceptor to defend against bombers. It was to have a top speed of 1,000 kilometres per hour, designers at MiGs OKB-155 started with the earlier MiG-9 jet fighter. The new fighter used Klimovs British-derived engines, swept wings, further experience and research during World War II later established that swept wings would give better performance at transonic speeds. At the end of World War II, the Soviets seized many of the assets of Germanys aircraft industry, the swept wing later proved to have a decisive performance advantage over straight-winged jet fighters when it was introduced into combat over Korea. The design that emerged had a mid-mounted 35-degree swept wing with a slight anhedral, Western analysts noted that it strongly resembled Kurt Tanks Focke-Wulf Ta 183, a later design than the Me 262 that never progressed beyond the design stage. While the majority of Focke-Wulf engineers were captured by Western armies, the MiG-15 bore a much stronger likeness than the American F-86 Sabre, which also incorporated German research. The MiG-15 does bear a resemblance in layout, sharing the high tailplane and nose mounted intake, although the aircraft are different in structure, details, the new MiG retained the previous straight-winged MiG-9s wing and tailplane placement while the F-86 employed a more conventional low-winged design. To prevent confusion during the height of combat the US painted their planes with bright stripes to distinguish them, the resulting prototypes were designated I-310. The I-310 was a fighter with 35-degree sweep in wings and tail
26.
Vladivostok
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Vladivostok is a city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia, located at the head of the Golden Horn Bay, not far from Russias borders with China and North Korea. The population of the city as of 2016 is 606,653, the city is the home port of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the largest Russian port on the Pacific Ocean. The name Vladivostok loosely translates from Russian as the ruler of the East—a name similar to Vladikavkaz which means the ruler of the Caucasus, the Japanese name of the city is Urajiosutoku. In Korean, the name is transliterated as Beulladiboseutokeu in South Korea, Ullajibosŭttokhŭ in North Korea, Qing China, which had just lost the Opium War with Britain, was unable to defend the region. The Manchu emperors of China, the Qing Dynasty, banned Han Chinese from most of Manchuria including the Vladivostok area —it was only visited by illegal gatherers of ginseng and sea cucumbers. On June 20,1860, the supply ship Manchur, under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Alexey K. Shefner. Warrant officer Nikolay Komarov with 28 soldiers and two non-commissioned officers under his command were brought from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur by ship to construct the first buildings of the future city, the Manza War in 1868 was the first attempt by Russia to expel Chinese from territory it controlled. Hostilities broke out around Vladivostok when the Russians tried to shut off gold mining operations, the Chinese resisted a Russian attempt to take Ashold Island and in response, two Russian military stations and three Russian towns were attacked by the Chinese whom the Russians failed to oust. An elaborate system of fortifications was erected between the 1870s and 1890s, a telegraph line from Vladivostok to Shanghai and Nagasaki was opened in 1871. That same year a commercial port was relocated to Vladivostok from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, town status was granted on April 22,1880. A coat of arms, representing the Siberian tiger, was adopted in March 1883, the first high school was opened in 1899. The citys economy was given a boost in 1916, with the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway, after the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks took control of Vladivostok and the Trans-Siberian Railway in its entirety. During the Russian Civil War they were overthrown by the White-allied Czechoslovak Legion, the intervention ended in the wake of the collapse of the White Army and regime in 1919, with all Allied forces except the Japanese withdrawing by the end of 1920. In April 1920, the city came under the governance of the Far Eastern Republic. Vladivostok then became the capital of the Japanese-backed Provisional Priamurye Government, the withdrawal of Japanese forces in October 1922 spelled the end of the enclave, with Ieronim Uborevichs Red Army taking the city on October 25,1922. As the main base of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, Vladivostok was officially closed to foreigners during the Soviet years. The city hosted the summit at which Leonid Brezhnev and Gerald Ford conducted the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks in 1974, at the time, the two countries decided quantitative limits on various nuclear weapons systems and banned the construction of new land-based ICBM launchers. In 2012, Vladivostok hosted the 24th APEC summit, leaders from the APEC member countries met at Russky Island, off the coast of Vladivostok
27.
99th Air Base Wing
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The 99th Air Base Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command and its ACC subordinate organization, the United States Air Force Warfare Center. It is based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada and also serves as the host wing at Nellis, a non-flying wing, the organization oversees the daily base operations and mission support functions of Nellis AFB such as personnel, finance, civil engineering, security and supply. The 99 ABW is the organization to the World War II 99th Bombardment Group. The group moved to Algeria in May 1943, where the group and its B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft distinguished themselves while flying bombing missions against targets in Italy, Sardinia, then, in December 1943, aircrews moved to Italy and conducted missions throughout Europe. Active for over 60 years, the 99th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was part of Strategic Air Commands deterrent force during the Cold War, the 99th Air Base Wing is commanded by Colonel Richard H. Boutwell. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Steven J. Cleveland, three groups are assigned to the 99th, 99th Medical Group, 99th Mission Support Group and 99th Security Forces Group. 99th Medical Group – Provides medical care for the community to ensure maximum wartime readiness. 99th Communications Squadron – Programs, operates and maintains the computer networks. Operations Flight Plans and Programs Flight 99th Contracting Squadron – Executes the base central acquisition, 99th Logistics Readiness Squadron – Provides motor vehicle operations and maintenance, traffic management and supply orders. The squadron also provides services for lodging, food services, club management, laundry, mortuary affairs, base honor guard, base library and recreational activities. The group fills ACCs largest mobility commitment and supports the USAFWC, 53rd Wing, 57th Wing, 98th Range Wing and it also manages the ACC Desert Warfare Training Center. Financial Analysis Flight Financial Services Flight On 25 September 1942, the 99th Bombardment Group was activated at Gowan Field AAF near Boise, the 99th consisted of the 346th, 347th, 348th, and 416th Bomb squadrons. Due to congestion at Gowan Field, the 99th was relocated to Walla Walla AAF, during October, the 99th received twelve flight leaders with crews, and four B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. During the first phase of training, the 99th received six more B-17s, the winter weather in Washington was not favorable for flying, so the 99th relocated to Sioux City AAB, Iowa for the second phase of training. By the middle of November, the 99th had acquired about seventy five percent of its ground, the third phase of training took place at Smokey Hill AAF, Salina, Kansas in January 1943. After completion of training, the 99th departed the United States at Morrison Field, the 99th B-17s flew the southern route via Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico, Georgetown, British Guiana, Belém, Brazil, Bathurst, the Gambia, to their destination at Marrakech, Morocco. The ground and support personnel and equipment made the journey by ship, upon arrival in North Africa, the 99th was assigned to was attached to the 5th Bombardment Wing of Twelfth Air Force, and was stationed at Navarin, located near Constantine, Algeria. The group came to be referred to as the Diamondbacks, due to a diamond painted on the vertical stabilizer of their B-17s
28.
Philadelphia International Airport
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The airport is a major international hub for American Airlines and a regional cargo hub for UPS Airlines. Philadelphia International Airport is also a city for ultra low cost airline Frontier Airlines. The airport has service to destinations in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, most of the airport property is located in Philadelphia proper. The international terminal and the end of the airfield are located in Tinicum Township. Starting in 1925 the Pennsylvania National Guard used the PHL site as a training airfield, the site was dedicated as the Philadelphia Municipal Airport by Charles Lindbergh in 1927, but it had no proper terminal building until 1940, airlines used the airfield in nearby Camden, New Jersey. Once Philadelphias terminal was completed American, Eastern, TWA and United began flights, in 1947 and 1950 the airport had runways 4,9,12 and 17, all of 5400 ft or less. In 1956 runway 9 was 7284 ft, in 1959 it was 9499 ft, not much change occurred until the early 1970s, when runway 4 was closed and 9R opened with 10500 ft. On June 20,1940, the weather station became as the official point for Philadelphia weather observations. During World War II the United States Army Air Forces used the airport as a First Air Force training airfield, beginning in 1940 the Coatesville-based Rising Sun School of Aeronautics performed primary flight training at the airport under contract to the Air Corps. After the Pearl Harbor Attack, the I Fighter Command Philadelphia Fighter Wing provided air defense of the Delaware Valley area from the airport, known units assigned were the 33d, 58th, 355th and 358th Fighter Groups. In June 1943 I Fighter Command transferred jurisdiction of the airport to the Air Technical Service Command, ATSC established a sub-depot of the Middletown Air Depot at the airport. During 1945 the Air Force reduced its use of the airport, Philadelphia Municipal became Philadelphia International in 1945, when American Overseas Airlines began direct flights to Europe. A new terminal opened in December 1953, the oldest parts of the present terminal complex were built in the late 50s. The April 1957 OAG shows 30 weekday departures on Eastern,24 TWA,24 United,18 American,16 National,14 Capital,6 Allegheny and 3 Delta. To Europe, five Pan Am DC-6Bs a week via Idlewild and Boston, Eastern and National had nonstops to Miami, but the TWA 1049G to LAX was the only nonstop beyond Chicago. In the 1980s PHL hosted several hubs, the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 allowed regional carrier Altair Airlines to create a small hub at PHL using Fokker F-28s. Altair began in 1967 with flights to such as Rochester, New York, Hartford, Connecticut. In the mid-1980s Eastern Air Lines opened a hub in Concourse C, the airline declined in the late 1980s and sold aircraft and gate leases to Chicago-based Midway Airlines
29.
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
30.
Aerospace Defense Command
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Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Forces, responsible for continental air defence. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980 and its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inactivated in 1950, reactivated in 1951, and then redesignated Aerospace rather than Air in 1968. Its mission was to air defense of the Continental United States. It directly controlled all active measures, and was tasked to coordinate all passive means of air defense, the air districts established on 16 January 1941 before the Pearl Harbor attack. The four air districts also handled USAAF combat training with the Army Ground Forces and organization and training of bomber, fighter and other units, the USAAFs Aircraft Warning Corps provided air defense warning with information centers that networked an areas Army Radar Stations which communicated radar tracks by telephone. The AWC information centers also integrated visual reports processed by Ground Observer Corps filter centers, AWC information centers notified air defense command posts of the 4 continental air forces for deploying interceptor aircraft which used command guidance for ground-controlled interception. The USAAF inactivated the aircraft warning network in April 1944, Continental Air Forces was activated on 12 December 1944 with the four Air Forces as components to consolidate the CONUS air defense mission under one command. The Continental Air Forces reorganization began in 1945, when ground radar, the Distant Early Warning Line was first conceived—and rejected—in 1946. By 1948 there were only 5 AC&W stations, including the Twin Lights station in NJ that opened in June and Montauk NY Air Warning Station #3 --cf. SAC radar stations, e. g. at Dallas & Denver Bomb Plots. By the time ADC was inactivated on 1 July 1950, ADC had deployed the Lashup Radar Network with existing radars at 43 sites, in addition,36 Air National Guard fighter units were called to active duty for the mission. ADC was reinstated as a command on 1 January 1951 at Mitchel Air Force Base. The headquarters was moved to Ent Air Force Base in Colorado Springs on 8 January 1951 and it received 21 former ConAC active-duty fighter squadrons. ADC was also assigned the 25th, 26th 27th and 28th Air Divisions ADC completed the Priority Permanent System network for Aircraft Warning, gaps were filled by additional Federal Aviation Administration radar stations and the Ground Observation Corps. During the mid-1950s, planners devised the idea of extending the wall of powerful land-based radar seaward with Airborne early warning, the RC-121s, EC-121s and Texas Towers, it was believed, would contribute to extending contiguous east-coast radar coverage some 300 to 500 miles seaward. In terms of the air threat of the 1950s, this meant a gain of at least 30 extra minutes warning time of a bomber attack. ADCs Operation Tail Wind on 11–12 July tested its augmentation plan that required Air Training Command interceptors participate in an air defense emergency, a total of seven ATC bases actively participated in the exercise, deploying aircraft and aircrews and supporting the ADC radar net. As the USAF prepared to deploy the Tactical Air Command E-3 Sentry in the later 1970s, all remaining EC-121s were transferred to the Air Force Reserve, which formed the 79th AEWCS at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida in early 1976. Besides monitoring Cuban waters, these last Warning Stars also operated from NAS Keflavik, final EC-121 operations ended in September 1978
31.
Republic F-84 Thunderjet
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The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces proposal for a day fighter, the aircraft was not considered fully operational until the 1949 F-84D model and the design matured only with the definitive F-84G introduced in 1951. In 1954, the straight-wing Thunderjet was joined by the swept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak fighter, the Thunderjet became the USAFs primary strike aircraft during the Korean War, flying 86,408 sorties and destroying 60% of all ground targets in the war as well as eight Soviet-built MiG fighters. Over half of the 7,524 F-84s produced served with NATO nations, the USAF Strategic Air Command had F-84 Thunderjets in service from 1948 through 1957. The F-84 was the first production aircraft to utilize inflight refueling and the first fighter capable of carrying a nuclear weapon. The F-84 nomenclature can be somewhat confusing, the straight-wing F-84A to F-84E and F-84G models were called the Thunderjet. The F-84F Thunderstreak and RF-84F Thunderflash were different airplanes with swept wings, the XF-84H Thunderscreech was an experimental turboprop version of the F-84F. The F-84F swept wing version was intended to be a variation of the normal Thunderjet with only a few different parts. Production delays on the F-84F resulted in order of the straight-wing version. In 1944, Republic Aviations chief designer, Alexander Kartveli, began working on a replacement for the P-47 Thunderbolt piston-engined fighter. The initial attempts to redesign the P-47 to accommodate a jet engine proved futile due to the large cross-section of the centrifugal compressor turbojets. Instead, Kartveli and his team designed a new aircraft with a streamlined fuselage largely occupied by an axial compressor turbojet engine, in addition, the new aircraft had to use the General Electric TG-180 axial turbojet which entered production as the Allison J35. On 11 November 1944, Republic received an order for three prototypes of the new XP-84—Model AP-23, the name Thunderjet was chosen to continue the Republic Aviation tradition started with the P-47 Thunderbolt while emphasizing the new method of propulsion. On 4 January 1945, even before the aircraft took to the air, meanwhile, wind tunnel testing by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics revealed longitudinal instability and stabilizer skin buckling at high speeds. The weight of the aircraft, a concern given the low thrust of early turbojets, was growing so quickly that the USAAF had to set a gross weight limit of 13,400 lb. The results of preliminary testing were incorporated into the third prototype, designated XP-84A. The first prototype XP-84 was transferred to Muroc Army Air Field where it flew for the first time on 28 February 1946 with Major Wallace A and it was joined by the second prototype in August, both aircraft flying with J35-GE-7 engines producing 3,745 lbf. In particular, the impact of wingtip tanks on aircraft handling was not thoroughly studied, after the creation of the United States Air Force by the National Security Act of 1947, the Pursuit designation was replaced with Fighter, and the P-84 became the F-84
32.
Northrop F-89 Scorpion
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The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an American all-weather interceptor built during the 1950s, the first jet-powered aircraft designed as such from the outset to enter service. The Scorpion stemmed from a United States Army Air Forces Air Technical Service Command specification for a fighter to replace the P-61 Black Widow. The preliminary specification, sent to manufacturers on 28 August 1945. The aircraft was to be armed with aerial rockets stored internally, each mount had to be capable of 15° of movement from the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. Each mounts guns were to be controlled by radar. For ground attack, it had to be capable of carrying 1, 000-pound bombs, bell Aircraft, Consolidated-Vultee, Douglas Aircraft, Goodyear, Northrop and Curtiss-Wright all submitted proposals. In March 1946, the USAAF selected the Curtiss-Wright XP-87, adapted from their proposed XA-43 attack aircraft, the N-24, designed by Jack Northrop, was a slim-bodied swept-wing aircraft with a two-man pressurized cockpit and conventional landing gear. To reduce drag, the two Allison J35 turbojet engines were buried in the fuselage, directly behind their air intakes. The horizontal stabilizer was mounted just above the junction of the stabilizer with the fuselage and had some dihedral. It was inspected on 25 September, and the USAAF was not impressed, other changes had to be made as wind tunnel and other aerodynamic tests were conducted. The swept wings proved to be less satisfactory at low speeds, delivery of the first prototype was scheduled for November 1947,14 months after the inspection. The position of the horizontal stabilizer proved to be unsatisfactory, as it was affected by the engine exhaust, moving the horizontal stabilizer forward solved the problem. Another major change occurred when USAAF revised its specification to delete the rear gun installation on 8 October, another inspection of the mock-up was held on 17 December, and the inspectors only suggested minor changes, even though the fuselage fuel tanks were still above the engines. Northrops efforts to protect the tanks were considered sufficient, as the only alternative was to redesign the entire aircraft. The XP-89 had a thin, straight, mid-mounted wing and a crew of two, seated in tandem, the slim rear fuselage and the high-mounted horizontal stabilizer led Northrop employees calling it the Scorpion—a name later formally adopted by the Air Force. The intended armament of four 20 mm M-24 cannon in a nose turret was not ready when the XP-89 was completed in 1948. Pending the availability of either of the two turrets under development, an interim six-gun fixed installation, with 200 rounds per gun, was designed for the underside of the nose. The thin wing had a ratio of 9% and used a NACA 0009-64 section
33.
Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter
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The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter is a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the B-29 and B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, with the prototypes first flight being on 9 November 1944, between 1947 and 1958,888 C-97s in several versions were built,811 being KC-97 tankers. C-97s served in the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, some aircraft served as flying command posts for the Strategic Air Command, while others were modified for use in Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadrons. It was built before the death of Boeing president Philip G. Johnson and it can be easily distinguished from the 377 Stratocruiser by the beak radome beneath the nose and by the flying boom and jet engines on later tanker models. The prototype XC-97 was powered by the 2,200 hp Wright R-3350 engine, the XC-97 took off for its first flight on November 9,1944. The tenth and all subsequent aircraft were fitted with the taller fin, the C-97 had clamshell doors under its tail, so that a retractable ramp could be used to drive in cargo. However, unlike the later Lockheed C-130 Hercules, it was not designed as a transport which could deliver directly to primitive forward bases using relatively short takeoffs. The rear ramp could not be used in flight for air drops, production models featured the 3,500 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major engine, the same engine as for the B-50. The C-97 had a payload of 35,000 lb. The C-97 was also the first mass-produced air transport to feature cabin pressurization, the civilian derivative of the C-97 was the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, a very luxurious transoceanic airliner which featured a lower deck lounge and could be fitted with sleeper cabins. The first Stratocruiser flew on July 8,1947, One YC-97A was used in the Berlin Airlift during April 1949 operating for the 1st Strategic Support Squadron. It suffered a landing accident at Rhein Main Air Base and by the time it was repaired. C-97s evacuated casualties during the Korean War, C-97s also participated in the Biafran airlift, delivering relief materials to Uli airstrip in Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War. Flying under the cover of darkness and at treetop level to evade radar, the USAF Strategic Air Command operated C-97 Stratofreighters from 1949–1978. Early in its life, it served as an airborne alternative SAC command post. While only 77 C-97 transports were built,811 were built as KC-97 Stratofreighters for inflight refueling, many KC-97s were later refitted as C-97G transports and equipped several squadrons of the US Air National Guard. Two C-97s are still airworthy at the present day, one operated as a privately owned warbird, the Israelis turned to Stratocruisers and KC-97s when they could not buy the highly regarded C-130. They adapted Boeing 377 Stratocruiser airliners into transports, including many using C-97 tail sections including the loading ramp, others were adapted with swiveling tails and refueling pods
34.
Military Air Transport Service
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The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and it was inactivated and discontinued on 8 January 1966 when the Air Force and Navy set up separate strategic airlift commands. In 1982, the World War II Air Transport Command and the Military Air Transport Service were consolidated with Military Airlift Command, the Military Air Transport Service was activated under United States Air Force Major General Laurence S. Kuter, in order to harness interservice efforts more efficiently. It was an amalgamation of Navy and Army air transport commands, MATS was the first Joint-Service command and Naval aircrews participated in every major MATS airlift operation. During the Berlin Airlift, Naval aviators flew transport aircraft from the United States to European supply depots, in the Korean War, in its original organization, a Rear Admiral commanded the MATS Pacific Division and another rear admiral served as MATS vice-commander. During the 1958 reorganization, senior Naval officers were on the staffs of the commanders of both EASTAF and WESTAF, and at MATS Headquarters. In 1965 conflicting views of the Air Force and Navy triggered by the demands of the Vietnam War led to the returning to separate airlift commands. In turn, MATS was disbanded and superseded in the Air Force by the Military Airlift Command, with the end of World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command found itself in limbo. Senior ATC officers, on the hand, thought that ATC should be developed into a national government operated airline. While the war had firmly established the necessity of a troop carrier mission, when the United States Air Force was established as a separate service in 1947, the Air Transport Command was not established as one of its major commands. The ATC commander and his staff took it upon themselves to convince the new leadership of the newly created Department of Defense that ATC had a mission. Williams had been pressing for the development of a troop carrier airplane when he made his statement. Also, as a measure, MATS would combine the resources of Air Transport Command with those of the Naval Air Transport Service. This way the command would be sanctioned by the Department of Defense, although MATS was under the operational control of the United States Air Force, the United States Navy was a full partner in the command and operational components of the organization. Major naval components of MATS were naval air transport squadrons, vR-3 and VR-6 were assigned to McGuire AFB and VR-22 was assigned to the Naval Air Transport Station at Naval Station Norfolk/Chambers Field, Virginia. Together they constituted MATS EASTAFs Naval Air Transport Wing, Atlantic, on the Pacific Coast, Naval Air Transport Wing, Pacific, consisted of Air Transport Squadron VR-7 and Maintenance Squadron VR-8, both at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California. A detachment of VR-7 was also stationed at Tachikawa Air Base, Naval aviators flew scheduled MATS routes to Newfoundland, Iceland, Scotland, West Germany, Italy, Puerto Rico and Africa. In the Pacific, MATS naval aviators flew to all MATS stations from Hawaii to Japan to South Vietnam, Bangkok, India, Air Force pilots flew Navy MATS planes, just as naval aviators could be found piloting Air Force MATS transport aircraft
35.
Military Airlift Command
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The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force major command that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. In 1982, the heritage of the World War II Air Transport Command, mACs emblem reflected its predecessors history by incorporating the emblem of MATS into its shield. Under the USAF lineage system, they did not possess a permanent lineage or history and were discontinued upon inactivation, AFCON units were activated under MAC, to which USAF personnel and equipment formerly assigned to MATS MAJCOM units were reassigned effective 8 January 1966. No formal lineage or history between former MATS MAJCOM units and MAC AFCON units was ever made, with the establishment of MAC by the USAF, plans were also made to discontinue the role of the United States Navy within the new command. At first, MAC transports to Vietnam landed regularly only at Tan Son Nhut AB, New air bases opened at Da Nang AB and Cam Ranh AB in January 1966, and later at Pleiku, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat Air Bases, reducing the need for redistribution. Major unit movements by MAC aircraft from the United States usually required further airlifts to operating areas by in-country transports, eventually, however, C-5s could unload at Tan Son Nhut and elsewhere. Primarily, MAC transports carried high-value cargo such as aircraft and equipment parts, while MAC civilian-contract flights transported passengers to and from the combat zone. In the winter of 1965-66, MAC conducted Operation Blue Light, generally, patients requiring hospitalization for thirty days or more were moved to offshore hospitals, others were sometimes evacuated to keep an empty-bed reserve of fifty percent in Vietnam. Military Airlift Command transports carried the more serious cases from Clark AB to the United States, on 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched an all-out invasion of South Vietnam, which came to be known as the Easter Offensive. The Vietnamization policy of the United States had resulted in the vast majority of US ground combat forces been withdrawn from South Vietnam with PACAFs tactical air units also being reduced. Military Airlift Commands C-141 force, accustomed to operating in and out of Vietnam from offshore were utilized for movement of large amounts of men and materiel to oppose the invasion. Beginning on 21 April, MAC C-141s began shuttling passengers and cargo between Tan Son Nhut AB and the other main bases, principally Da Nang AB, Bien Hoa AB. Planes and crews were based for one or more nights at Tan Son Nhut and this C-141 effort permitted the VNAF and PACAF C-130s to concentrate on drops, unit hauls, and deliveries to forward locations. The rapid American response to the invasion allowed the South Vietnamese forces to defeat the invaders for the moment, by the terms of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, the cease-fire was to become effective in Vietnam the morning of 28 January 1973, Saigon time. American prisoners in North Vietnam were to be released and the last 23,700 American troops withdrawn from Vietnam within sixty days, planning for Operation Homecoming, the return of the Americans held by North Vietnam, was given to the Military Airlift Command. C-141s of the 63d Military Airlift Wing, stationed at Norton AFB, a second C-130 left Tan Son Nhut AB carrying members of the international commission to Hanoi oversee the repatriations. This C-130 arrived at Gia Lam Airport about one hour before the C-130 from CCK arrived, on the ground at Gia Lam the C-130 crew met the airport manager, and went indoors for tea offered by the North Vietnamese. The first of three C-141s flown in from Clark landed soon after and repatriation began, as the first returnee moved from the release desk, one of the C-130 flight engineers quickly moved to clear the way, leading the former prisoner by the arm
36.
Vietnam War
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It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war. As the war continued, the actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role. U. S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, in the course of the war, the U. S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam and they viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The U. S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and this was part the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina, U. S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962. Regular U. S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965, despite the Paris Peace Accord, which was signed by all parties in January 1973, the fighting continued. In the U. S. and the Western world, a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture, the war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered North–South relations. Direct U. S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973, the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240, 000–300,000 Cambodians,20, 000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U. S. service members died in the conflict. Various names have applied to the conflict. Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English and it has also been called the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict. As there have been several conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the names of its primary protagonists to distinguish it from others. In Vietnamese, the war is known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ. It is also called Chiến tranh Việt Nam, France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1893. The 1884 Treaty of Huế formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the seven decades
37.
Vietnam Service Medal
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The Vietnam Service Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to service during the Vietnam War by all members of the United States Armed Forces provided they meet the award requirements. The distinctive design has been attributed to both sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, an employee of the Army Institute of Heraldry and Mercedes Lee who created the design. The Vietnam Service Medal was awarded to all members of the United States Armed Forces serving in Vietnam, be attached to or regularly serve for 1 or more days aboard a U. S. naval vessel directly supporting military operations. Actually participating as a crewmember in one or more flights into airspace above Vietnam. No person will be entitled to more than one award of the VSM, individuals qualified for the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for reason of service in Vietnam between 1 July 1958 and 3 July 1965 will remain qualified for that medal. Upon request any such individual may be awarded the VSM instead of the AFEM, in such instances, the AFEM will be deleted from the list of authorized medals in personnel records. No person will be entitled to awards for Vietnam service. Service members who earned the AFEM for Operation Frequent Wind between 29 and 30 April 1975, may elect to receive the VSM instead of the AFEM, no service member may be issued both medals for service in Vietnam. The VSM may be awarded posthumously, one 3⁄16 inch bronze service star is authorized for each campaign under the following conditions,1. Assigned or attached to and present for duty with a unit during the period in which it participated in combat, under orders in a combat zone and in addition meets any of the following requirements, a. Furnished a certificate by a Commanding General of a corps, higher unit, served at a normal post of duty. Aboard a vessel other than in a status and furnished a certificate by the home port commander of the vessel that he or she served in the combat zone. Was an evadee or escapee in the zone or recovered from a POW status in the combat zone during the time limitations of the campaign. POWs will not be accorded credit for the spent in confinement or while otherwise in restraint under enemy control. Though the Mayaguez incident is referred to as the last battle of the Vietnam War. Instead of the VSM, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is authorized for members who participated in that battle. A congressional bill was introduced in 2016 to award veterans of the Mayaguez battle the VSM, South Vietnam also issued its own service medal for the Vietnam War, known as the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
38.
Cessna 310
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The Cessna 310 is an American six-seat, low-wing, twin-engined monoplane that was produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engined aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II, the 310 first flew on January 3,1953 with deliveries starting in late 1954. The sleek modern lines of the new twin were backed up by innovative features such as engine exhaust thrust augmenter tubes, in 1964, the engine exhaust was changed to flow under the wing instead of the augmenter tubes, which were considered to be noisy. Typical of Cessna model naming conventions, a letter was added after the number to identify changes to the original design over the years. The first significant upgrade to the 310 series was the 310C in 1959, in 1960 the 310D featured swept back vertical tail surfaces. An extra cabin window was added with the 310F, the 320 Skyknight was developed from the 310F, which featured turbocharged TSIO-470-B engines and a fourth cabin side-window. The Skyknight was in production between 1961 and 1969, when it was replaced by the similar Turbo 310, a single side window replaced the rear two windows on the 310K, with optional three-blade propellers being introduced as well. Over the years there were modifications to the 310 to improve performance. Noted aircraft engineer Jack Riley produced two variants, The Riley Rocket 310 and the Riley Turbostream 310, Riley replaced the standard Continental 310 hp engines with Lycoming TIO-540350 hp engines. These turbocharged intercooled engines were installed with three-blade Hartzell propellers in a configuration to further increase performance. At 5,400 lb. gross weight the aircraft had a weight to power ratio of 7.71 lb. per horsepower and this resulted in a cruising speed of 260 knots at 18,000 feet and a 3, 000fpm rate of climb. The Cessna 310 was a charter aircraft for the many air taxi firms that sprang up in the general aviation boom that followed World War II. It could use short runways while at the time carrying a large useful load of 2,000 lb. or more. In 1957, the United States Air Force selected the Cessna 310 for service as a utility aircraft for transport. The USAF purchased 160 unmodified 310A aircraft with the designation L-27A and unofficially nicknamed Blue Canoe, a USAF study after one year of operational service found the U-3A had direct operating costs of less than $12 an hour. Some USAF aircraft were transferred to the US Army and US Navy. 310 Production aircraft powered by two 240 hp Continental O-470-B engines,547 built, 310A Military version of the 310 for the United States Air Force, designated L-27A and later U-3A,160 built. 310B310 with new instrument panel, O-470-M engines and minor changes,225 built, 310C 310B with 260 hp IO-470-D engines, increased takeoff weight and minor changes,259 built
39.
Forward air control
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Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by an air controller. A primary forward air control function is ensuring the safety of troops during close air support. Enemy targets in the front line are often close to friendly forces, the danger is twofold, the bombing pilot cannot identify the target clearly, and is not aware of the locations of friendly forces. Camouflage, a changing situation and the fog of war all increase the risk. Present day doctrine holds that Forward Air Controllers are not needed for air interdiction, a secondary concern of forward air controllers is the avoidance of harm to noncombatants in the strike area. Aircrews had difficulty communicating with the troops, they would drop messages or use messenger pigeons. Colonel Billy Mitchell also equipped his Spad XVI command airplane with a radio, another method of communication was for the pilot to drop messages in a weighted container, and to swoop in and pick up messages hung out by ground troops on a clothesline between poles. The objective was aerial reconnaissance and air attack, using these various methods, the Marine pilots combined the functions of both FAC and strike aircraft, as they carried out their own air attacks on the Sandinistas in Nicaragua in 1927. The commonality of pilots and ground troops belonging to the service led to a close air support role similar to that sought by use of FACs. On 27 October 1927, a Marine patrol used cloth panels to direct an air strike—arguably the first forward air control mission and this distinctive U. S. Marine doctrine of interaction between Marine infantry and aviation would persist, recurring in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. French colonial operations in the Rif War from 1920–1926 used air power similarly to the Marines in Nicaragua against the Sandinistas but in a different environment, the desert. The French Mobile Groups of combined arms not only used aircraft for scouting and air attack and these aerial observers called in artillery fire via radio. The German military noted close air support operations in the Spanish Civil War, by 1939, they had forward air control teams called Ground Attack Teams attached to every headquarters from regiment level upwards. These Teams directed air strikes flown by Luftwaffe close air support units, extensive coordinated training by air and ground troops had raised this system to state of the art by the beginning of World War II. The Air Ground Control Parties functions were to regulate bombing and artillery in close conjunction with the ground troops and they were thus the first of similar units to try to fulfill the functions of the FAC without being airborne. However, these units were plagued by turf wars and cumbersome communications between the respective armies and air forces involved. As a result, it could take hours for an air strike requested by ground troops to show up
40.
Cessna O-2 Skymaster
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The Cessna O-2 Skymaster is a military version of the Cessna 337 Super Skymaster, used for forward air control and psychological operations by the US military between 1967 and 2010. In 1966 the United States Air Force commissioned Cessna to build a variant to replace the O-1 Bird Dog. As with the version, the Skymaster was a low-cost twin-engine piston-powered aircraft, with one engine in the nose of the aircraft. The first O-2 flew in January 1967 and the plane went into production shortly thereafter, performance was degraded due to the added antennas and significant weight increase, but was considered sufficient for the anticipated low-level operation. The USAF took delivery of the O-2 Skymaster in March 1967, by 1970, a total of 532 O-2s had been built, in two variants, for the USAF. During the Vietnam War, the O-2A was introduced as a replacement for the O-1 Bird Dog, in the air control aircraft. The O-2B was equipped with loudspeakers and a dispenser for use in the psychological operations role. The O-2 was phased out completely after additional night upgrades to the OV-10, a total of 178 USAF O-2 Skymasters were lost in the Vietnam War, to all causes. Following the Vietnam War, the O-2 continued to operate with both U. S. Air Force and Air National Guard units into the late 1980s. These aircraft were transferred to Strike Fighter Squadron 125, the F/A-18 Hornet FRS at NAS Lemoore. These O-2A aircraft were replaced by T-34C Turbomentor aircraft transferred from the Naval Air Training Command. Of the six USN aircraft mentioned above, two were transferred to the U. S. Army in late 1990, USAF O-2As were augmented by the 1990 aircraft transfer from the Navy. Several disassembled USAF O-2s remain in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, Two O-2As were used at Laguna Army Airfield, Arizona as part of testing programs carried out by the Yuma Proving Ground. These were retired in October 2010 and sent to a museum, several USAF O-2 aircraft were later transferred to and operated by the former VNAF South Vietnamese Air Force. During the Salvadoran Civil War, the Salvadoran Air Force received a total of 23 O-2As and 2 O-2Bs from the United States, the first arriving in 1981. They were employed to observe the movements of FMLN formations and direct air strikes against them, playing a major role in forcing the rebel movement to abandon large-scale operations. Near the end of the war in 1990, the acquisition of SA-7 missiles resulted in the loss of two O-2As, while another was destroyed by mortar fire, and two more were lost in crashes. In 1974, Senior Air Operations Officer Cotton Mason inspected 40 USAF O-2s at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the best 20 were selected and shipped to Fresno, California
41.
Central America
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Central America is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. Central America is bordered by Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the east, Central America consists of seven countries, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The combined population of Central America is between 41,739,000 and 42,688,190, Central America is a part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from northern Guatemala through to central Panama. Due to the presence of several active faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur frequently, these disasters have resulted in the loss of many lives. In the Pre-Columbian era, Central America was inhabited by the peoples of Mesoamerica to the north and west. Soon after Christopher Columbuss voyages to the Americas, the Spanish began to colonize the Americas, the seven states finally became independent autonomous states, beginning with Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, followed by El Salvador, then Panama, and finally Belize. Middle America is usually thought to comprise Mexico to the north of the 7 states of Central America as well as Colombia, usually the whole of the Caribbean to the north-east and sometimes the Guyanas are also included. According to one source, the term Central America was used as a synonym for Middle America as recently as 1962, in Brazil, Central America comprises all countries between Mexico and Colombia, including those in the Caribbean. Mexico, in whole or in part, is included by British people. For the people living in the 5 countries formerly part of the Federal Republic of Central America there is a distinction between the Spanish language terms América Central and Centroamérica, in the Pre-Columbian era, the northern areas of Central America were inhabited by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. Most notable among these were the Mayans, who had built numerous cities throughout the region, and the Aztecs, following Christopher Columbuss voyages to the Americas, the Spanish sent many expeditions to the region, and they began their conquest of Maya territory in 1523. Soon after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado commenced the conquest of northern Central America for the Spanish Empire. Beginning with his arrival in Soconusco in 1523, Alvarados forces systematically conquered and subjugated most of the major Maya kingdoms, including the Kiche, Tzutujil, Pipil, and the Kaqchikel. By 1528, the conquest of Guatemala was nearly complete, with only the Petén Basin remaining outside the Spanish sphere of influence, the last independent Maya kingdoms – the Kowoj and the Itza people – were finally defeated in 1697, as part of the Spanish conquest of Petén. In 1538, Spain established the Real Audiencia of Panama, which had jurisdiction over all land from the Strait of Magellan to the Gulf of Fonseca. This entity was dissolved in 1543, and most of the territory within Central America then fell under the jurisdiction of the Audiencia Real de Guatemala. This area included the current territories of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Mexican state of Chiapas, the president of the Audiencia, which had its seat in Antigua Guatemala, was the governor of the entire area
42.
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II
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The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin turbofan engine, straight wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force. Commonly referred to by its nicknames Warthog or Hog, its name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. The A-10 was designed for air support of friendly ground troops, engaging armored vehicles and tanks. It entered service in 1976 and is the only aircraft that has served in the USAF that was designed solely for CAS. Its secondary mission is to forward air controller – airborne support. Aircraft used primarily in this role are designated OA-10, the A-10 was intended to improve on the performance of the A-1 Skyraider and its poor firepower. The A-10 was designed around the 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon and its short takeoff and landing capability permits operation from airstrips close to the front lines, and its simple design enables maintenance with minimal facilities. The A-10 served in the Gulf War, the American intervention against Iraqs invasion of Kuwait, the A-10 also participated in other conflicts such as Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and against ISIL in the Middle East. The A-10A single-seat variant was the version produced, though one pre-production airframe was modified into the YA-10B twin-seat prototype to test an all-weather night capable version. In 2005, a program was started to upgrade remaining A-10A aircraft to the A-10C configuration with modern avionics for use of precision weaponry. The U. S. Air Force had stated the F-35 would replace the A-10 as it entered service, but this remains highly contentious within the Air Force and in political circles. With a variety of upgrades and wing replacements, the A-10s service life may be extended to 2040, post-World War II development of conventionally armed attack aircraft in the United States had stagnated. Design efforts for tactical aircraft focused on the delivery of nuclear weapons using high-speed designs like the F-101 Voodoo, designs concentrating on conventional weapons had been largely ignored, leaving their entry into the Vietnam War led by the Korean War-era Douglas A-1 Skyraider. While a capable aircraft for its era, with a large payload and long loiter times. The U. S. Air Force and Marine Corps lost 266 A-1s in action in Vietnam, the A-1 Skyraider also had poor firepower. The lack of conventional attack capability prompted calls for a specialized attack aircraft. The former became the Tactical Fighter Experimental, or TFX, which emerged as the F-111 and it was also expensive to buy and operate, with a flyaway cost of $2 million in FY1965, and operational costs over $900 per hour. After a broad review of its force structure, the U. S. Air Force decided to adopt a low-cost aircraft to supplement the F-4
43.
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
44.
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
45.
Operation Southern Watch
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Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from Summer 1992 to Spring 2003. Nothing in the resolution spelled out the Iraqi no-fly zones or Operation Southern Watch, military forces from Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France participated in Operation Southern Watch. An intensification was noted prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and it is now known that this increased activity occurred during an operation known as Operation Southern Focus. At first, Iraqi forces did not attack Coalition aircraft, later in the day, several Iraqi fighters dodged back and forth across the 32nd parallel, staying out of missile range of American fighters. However, an Iraqi MiG-25 crossed too far and was trapped inside the 32nd parallel by a flight of USAF F-16 Falcons of the 33rd Fighter Squadron, after intelligence verified the aircraft was hostile, the fighter pilot received clearance to fire. The lead plane piloted by then-Lieutenant Colonel Gary North, USAF and this was the first combat kill by an F-16 in USAF service, and the first combat kill using the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. On 17 January 1993, a USAF F-16C destroyed an Iraqi MiG-23 Flogger with an AMRAAM missile for the second USAF aerial victory, on 7 January 1993, Iraq agreed to American, British, and French demands to withdraw their surface-to-air missiles from below the 32nd parallel. However, they did not remove all of them, and U. S. President George H. W. Bush ordered U. S. aircraft to bomb the remaining missile sites. On 13 January, more than 100 American, British, and French aircraft attacked Iraqi missile sites near Nasiriyah, Samawah, Najaf, around half the Iraqi sites south of the 32nd parallel were hit. On 29 June, a USAF F-4G Phantom II destroyed an Iraqi radar which had illuminated it, the first nine months of 1994 were quiet, and the USAF began to withdraw forces from the region. Saddam later withdrew the Iraqi Republican Guard out of the Kuwati border due to massive American military buildup and this served to increase Coalition resolve to enforce the no-fly zones and contain Iraqi aggression. On 25 June 1996, terrorists bombed the U. S. base at Khobar Towers in Dhahran, the attack killing 19 American airmen and injured an additional 372 people. In August 1996, Iraqi forces invaded the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq, as a result, the no-fly zone was extended north to the 33rd parallel. This marked renewed conflict with Iraqi air defenses and several more radars were destroyed by F-16 fighters, on 15 December 1998, France suspended participation in the no-fly zones, arguing that they had been maintained for too long and were ineffective. On 16 December, U. S. President Bill Clinton ordered execution of Operation Desert Fox and this resulted in an increased level of combat in the no-fly zones which lasted until 2003. On 30 December 1998, Iraqi SA-6 missile sites fired 6 to 8 surface-to-air missiles at American military aircraft, USAF F-16s responded by bombing the sites. On 5 January 1999, four Iraqi MiG-25s crossed into the southern no-fly zone, the American fighters fired a total of six missiles at the Iraqi aircraft, but they were able to evade them all and escape back to the north. Over the same period, American aircraft had attacked Iraqi targets on 73 occasions
46.
Kuwait
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Kuwait /kuːˈweɪt/, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in Western Asia. Situated in the edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, it shares borders with Iraq. As of 2016, Kuwait has a population of 4.2 million people,1.3 million are Kuwaitis and 2.9 million are expatriates, expatriates account for 70% of the population. Oil reserves were discovered in 1938, from 1946 to 1982, the country underwent large-scale modernization. In the 1980s, Kuwait experienced a period of geopolitical instability, in 1990, Kuwait was invaded by Iraq. The Iraqi occupation came to an end in 1991 after military intervention by coalition forces, at the end of the war, there were extensive efforts to revive the economy and rebuild national infrastructure. Kuwait is a constitutional emirate with a political system. It has an income economy backed by the worlds sixth largest oil reserves. The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest valued currency in the world, according to the World Bank, the country has the fourth highest per capita income in the world. The Constitution was promulgated in 1962, making Kuwait the most democratic country in the region, Kuwait ranks highly in regional metrics of gender equality, as it has the regions highest Global Gender Gap ranking. During the Ubaid period, Kuwait was the site of interaction between the peoples of Mesopotamia and Neolithic Eastern Arabia, mainly centered in As-Subiya in northern Kuwait. The earliest evidence of habitation in Kuwait dates back 8000 B. C. where Mesolithic tools were found in Burgan. As-Subiya in northern Kuwait is the earliest evidence of urbanization in the whole Persian Gulf basin area, mesopotamians first settled in the Kuwaiti island of Failaka in 2000 B. C. Traders from the Sumerian city of Ur inhabited Failaka and ran a mercantile business, the island had many Mesopotamian-style buildings typical of those found in Iraq dating from around 2000 B. C. The Neolithic inhabitants of Kuwait were among the worlds earliest maritime traders, one of the worlds earliest reed-boats was discovered in northern Kuwait dating back to the Ubaid period. In 3rd century BC, the ancient Greeks colonized the bay of Kuwait under Alexander the Great, according to Strabo and Arrian, Alexander the Great named Failaka Ikaros because it resembled the Aegean island of that name in size and shape. Remains of Greek colonization include a large Hellenistic fort and Greek temples, in 224 AD, Kuwait became part of the Sassanid Empire. At the time of the Sassanid Empire, Kuwait was known as Meshan, Akkaz was a Partho-Sassanian site, the Sassanid religions tower of silence was discovered in northern Akkaz
United States
Pennsylvania
Air National Guard
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
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