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.
Wisconsin
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Wisconsin is a U. S. state located in the north-central United States, in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, Wisconsin is the 23rd largest state by total area and the 20th most populous. The state capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee, the state is divided into 72 counties. Wisconsin is second to Michigan in the length of its Great Lakes coastline, Wisconsin is known as Americas Dairyland because it is one of the nations leading dairy producers, particularly famous for its cheese. Manufacturing, especially paper products, information technology, and tourism are major contributors to the states economy. The word Wisconsin originates from the given to the Wisconsin River by one of the Algonquian-speaking Native American groups living in the region at the time of European contact. French explorer Jacques Marquette was the first European to reach the Wisconsin River, arriving in 1673, subsequent French writers changed the spelling from Meskousing to Ouisconsin, and over time this became the name for both the Wisconsin River and the surrounding lands. English speakers anglicized the spelling from Ouisconsin to Wisconsin when they began to arrive in numbers during the early 19th century. The legislature of Wisconsin Territory made the current spelling official in 1845, the Algonquin word for Wisconsin and its original meaning have both grown obscure. Interpretations vary, but most implicate the river and the red sandstone that lines its banks, other theories include claims that the name originated from one of a variety of Ojibwa words meaning red stone place, where the waters gather, or great rock. Wisconsin has been home to a variety of cultures over the past 12,000 years. The first people arrived around 10,000 BCE during the Wisconsin Glaciation and these early inhabitants, called Paleo-Indians, hunted now-extinct ice age animals such as the Boaz mastodon, a prehistoric mastodon skeleton unearthed along with spear points in southwest Wisconsin. After the ice age ended around 8000 BCE, people in the subsequent Archaic period lived by hunting, fishing, agricultural societies emerged gradually over the Woodland period between 1000 BCE to 1000 CE. Toward the end of period, Wisconsin was the heartland of the Effigy Mound culture. Later, between 1000 and 1500 CE, the Mississippian and Oneota cultures built substantial settlements including the village at Aztalan in southeast Wisconsin. The Oneota may be the ancestors of the modern Ioway and Ho-Chunk tribes who shared the Wisconsin region with the Menominee at the time of European contact, the first European to visit what became Wisconsin was probably the French explorer Jean Nicolet. He canoed west from Georgian Bay through the Great Lakes in 1634, pierre Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers visited Green Bay again in 1654–1666 and Chequamegon Bay in 1659–1660, where they traded for fur with local Native Americans. In 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet became the first to record a journey on the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway all the way to the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien
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.
Wisconsin Air National Guard
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The Wisconsin Air National Guard is the air force militia of the State of Wisconsin, United States of America. It is, along with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, an element of the Wisconsin National Guard, as state militia units, the units in the Wisconsin Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Wisconsin through the office of the Wisconsin Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States, the Wisconsin Air National Guard is headquartered in Madison. Under the Total Force concept, Wisconsin Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force, Wisconsin ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are operationally gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. The wing currently operates the latest generation of such as the JDAM series bombs. The wing enhances the Air Forces capability to accomplish its missions of Global Reach. Support Unit Functions and Capabilities, 128th Air Control Squadron Maintains, volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center Provides a year-round integrated training environment for units to enhance their combat capabilities and readiness. The Militia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, if federalized by Presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the Militia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units, the Wisconsin Air National Guard origins date to 30 July 1940 with the establishment of the 126th Observation Squadron and is oldest unit of the Wisconsin Air National Guard. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. The 126th Observation Squadron was ordered into service on 2 June 1941 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps prior to the United States entry into World War II. These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units, the modern Wisconsin ANG received federal recognition on 25 June 1947 as the 126th Fighter Squadron at General Mitchell Field, Milwaukee. It was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state, on 6 October 1948 the 176th Fighter Squadron was formed at Truax Field, Madison, also equipped with F-51D Mustangs with an air defense mission. On 23 June 1948, the 126th Fighter Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, the 115th Fighter-Interceptor Group was federally recognized at Madison on 15 April 1956 when the 176th Fighter Squadron was expanded to a Group. Today, the 128th Air Refueling Wing provides aerial refueling support to Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, the 115th Fighter Wing files the Block 30 F-16C/D Fighting Falcon fighter and is part of the USAF Air Combat Command attack forces performing air-interdiction and close air support. After the September 11th,2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, also, Wisconsin ANG units have been deployed overseas as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq as well as other locations as directed. Wisconsin State Defense Force Wisconsin Wing Civil Air Patrol This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/
5.
General Mitchell International Airport
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General Mitchell International Airport is a civil-military airport five miles south of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 and it is named after United States Army Air Service General Billy Mitchell, who was raised in Milwaukee and is often regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. It is also used by travellers throughout Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, an Amtrak railway station opened at the airport in 2005, the station is served by Amtraks Hiawatha Service running between Chicago and Milwaukee several times daily. The original airfield was established in 1920 as Hamilton Airport by local business owner and aviator, Milwaukee County purchased the land on October 19,1926, for the Milwaukee County Airport. The first airport terminal there, the Hirschbuehl Farmhouse, opened in July 1927 and that month, Northwest Airlines, Inc. began air service from Milwaukee to Chicago and Minneapolis/St. In August 1927, world-renowned aviator Charles Lindbergh visited the Milwaukee airport, kohler Aviation Corporation began providing passenger service across Lake Michigan on August 31,1929. During the late years, a new two-story passenger terminal building was constructed by the Works Progress Administration. On March 17,1941 the airport was renamed General Mitchell Field after Milwaukees military airpower advocate, on January 4,1945, Mitchell Field was leased to the War Department for use as a World War II prisoner-of-war camp. Over 3,000 prisoners and 250 enlisted men stayed at the work camp, escaped German prisoners were often surprised to find a large German American population just beyond the fence. The present terminal opened on July 20,1955 and was designed by Leigh Fisher and it was renovated and expanded in 1985, designed by Miller, Meier, Kenyon, Cooper Architects and Planners Inc. The hammerhead section of the D concourse was added in 1990, on June 19,1986 the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors renamed Mitchell Field to General Mitchell International Airport. The airport was formerly a hub for AirTran Airways, Frontier Airlines, on December 28,2014, the airport became a focus city for Southwest Airlines, after finalizing their merger with AirTran Airways. The airport is owned and operated by Milwaukee County, but some Milwaukee business leaders, Mitchell International has expanded the runway safety area on their runways after an accident on January 21,2007, when Northwest Airlines Flight 1726 skidded off the runway after aborting takeoff. According to the FAA, most airports are encouraged to have a safety area no shorter than 1,000 feet. Construction of this safety area began at the end of summer 2009 and was completed in fall 2012. There is also a Master Plan idea to increase terminal area by stretching the existing terminal or begin construction of a separate terminal, nearly all cases would involve major reconstruction on the airport itself, and would have a huge impact on the airports traffic. These plans were, however, drafted before Mitchell saw a significant reduction in carriers, more recently, in 2012, there have been discussions of closing one concourse as a cost-cutting move. In late 2015, Milwaukee County hired Izzy Bonilla to be the new airport director, as director, Bonilla has proposed converting Concourse E into an international/domestic terminal and combining security checkpoints to allow movement between concourses behind security
6.
European Theater of Operations, United States Army
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The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed US Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and it was bordered to the south by the North African Theater of Operations, US Army, which later became the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. As the armies advanced, both these zones and the areas into which they were divided would shift forward to new areas of control. Major General James E. Chaney, an Army Air Corps officer, arrived in the United Kingdom on 18 May 1941, SBOPS also had the role of studying British use of Lend Lease supplies. His formal title was the Special Army Observer in the United Kingdom, after the United States entered the war, SPOBS was succeeded by United States Army Forces in the British Isles, actually SPOBS under a new name. At the time of the ARCADIA Conference, December 1941 – January 1942, daley, and make him in turn responsible to General Chaney, designated as CG, USAFBI. Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee became Chief, Services of Supply, U. S. Army Forces British Isles, on June 8,1942, the United States Department of War officially established ETOUSA in its place. Its mission was to conduct planning for the retaking of Europe and to exercise administrative. The 133rd Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division was the first United States Army unit sent to Europe in World War II, the first battalion arrived in Belfast in late January 1942, followed by the rest of the regiment in February. These units were designated as U. S. Army Northern Ireland Forces, the 133rd and 168th Infantry Regiments trained in the peat bogs, and performed border guard patrols between British Northern Ireland and the neutral Irish Free State. The remaining unit of the division, the 135th Infantry Regiment, until SHAEF was operational ETOUSA liaised closely with the British in the planning and organising of Operation Overlord. General Dwight D. Eisenhower had multiple command appointments, he replaced Chaney in late June 1942 and he then relinquished command of ETOUSA to Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews in February 1943, who was killed in an air crash in May. He was replaced by Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, in December 1943 it was announced that Eisenhower would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. In January 1944 he resumed command of ETOUSA and the month was officially designated as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. He served in a role until the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945. From February 1944, SHAEF was the command and ETOUSA administrative command. Some units were transferred between operational commands and administrative commands at different times, by the end of 1944, Eisenhower, through SHAEF, commanded three powerful Allied army groups. The British 21st Army Group and French elements of the 6th Army Group were not part of ETOUSA, the ETOUSA planning staff in London was usually referred to by its Army Post Office number, APO887
7.
128th Air Refueling Wing
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The 128th Air Refueling Wing is a unit of the Wisconsin Air National Guard, stationed at General Mitchell Air National Guard Base, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. If activated to service in the United States Air Force. The 128th Air Refueling Wing principal mission is air refueling, the wing enhances the Air Forces capability to accomplish its primary missions of Global Reach and Global Power. It also provides aerial refueling support to Air Force, Navy, the wing is also capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations. Moved to England in November 1943, flew first mission, escorting B-24s that attacked V-weapon launching sites near Pas de Calais, on 8 February 1944. Until April 1944, engaged chiefly in escorting bombers that struck factories, railroads, airfields, reassigned to Ninth Air Force on 13 April 1944 and repeatedly attacked communications in northern France and in Belgium during Apr and May, in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. Moved to the Continent early in July 1944 and bombed enemy troops to aid the Allied breakthrough at St Lo later that month, supported the subsequent advance of ground forces toward the Rhine by attacking railroads, trucks, bridges, power stations, fuel dumps, and other facilities. Bombed and strafed such targets as flak positions, armored vehicles, continued operations until May 1945 then was assigned to occupation duty. The wartime 362d Fighter Group was re-designated as the 128th Fighter Group and it was organized at General Mitchell Field, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was extended federal recognition on 29 Jun 1948 by the National Guard Bureau. The 128th Fighter Group was bestowed the history, honors, the 126th Fighter Squadron and 176th Fighter Squadrons were assigned as the groups flying squadrons. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 128th Headquarters, 128th Material Squadron, 128th Combat Support Squadron, the 176th FS operated from Truax Field, near Madison. The group was allocated to the Air Defense Command with a mission of air defense of the lower Great Lakes and it was re-designated as the 128th Fighter-Interceptor Group on 1 November 1950. The Group and 126th returned to Milwaukee, on 15 April 1956, the 176th FIS was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 115th Fighter-Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 176th FIS becoming the flying squadron. The Group continued its air defense mission though the 1950s, being upgraded to F-86F Sabres in 1957, the 128th Fighter-Interceptor Wing was transferred to Strategic Air Command on 1 August 1961 and was equipped with second-line KC-97 Stratotankers. The 128th was the first Air National Guard tanker unit to become fully operational and this occurred in December 1963 when combat ready status was achieved. The group participated in an operation in a foreign land for a sustained period of time without a call up. The 128th ARG, along with four other Air National Guard refueling units, stationed a contingent of its KC-97s at Rhein-Main Air Base and it was designated Operation Creek Party and was destined to last for 10 years
8.
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker
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The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is a military aerial refueling aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype and it is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transport aircraft. The KC-135 was the US Air Forces first jet-powered refueling tanker, the KC-135 entered service with the United States Air Force in 1957, it is one of six military fixed-wing aircraft with over 50 years of continuous service with its original operator. The KC-135 is supplemented by the larger KC-10, studies have concluded that many of the aircraft could be flown until 2040, although maintenance costs have greatly increased. The aircraft will eventually be replaced by the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, like its sibling, the commercial Boeing 707 jet airliner, the KC-135 was derived from the Boeing 367-80 jet transport proof of concept demonstrator, which was commonly called the Dash-80. The KC-135 is similar in appearance to the 707, but has a fuselage and is shorter than the 707. The KC-135 predates the 707, and is quite different from the civilian airliner. Boeing gave the future KC-135 tanker the initial designation Model 717, in 1954 USAFs Strategic Air Command held a competition for a jet-powered aerial refueling tanker. Lockheeds tanker version of the proposed Lockheed L-193 airliner with rear fuselage-mounted engines was declared the winner in 1955, in the end, orders for the Lockheed tanker were dropped rather than supporting two tanker designs. Lockheed never produced its jet airliner, while Boeing would eventually dominate the market with a family of airliners based on the 707. In 1954, the Air Force placed an order for 29 KC-135As. The first aircraft flew in August 1956 and the initial production Stratotanker was delivered to Castle Air Force Base, California, the last KC-135 was delivered to the Air Force in 1965. These basic features make it resemble the commercial Boeing 707 and 720 aircraft. The USAF EC-135 Looking Glass was subsequently replaced in its role by the U. S. Navy E-6 Mercury aircraft, the KC-135Q variant was modified to carry JP-7 fuel necessary for the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, segregating the JP-7 from the KC-135s own fuel supply. The tanker also had special fuel systems for moving the different fuels between different tanks, the only external difference between a KC-135R and a KC-135T is the presence of a clear window on the underside of the empennage of the KC-135T where a remote controlled searchlight is mounted. It also has two ground refueling ports, located in rear wheel well so ground crews can fuel both the body tanks and wing tanks separately. Eight KC-135R aircraft are receiver-capable tankers, commonly referred to as KC-135R, All eight aircraft were with the 22d Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB, Kansas, in 1994. They are primarily used for extension and Special Operations missions
9.
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
10.
Squadron (aviation)
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In most armed forces, two or more squadrons will form a group or a wing. Some air forces use the term squadrons for non-flying ground units. In contrast to United States Air Force units where flying squadrons are separate from supporting administrative and aircraft maintenance squadrons, in United States Marine Corps Aviation the nomenclature squadron is also used to designate all battalion-equivalent, aviation support organizations. These squadrons include, wing headquarters, tactical air command, air control, air support, aviation logistics, wing support, exceptions are USN helicopter mine countrmeasures squadrons, USMC composite medium tilt-rotor squadrons, heavy helicopter and light/attack helicopter squadrons, and Marine attack squadrons. Although part of U. S. naval aviation, United States Coast Guard aviation units are centered on an air station versus a squadron or group/wing organizational structure, the one exception to this is the Coast Guards Helicopter Interdiction Squadron, which is engaged primarily in counter-narcotics interdiction operations. In U. S. Army Aviation, flying units may be organized in battalions or squadrons reporting to an aviation brigade, an escadron is the equivalent unit in Frances Armée de lAir. It is normally subdivided into escadrilles of eight aircraft, in the Air Training Corps of the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations, a Squadron is a group of cadets who parade regularly. In the U. S. Civil Air Patrol, a squadron is the administrative unit. In the Swedish Air Force a helicopter squadron is a detachment from the Helicopter Wing
11.
Battle of France
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The Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940 during the Second World War. Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940 and attempted an invasion of France, the German plan for the invasion of France consisted of two main operations. After the withdrawal of the BEF, the German forces began Fall Rot on 5 June, the sixty remaining French divisions made a determined resistance but were unable to overcome the German air superiority and armoured mobility. German tanks outflanked the Maginot Line and pushed deep into France, German forces occupied Paris unopposed on 14 June after a chaotic period of flight of the French government that led to a collapse of the French army. German commanders met with French officials on 18 June with the goal of forcing the new French government to accept an armistice that amounted to surrender and this led to the end of the French Third Republic. France was not liberated until the summer of 1944, in 1939, Britain and France offered military support to Poland in the likely case of a German invasion. In the dawn of 1 September 1939, the German Invasion of Poland began, France and the United Kingdom declared war on 3 September, after an ultimatum for German forces to immediately withdraw their forces from Poland was met without reply. Following this, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, on 7 September, in accordance with their alliance with Poland, France began the Saar Offensive with an advance from the Maginot Line 5 km into the Saar. France had mobilised 98 divisions and 2,500 tanks against a German force consisting of 43 divisions, the French advanced until they met the then thin and undermanned Siegfried Line. On 17 September, the French supreme commander, Maurice Gamelin gave the order to withdraw French troops to their starting positions, following the Saar Offensive, a period of inaction called the Phoney War set in between the belligerents. Adolf Hitler had hoped that France and Britain would acquiesce in the conquest of Poland, on 6 October, he made a peace offer to both Western powers. On 9 October, Hitler issued a new Führer-Directive Number 6, the plan was based on the seemingly more realistic assumption that German military strength would have to be built up for several years. For the moment only limited objectives could be envisaged and were aimed at improving Germanys ability to survive a long war in the west. Hitler ordered a conquest of the Low Countries to be executed at the shortest possible notice to forestall the French and it would also provide the basis for a long-term air and sea campaign against Britain. On 10 October 1939, Britain refused Hitlers offer of peace and on 12 October, colonel-General Franz Halder, presented the first plan for Fall Gelb on 19 October. This was the codename of plans for a campaign in the Low Countries. Halders plan has been compared to the Schlieffen Plan, the given to the German strategy of 1914 in the First World War. It was similar in both plans entailed an advance through the middle of Belgium
12.
Aerial reconnaissance
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Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. This role can fulfil a variety of requirements, including the collection of intelligence, observation of enemy maneuvers. The balloon found its first use in the 1794 conflict with Austria, moreover, the presence of the balloon had a demoralizing effect on the Austrian troops which improved the likelihood of victory for the French troops. After the invention of photography, primitive aerial photographs were made of the ground from manned and unmanned balloons, starting in the 1860s, an example was Arthur Batuts kite-borne camera photographs of Labruguière starting from 1889. In the early 20th century, Julius Neubronner experimented with pigeon photography, the pigeons carried small cameras with timers. Ludwig Rahrmann in 1891 patented a means of attaching a camera to a large calibre artillery projectile or rocket, Alfred Nobel in 1896 had already built the first rocket carrying a camera, which took photographs of the Swedish landscape during its flights. The first use of airplanes in combat missions was by the Italian Air Force during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-1912, on 23 October 1911, an Italian pilot, Capt. The use of aerial photography rapidly matured during the First World War, as used for reconnaissance purposes were outfitted with cameras to record enemy movements. At the start of the conflict, the usefulness of aerial photography was not fully appreciated, frederick Charles Victor Laws started experiments in aerial photography in 1912 with No.1 Squadron RAF using the British dirigible Beta. The dirigibles were eventually allocated to the Royal Navy, so Laws formed the first aerial unit of fixed-wing aircraft. Germany was one of the first countries to adopt the use of a camera for aerial reconnaissance, opting for a Görz, French Military Aviation began the war with several squadrons of Bleriot observation planes, equipped with cameras for reconnaissance. The French Army developed procedures for getting prints into the hands of field commanders in record time, the camera was inserted into the floor of the aircraft and could be triggered by the pilot at intervals. In 1916, the Austro-Hungarian Empire made vertical camera axis aerial photos above Italy for map-making. In January 1918, General Allenby used five Australian pilots from No.1 Squadron AFC to photograph a 624 square miles area in Palestine as an aid to correcting and improving maps of the Turkish front and this was a pioneering use of aerial photography as an aid for cartography. Beginning 5 January, they flew with an escort to ward off enemy fighters. In 1928, the RAF developed a heating system for the aerial camera. This allowed reconnaissance aircraft to take pictures from very high altitudes without the camera parts freezing, although this seems obvious now, with modern reconnaissance tasks performed by fast, high flying aircraft, at the time it was radical thinking. They proposed the use of Spitfires with their armament and radios removed and replaced with extra fuel and this led to the development of the Spitfire PR variants
13.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
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The attack, also known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor, led to the United States entry into World War II. The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI, Japan intended the attack as a preventive action to keep the U. S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions they planned in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. Over the next seven hours there were coordinated Japanese attacks on the U. S. -held Philippines, Guam and Wake Island and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, the attack commenced at 7,48 a. m. The base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese fighter planes, bombers, all eight U. S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four sunk. All but the USS Arizona were later raised, and six were returned to service, the Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U. S. aircraft were destroyed,2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Important base installations such as the station, shipyard, maintenance. Japanese losses were light,29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, one Japanese sailor, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured. The surprise attack came as a shock to the American people. The following day, December 8, the United States declared war on Japan, the U. S. responded with a declaration of war against Germany and Italy. Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been fading since the Fall of France in 1940, Roosevelt to proclaim December 7,1941, a date which will live in infamy. Because the attack happened without a declaration of war and without explicit warning, over the next decade, Japan continued to expand into China, leading to all-out war between those countries in 1937. Japan spent considerable effort trying to isolate China and achieve sufficient resource independence to attain victory on the mainland, from December 1937, events such as the Japanese attack on USS Panay, the Allison incident, and the Nanking Massacre swung public opinion in the West sharply against Japan. Fearing Japanese expansion, the United States, the United Kingdom, in 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina in an effort to control supplies reaching China. The United States halted shipments of airplanes, parts, machine tools, and aviation gasoline to Japan, an invasion of the Philippines was also considered necessary by Japanese war planners. War Plan Orange had envisioned defending the Philippines with a 40 and this was opposed by Douglas MacArthur, who felt that he would need a force ten times that size, and was never implemented. By 1941, U. S. planners anticipated abandonment of the Philippines at the outbreak of war and orders to that effect were given in late 1941 to Admiral Thomas Hart, commander of the Asiatic Fleet
14.
Anti-submarine warfare
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Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines. Successful anti-submarine warfare depends on a mix of sensor and weapon technology, training, sophisticated sonar equipment for first detecting, then classifying, locating and tracking the target submarine is a key element of ASW. To destroy submarines both the torpedo and mine are used, launched from air, surface and underwater platforms, other means of destruction have been used in the past but are now obsolete. ASW also involves protecting friendly ships, the first self-propelled torpedo was invented in 1863 and launched from surface craft. The first submarine with a torpedo was Nordenfelt I built in 1884-1885, in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5, the submarine was a significant threat. By the start of the First World War nearly 300 submarines were in service, some warships were fitted with an armoured belt as protection against torpedoes. There were, however, no means to detect submerged U-boats, the Royal Navy torpedo establishment, HMS Vernon, studied explosive grapnel sweeps, these sank four or five U-boats in the First World War. A similar approach featured a string of 70 lb charges on a cable, fired electrically. Also tried were dropping 18.5 lb hand-thrown guncotton bombs, the Lance Bomb was developed, also, this featured a 35–40 lb cone-shaped steel drum on a 5 ft shaft, intended to be thrown at a submarine. Firing Lyddite shells, or using trench mortars, was tried, use of nets to ensnare U-boats was also examined, as was a destroyer, HMS Starfish, fitted with a spar torpedo. Problems with the lanyards tangling and failing to function led to the development of a chemical pellet trigger as the Type B and these were effective at a distance of around 20 ft. The best concept arose in a 1913 RN Torpedo School report, describing a device intended for countermining, at Admiral John Jellicoes request, the standard Mark II mine was fitted with a hydrostatic pistol preset for 45 ft firing, to be launched from a stern platform. Weighing 1,150 lb, and effective at 100 ft, the mine was a potential hazard to the dropping ship. During the First World War, submarines were a major menace and they operated in the Baltic, North Sea, Black Sea and Mediterranean as well as the North Atlantic. Previously they had limited to relatively calm and protected waters. The vessels used to them were a range of small, fast surface ships using guns. They mainly relied on the fact a submarine of the day was often on the surface for a range of reasons, the first approach to protect warships was chainlink nets strung from the sides of battleships, as defense against torpedoes. Nets were also deployed across the mouth of a harbour or naval base to stop submarines entering or to stop torpedoes of the Whitehead type fired against ships, British warships were fitted with a ram with which to sink submarines, and U-15 was thus sunk in August 1914
15.
New England
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New England is a geographical region comprising six states of the northeast United States, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and south, the Atlantic Ocean is to the east and southeast, and Long Island Sound is to the south. Its largest metropolitan area is Greater Boston, which also includes Worcester, Manchester, ten years later, more Puritans settled north of Plymouth Colony in Boston, thus forming Massachusetts Bay Colony. Over the next 126 years, people in the region fought in four French and Indian Wars, until the British and their Iroquois allies defeated the French and their Algonquin allies in North America. In 1692, the town of Salem, Massachusetts and surrounding areas experienced one of the most infamous cases of hysteria in the history of the Western Hemisphere. The Boston Tea Party was a protest to which Britain responded with a series of punitive laws stripping Massachusetts of self-government, the confrontation led to the first battles of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, and the expulsion of the British authorities from the region in spring 1776. Each state is subdivided into small incorporated municipalities known as towns. The only unincorporated areas in the region exist in the populated northern regions of Vermont, New Hampshire. The region is one of the U. S. Census Bureaus nine regional divisions, the earliest known inhabitants of New England were American Indians who spoke a variety of the Eastern Algonquian languages. Prominent tribes included the Abenaki, Mikmaq, Penobscot, Pequot, Mohegans, Narragansett Indians, Pocumtuck, prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Western Abenakis inhabited New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as parts of Quebec and western Maine. Their principal town was Norridgewock in present-day Maine, the Penobscot lived along the Penobscot River in Maine. The Narragansett and smaller tribes under Narragansett sovereignty lived in most of modern-day Rhode Island, west of Narragansett Bay, the Wampanoag occupied southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the islands of Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket. The Pocumtucks lived in Western Massachusetts, and the Mohegan and Pequot tribes in the Connecticut region, the Connecticut River Valley includes parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and linked different indigenous communities culturally, linguistically, and politically. As early as 1600, French, Dutch, and English traders began exploring the New World, trading metal, glass, on April 10,1606, King James I of England issued a charter for each of the Virginia Companies, London and Plymouth. These were privately funded ventures, intended to land for England, conduct trade. In 1620, Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts was settled by Pilgrims from the Mayflower, in 1616, English explorer John Smith named the region New England. As the first colonists arrived in Plymouth, they wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact, the Massachusetts Bay Colony came to dominate the area and was established by royal charter in 1629 with its major town and port of Boston established in 1630. Massachusetts Puritans began to settle in Connecticut as early as 1633, roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts for heresy, led a group south, and founded Providence Plantation in the area that became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in 1636
16.
Bomber
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A bomber is a combat aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry, firing torpedoes or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. In 1912, during the First Balkan War, Bulgarian Air Force pilot Christo Toprakchiev suggested the use of aircraft to drop bombs on Turkish positions, captain Simeon Petrov developed the idea and created several prototypes by adapting different types of grenades and increasing their payload. This is deemed to be the first use of an aircraft as a bomber, the first heavier-than-air aircraft purposely designed for bombing were the Italian Caproni Ca 30 and British Bristol T. B.8, both of 1913. The Bristol T. B.8 was an early British single engined biplane built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, under the command of Charles Rumney Samson, a bombing attack on German gun batteries at Middelkerke, Belgium was executed on 25 November 1914. The dirigible, or airship, was developed in the early 20th century, early airships were prone to disaster, but slowly the airship became more dependable, with a more rigid structure and stronger skin. Prior to the outbreak of war, Zeppelins, a larger and these were the first long range, strategic bombers. Although the German air arm was strong, with a total of 123 airships by the end of the war, they were vulnerable to attack and engine failure, German airships inflicted little damage on all 51 raids, with 557 Britons killed and 1,358 injured. The German Navy lost 53 of its 73 airships, and the German Army lost 26 of its 50 ships, the Caproni Ca 30 was built by Gianni Caproni in Italy. It was a biplane with three 67 kW Gnome rotary engines and first flew in October 1914. Test flights revealed power to be insufficient and the engine layout unworkable, the improved design was bought by the Italian Army and it was delivered in quantity from August 1915. Bombing raids and interdiction operations were carried out by French. Sustained attacks with a view to interrupting the enemys railway communications, in conjunction with the main operations of the Allied Armies. The most important bombers used in World War I were the French Breguet 14, British de Havilland DH-4, German Albatros C. III, the Russian Sikorsky Ilya Muromets, was the first four-engine bomber to equip a dedicated strategic bombing unit during World War I. This heavy bomber was unrivaled in the stages of the war. With engine power as a limitation, combined with the desire for accuracy and other operational factors. By the start of the war included, dive bomber — specially strengthened for vertical diving attacks for greater accuracy. Light bomber, medium bomber and heavy bomber — subjective definitions based on size, torpedo bomber — specialized aircraft armed with torpedoes. Ground attack aircraft — aircraft used against targets on a such as troop or tank concentrations
17.
Page Field Army Airfield
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Page Field Army Airfield is an inactive United States Air Force base, approximately 4 miles south of Fort Myers, Florida. It was active during World War II as a Third Air Force training airfield. It was closed on 30 September 1945 In 1924, the city of Fort Myers, Florida, however, that plan was halted when a Florida Land Bust stopped development. Efforts to upgrade the airfield were boosted by a January 1940 Works Projects Administration project constructed three concrete runways, in addition, other improvements were made and by the time of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Lee County Airport had grown to about 600 acres in size. With the United States at war, the War Department decided to lease the airport from Lee County, and the lease for its military use was signed in February 1942. The airport was turned over to the jurisdiction of the United States Army Air Forces, captain Page was the first person from Florida to join the Aviation Section, U. S. Signal Corps. During World War I, he was credited with three German aircraft destroyed in combat and was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross along with the French Croix de Guerre and other awards. To conserve critical materials, most facilities were constructed of wood, concrete, brick, gypsum board, Page Field was designed to be nearly self-sufficient, with not only hangars, but barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops were needed. There were libraries, social clubs for officers, and enlisted men, Page Field was officially opened as an operational base on 25 April 1943. It arrived at Page Field on 30 March 1942 while the base was under construction, at Page Field, the B-24 Liberator bomber crews practiced formation flying, and other combat maneuvers for about six weeks which they would need for combat missions. The training also included anti-submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico, Florida Keys, the 98th departed in mid-May and wound up in British Palestine in July as part of Ninth Air Force. They were replaced by the 93d Bombardment Group, which moved in from Barksdale Field on 15 May. The 93d also trained with B-24 Liberators, in January 1943, the 53d Fighter Group was moved to Page Field from Sixth Air Force in Panama. From this point on, the mission of the base became the training of replacement single-engine fighter pilots, aircraft used for training consisted of P-39 Airacobras and later, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-40 Warhawks. P-51 Mustangs began to arrive in early 1945 as well, pilots received about 80–90 hours of flight training, the number of hours was based on the needs overseas by the combat units. Some pilots received perhaps 60 hours and they initially received orientation flights in a basic trainer, then an advanced AT-6 Texans and then were checked out on the P-39. The major part of their flight instruction included aerobatics, gunnery practice at Buckingham Field, by 1944, Page Field was in full swing, and the base population in January was 276 officers and 1,393 enlisted. By 1944 the P-39 had been phased out and the pilots were using the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, later a less capable aircraft, the Curtiss P-40 arrived and trainees split their time of both aircraft
18.
Third Air Force
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The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa. Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany and it is responsible for all U. S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa operations and support activities in the U. S. European Command and U. S. Africa Commands areas of responsibility, during the war, its primary mission became the organization and training of combat units prior to their deployment to the overseas combat air forces. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Phillip L. Easton, the command directs all USAFE and AFAFRICA forces engaged in contingency and wartime operations in the United States European Command and United States Africa Command areas of responsibility. It also has a mission as the U. S. militarys primary liaison to the British government. Through the Partnership for Peace program, Third Air Force manages military contact, Third Air Force is also responsible for contingency planning and support of American security interests in Africa. It is composed of more than 25,000 military people, Third Air Force is assigned more than 200 aircraft, while tasked to provide support servicing to thousands of other transient aircraft that visit its bases each year. It was redesignated Third Air Force on 26 March 1941 with a mission for the defense of the Southeast and it moved to offices in downtown Tampa on 8 January 1941. MacDill Field was one of two major Army Air Corps bases established in the Tampa Bay area in the prior to World War II. Tampas Drew Field Municipal Airport, established in 1928 was leased by the Air Corps in 1940, a major expansion of the airport was initiated and Drew Army Airfield was opened in 1941. Two secondary Army Airfields, Brooksville Army Airfield and Hillsborough Army Airfield were built and opened in early 1942 to support the operations of MacDill. The Bonita Springs Auxiliary Field, located near Fort Myers provided an emergency landing field for MacDill. All of these came under the jurisdiction of Third Air Force. III Fighter Command, the arm, was headquartered at Drew Field. Third Air Force initially provided air defense for the southeastern United States and flew patrols along coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean. Third Air Force primarily trained B-25 Mitchell and B-26 Marauder medium bomber groups and A-20 Havoc, Third Air Force also provided support to the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics in Florida. Also by 1944, the majority of the Numbered Air Forces of the AAF were fighting in parts of the world, such as the Eighth Air Force in Europe. When the Army Air Forces reorganized in 1946, Tactical Air Command was established as one of its three major commands
19.
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
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The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is a World War II-era American piston-engined fighter aircraft. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms, Allied propaganda claimed it had been nicknamed the fork-tailed devil by the Luftwaffe and two planes, one pilot by the Japanese. In the South West Pacific theater, the P-38 was the primary fighter of United States Army Air Forces until the appearance of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs. The P-38 was unusually quiet for a fighter, the exhaust muffled by the turbo-superchargers and it was extremely forgiving and could be mishandled in many ways but the rate of roll in the early versions was too slow for it to excel as a dogfighter. The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in production throughout American involvement in the war, at the end of the war, orders for 1,887 more were cancelled. Lockheed designed the P-38 in response to a February 1937 specification from the United States Army Air Corps, Kelsey was looking for a minimum of 1,000 lb of armament. Kelsey and Saville aimed to get a capable fighter, better at dog-fighting. Specifications called for a maximum airspeed of at least 360 mph at altitude, and a climb to 20,000 ft within six minutes, the unbuilt Vultee XP1015 was designed to the same requirement, but was not advanced enough to merit further investigation. A similar single-engine proposal was issued at the time, Circular Proposal X-609. Both proposals required liquid-cooled Allison V-1710 engines with turbo-superchargers and gave points for tricycle landing gear. The Lockheed team chose twin booms to accommodate the tail assembly, engines, the XP-38 gondola mockup was designed to mount two. 50-caliber M2 Browning machine guns with 200 rounds per gun, two. In the YP-38s, a 37 mm M9 autocannon with 15 rounds replaced the T1, the 15 rounds were in three five-round clips, an unsatisfactory arrangement according to Kelsey, and the M9 did not perform reliably in flight. Further armament experiments from March to June 1941 resulted in the P-38E combat configuration of four M2 Browning machine guns, and one Hispano 20 mm autocannon with 150 rounds. Clustering all the armament in the nose was unusual in U. S. aircraft, nose-mounted guns did not suffer from having their useful ranges limited by pattern convergence, meaning that good pilots could shoot much farther. A Lightning could reliably hit targets at any range up to 1,000 yd, whereas the wing guns of other fighters were optimized for a specific range. The rate of fire was about 650 rounds per minute for the 20×110 mm cannon round at a velocity of about 2,887 ft/s. Combined rate of fire was over 4,000 rpm with roughly every sixth projectile a 20 mm shell, the duration of sustained firing for the 20 mm cannon and. 50-caliber machine guns was approximately 14 seconds and 35 seconds, respectively. The P-38 was the first American fighter to make use of stainless steel and smooth
20.
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
21.
Operation Overlord
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Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings, a 1, 200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, the decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. The coast of Normandy was chosen as the site of the invasion, with the Americans assigned to land at sectors codenamed Utah and Omaha, the British at Sword and Gold, and the Canadians at Juno. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a military deception, Operation Bodyguard. This misled the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings, Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in charge of developing fortifications all along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an invasion. A failed counterattack by German forces on 8 August left 50,000 soldiers of the 7th Army trapped in the Falaise pocket, the Allies launched an invasion of southern France on 15 August, and the Liberation of Paris followed on 25 August. German forces retreated across the Seine on 30 August 1944, marking the close of Operation Overlord, in June 1940, Germanys leader Adolf Hitler had triumphed in what he called the most famous victory in history—the fall of France. The defending British Expeditionary Force, trapped along the northern coast of France, was able to evacuate over 338,000 troops to England in the Dunkirk evacuation. After the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin began pressing for the creation of a front in Western Europe. Two tentative plans code-named Operation Roundup and Operation Sledgehammer were put forward for 1942–43, instead, the Allies launched the invasion of French North Africa in November 1942, the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and invaded Italy in September. These operations provided the troops with valuable experience in amphibious warfare, the decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion within the next year was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. Churchill favoured making the main Allied thrust into Germany from the Mediterranean theatre, but was over-ruled by his American allies, British Lieutenant-General Frederick E. Morgan was appointed Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander, to begin detailed planning. The initial plans were constrained by the number of landing craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean. In part because of lessons learned in the Dieppe Raid of 19 August 1942, the failure at Dieppe also highlighted the need for adequate artillery and air support, particularly close air support, and specialised ships able to travel extremely close to shore. Morgan considered four sites 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. The Pas de Calais is the closest point in continental Europe to Britain and was the location of sites for V-1 and V-2 rockets. The Germans considered it to be the most likely initial landing zone, Normandy was hence chosen as the landing site
22.
United States Army Central
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The United States Army Central is a military formation of the United States Army, which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf War, and in the coalition occupation of Iraq. It is best known for its campaigns in World War II under the command of General George S. Patton, Third Army is currently denoted USARCENT, headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina with a forward element at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. On the 15th, Major General Joseph T. Dickman assumed command, the third Army consisted of three corps and seven divisions. On 15 November 1918, Major General Dickman was given the mission to move quickly and he was to disarm and disband German forces as ordered by General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. The march into Germany for occupation duty was begun on 17 November 1918, by 15 December the Third Army Headquarters at Mayen opened at Coblenz. Two days later, on 17 December 1918, the Coblenz bridgehead, consisting of a pontoon bridge, Third Army troops had encountered no hostile act of any sort. In the occupied area, both food and coal supplies were sufficient, the crossing of the Rhine by the front line divisions was effected in good time and without confusion. Troops, upon crossing the Rhine and reaching their assigned areas, were billeted preparatory to occupying selected positions for defense. The strength of the Third Army as of 19 December, the date the bridgehead occupation was completed, was 9,638 officers and 221,070 enlisted men, the southern boundary was as has been previously mentioned. Before the advance, the 1st Division passed to the command of the III Corps, the four bridges available for crossing the river within the Coblenz bridgehead were the pontoon bridge and railroad bridge at Coblenz, the railroad bridges at Engers and Remagen. On 13 December the advance began with the American khaki crossing the Rhine into advanced positions. On the same day the 42d Division passes to the command of the IV Corps, which, in support of the III Corps, continued its march to occupy the Kreise of Mayen, Ahrweiler, Adenau, and Cochem. The VII Corps occupied under the order that portion of the Regierungsbezirk of Trier within army limits. On 15 December, Third Army Headquarters at Mayen opened at Coblenz, III Corps Headquarters at Polch opened at Neuwied and IV Corps Headquarters remained at Cochem, with the VII Corps at Grevenmacher. In crossing the Rhine on the shortened front—from Rolandseck to Rhens on the west bank—the Third Army encountered no hostile act of any sort, in the occupied area both food and coal supplies were sufficient. By the night of 14 December, Third Army troops had occupied their positions on the perimeter of the Coblenz bridgehead, during January 1919, the Third Army was engaged in training and preparing the troops under its command for any contingency. A letter of instruction was circulated to lower commanders prescribing a plan of action in case hostilities were resumed, installations were set up throughout the Army area to facilitate command. On 4 February, the control of the Stadtkreis of Trier was transferred from GHQ to the Third Army
23.
Siegfried Line
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The original Siegfried Line was a First World War line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany in northern France during 1916–17 as a section of the Hindenburg Line. This line stretched more than 630 km and featured more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and it was planned in 1936 and built between 1938 and 1940. From September 1944 to March 1945, the Siegfried Line was subject to a large scale Allied offensive, the overall cost of this Campaign in American personnel was close to 140,000. The German losses were not well documented and this standardisation was the most effective use of scarce raw materials, transport and workers. Dragons teeth tank traps were known as Höcker in German because of their shape. These blocks of reinforced concrete stand in rows on a single foundation. There are two sorts of barrier, Type 1938 with four teeth getting higher toward the back. Many other irregular lines of teeth were also built, another design of tank obstacle, known as the Czech hedgehog, was made by welding together several bars of steel in such a way that any tank rolling over it would get stuck. If the contour of the land allowed it, water-filled ditches were dug instead of tank traps, examples of this kind of defence are those north of Aachen near Geilenkirchen. Small bunkers with 50 cm thick walls were set up with three embrasures towards the front, in exposed positions, similar small bunkers were erected with small round armoured lookout sections on the roofs. The Limes Programme began in 1938 following an order by Hitler to strengthen fortifications on the western German border, Limes refers to the former borders of the Roman Empire, the cover story for the programme was that it was an archaeological study. Its Type 10 bunkers were more strongly constructed than the border fortifications. These had 1.5 m thick ceilings and walls, a total of 3,471 were built along the entire length of the Siegfried Line. They featured a room or shelter for 10-12 men with a stepped embrasure facing backwards. This elevated section had embrasures at the front and sides for machine guns, more embrasures were provided for riflemen, and the entire structure was constructed so as to be safe against poison gas. Heating was from a safety oven, the chimney of which was covered with a thick grating, space was tight, with about 1 m2 per soldier, who was given a sleeping-place and a stool, the commanding officer had a chair. Surviving examples still retain signs warning Walls have ears and Lights out when embrasures are open, the Aachen-Saar programme bunkers were similar to those of the Limes programme, Type 107 double MG casemates with concrete walls up to 3.5 m thick. One difference was there were no embrasures at the front
24.
Victory in Europe Day
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It thus marked the end of World War II in Europe. The term VE Day existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory, on 30 April 1945, Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin. Germanys surrender, therefore, was authorised by his successor, Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz, the administration headed by Dönitz was known as the Flensburg Government. The act of surrender was signed on 7 May in Reims, France and on 8 May in Berlin. The former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries have historically celebrated the end of World War II on 9 May, however, the Baltic countries now commemorate VE day on 8 May. In Ukraine from 2015,8 May was designated as a day of Remembrance and Reconciliation, upon the defeat of Germany, celebrations erupted throughout the world. From Moscow to Los Angeles, people celebrated, in the United Kingdom, more than one million people celebrated in the streets to mark the end of the European part of the war. Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander incognito among the crowds, in the United States, the victory happened on President Harry Trumans 61st birthday. He dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, flags remained at half-staff for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period. Truman said of dedicating the victory to Roosevelts memory and keeping the flags at half-staff that his wish was that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day. Later that day, Truman said that the victory made it his most enjoyable birthday, massive celebrations also took place in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and especially in New Yorks Times Square. As the Soviet representative in Reims had no authority to sign the German instrument of surrender, the surrender ceremony was repeated in Berlin on 8 May, where the instrument of surrender was signed by supreme German military commander Wilhelm Keitel, by Georgy Zhukov and Allied representatives. East Germany as Tag der Befreiung, a holiday from 1950 to 1966. Between 1975 and 1990, as Tag des Sieges, France as Victoire 1945 Slovakia as Deň víťazstva nad fašizmom Czech Republic as Den vítězství or Den osvobození Poland as Narodowy Dzień Zwycięstwa – National Victory Day. Norway as Frigjøringsdagen Ukraine День памяті та примирення Ukraine День перемоги над нацизмом у Другій світовій війні — from 2015
25.
Military occupation
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Military occupation is effective provisional control by a certain ruling power over a territory which is not under the formal sovereignty of that entity, without the volition of the actual sovereign. Military government may be characterized as the administration or supervision of occupied territory. Military government is distinguished from law, which is the temporary rule by domestic armed forces over disturbed areas. The rules of government are delineated in various international agreements, primarily the Hague Convention of 1907. A country that establishes a government and violates internationally agreed upon norms runs the risk of censure, criticism. In the current era, the practices of government have largely become a part of customary international law. Article 42 of the 1907 Hague Convention on Land Warfare specify that erritory is considered occupied when it is placed under the authority of the hostile army. The form of administration by which an occupying power exercises government authority over occupied territory is called military government, neither the Hague Conventions nor the Geneva Conventions specifically define or distinguish an act of invasion. The terminology of occupation is used exclusively, the clear distinction has been recognized among the principles of international law since the end of the Napoleonic wars in the 19th century. These customary laws of belligerent occupation which evolved as part of the laws of war gave some protection to the population under the occupation of a belligerent power. The first two articles of that state, Art. Territory is considered occupied when it is placed under the authority of the hostile army. The occupation extends only to the territory where such authority has been established, in 1949 these laws governing belligerent occupation of an enemy states territory were further extended by the adoption of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Much of GCIV is relevant to protected persons in occupied territories and Section III, Article 6 restricts the length of time that most of GCIV applies, The present Convention shall apply from the outset of any conflict or occupation mentioned in Article 2. In the territory of Parties to the conflict, the application of the present Convention shall cease on the close of military operations. GCIV emphasised an important change in international law, the Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. S. are not signatory to this additional protocol. The military government of the occupying power will continue past the point in time when the peace treaty comes into force. Military government continues until legally supplanted is the rule, as stated in Military Government and Martial Law, by William E. Birkhimer, see Birkhimer, p. 25–26, No proclamation of part of the victorious commander is necessary to the lawful inauguration and enforcement of military government
26.
National Guard of the United States
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All members of the National Guard of the United States are also members of the militia of the United States as defined by 10 U. S. C. National Guard units are under the control of the state. The majority of National Guard soldiers and airmen hold a civilian job full-time while serving part-time as a National Guard member, local militias were formed from the earliest English colonization of the Americas in 1607. The first colony-wide militia was formed by Massachusetts in 1636 by merging small older local units, the various colonial militias became state militias when the United States became independent. The title National Guard was used from 1824 by some New York State militia units, National Guard became a standard nationwide militia title in 1903, and specifically indicated reserve forces under mixed state and federal control from 1933. The first muster of militia forces in what is today the United States took place on September 16,1565, appropriately enough, this muster occurred in the shadow of an oncoming hurricane. This Spanish militia tradition and the English tradition that would be established to the north would provide the nucleus for Colonial defense in the New World. The militia tradition continued with the first permanent English settlements in the New World, Jamestown Colony and Plymouth Colony both had militia forces, which initially consisted of every able bodied adult male. By the mid-1600s every town had at least one militia company, as a result of the Spanish–American War, Congress was called upon to reform and regulate the training and qualification of state militias. The first national laws regulating the militia were the Militia acts of 1792, in 1903, with passage of the Dick Act, the predecessor to the modern-day National Guard was formed. It required the states to divide their militias into two sections, the law recommended the title National Guard for the first section, known as the organized militia, and Reserve Militia for all others. During World War I, Congress passed the National Defense Act of 1916, Congress also authorized the states to maintain Home Guards, which were reserve forces outside the National Guards being deployed by the Federal Government. The National Guard of the states, territories, and the District of Columbia serves as part of the first-line of defense for the United States. C. Where the National Guard operates under the President of the United States or his designee, the governors exercise control through the state adjutants general. The National Guard may be called up for duty by the governors to help respond to domestic emergencies and disasters, such as hurricanes, floods. The National Guard is administered by the National Guard Bureau, which is a joint activity of the Army, the National Guard Bureau provides a communication channel for state National Guards to the DoD. S. C. The National Guard Bureau is headed by the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, prior to 2008, the functions of Agricultural Development Teams were within Provincial Reconstruction Teams of the US Government. Today, ADTs consist of soldiers and airmen from the Army National Guard, today, ADTs bring an effective platform for enhanced dialogue, building confidence, sharing interests, and increasing cooperation amongst the disparate peoples and tribes of Afghanistan
27.
128th Fighter Group
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The 128th Air Refueling Wing is a unit of the Wisconsin Air National Guard, stationed at General Mitchell Air National Guard Base, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. If activated to service in the United States Air Force. The 128th Air Refueling Wing principal mission is air refueling, the wing enhances the Air Forces capability to accomplish its primary missions of Global Reach and Global Power. It also provides aerial refueling support to Air Force, Navy, the wing is also capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations. Moved to England in November 1943, flew first mission, escorting B-24s that attacked V-weapon launching sites near Pas de Calais, on 8 February 1944. Until April 1944, engaged chiefly in escorting bombers that struck factories, railroads, airfields, reassigned to Ninth Air Force on 13 April 1944 and repeatedly attacked communications in northern France and in Belgium during Apr and May, in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. Moved to the Continent early in July 1944 and bombed enemy troops to aid the Allied breakthrough at St Lo later that month, supported the subsequent advance of ground forces toward the Rhine by attacking railroads, trucks, bridges, power stations, fuel dumps, and other facilities. Bombed and strafed such targets as flak positions, armored vehicles, continued operations until May 1945 then was assigned to occupation duty. The wartime 362d Fighter Group was re-designated as the 128th Fighter Group and it was organized at General Mitchell Field, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was extended federal recognition on 29 Jun 1948 by the National Guard Bureau. The 128th Fighter Group was bestowed the history, honors, the 126th Fighter Squadron and 176th Fighter Squadrons were assigned as the groups flying squadrons. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 128th Headquarters, 128th Material Squadron, 128th Combat Support Squadron, the 176th FS operated from Truax Field, near Madison. The group was allocated to the Air Defense Command with a mission of air defense of the lower Great Lakes and it was re-designated as the 128th Fighter-Interceptor Group on 1 November 1950. The Group and 126th returned to Milwaukee, on 15 April 1956, the 176th FIS was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 115th Fighter-Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 176th FIS becoming the flying squadron. The Group continued its air defense mission though the 1950s, being upgraded to F-86F Sabres in 1957, the 128th Fighter-Interceptor Wing was transferred to Strategic Air Command on 1 August 1961 and was equipped with second-line KC-97 Stratotankers. The 128th was the first Air National Guard tanker unit to become fully operational and this occurred in December 1963 when combat ready status was achieved. The group participated in an operation in a foreign land for a sustained period of time without a call up. The 128th ARG, along with four other Air National Guard refueling units, stationed a contingent of its KC-97s at Rhein-Main Air Base and it was designated Operation Creek Party and was destined to last for 10 years
28.
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
29.
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
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The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of the process, production models were flying. Designed with straight wings, the type saw combat in Korea with the United States Air Force as the F-80. The F-94 Starfire, an all-weather interceptor on the same airframe, the closely related T-33 Shooting Star trainer would remain in service with the U. S. Air Force and Navy well into the 1980s, with the last NT-33 variant not retired until April 1997. Many still serve in a role in foreign air arms or are in private hands. The XP-80 had a conventional airframe, with a slim low wing. Other early jets generally had two engines because of their power, these being mounted in external nacelles for easier maintenance. With the advent of more powerful British jet engines, fuselage mounting was more effective, Lockheeds team, consisting of 28 engineers, was led by the legendary Clarence L. Kelly Johnson. This teaming was a product of Lockheeds Skunk Works, which surfaced again in the next decade to produce a line of high-performance aircraft beginning with the F-104. With the Germans and British clearly far ahead in development, Lockheed was pressed to develop a jet in as short a time as possible. Kelly Johnson submitted a proposal in mid-June and promised that the prototype would be ready for testing in 180 days. The Skunk Works team, beginning 26 June 1943, produced the airframe in 143 days, the first prototype was nicknamed Lulu-Belle. Powered by the replacement Halford H1 taken from the prototype de Havilland Vampire jet fighter, it first flew on 8 January 1944, the donated British jet program data had no doubt proved invaluable. The second prototype, designated XP-80A, was designed for the larger General Electric I-40 engine, 44-83021 was nicknamed the Gray Ghost after its pearl gray paint scheme, while 83022, left unpainted for comparison of flight characteristics, became known as the Silver Ghost. The XP-80As first test flight was unimpressive, but most of the problems with the design were soon addressed and corrected in the test program. Initial opinions of the XP-80A were not positive, with Lockheed Chief Engineering Test Pilot Milo Burcham commenting that an aircraft he very much enjoyed had now become a dog. The XP-80As were primarily testbeds for larger, more engines and air intake design. The P-80 testing program proved very dangerous, Burcham was killed on 20 October 1944 while flying the third YP-80A produced, 44-83025
30.
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
31.
Truax Field Air National Guard Base
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Truax Field Air National Guard Base, also known as Truax Field, is a military facility located at Dane County Regional Airport. It is located five miles northeast of the center of Madison, Truax Field was named in honor of Wisconsin-native Lieutenant Thomas L. Truax, who was killed in a P-40 training accident in November 1941. The airport is home to both the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the Wisconsin Air National Guard, originally known as Madison Army Airfield, Truax Field was activated as an Army Air Forces airfield in June 1942 during World War II. A special unit established in 1943 trained radio operators and mechanics on B-29 Superfortress communications equipment, the host unit on the airfield was the 334th Army Air Force Base Unit. On September 17,1945, the mission was changed to that of a separation center. The initial USAF unit assigned to Truax was the 78th Air Base Squadron, ADC assigned Truax AFB to its Central Air Defense Force and activated the Wisconsin Air National Guards 128th Fighter-Interceptor Group, normally based in Milwaukee. The 128th FIG flew F-80 Shooting Stars from Truax until returning to Milwaukee in February 1952, the 78th was reassigned from Hamilton AFB, California and flew the F-86 Sabre and F-89 Scorpion aircraft in a fighter-interceptor role. On April 9,1955, Truax AFB became the headquarters of ADCs 37th Air Division, the 37th AD was responsible for the air defense of parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, including Chicago. On April 1,1959, ADCs 30th Air Division, operating the Semi Automatic Ground Environment system, SAGE, in later versions, could also automatically direct aircraft to an interception by sending commands directly to the aircrafts autopilot. In the late 1950s, the assigned to the base changed to the F-102 Delta Dagger and the 78th was replaced by the 327th Fighter-Interceptor Group. The 327ths squadrons were the 61st, 323d and 325th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, in 1966, Headquarters, 30th Air Division, was reassigned to Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa, and the 20th Air Division replaced it at Truax. The 20th AD was responsible for air defense of parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and all of Illinois. By the late 1960s, the need for air defense against manned aircraft was diminishing, on December 31,1967, the 20th AD was reassigned to Fort Lee AFS, Virginia and Truax AFB was deactivated as an active Aerospace Defense Command base in early 1968. The 115 FW has two distinct missions, the 115 FW maintains mobilization readiness as part of the Air Reserve Component and conducts training as directed by ACC. A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 -1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Winkler, David F. Searching the skies, the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program, prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command
32.
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
33.
31st Air Division
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The 31st Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to Tenth Air Force, being stationed at Sioux City Municipal Airport and it was inactivated on 31 December 1969. The division participated in live and simulated exercises such as Creek Chief, Pawnee Knife. Later, beginning in 1966, the 31st assumed responsibility for the former Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector and covered an area including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, cornett, Lloyd H, Johnson, Mildred W. A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization,1946 -1980, peterson AFB, CO, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Winkler, David F. Webster, Julie L, searching the skies, The legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program. Champaign, IL, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories
34.
North American F-86 Sabre
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The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in that war and its success led to an extended production run of more than 7,800 aircraft between 1949 and 1956, in the United States, Japan and Italy. Variants were built in Canada and Australia, the Canadair Sabre added another 1,815 airframes, and the significantly redesigned CAC Sabre, had a production run of 112. The Sabre was by far the most-produced Western jet fighter, with production of all variants at 9,860 units. North American Aviation had produced the propeller-powered P-51 Mustang in World War II, by late 1944, North American proposed its first jet fighter to the U. S. Navy, which became the FJ-1 Fury. It was an unexceptional transitional jet fighter that had a wing derived from the P-51. Initial proposals to meet a United States Army Air Forces requirement for a medium-range, single-seat, in early 1945, North American Aviation submitted four designs. The USAAF selected one design over the others, and granted North American a contract to build three examples of the XP-86, despite the gain in speed, early studies revealed the XP-86 would have the same performance as its rivals, the XP-80 and XP-84. It was also feared that, because these designs were advanced in their development stages. Crucially, the XP-86 would not be able to meet the top speed of 600 mph. The North American F-86 Sabre was the first American aircraft to take advantage of research data seized from the German aerodynamicists at the end of World War II. By 1944, German engineers and designers had established the benefits of swept wings based on designs dating back to 1940. Study of the data showed that a wing would solve their speed problem. Because development of the XP-86 had reached a stage, the idea of changing the sweep of the wing was met with resistance from some senior North American staff. Despite stiff opposition, after results were obtained in wind tunnel tests. Many Sabres had the 6–3 wing retrofitted after combat experience was gained in Korea and this modification changed the wing airfoils to the NACA 0009-64 mod at the root and the NACA0008. 1–64 mod at the tip. Delays caused by the major redesign meant that manufacturing did not begin until after World War II, the XP-86 prototype, which would lead to the F-86 Sabre, was rolled out on 8 August 1947. The maiden flight occurred on 1 October 1947 with George Welch at the controls, flying from Muroc Dry Lake, the United States Air Forces Strategic Air Command had F-86 Sabres in service from 1949 through 1950
35.
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
36.
AIR-2 Genie
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The Douglas AIR-2 Genie was an unguided air-to-air rocket with a 1.5 kt W25 nuclear warhead. It was deployed by the United States Air Force and Canada during the Cold War, production ended in 1962 after over 3000 were made, with some related training and test derivatives being produced later. The interception of Soviet strategic bombers was a major preoccupation of the late 1940s and 1950s. The World War II-age fighter armament of guns and cannon were inadequate to stop attacks by massed formations of high-speed bombers. Firing large volleys of unguided rockets into bomber formations was not much better, in 1954 Douglas Aircraft began a program to investigate the possibility of a nuclear-armed air-to-air weapon. To ensure simplicity and reliability, the weapon would be unguided, the resultant weapon carried a 1. 5-kiloton W25 nuclear warhead and was powered by a Thiokol SR49-TC-1 solid-fuel rocket engine of 162 kN thrust. It had a range of slightly under 10 km, targeting, arming, and firing of the weapon were coordinated by the launch aircrafts fire-control system. Detonation was by time-delay fuze, although the mechanism would not arm the warhead until engine burn-out, to give the launch aircraft sufficient time to turn. Lethal radius of the blast was estimated to be about 300 metres, the first test firings of inert rounds took place in 1956, and the weapon entered service with the designation MB-1 in 1957. The popular name was Genie, but it was often nicknamed Ding-Dong, about 3,150 rounds were produced before production ended in 1963. In 1962 the weapon was redesignated AIR-2A Genie, many rounds were upgraded with improved, longer-duration rocket motors, the upgraded weapons sometimes known as AIR-2B. An inert training round, originally MB-1-T and later ATR-2A, was produced in small numbers. A live Genie was detonated only once, in Operation Plumbbob on 19 July 1957 and it was fired by AF Captain Eric William Hutchison and AF Captain Alfred C. Barbee flying an F-89J over Yucca Flats, sources vary as to the height of the blast, but it was between 18,500 and 20,000 ft above mean sea level. A group of five USAF officers volunteered to stand hatless in their light summer uniforms underneath the blast to prove that the weapon was safe for use over populated areas and they were photographed by Department of Defense photographer George Yoshitake who stood there with them. Gamma and neutron doses received by observers on the ground were negligible, doses received by aircrew were highest for the fliers assigned to penetrate the airburst cloud ten minutes after explosion. The Genie was cleared to be carried on the F-89 Scorpion, F-101B Voodoo, F-106 Delta Dart, a trapeze launcher was fitted beneath a Starfighter, but it was never carried in operational service. Convair offered an upgrade of the F-102 Delta Dagger that would have been Genie-capable, operational use of the Genie was discontinued in 1988 with the retirement of the F-106 interceptor
37.
Semi-Automatic Ground Environment
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SAGE directed and controlled the NORAD response to a Soviet air attack, operating in this role from the late 1950s into the 1980s. Its enormous computers and huge displays remain a part of cold war lore, the processing power behind SAGE was supplied by the largest computer ever built, the AN/FSQ-7. Each SAGE Direction Center housed an FSQ-7 which occupied an entire floor, Information was fed to the DCs from a network of radar stations as well as readiness information from various defence sites. The computers, based on the raw data, developed tracks for the reported targets. Operators used light guns to select targets onscreen for further information, select one of the available defences and these commands would then be automatically sent to the defence site via teleprinter. Connecting the various sites was a network of telephones, modems. Each DC also forwarded data to a Combat Center for supervision of the several sectors within the division, SAGE became operational in the late 1950s and early 1960s at a combined cost of billions of dollars. It was noted that the deployment cost more than the Manhattan Project, throughout its development there were continual questions about its real ability to deal with large attacks, and several tests by Strategic Air Command bombers suggested the system was leaky. Nevertheless, SAGE was the backbone of NORADs air defence system into the 1980s, by time the tube-based FSQ-7s were increasingly costly to maintain. Today the same command and control task is carried out by microcomputers, just prior to World War II, Royal Air Force tests with the new Chain Home radars had demonstrated that relaying information to the fighter aircraft directly from the radar sites was not feasible. The radars determined the map coordinates of the enemy, but could not see the fighters at the same time. This meant the radar operators could not tell the pilots where to go for an interception, the pilots had to do this, the sectors used additional systems to track their own aircraft, plotting both on a single large map. Operators viewing the map could then see what direction their fighters would have to fly to approach their targets. This Dowding system was the first ground controlled intercept system of large scale and it proved enormously successful during the Battle of Britain, and is credited as being a key part in the RAFs success. However, the system was slow, often providing information that was up to five minutes out of date. The system was extremely expensive in manpower terms, requiring hundreds of telephone operators, plotters, trackers. This was a drain on manpower reserves, making it difficult to expand the network. The idea of using a computer to handle the task of taking reports, by 1944, analog computers had been installed at the CH stations to automatically convert radar readings into map locations, eliminating two people
38.
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter
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The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, the KC-97 Stratofreighter was an aerial refueling tanker variant of the C-97 Stratofreighter, greatly modified with all the necessary tanks, plumbing, and a flying boom. The cavernous upper deck was capable of accommodating oversize cargo accessed through a very large right-side door, in addition, transferrable jet fuel was contained in tanks on the lower deck. Both decks were heated and pressurized for high altitude operations, note, Occasionally the KC-97 has been quoted as Stratotanker. However, all reputable sources refer to the KC-97 as Stratofreighter and this includes both Boeing and the USAF themselves. The USAF began operating the KC-97 in 1950 and it purchased a total of 811 KC-97s from Boeing, as opposed to only 74 of the C-97 cargo version. The KC-97 carried aviation gasoline for its own piston engines but it carried jet fuel for its refueling mission, however, it was able to offload its aviation gas to a receiver in an emergency in a procedure known as a SAVE. These tankers were vitally important to the world-wide Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic operations, an example was the support of Arctic reconnaissance flights from Thule Air Base. While it was a tanker, the KC-97s slow speed. B-52s typically lowered their flaps and rear landing gear to slow the aircraft enough to refuel from the KC-97, in addition, a typical B-52 refueling engagement profile would involve a descent that allowed the aircraft pair to maintain a higher airspeed. In the early 1960s, the Tactical Air Command added General Electric J47 jet pods from retired KB-50 tankers to produce the KC-97L, the jet pods increased performance and made the KC-97 more compatible with jet aircraft. In 1956, SAC began phasing out the KC-97 in favor of the KC-135, KC-97s continued operating with Tactical Air Command, the Air Force Reserve, and the Air National Guard. Most KC-97 were finally retired completely in 1978, when the Texas Air National Guard and Utah Air National Guard exchanged their KC-97Ls for C-130s and KC-135s, source, AIRTime KC-97A Three C-97As were converted into aerial refueling tankers with rear loading door removed and a flight refueling boom added. After the design was proven, they were converted back into the standard C-97A, kC-97E aerial refueling tankers with rear loading doors permanently closed,60 built. Some were later converted into transports as the C-97E, KC-97F 3800hp R-4360-59B engines and minor changes,159 built. Some were later converted into transport as the C-97F, KC-97G Dual-role aerial refueling tankers/cargo transportation aircraft. KC-97G models carried underwing fuel tanks, eC-97G ELINT conversion of three KC-97Gs. 53-106 was operated by the CIA for covert ELINT operations in the West Berlin Air Corridor, c-97G135 KC-97Gs converted to transports
39.
Rhein-Main Air Base
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Rhein-Main Air Base was a United States Air Force air base near the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was a United States Air Forces in Europe installation, occupying the side of Frankfurt Airport. Its military airport codes are discontinued, established in 1945, Rhein-Main Air Base was the primary airlift and passenger hub for United States forces in Europe. It was billed as the Gateway to Europe, after the U. S. 7th Army moved through the Frankfurt area, the 826th Engineer Aviation Battalion, a unit of the IX Engineer Command, arrived at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airfield on 26 April 1945. It was classified as Advanced Landing Ground Y-73, on 11 May 1945, the engineers began the task of clearing rubble and reconstructing major buildings. The Army engineers also built new runways and extended and widened the runway, constructed aprons. Initially Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airfield was used by the Ninth Air Force as a fighter base. The 466th operated the port, with a mixture of C-47 Skytrain, C-46 Commando. Troop Carrier Squadrons of the 61st TCG were the 14th, 15th, the ongoing dispute over Berlin strained relations between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies. The commander of the American occupation zone in Germany, General Lucius D. Clay, USA, Rhein-Main Air Base became the main American terminal in western Germany for the airlift. The aircraft of the 61st TCG participated using C-54 Skymasters to ferry coal, flour, additional Troop Carrier Squadrons were assigned to the 61st group, these being the 20th, 48th, and 54th. On 19 November 1948, the 513th Troop Carrier Group was activated at Rhein-Main Air Base to assist in the airlift, Squadrons of the 513th were the 313th, 330th, 331st, 332d, and 333d. The Soviet Union lifted its blockade at 00,01, on 12 May 1949, however, the airlift did not end until 30 September, as the Western nations wanted to build up sufficient amounts of supplies in West Berlin in case the Soviets blockaded it again. Although originally envisioned as a base by USAFE, as a result of the Berlin Airlift. With the end of the blockade, the 513th TCG was inactivated on 16 October 1949, the 61st TCG returned to routine transport operations until the outbreak of the Korean War. The 61st was reassigned to McChord Air Force Base, Washington on 21 July 1950, the 61st was replaced by the 60th Troop Carrier Wing, which transferred from Wiesbaden Air Base, West Germany on 2 June 1950. The 60th was equipped with the heavier C-82 Packet cargo aircraft, in 1953, the C-119 Flying Boxcar arrived, bringing an increased cargo capability to the wing. The 60th Troop Carrier Wing relocated to Dreux-Louvillier Air Base, France on 15 October 1955, Rhein-Main was placed under the 7310th Air Base Wing, and for over a decade provided ground service as well as cargo and passenger loading and unloading for USAFE and MATS transports
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Strategic Air Command
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At a lower echelon, headquarters divisions included Aircraft Engineering, Missile Concept, and Strategic Communications. In 1992, as part of an overall post-Cold War reorganization of the U. S. Planning to reorganize for a separate and independent postwar U. S. Air Force had begun by the fall of 1945, with the Simpson Board tasked to plan. the reorganization of the Army, SAC initially totaled 37,000 USAAF personnel. S. Air Force as an independent service, kenney, initial units reporting to the Strategic Air Command headquarters on 21 March 1946 included the Second Air Force, the IX Troop Carrier Command and the 73d Air Division. In addition to the bombing mission, SAC also devoted significant resources to aerial reconnaissance. An F-13 squadron, the F-13 later re-designated as the RB-29 Superfortress, was also established, SAC conducted routine aerial reconnaissance missions near the Soviet borders or near the 12-mile international waters limit, although some missions actually penetrated into Soviet airspace. The flight profiles of these missions—above 30,000 feet and in excess of 300 knots—made interception by Soviet air forces difficult until the Soviets 1948 introduction of the MiG-15 jet fighter. Project Nanook, the Cold War’s first Top Secret reconnaissance effort, used the first RB-29 missions for mapping and visual reconnaissance in the Arctic, later missions were Project LEOPARD along the Chukchi Peninsula, followed by Projects RICKRACK, STONEWORK, and COVERALLS. In 1946, the US possessed only nine atomic bombs and twenty-seven B-29s capable at any one time of delivering them, unfortunately, postwar budget and personnel cuts had had an insidious effect on SAC as its Deputy Commander, Major General Clements McMullen, implemented mandated force reductions. This continued to wear down SAC as a command and morale plummeted, as a result, by the end of 1947, only two of SACs eleven groups were combat ready. In terms of overall Air Force basing and infrastructure, SAC continued to acquire a share of USAF infrastructure. In 1947, before the USAF was established as an independent service, construction commenced on Limestone AAF, Maine, fort Dix AAF, New Jersey, Spokane AAF, Washington, and Wendover Field, Utah were also transferred to SAC between 30 April and 1 September 1947. Following establishment of the USAF as a service, SAC bases in the United States consisted of
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George H. W. Bush
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George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who was the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and the 43rd Vice President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Republican Party, he was previously a congressman, ambassador, and he is the oldest living former President and Vice President. Prior to his sons presidency, he was referred to as George Bush or President Bush. Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Bush postponed his university studies, enlisted in the U. S. Navy on his 18th birthday and he served until the end of the war, then attended Yale University. Graduating in 1948, he moved his family to West Texas and entered the oil business, Bush became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company, serving as a member of the House of Representatives and Director of Central Intelligence, among other positions. He failed to win the Republican nomination for President in 1980, but was chosen as a mate by party nominee Ronald Reagan. During his tenure, Bush headed administration task forces on deregulation, in 1988, Bush ran a successful campaign to succeed Reagan as President, defeating Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis. Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency, military operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf, the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later. Domestically, Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise and, after a struggle with Congress and his presidential library was dedicated in 1997, and he has been active—often alongside Bill Clinton—in various humanitarian activities. Besides being the 43rd president, his son George also served as the 46th Governor of Texas and is one of only two other being John Quincy Adams—to be the son of a former president. His second son, Jeb Bush, served as the 43rd Governor of Florida, George Herbert Walker Bush was born at 173 Adams Street in Milton, Massachusetts, on June 12,1924, to Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy Bush. The Bush family moved from Milton to Greenwich, Connecticut, shortly after his birth, growing up, his nickname was Poppy. Bush began his education at the Greenwich Country Day School in Greenwich. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Bush decided to join the US, Navy, so after graduating from Phillips Academy in 1942, he became a naval aviator at the age of 18. He was assigned to Torpedo Squadron as the officer in September 1943. The following year, his squadron was based on USS San Jacinto as a member of Air Group 51, during this time, the task force was victorious in one of the largest air battles of World War II, the Battle of the Philippine Sea. After Bushs promotion to Lieutenant on August 1,1944, San Jacinto commenced operations against the Japanese in the Bonin Islands, Bush piloted one of four Grumman TBM Avenger aircraft from VT-51 that attacked the Japanese installations on Chichijima
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Guam
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Guam is an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, Guam is one of five American territories with a civilian government. The capital city is Hagåtña and the most populous city is Dededo, in 2015,161,785 people resided on Guam. Guamanians are American citizens by birth, Guam has an area of 210 sq mi and a population density of 770/sq mi. It is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia, among its municipalities, Mongmong-Toto-Maite has the highest density at 3, 691/sq mi, whereas Inarajan and Umatac have the lowest density at 119/sq mi. The highest point is Mount Lamlam at 406 meters above sea level, the Chamorros, Guams indigenous people, settled the island approximately 4,000 years ago. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to visit the island on March 6,1521, Guam was colonized in 1668 with settlers, like Diego Luis de San Vitores, a Catholic missionary. Between the 16th century and the 18th century, Guam was an important stopover for the Spanish Manila Galleons, during the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam on June 21,1898. Under the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the United States on December 10,1898, Guam is among the seventeen Non-Self-Governing Territories of the United Nations. Before World War II, Guam and three other territories – American Samoa, Hawaii, and the Philippines – were the only American jurisdictions in the Pacific Ocean. On December 7,1941, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Guam was captured by the Japanese, during the occupation, Guamanians were subjected to beheadings, forced labor, rape, and torture. Guam endured hostilities when American forces recaptured the island on July 21,1944, since the 1960s, the economy is supported by two industries, tourism and the United States Armed Forces. The original inhabitants of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are believed to be descendants of Austronesian people originating from Southeast Asia as early as 2000 BC and they evolved into the Chamorro people. The ancient-Chamorro society had four classes, chamorri, matua, achaot, the matua were located in the coastal villages, which meant they had the best access to fishing grounds, whereas the manachang were located in the interior of the island. Matua and manachang rarely communicated with other, and matua often used achaot as intermediaries. There were also makåhna, skilled in healing and medicine, belief in spirits of ancient Chamorros called Taotao mona still persists as a remnant of pre-European culture. Their society was organized along matrilineal clans, Latte stones are stone pillars that are found only in the Mariana Islands, and, they are a recent development in Pre-Contact Chamorro society. The latte-stone was used as a foundation on which thatched huts were built, Latte stones consist of a base shaped from limestone called the haligi and with a capstone, or tåsa, made either from a large brain coral or limestone, placed on top
United States
Wisconsin
Air National Guard
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
