1.
LGM-30 Minuteman
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The LGM-30 Minuteman is a U. S. land-based intercontinental ballistic missile, in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. As of 2016, the LGM-30G Minuteman III version is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States, development of the Minuteman began in the mid-1950s as the outgrowth of basic research into solid fuel rocket motors which indicated an ICBM based on solids was possible. Such a missile could stand ready for extended periods of time with little maintenance, in comparison, existing U. S. missile designs using liquid fuels required a lengthy fueling process immediately before launch, which left them open to the possibility of surprise attack. This potential for immediate launch gave the missile its name, like the Revolutionary Wars Minutemen, Minuteman entered service in 1962 as a weapon tasked primarily with the deterrence role, threatening Soviet cities with a counterattack if the U. S. was attacked. However, with the development of the U. S, the Minuteman-II entered service in 1965 with a host of upgrades to improve its accuracy and survivability in the face of an anti-ballistic missile system the Soviets were known to be developing. Minuteman-III was the first multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle ICBM to be deployed, each missile can carry up to three nuclear warheads, which have a yield in the range of 300 to 500 kilotons. By February 2018 this will be reduced to 400 armed missiles, with 50 unarmed missiles in reserve, the Air Force plans to keep the missile in service until at least 2030. It is one component of the U. S. nuclear triad—the other two parts of the triad being the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile, and nuclear weapons carried by long-range strategic bombers, Minuteman owes its existence largely to the efforts of then Air Force Colonel Edward N. Hall. Solid fuels were already used in rockets, but strictly for short-range uses. But Hall was convinced that they could be used for a true ICBM with 5,500 nautical miles range, to achieve the required energy, that year Hall began funding research at Boeing and Thiokol into the use of ammonium perchlorate composite propellant. Adapting a concept developed in the UK, they cast the fuel into large cylinders with a hole running along the inner axis. This allowed the fuel to burn along the length of the cylinder, rather than just the end as in earlier designs. The increased burn rate meant increased thrust, in comparison, older designs burned primarily from one end to the other, meaning that at any instant one small section of the fuselage was being subject to extreme loads and temperatures. Guidance of an ICBM is based not only on the direction the missile is travelling, too much thrust and the warhead will overshoot its target, too little and it will fall short. This appeared at first to be a problem, but in the end was solved in almost trivial fashion. A series of ports were added inside the nozzle that were opened when the guidance systems called for engine cut-off. The reduction in pressure was so abrupt that the last burning fuel ejected itself, the first to make use of these developments was not the Air Force, but the Navy. They had been involved in a joint program with the US Army to develop the liquid-fueled Jupiter missile and they felt that liquid fuels were too dangerous to use onboard ships, and especially submarines
2.
Vandenberg Air Force Base
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Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base 9.2 miles northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command, Vandenberg AFB is a Department of Defense space and missile testing base, with a mission of placing satellites into polar orbit from the West Coast using expendable boosters. Wing personnel also support the Services LGM-30G Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force Development Evaluation program, in addition to its military mission, the base also leases launch pad facilities to SpaceX, as well as 100 acres leased to the California Spaceport in 1995. Established in 1941, the base is named in honor of former Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenberg, the host unit at Vandenberg AFB is the 30th Space Wing. The 30th SW is home to the Western Range, manages Department of Defense space and missile testing, Wing personnel also support the Air Forces Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force Development Test and Evaluation program. The Western Range begins at the boundaries of Vandenberg and extends westward from the California coast to the Western Pacific. Operations involve dozens of federal and commercial interests, the wing is organized into operations, launch, mission support and medical groups, along with several directly assigned staff agencies. 30th Launch Group The 30th Launch Group is responsible for booster and satellite technical oversight and launch processing activities to launch, integration. The group consists of a military, civilian and contractor team with more than 250 personnel directly supporting operations from the Western Range. 1st Air and Space Test Squadron 4th Space Launch Squadron 30th Operations Group The 30th Operations Group provides the capability for West Coast spacelift. Operations professionals are responsible for operating and maintaining the Western Range for spacelift, missile test launch, aeronautical, 30th Mission Support Group The 30th Mission Support Group supports the third largest Air Force Base in the United States. It is also responsible for quality-of-life needs, housing, personnel, services, civil engineering, contracting, 30th Medical Group The 30th Medical Group provides medical, dental, bio-environmental and public health services for people assigned to Vandenberg Air Force Base, their families and retirees. It is Vandenbergs only National Historic Landmark that is open for scheduled tours through the 30th Space Wings Public Affairs office. The current display area is made up of two exhibits, the Chronology of the Cold War and the Evolution of Technology, there are plans to evolve the center in stages from the current exhibit areas as restorations of additional facilities are completed. In 1941 the United States Army sought more and better training centers for the development of its armored. In March 1941, the Army acquired approximately 86,000 acres of open ranch lands along the Central Coast of California between Lompoc and Santa Maria, most of the land was purchased. Smaller parcels were obtained either by lease, license, or as easements, with its flat plateau, surrounding hills, numerous canyons, and relative remoteness from populated areas, the Army was convinced it had found the ideal training location. Construction of the Army camp began in September 1941, although its completion was still months away, the Army activated the camp on 5 October, and named it Camp Cooke in honor of Major General Phillip St. George Cooke
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
5.
Intercontinental ballistic missile
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An intercontinental ballistic missile is a guided ballistic missile with a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery. Similarly, conventional, chemical, and biological weapons can also be delivered with varying effectiveness, most modern designs support multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, allowing a single missile to carry several warheads, each of which can strike a different target. Early ICBMs had limited precision that allowed them to be used only against the largest targets such as cities and they were seen as a safe basing option, one that would keep the deterrent force close to home where it would be difficult to attack. Attacks against military targets, if desired, still demanded the use of a more precise manned bomber, the result is that the power of a nuclear explosion to rupture hardened structures is greatly decreased by the distance from the impact point of the nuclear weapon. So a near-direct hit is generally necessary, as only diminishing returns are gained by increasing bomb yield, second- and third-generation designs dramatically improved accuracy to the point where even the smallest point targets can be successfully attacked. Short and medium-range ballistic missiles are known collectively as theatre ballistic missiles, the ICBM A9/A10 rocket initially was intended to be guided by radio, but was changed to be a piloted craft after the failure of Operation Elster. The second stage of the A9/A10 rocket was tested a few times in January and February 1945, the progenitor of the A9/A10 was the German V-2 rocket, also designed by von Braun and widely used at the end of World War II to bomb British and Belgian cities. All of these rockets used liquid propellants, in the immediate post-war era, the US and USSR both started rocket research programs based on the German wartime designs, especially the V-2. In the US, each branch of the military started its own programs, in the USSR, rocket research was centrally organized, although several teams worked on different designs. Early designs from both countries were short-range missiles, like the V-2, but improvements quickly followed, in the USSR early development was focused on missiles able to attack European targets. This changed in 1953 when Sergei Korolyov was directed to development of a true ICBM able to deliver newly developed hydrogen bombs. Given steady funding throughout, the R-7 developed with some speed, the first launch took place on 15 May 1957 and led to an unintended crash 400 km from the site. The first successful test followed on 21 August 1957, the R-7 flew over 6,000 km, the first strategic-missile unit became operational on 9 February 1959 at Plesetsk in north-west Russia. It was the same R-7 launch vehicle that placed the first artificial satellite in space, Sputnik, the first human spaceflight in history was accomplished on a derivative of R-7, Vostok, on 12 April 1961, by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The U. S. initiated ICBM research in 1946 with the RTV-A-2 Hiroc project and this was a three-stage effort with the ICBM development not starting until the third stage. However, funding was cut after only three successful launches in 1948 of the second stage design, used to test variations on the V-2 design. With overwhelming air superiority and truly intercontinental bombers, the newly forming US Air Force did not take the problem of ICBM development seriously. Things changed in 1953 with the Soviet testing of their first thermonuclear weapon, the Atlas A first flew on 11 June 1957, the flight lasted only about 24 seconds before the rocket blew up
6.
Air Force Global Strike Command
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Air Force Global Strike Command is a Major Command of the United States Air Force, headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. AFGSC provides combat-ready forces to conduct strategic nuclear deterrence and global operations in support of combatant commanders. Air Force Global Strike Command is the direct descendant unit of the Cold War-era Strategic Air Command and it holds the lineage, history and honors of SAC. It assumed responsibility for the assets of Air Force Space Command on 1 December 2009. Its creation was outlined in the recommendations of the following the 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident. The command was activated 7 August 2009, at Barksdale Air Force Base, AFGSC consists of over 31,000 personnel assigned to nine wings, two geographically-separated squadrons and one detachment in the continental United States and deployed to locations around the globe. Changes to the AFGSC units began with the announcement of the 377th Air Base Wings realignment in December 2014 and this means that two bomb wings formerly under Air Combat Command will shift into AFGSC. The units came under the command on 1 October 2015, on October 6,2016, the 595th Command and Control Group was activated at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska to assume the responsibility for the Boeing E-4 NAOC mission. The command has an area of responsibility as a subordinate component command of United States Strategic Command. AFGSC is one of two USAF component commands in USSTRATCOM, the other being Air Force Space Command, the mission of The Mighty Eighth is to safeguard Americas interests through strategic deterrence and global combat power. Eighth Air Force controls long-range nuclear-capable bomber assets throughout the United States and its flexible, conventional and nuclear deterrence mission provides the capability to deploy forces and engage enemy threats from home station or forward positioned, anywhere, any time. The 8th Air Force motto is Deterrence through strength, global strike on demand, the Missouri Air National Guards 131st Bomb Wing is an associate unit of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman, flying the B-2A Spirit. If federalized, it is gained by Eighth Air Force, the Air Force Reserve Commands 307th Bomb Wing is an associate unit of the 2d Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, flying the B-52H Stratofortress. If activated, it is gained by Eighth Air Force Offensive aircraft assets include the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, and Boeing B-1B Lancer. Headquarters, Twentieth Air Force – Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, designated as USSTRATCOMs Task Force 214, 20th Air Force provides on-alert, combat-ready ICBMs to the President of the United States. The ICBMs are on 24-hour/365-day alert and are ready to launch on any given day, aFGSCs Twentieth Air Force is the Air Forces lead command for and largest operator of UH-1N Huey helicopters. The UH-1N supports ICBM operations in missile fields controlled by F. E. Warren, Malmstrom, in 2015, the 582d Helicopter Group was activated to supervise the three UH-1 squadrons. Schlesinger led an investigation into the status of U. S. Air Force nuclear surety, Secretary Schlesingers recommendation was the creation of a single major command under which all Air Force nuclear assets should be placed for better accountability
7.
Malmstrom Air Force Base
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Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place in Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana, United States. It was named in honor of World War II POW Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom and it is the home of the 341st Missile Wing of the Air Force Global Strike Command. As a census-designated place, it had a population of 3,472 at the 2010 census, Malmstrom AFB is one of three US Air Force Bases that maintains and operates the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. The 341st Missile Wing reports directly to Twentieth Air Force at F. E. Warren Air Force Base and it is part of Global Strike Command headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. However, helicopter operations at Malmstrom continue in support of the missile mission. Originally named Great Falls Army Air Base, later Great Falls Air Force Base, Colonel Malmstrom, shot down on his 58th combat fighter mission in World War II, became the US commander of Luftwaffe Stalag Luft 1 South Compound, at Barth, Germany. After his release and return to active Air Force service, he died in the crash of a T-33 Shooting Star trainer on 21 August 1954 near Great Falls Air Force Base. In the short period of his tenure as wing commander. Saddened by the loss, the people of Great Falls began a drive to rename the base after him, Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe. In addition, appeals were made to the Secretary of War, in 1941, the Civil Aeronautics Authority provided the money for the development of the Great Falls Municipal Airport. In May 1942, construction began on an Army Air Corps base six miles east of Great Falls, the base was known as East Base. In November 1942, a survey team evaluated an area near the Green Mill Dance Club, Great Falls, along with ten other northern tier sparsely populated sites, was considered for a heavy bomber training base. Construction began on Great Falls Army Air Base on 8 June 1942, the base was informally known as East Base since the 7th Ferrying Group was stationed at Great Falls Municipal Airport on Gore Hill. Great Falls AAB was assigned to II Bomber Command, Second Air Force and its initial base operating unit was the 352d Base HQ and Air Base Squadron. Airfield operations began on 30 November 1942 when the first B-17 Flying Fortress landed at the new base, four Bombardment Groups, the 2nd, 385th, 390th, and 401st, trained at Great Falls AAB from November 1942 to October 1943 under Army Air Force Training Command. Group Headquarters and one of the Groups four squadrons were stationed in Great Falls with the squadrons stationed on sub-bases at Cut Bank, Glasgow. Aircraft would take off at a time, form up in squadron formation over their respective location. These bombardment groups went on to participate in raids over Germany as part of Eighth Air Force opening the door for Allied daylight precision bombing
8.
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
9.
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
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The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1954 and was the first independent Air Force decoration created, the Air Force Longevity Service Award would follow in 1957 with most of the standard Air Force awards established in the early to mid 1960s. The Outstanding Unit Award is awarded to any unit of the U. S, multiple awards of the Outstanding Unit Award are denoted by oak leaf clusters on the ribbon. Until 2004, the Outstanding Unit Award was the senior most unit award in the U. S. Air Force and it is awarded to personnel who were assigned or attached to the unit receiving the award during the period it was awarded for. Non-USAF personnel personnel assigned to USAF units awarded the Outstanding Unit Award are also eligible to wear the ribbon on their uniforms, however, the ribbon does not come in the larger size of unit awards common to the U. S. Army
10.
341st Operations Group
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The United States Air Forces 341st Missile Wing is an intercontinental ballistic missile unit headquartered at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. Up until 1 July 2008, it was designated as the 341st Space Wing, today, the 341st is one of three remaining United States Air Force wings that maintain and operate the LGM-30 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. The mission of the 341st Missile Wing is to defend America with safe, secure, effective nuclear forces, the base is also host to two tenant units, the 819th RED HORSE Squadron and the 40th Helicopter Squadron. 341st Operations Group 10th Missile Squadron 12th Missile Squadron 490th Missile Squadron 341st Operations Support Squadron The 564th Missile Squadron served with the wing from 1967–2008, the 341st Security Forces Group is the largest security forces group in the USAF. The 341st Missile Wing has its origins in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II, the unit was one of the first bomber units in the CBI, being equipped with B-25 Mitchell medium bombers which were shipped from the United States to Karachi. The aircraft were readied for operations by Air Technical Service Command at Karachi Air Depot and dispatched to Chakulia Airfield. The group was formed with two squadrons which had been attached to the 7th Bombardment Group since May 1942. The 11th Bombardment Squadron was already in China, having flown combat missions with China Air Task Force since 1 July 1942, planes and crews of the 22d Bombardment Squadron had been flying recon and tactical missions over north and central Burma, also since July. The group entered combat early in 1943 and operated chiefly against enemy transportation in central Burma until 1944 and it bombed bridges, locomotives, railroad yards, and other targets to delay movement of supplies to the Japanese troops fighting in northern Burma. The 341st Bomb Group usually functioned as if it were two groups and for a time as three, fourteen months later the group headquarters along with 22d and the 491st Squadrons joined the 11th Squadron under the command of 69th Composite Wing, Fourteenth Air Force. 341st Group HQ was Kunming and the 22d and 491st were at Yangkai, while the 11th continued to be based at Kweilin, however, the 490th Burma Bridge Busters remained in India, under the command of Major-General Howard Davidsons Tenth Air Force. Still later the 11th Squadron and a detachment of the 491st operated for a time under the East China Task Force. </ref name=Strotman/>From several airfields in China the group engaged primarily in attacking enemy concentrations and storage areas and in conducting sea sweeps and attacks against inland shipping. They also bombed and strafed such targets as trains, harbors, and railroads in French Indochina, received a DUC for developing and using a special bombing technique against enemy bridges in French Indochina. It was inactivated on 2 November 1945, the day after Group and Squadron personnel debarked at Newark, the 341st flew the B-47 in training missions and participated in various SAC exercises and deployments with the Stratojet to bases in Morocco and England designed for forward deployments. Also controlled a KC-97 Stratotanker squadron to provide air refueling for B-47 operations, the Stratojet began to be phased out of the inventory and the 341st Bomb Wing began sending its aircraft to storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in 1961. The unit was inactivated on 25 June, on 15 July 1961 the 341st was reactivated as the 341st Strategic Missile Wing. A year later, in late July 1962, the first LGM-30A Minuteman I ICBM arrived at Malmstrom and was placed at Alpha-9 launch facility, the 10th Strategic Missile Squadron accepted its final missile on 28 February 1963. Two months later, the 12th SMS became 100 percent combat ready, in July, the 490th SMS became fully operational, giving the 341st SMW responsibility for 150 silos
11.
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
12.
Langley Air Force Base
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Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located adjacent to Hampton and Newport News, Virginia. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the entry of the United States into World War I in April 1917, on 1 October 2010, Langley Air Force Base was joined with Fort Eustis to become Joint Base Langley–Eustis. The base was established in accordance with congressional legislation implementing the recommendations of the 2005 Base Realignment, the Air Force mission at Langley is to sustain the ability for fast global deployment and air superiority for the United States or allied armed forces. It was used during World War I as a field, balloon station, observers’ school, photography school, experimental engineering department. It is situated on 3,152 acres of land between the cities of Hampton, NASA LaRC, and the northwest and southwest branches of the Back River, airPower over Hampton Roads is a recurring airshow held at Langley in the spring. Many demonstrations take place, including the F-22 Raptor Demonstration, Aerobatics, and parachute demos. The Wing is composed of the units worldwide, 480th ISR Group, Fort Gordon, Ga. 497th ISR Group, Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Va. 548th ISR Group, Beale Air Force Base. Langley also hosts the Global Cyberspace Integration Center field operating agency, Langley is also home to the F-22 Raptor Demo Team. This team, who travel all over the world performing different maneuvers used in air combat, is used to recruit for the United States Air Force. Performing at airshows and other events, the squadron is the only demonstration team to use the F-22 Raptor. Langley Field was named after Samuel Pierpont Langley, an aerodynamic pioneer, Langley began aerodynamic experiments in 1887 and formed a basis for practical pioneer aviation. He built and saw the first steam model airplane in 1896, both planes were believed to be capable of flight. He also built the first man-carrying gasoline airplane in 1903, which failed to fly on its first attempt and broke apart and crashed on its second. It was, after major modification eleven years later, flown successfully by Glenn Curtiss for a little over 3 seconds, traveling 150 feet through the air in 1914. Langley Field was the first Air Service base built especially for air power, is the oldest continually active air base in the world. In 1916, the National Advisory Council for Aeronautics, predecessor to NASA, established the need for a joint airfield and proving ground for Army, Navy and NACA aircraft. NACA determined that the site must be near water for over-water flying, be flat and relatively clear for expansion and the landing and take-off of aircraft, the Army appointed a board of officers who searched for a location. The officers sometimes posed as hunters and fishermen to avoid land speculation which would arise if the governments interest in purchasing land was revealed
13.
25th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
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The 25th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing is an inactive United States Air Force wing. Its last duty assignment was at Chambley-Bussieres Air Base, France, on 9 August 1944, the 802 RG was redesignated as the 25th BG. Upon activation, the wing absorbed the 19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, the squadrons were transferred from Toul-Rosieres AB, where they operated as a detachment of the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, based at RAF Alconbury, UK. The 25th flew variants of the B-66 Destroyers on photo reconnaissance, the 42d flew RB-66Cs that had a seven-man crew. Both squadrons flew its aircraft with an aluminum finish, the differences being that the 19th carried a red band on the engine nacelle. The 19th operated 20 aircraft, the 42d operated 12, having been reassigned from other wings, both the 19th and 42d were familiar with their missions and aircraft. But the wing was kept busy training newly assigned support personnel to operate, one major drawback of the B-66 was pilot training. It was always a problem because the B-66 was a single pilot aircraft, a large B-66 analog electronic flight-crew simulator built by Curtis Wright was very useful for checkout of the flight deck crew, pilot, navigator/camera operator, and gunner. Training the RB-66C ECM operators was more difficult since the USAF had not purchased a comparable electronic warfare simulator for their ground training, thorough training in the RB-66B camera system was critical to accomplish the mission. Later electronic warfare jamming transmitters were added to the RB-66s, increasing the mission workload, day and night photographic training was hindered by the 1965 ruling made by the French government that prohibited aerial photography over their country. This forced photo missions to West Germany and Great Britain, night photography was limited since suitable ranges for dropping the M-120, and M-122 photo flash bombs were not available after the close of the USAFE Moroccan air bases. The escalation of the conflict in Southeast Asia prompted the establishment of Detachment 1 of the 42d Electronic Countermeasures Squadron at Takhli RTAFB during February 1966,6 of its B-66s were deployed on Temporary Duty to Thailand from Chambley to this new theater of operations. On 7 March 1966, French President Charles De Gaulle announced that France would withdraw from NATOs integrated military structure, the United States was informed that it must remove its military forces from France by 1 April 1967. A few of the EB-66 aircraft were flown to Douglas Aircrafts Tulsa, Oklahoma plant for additional ECM equipment and camouflage painting before going to Southeast Asia. About 1 August 1966 the 19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was ordered to move its twenty RB-66Bs to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, and was assigned to the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. It flew its RB-66Bs from Chambley to Moron AB, Spain, then after refueling, officially the 19th TRS was to become another of USAFEs dual-based units. Actually the squadron and its RB-66Bs were needed to train aircrews for the combat operations over the skies of Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. On 15 October 1966 USAFE inactivated the 25th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Chambley as part of the USAF pullout from France, active Air Force wings as of 1 October 1995, USAF active flying, space, and missile squadrons as of 1 October 1995
14.
Ramey Air Force Base
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Ramey Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. It was named after Brigadier General Howard Knox Ramey, following its closure, it was redeveloped into Rafael Hernandez Airport. afhra. af. mil/. Air Force Combat Units of World War II, washington, DC, U. S. Government Printing Office 1961. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977, maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, Office of Air Force History 1984. Ramey AFB Historical Association Airport information for TJBQ at World Aero Data, Data current as of October 2006
15.
Caribbean Air Force
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The United States Air Forces Southern Command is an inactive Major Command of the United States Air Force. It was headquartered at Albrook Air Force Base, Canal Zone, the command supported disaster relief to countries such as Guatemala, Jamaica, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Colombia. It also assisted nations in Central and South America in purchases of United States military aircraft and trained their technicians in logistics, the first United States air units arrived in the Canal Zone in February 1917, with the 7th Aero Squadron being organized on 29 March at Ancon. It was equipped with Curtiss JN-4 Jennys and Curtiss R-3 and R-4 floatplanes, the squadron initially came under the control of Headquarters, U. S. During World War I, the 7th Aero was assigned to patrol for German U-Boats offshore of the Canal Zone under direction of Coast Defenses of Cristobal, a third airfield, Howard Field was built on the Canal Bruja Point Military Reservation, opening on 1 December 1939. Through all these redesignations it was part of the Caribbean Defense Command, the Caribbean Interceptor Command, was the Air Force component of the CIC until being inactivated and replaced by VI Interceptor Command. In early 1942 the Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine, began anti-shipping operations using U-Boats in the Caribbean, the subs sank several tankers in the harbor at Sint Nicholaas, Aruba and even shelled an oil refinery on the island. Its important to note that the refineries at the island of Aruba and Curaçao possessed oil from wells in Venezuela and counted for one-third of the Allies supply of gasoline. The first wartime mission of the newly created Sixth Air Force was to perform operations in the Caribbean. Air bases were established along the western coast of South America, in Peru, Ecuador as well as in the Galápagos Islands, Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica. In order to protect the vital Air Transport Command South Atlantic Air Route to Europe and North Africa, as most shipping in the Caribbean was not in defensive convoys, aerial surveillance of the area was crucial to their safety. With the end of the war, most of the wartime Caribbean air bases used for antisubmarine patrols were returned to authorities in late 1945 or early 1946. The Lend-Lease air bases from Great Britain, which were on 99-year leases were reduced to skeleton units and they were all closed for budgetary reasons in 1949. In the post Vietnam War drawdown of the USAF, the United States Air Forces Southern Command was inactivated in 1976 for budgetary reasons. afhra. af. mil/, Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History, Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History, armyAirforces. Com United States Air Forces Southern Command at US Air Force Historical Research Agency United States Air Forces Southern Command Factsheet
16.
Douglas B-18 Bolo
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The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American medium bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, based on its DC-2, by 1940, it was considered to be underpowered, to have inadequate defensive armament and to carry too small a bomb load. Many were destroyed during the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines in December 1941, in 1942, the B-18 survivors were relegated to antisubmarine, transport duty, and training. A B-18 was one of the first American aircraft to sink a German U-boat, U-654 on 22 August 1942 in the Caribbean. In 1934, the United States Army Air Corps put out a request for a bomber with double the load and range of the Martin B-10. In the evaluation at Wright Field the following year, Douglas showed its DB-1 and it competed with the Boeing Model 299 and Martin Model 146. While the Boeing design was superior, the crash of the B-17 prototype removed it from consideration. During the depths of the Great Depression, the price of the DB-1 also counted in its favor. The Douglas design was ordered into production in January 1936 as the B-18. The DB-1 design was essentially that of the DC-2, with several modifications, the wingspan was 4.5 ft greater. The fuselage was deeper, to better accommodate bombs and the six-member crew, added armament included nose, dorsal, and ventral gun turrets. Preston Tuckers firm received a contract to supply a remote controlled gun turret for the aircraft, the initial contract called for 133 B-18s, using Wright R-1820 radial engines. The last B-18 of the run, designated DB-2 by the company, had a nose turret. This design did not become standard, additional contracts in 1937 and 1938 were for the B-18A, which had the bombardiers position further forward over the nose-gunners station. The B-18A also used more powerful engines, deliveries to operational groups began in late 1937, the first being the 7th Bombardment Group at Hamilton Field, California. Production B-18s, with military equipment fitted, had a maximum speed of 217 mph, cruising speed of 167 mph. By 1940, most USAAC bomber squadrons were equipped with B-18s or B-18As, however, the deficiencies in the B-18/B-18A bomber were becoming readily apparent to almost everyone. To send crews out in such a plane against a well-armed, determined foe would have been nothing short of suicidal
17.
Benedict Field
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Henry E. Rohlsen Airport is a public airport located six miles southwest of Christiansted on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. The airport is named after Henry E. Rohlsen, a St. Croix native who was one of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and it is a small international airport that hosts mainly inter-Caribbean flights. The airport, which was a hub for Aero Virgin Islands in the 1970s and 1980s, has the capability to receive jets up to the size of the Boeing 747s, in 1996, Alexander Hamilton International Airport was renamed Henry E. Rohlsen Airport. Historically, a number of airlines operated scheduled jet service into St. Croix in the past. One air carrier that has served St. Croix for many years is American Airlines, in 1974, American was serving the airport with Boeing 707 and Boeing 727-100 jetliners with nonstop flights to New York City. In 1994, American was operating Airbus A300-600R wide body jets into St. Croix with nonstop service to Miami, a Boeing 747 carrying relief supplies during the aftermath of Hurricane Marilyn landed at the airport in 1995. Satellite imagery in Google Earth shows the presence of C-17 and C-130 military transports in 2006 and 2015, Henry E. Rohlsen Airport covers an area of 1,455 acres which contains one asphalt paved runway measuring 10,004 ft ×150 ft. For the 12-month period ending September 30,2013, the airport had 36,287 aircraft operations, in the same period, there were also 36 aircraft based at this airport, including 11 single-engine,15 multi-engine,5 jets, four military aircraft and one helicopter. On July 24,1979, Prinair Flight 610 crashed shortly after takeoff from Alexander Hamilton Airport, one crew member and seven passengers were killed. This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/
18.
Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
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Saint Croix is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands, an unincorporated territory of the United States. With its 84 square miles, St. Croix is the largest of the islands in the territory, however, the territorys capital, Charlotte Amalie, is located on Saint Thomas. As of the 2010 United States Census, St. Croixs population was 50,600, its highest point is Mount Eagle, Dutch and English settlers occupied the island in 1625 along with some French refugees from St. Kitts. However, the English expelled the French and Dutch, before they in turn were expelled by a Spanish invasion in Aug.1650, the Spanish occupation was short lived as the French invaded with 166 men. By 1651, France had established a colony of 300 on St. Croix, from 1651 until 1664, the Knights of Malta ruled the island in the name of Louis XIV. The island then came under the rule of the French West India Company, however, the colony was evacuated in 1695 to San Domingo, while Louis fought the English and Dutch in the War of the Grand Alliance. The island then lay uninhabited and abandoned, in 1725, St. Thomas Governor Frederick Moth encouraged the companys directors to consider purchasing Ste. On 15 June 1733, France and Denmark-Norway concluded a treaty in Copenhagen in which the Danish West India Company bought St. Croix for 750,000 livres. Louis XV ratified the treaty on 28 June, and received half the payment in French coin, on 16 Nov.1733, Moth was named the first governor of St. Croix. The 1742 census listed 120 sugar plantations,122 cotton plantations, by 1754, the number of slaves had increased to 7566. That same year, King Frederick took direct control of the island from the company, in some of the first years of Alexander Hamiltons life, he and his brother lived with their mother Rachel, Faucette, on St. Croix after she returned to the island in 1765. They lived in the floor of a house located at 34 Company Street. The lower floor was used by Rachel as a shop carrying food items for the local population, within two years, Alexander lost his father, James Hamilton, through abandonment and saw the death of his mother. Official documents from the island, a 1768 probate court testimony from his uncle, by 1769, Alexanders cousin guardian, aunt, uncle, and grandmother had also died. His brother James became a carpenter, while Alexander became the ward of Thomas Stevens. Alexander was soon clerking in the business of Beekman and Cruger, located at the intersection of King. In 1772, local businessmen funded Alexanders further education in New York, the first British invasion and occupation of the Danish West Indies occurred at the end of March 1801 when a British fleet arrived at St Thomas. Denmark-Norway accepted the Articles of Capitulation the British proposed and the British occupied the islands without a shot being fired, the British occupation lasted until April 1802, when the British returned the islands to Denmark-Norway
19.
Saint Nicholas
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Saint Nicholas, also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century Christian saint and Greek Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor. Because of the miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker. The historical Saint Nicholas is commemorated and revered among Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, in addition, some Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and other Reformed churches have been named in honor of Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas is the saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers. The historical Saint Nicholas, as known from history, He was born at Patara. In his youth he made a pilgrimage to Egypt and the Palestine area, shortly after his return he became Bishop of Myra and was later cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian. He was released after the accession of Constantine and was present at the Council of Nicaea, in 1087, Italian merchants took his body from Myra, bringing it to Bari in Italy. Nicholas was born in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire, to a Greek family during the century in the city of Patara. He lived in Myra, Lycia, at a time when the region was Greek in its heritage, culture and he was the only son of wealthy Christian parents named Epiphanius and Johanna according to some accounts and Theophanes and Nonna according to others. He was very religious from an age and according to legend. His wealthy parents died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young and he tonsured the young Nicholas as a reader and later ordained him a presbyter. In the year AD305, several monks from Anatolia in Asia Minor came to the Holy Land to Beit Jala, Judea and this was before St. Sava’s Monastery was founded in the desert east of Bethlehem on the Kidron Gorge near the Dead Sea. These monks lived on the mountain overlooking Bethlehem in a few caves, in the years 312–315, St. Nicholas lived there and came as a pilgrim to visit the Holy Sepulchre, Golgotha, Bethlehem, and many other sites in the Holy Land. The Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church is located on the site of his cave in Beit Jala where today there are stories about Nicholas still handed down from generation to generation. A text written in his own hand is still in the care of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, in 317 he returned to Asia Minor and was soon thereafter consecrated bishop in Myra. In 325, he was one of many bishops to answer the request of Constantine and appear at the First Council of Nicaea, there, Nicholas was a staunch anti-Arian, defender of the Orthodox Christian position, and one of the bishops who signed the Nicene Creed. Tradition has it that he became so angry with the heretic Arius during the Council that he struck him in the face. The modern city of Demre, Turkey is built near the ruins of the home town of ancient Myra
20.
Antigua
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Antigua, also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the West Indies. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations on 1 November 1981. Antigua means ancient in Spanish after an icon in Seville Cathedral, the name Waladli comes from the indigenous inhabitants and means approximately our own. The islands circumference is roughly 87 km and its area 281 km2, the economy is mainly reliant on tourism, with the agricultural sector serving the domestic market. Over 32,000 people live in the city, St. Johns. The capital is situated in the north-west and has a harbour which is able to accommodate large cruise ships. Other leading population settlements are All Saints and Liberta, according to the 2001 census, English Harbour on the south-eastern coast is famed for its protected shelter during violent storms. It is the site of a restored British colonial naval station called Nelsons Dockyard after Captain Horatio Nelson, today English Harbour and the neighbouring village of Falmouth are internationally famous as a yachting and sailing destination and provisioning centre. During Antigua Sailing Week, at the end of April and beginning of May, Antiguas economy is reliant upon tourism, and it promotes the island as a luxury Caribbean escape. Many hotels and resorts are located around the coastline, the only regular service to Barbuda flies from VC Bird Airport. Until July 7,2015, the United States Air Force maintained a base near the airport, designated Detachment 1, 45th Operations Group. The mission provided high rate telemetry data for the Eastern Range, the unit was inactivated due to US government budget cuts. The growing medical school and its students also add much to the economy, the University of Health Sciences Antigua and the American University of Antigua College of Medicine teach aspiring doctors. The countrys official currency is the East Caribbean dollar, given the dominance of tourism, many prices in tourist-oriented businesses are shown in US dollars. The EC dollar is pegged to the US dollar at a varied rate, prior to European colonialism, the first residents were the Guanahatabey people. Eventually, the Arawak migrated from the mainland, followed by the Carib, Christopher Columbus was the first European to visit Antigua, in 1493. The Arawak were the first well-documented group of people to settle Antigua. They paddled to the island by canoe from present-day Venezuela, pushed out by the Carib, the Arawak introduced agriculture to Antigua and Barbuda
21.
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
22.
Radar
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Radar is an object-detection system that uses radio waves to determine the range, angle, or velocity of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, Radio waves from the transmitter reflect off the object and return to the receiver, giving information about the objects location and speed. Radar was developed secretly for military use by several nations in the period before, the term RADAR was coined in 1940 by the United States Navy as an acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging or RAdio Direction And Ranging. The term radar has since entered English and other languages as a common noun, high tech radar systems are associated with digital signal processing, machine learning and are capable of extracting useful information from very high noise levels. Other systems similar to make use of other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. One example is lidar, which uses ultraviolet, visible, or near infrared light from lasers rather than radio waves, as early as 1886, German physicist Heinrich Hertz showed that radio waves could be reflected from solid objects. In 1895, Alexander Popov, an instructor at the Imperial Russian Navy school in Kronstadt. The next year, he added a spark-gap transmitter, in 1897, while testing this equipment for communicating between two ships in the Baltic Sea, he took note of an interference beat caused by the passage of a third vessel. In his report, Popov wrote that this phenomenon might be used for detecting objects, the German inventor Christian Hülsmeyer was the first to use radio waves to detect the presence of distant metallic objects. In 1904, he demonstrated the feasibility of detecting a ship in dense fog and he obtained a patent for his detection device in April 1904 and later a patent for a related amendment for estimating the distance to the ship. He also got a British patent on September 23,1904 for a radar system. It operated on a 50 cm wavelength and the radar signal was created via a spark-gap. In 1915, Robert Watson-Watt used radio technology to advance warning to airmen. Watson-Watt became an expert on the use of direction finding as part of his lightning experiments. As part of ongoing experiments, he asked the new boy, Arnold Frederic Wilkins, Wilkins made an extensive study of available units before selecting a receiver model from the General Post Office. Its instruction manual noted that there was fading when aircraft flew by, in 1922, A. Hoyt Taylor and Leo C. Taylor submitted a report, suggesting that this might be used to detect the presence of ships in low visibility, eight years later, Lawrence A. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa followed prewar Great Britain, and Hungary had similar developments during the war. Hugon, began developing a radio apparatus, a part of which was installed on the liner Normandie in 1935
23.
Dakota Field
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Queen Beatrix International Airport, is an international airport located in Oranjestad, Aruba. It is named after Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, the now-retired Queen, the airport offers US Border Pre-clearance facilities. A terminal for private aircraft opened in 2007 and this airport used to serve as the hub for bankrupt airline Air Aruba, which was for many years an international airline. Before Arubas separation from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 it was one of three hubs for Air ALM. During World War II the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force defending Caribbean shipping, however, the airline does not have fifth freedom rights to transport passengers solely between Aruba and Bonaire. ^2 PAWA Dominicanas flights operate to and from Curacao, however, the airline does not have fifth freedom rights to transport passengers solely between Aruba and Curacao. ^3 TUI Airlines Netherlandss flights operate between Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao on selected days, however, the airline does not have fifth freedom rights to transport passengers solely between Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. ^4 United Airlines selected flights from Houston to Aruba will continue on to Caracas, however, the airline does not have fifth freedom rights to transport passengers solely between Aruba and Caracas. Gardaí stormed the plane and arrested the man, where he was taken to Shannon Garda station, a passenger having had surgery earlier the month before collapsed in the terminal while waiting for the continuation of the flight and had to be taken to a local hospital. The replacement aircraft PH-AHY also a Boeing 767-300 continued the flight to Aruba, trams in Oranjestad This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/. Air Force Combat Units of World War II, History and Insignia, Maurer, Maurer, ed. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History, media related to Queen Beatrix International Airport at Wikimedia Commons Official Website Current weather for TNCA at NOAA/NWS Accident history for AUA at Aviation Safety Network
24.
Antilles Air Task Force
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The Antilles Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Sixth Air Force, based at Borinquen Field and it was inactivated on 25 August 1946. On 28 July 1948, it was reactivated as the Antilles Air Division and it was to act as a supply organization for all U. S. Air Force Bases in the Caribbean area and to maintain operational and administrative control over these bases. afhra. af. mil/. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History
25.
VI Fighter Command
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The Trinidad Wing, Antilles Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Sixth Air Force, based at Waller Field and it was inactivated on 15 March 1944. Maurer, Maurer, ed. Air Force Combat Units of World War II, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History
26.
Douglas A-20A Havoc
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The Douglas A-20 Havoc was an American attack, light bomber, and intruder aircraft of World War II. It served with several Allied air forces, principally the United States Army Air Forces, the Soviet Air Forces, Soviet Naval Aviation, Soviet units received more than one in three of the DB-7s ultimately built. It was also used by the air forces of Australia, South Africa, France, and the Netherlands during the war, and by Brazil afterwards. In British Commonwealth air forces, bomber/attack variants of the DB-7 were usually known by the service name Boston, an exception to this was the Royal Australian Air Force, which referred to all variants of the DB-7 by the name Boston. The USAAF referred to night fighter variants as P-70 and it was estimated that it could carry a 1,000 lb bomb load at 250 mph. Reports of aircraft performance from the Spanish Civil War indicated that this design would be seriously underpowered, in the autumn of the same year, the United States Army Air Corps issued its own specification for an attack aircraft. The Douglas team, now headed by Heinemann, took the Model 7A design, upgraded with 1,100 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines and it faced competition from the North American NA-40, Stearman X-100, and Martin 167F. The Model 7B was maneuverable and fast, but did not attract any US orders, the model did, however, attract the attention of a French Purchasing Commission visiting the United States. The French discreetly participated in the trials, so as not to attract criticism from American isolationists. The secret was revealed when the Model 7B crashed on 23 January while demonstrating single-engine performance, the French were still impressed enough to order 100 production aircraft, with the order increased to 270 when the war began. Sixteen of those had been ordered by Belgium for its Aviation Militaire, in a report to the British Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at RAF Boscombe Down, test pilots summed it up as, has no vices and is very easy to take off and land. The aeroplane represents a definite advantage in the design of flying controls, extremely pleasant to fly and manoeuvre. Ex-pilots often consider it their favorite aircraft of the war due to the ability to toss it around like a fighter, the Douglas bomber/night fighter was extremely adaptable and found a role in every combat theater of the war, and excelled as a true pilots aeroplane. When DB-7 series production ended on 20 September 1944, a total of 7,098 had been built by Douglas. Douglas redesigned its Santa Monica plant to create a production line to produce A-20 Havocs. The assembly line was over a long, but by looping back and forth. Man-hours were reduced by 50% for some operations, the French order called for substantial modifications, resulting in the DB-7 variant. It had a narrower, deeper fuselage,1,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SC3-G radials, French-built guns, midway through the delivery phase, engines were switched to 1,100 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C4-G
27.
59th Bombardment Squadron
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The 59th Bombardment Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment wa with the 319th Bombardment Group, based at Birmingham Airport, Birmingham and it was inactivated on 22 March 1951. This unit was attached to the 9th Bomb Group specifically to support the Panama Mobile Force and it was assigned formally to the VI Bomber Command on 18 September 1941. The Squadron received new Douglas A-20A Havocs by May 1942, the unit moved from Rio Hato AAB to the new Howard Field on 28 October 1941 and, shortly after the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, was dispersed to Aguadulce Army Airfield. The main squadron remained at Aguadulce Field, Panama until it joined the Flights in the Antilles on 10 March, over the next five days, not fewer than time attacks were made on submarines, following by 10 more through January 1943. On 19 March 1943, the Squadron was assigned directly subordinate to the Antilles Air Task Force, however, in fact, the Squadron was attached to the 25th Bombardment Group and remained under its operational control as late as 26 April 1943. This attachment lasted until 19 July, when the unit was attached to the Trinidad Detachment, VI Fighter Command, meanwhile, the unit itself had been re¬designated, on 10 June 1943, as the 59th Bombardment Squadron. By 12 July 1943, by now located at Edinburgh Field, Trinidad, by the end of 1943 the A-20s had been replaced by B-25Gs and the Squadron was moved to Beane Field on St Lucia. With the United States Navy taking over responsibility for antisubmarine warfare during the summer of 1943, personnel and aircraft were transferred to other units and the squadron was reassigned to the United States in March 1944 as an administrative organization. Designation was reassigned to Second Air Force at squadron was assigned to Alamogordo Army Airfield, was programmed for B-25 Mitchell replacement training but never was equipped. Inactivated and disbanded on 20 June 1944, activated in the reserve at Reading Airport, Pennsylvania with A-26 Invaders in 1947. Remained at Reading until September 1949 when the unit was moved to Birmingham Airport, the unit was ordered to active service in March 1951 due to the Korean War, with its aircraft and personnel used as fillers for active duty units. It was inactivated two weeks of active duty without personnel or equipment. 7 April-20 June 1944 Mitchel Field, New York,9 July 1947 Reading Municipal Airport, Pennsylvania,27 June-2 September 1949 Birmingham Airport, Alabama,10 October 1949 –22 March 1951. A-20 Havoc, 1941–1943 B-18 Bolo, 1943–1944 B-25 Mitchell, 1943–1944 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/
28.
Bell P-39 Airacobra
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The Bell P-39 Airacobra was one of the principal American fighter aircraft in service when the United States entered World War II. The P-39 was used by the Soviet Air Force, which scored the highest number of individual kills attributed to any U. S. fighter type in the Eastern European theatre. Other major users of the type included the Free French, the Royal Air Force, the United States Army Air Forces, and the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force. Designed by Bell Aircraft, it had a layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot. It was also the first fighter fitted with a tricycle undercarriage, although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the absence of an efficient turbo-supercharger, preventing it from performing high-altitude work. As such it was rejected by the RAF for use over western Europe but adopted by the USSR where most air combat took place at medium, together with the derivative P-63 Kingcobra, the P-39 was one of the most successful fixed-wing aircraft manufactured by Bell. It was a request for a single-engine high-altitude interceptor having the mission of interception. Despite being called an interceptor, the aircrafts role was simply an extension of the traditional pursuit role, using a heavier. This was the most demanding set of fighter specifications USAAC had presented to that date and this happened because H. M. Poyer, designer for project leader Robert Woods, was impressed by the power of this weapon and pressed for its incorporation. This was unusual, because fighter design had previously driven by the intended engine. Although devastating when it worked, the T9 had very limited ammunition, a low rate of fire, a secondary benefit of the mid-engine arrangement was that it created a smooth and streamlined nose profile. Much was made of the fact that this resulted in a configuration “with as trim, entry to the cockpit was through side doors rather than a sliding canopy. There were no problems with propeller shaft failure, the XP-39 made its maiden flight on 6 April 1938. At Wright Field, Ohio, achieving 390 mph at 20,000 ft, however, the XP-39 was found to be short on performance at altitude. Flight testing had found its top speed at 20,000 feet to be lower than the 400 mph claimed in the original proposal, as originally specified by Kelsey and Saville, the XP-39 had a turbo-supercharger to augment its high-altitude performance. Bell cooled the turbo with a scoop on the side of the fuselage. Kelsey wished to shepherd the XP-39 through its early engineering teething troubles, the XP-39 project was handed over to others, and in June 1939 the prototype was ordered by General Henry H. Arnold to be evaluated in NACA wind tunnels to find ways of increasing its speed, tests were carried out, and Bell engineers followed the recommendations of NACA and the Army to reduce drag such that the top speed was increased 16%
29.
22d Pursuit Squadron
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The 22d Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 52d Operations Group and stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base and it was inactivated on 13 August 2010. The 22d Pursuit Squadron was constituted on 22 December 1939, at Langley Field, Flying the P-36 Hawk, The squadron was one of several deployed to the Caribbean and being stationed on bases established as part of the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement with Great Britain. After its arrival at Ponce, the Squadron converted from the P-36A to P-40 Warhawk, on 13 December, the unit Headquarters moved from Ponce to Vega Baja Field, 18°28′58″N 066°25′58″W an auxiliary aerodrome in Puetro Rico, to provide better interception coverage for the island. A detachment of three P-39Ds was operating at Beane Field, St. Lucia by 28 February 1942 while the detachment at Waller Field, the unit was redesignated as the 22d Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942. The detachment at Aruba was further attached to the 12th Bombardment Squadron, the larger 22d Fighter Squadron detachment in Trinidad engaged in extensive anti-submarine activities. With the Navy taking over the mission, the Squadron was redeployed back to the United States, moving to Morrison Field. Transferred to III Fighter Command in June 1943, began training for deployment to the European Theater of Operations as a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber squadron, deployed to England in April 1944 as part of IX Fighter Command. The squadron also flew escort missions with Eighth Air Force Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. On D-Day the squadron patrolled the air over the landing zones and by flying close-support, moved to its Advanced Landing Ground at Brucheville Field, France in July, then eastward as ground forces advanced on the continent. Operations supported the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July and the thrust of U. S, third Army toward Germany in August and September as part of the 303d Fighter Wing, XIX Tactical Air Command. In October, the moved into Belgium to support U. S. Participated in the Battle of the Bulge during December 1944 and January 1945 by flying armed reconnaissance, first Armys push across the Roer River in February 1945. Supported operations at the Remagen bridgehead and during the assault across the Rhine in March. By V-E Day, the squadron was based at Kassel/Rothwesten airfield, Germany, in February, the unit was transferred, without personnel or equipment to Bolling Field, Washington, D. C where it was inactivated as a paper unit. Re-activated in October 1946 under Caribbean Air Command in the Canal Zone, the squadron conducted air defense training missions for the next two years initially with P-47s. The squadron upgraded to jet aircraft in December 1947 with the arrival of the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, at Fürstenfeldbruck AB tactical operations included air defense, tactical exercises, maneuvers, and photographic reconnaissance. Upgraded to new F-84E Thunderjets in 1950, remained at Fürstenfeldbruck until 1952 when it was reassigned to the new Bitburg Air Base, west of the Rhine River near the French border in the Eifel mountains
30.
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
31.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
32.
Lockheed Ventura
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The Lockheed Ventura is a twin engine medium bomber of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises, including maritime patrol. The Ventura was developed from the Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar transport, used in daylight attacks against occupied Europe, they proved to have weaknesses and were removed from bomber duty and some used for patrols by Coastal Command. After United States Army Air Forces monopolization of land-based bombers was removed, the Ventura was very similar to its predecessor, the Lockheed Hudson. The primary difference was not in layout, rather, the Ventura was larger and heavier than the Hudson, the RAF ordered 188 Venturas in February 1940. They were delivered from mid-1942 onwards, Venturas were initially used for daylight raids on occupied Europe. Like some other RAF bombers, they proved too vulnerable without fighter escorts and they were replaced in this role by the very fast de Havilland Mosquito. The Venturas were gradually transferred to patrol duties with Coastal Command,30 went to the RCAF, the RAF placed a further order for 487 Ventura Mark IIs, but many of these were diverted to USAAF service. The USAAF placed its own order for 200 Ventura Mark IIA, in August 1941, large orders for Venturas were placed with Lend-Lease Act money. Among the orders were for 550 armed reconnaissance versions of the Ventura and this aircraft was originally planned to be built under the designation O-56. The main differences between the Ventura and the O-56 were in the engines, rather than the 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radials of the Ventura, the O-56 used 1,700 hp Wright R-2600-13 radials. Before completion of the first O-56, the U. S. Army Air Forces dropped the O- category used to designate observation aircraft, the O-56 was redesignated the RB-34B. Before the first of these flew, the design was redesignated again as the B-37 with a powered version of the R-2600. The PV-1 Ventura, built by the Vega Aircraft Company division of Lockheed, was a version of the Ventura built for the U. S. Navy. The main differences between the PV-1 and the B-34 were the inclusion of special equipment in the PV-1, adapting it to its patrol bombing role. The maximum fuel capacity of the PV-1 was increased from 1,345 gal to 1,607 gal, to increase its range, the most important addition was of an ASD-1 search radar. Early production PV-1s still carried a bombardiers station behind the radome, with four side windows. Late production PV-1s dispensed with this position and replaced it with a pack with three 0.50 in machine guns underneath the nose. These aircraft could carry eight 5 in HVAR rockets on launchers underneath the wings
33.
Coolidge Field
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Bird International Airport is an international airport located on the island of Antigua,8 km northeast of St. Johns, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda. The airport originally was operated by the United States Army Air Forces, the airport was built as a United States Army Air Forces base around 1941, and named Coolidge Airfield after Capt. Hamilton Coolidge, a United States Army Air Service pilot killed in World War I. Agreements were subsequently reached with the United Kingdom and, later, Antigua Air Station was established on a portion of the former Coolidge AFB. As of 2011, NASA continues to utilize the Antigua facility for launch tracking services on an as-needed basis, upon the closure of the base in 1949 it became a civil airport. It was known as Coolidge International Airport until 1985, when it was named in honor of Sir Vere Cornwall Bird, in 2012, they announced the construction of its second terminal. The new terminal became operational on August 26,2015, all flights operate from the new facility. The terminal covers 23,000 square meters, with four jet bridges, modern security screening facilities, up-to-date passenger processing and monitoring facilities, and a CCTV security system. It contains 46 check in counters,15 self-check in kiosks,5 baggage carousels, mini food court, multiple VIP lounges, bank, retail stores, first class lounges, restaurants, and other Facilities. Other improvements included a newly constructed car park, parallel to the old terminal, the old airport terminal is not fully out of use, as some offices still remain there. The LIAT corporate headquarters, call centre, and customer relations departments are on the airport property, the Antigua Outstation of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority is on the airport property. The pilot mistakenly believed he was descending into Antigua, as a result, a VHF omnirange transmitter was installed at the St. Johns airport. On 10 May 2004, a LIAT de Havilland Canada DHC-8-311 flight made a landing after one of its wheels fell off shortly after takeoff. The flight operated by the Antigua-based airline had departed from St. Maarten en route to St. Kitts when one of its wheels fell off. The Dash 8-311 turboprop was diverted to Antigua and was able to land safely on its three remaining wheels, without causing damage to the aircraft, none of the 24 passengers and three crew members were injured. The airline has launched an investigation into the incident, on 12 November 2008, a LIAT de Havilland Canada DHC-8-311 circled around V. C. Bird International Airport in Antigua following reports of landing gear malfunction, the de Haviland Dash 8 -311 aircraft should have landed at the Robert Bradshaw International Airport in St Kitts, but was diverted to Antigua because of the problem. It turned out that the gear was in order. Firefighters, medical personnel and police were on alert but, after clearance and this article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/
34.
North American B-25D Mitchell
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The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American twin-engine, medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was named in honor of Major General William Billy Mitchell, used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II and after the war ended many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 Mitchells rolled from NAA factories and these included a few limited models, such as the United States Marine Corps PBJ-1 patrol bomber and the United States Army Air Forces F-10 reconnaissance aircraft and AT-24 trainers. The Air Corps issued a circular in March 1938 describing the performance they required from the next bombers — a payload of 1,200 lb with a range of 1,200 mi at more than 200 mph and those performance specifications led NAA to submit their NA-40 design. However, the experience from the XB-21 contributed to the design. The single NA-40 built flew first at the end of January 1939 and it went through several modifications to correct problems. These improvements included fitting 1,600 hp Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone radial engines, in March 1939, in March 1939, North American delivered the substantially redesigned and improved NA-40 to the United States Army Air Corps for evaluation. It was in competition with other manufacturers designs but failed to win orders, however, the French had already opted for a revised Douglas 7B. Unfortunately, the NA-40B was destroyed in a crash on 11 April 1939 while undergoing testing, although the crash was not considered due to a fault with the aircraft design, the Army ordered the DB-7 as the A-20. There was no YB-25 for prototype service tests, in September 1939, the Air Corps ordered the NA-62 into production as the B-25, along with the other new Air Corps medium bomber, the Martin B-26 Marauder off the drawing board. The NA-40 lost out to the Douglas A-20 in the competition, but NAA developed a more advanced design, the NA-40B. Early into B-25 production, NAA incorporated a significant redesign to the wing dihedral, the first nine aircraft had a constant-dihedral, meaning the wing had a consistent, upward angle from the fuselage to the wingtip. Flattening the outer wing panels by giving them a slight anhedral angle just outboard of the engine nacelles nullified the problem, less noticeable changes during this period included an increase in the size of the tail fins and a decrease in their inward tilt at their tops. NAA continued design and development in 1940 and 1941, both the B-25A and B-25B series entered AAF service. The B-25B was operational in 1942, combat requirements lead to further developments. Before the year was over, NAA was producing the B-25C, also in 1942, the manufacturer began design work on the cannon-armed B-25G series. The NA-100 of 1943 and 1944 was an interim armament development at the Kansas City complex known as the B-25D2, Similar armament upgrades by U. S-based commercial modification centers involved about half of the B-25G series. Further development led to the B-25H, B-25J, and B-25J2, the gunship design concept dates to late 1942 and NAA sent a field technical representative to the SWPA
35.
Holloman Air Force Base
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The base was named in honor of Col. George V. Holloman, a pioneer in guided missile research. It is the home of the 49th Wing of the Air Combat Command, Holloman is located in New Mexicos Tularosa Basin between the Sacramento and San Andres mountain ranges. The base is about 10 miles west of Alamogordo, New Mexico, on U. S. Route 70,90 miles north of El Paso, Texas, the base covers 59,639 acres and is located at an altitude of 4,093 feet. Holloman is home to the worlds longest, at 50,188 feet, the 49th Wing – host wing at Holloman Air Force Base – supports national security objectives by deploying worldwide to support peacetime and wartime contingencies. The wing provides combat-ready Airmen, and trains General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper pilots, sensor operators, the wing has a proud history of service in World War II, Korea, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia and NATO-led Operation Allied Force. The 49th Wing is the host unit at Holloman Air Force Base, supporting national security objectives with mission-ready F-22 Raptors, Air Transportable Medical Clinic, the wing deploys combat-ready and mission-support forces supporting Air Expeditionary Force operations, Overseas Contingency Operations, and peacetime contingencies. The 49th Operations Group supports national security objectives, as directed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the operational squadron is, 7th Fighter Squadron All F-22A carry the HO Tailcode. The Operations Group took over the activities of the inactivated 37th Fighter Wing at Tonopah Test Range Airport when the F-117As were transferred to Holloman in 1993, 49th Mission Support Group, Provides support to all base operations, personnel, and family members. In February 2006, the Bush Administration announced that Holloman would cease to be home to the F-117A Nighthawk and this move coincided with an announcement that the F-117 will be removed from service on or about 2008. On 1 March 2006, it was announced by the United States Air Force that Holloman would be the new home of two squadrons of F-22A Raptors. Along with the 49th FW, the 96th Test Group, part of the 96th Test Wing from Eglin Air Force Base, the 96th TG is an Air Force Materiel Command unit responsible for operational testing and evaluation of new equipment and systems proposed for use by these forces. The 54th Fighter Group ia a geographically separated unit of the 56th Fighter Wing, out of Luke AFB, the German Air Force Tactical Training Center activated at Holloman 1 May 1996. With the activation,300 German military personnel and 12 Panavia Tornado aircraft joined Team Holloman, German aircrews come to Holloman for approximately three weeks for advanced tactical training and then return to Germany. The German Air Force also conducts a Fighter Weapons Instructor Course for the Tornado, aircrews for this course come to Holloman for about six months. As of November 2006 there are 650 German military personnel and 25 Tornado aircraft assigned to Holloman AFB, there are numerous reasons the German Air Force trains at Holloman. The area offers great flying weather and has suitable air space, other reasons are the proximity of Holloman to the German Air Force Air Defense Center at Fort Bliss, Texas and the centralizing of German aircrew training at a single location. To facilitate this, there is a memorandum of understanding between the two governments, on 29 September 1999, two Luftwaffe Tornados crashed near Marathon Indian Basin, about 15 miles northwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico. The crash details were kept quiet from the American public, as the crash was investigated under Luftwaffe jurisdiction, in September 2004, Luftwaffe chief of staff, Klaus-Peter Stieglitz announced a reduction in its training program of roughly 20%
36.
Abilene Air Force Base
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Dyess Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 7 miles southwest of Abilene, Texas. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Command Eighth Air Force. The 7 BW is one of only two B-1B Lancer strategic bomber wings in the United States Air Force, the other being the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, Dyess AFB was established in 1942 as Abilene Army Air Base. It is named in honor of Texas native and Bataan Death March survivor Lieutenant Colonel William Dyess, the 7th Bomb Wing is commanded by Colonel David Benson. The Vice Commander is Colonel Michael Miller and the Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Aaron D. Bennett, Dyess AFB is a 6, 409-acre base with over 13,000 military and civilian people. It is home to the 7th Bomb Wing, which consists of four groups, two squadrons, the 9th and 28th Bomb Squadrons, fly the B-1B. In addition, the 28th Bomb Squadron is the Air Force schoolhouse for all B-1B aircrew members, the base is located in the southwest corner of Abilene, TX and is about 200 miles west of Dallas. The base employs more than 5,000 people, making it the single largest employer in the area, Dyess AFB has nearly 200 facilities on base, plus 988 units of family housing, and encompasses 6,117 acres of land. The base has an economic impact of nearly $310 million yearly on the local community. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing of the Global Strike Command, the 7 BW performs combat training with the Boeing B-1B Lancer bomber and is the Air Forces premier operational B-1B unit with 36 aircraft. The 7 BW consists of the groups, 7th Operations Group Responsible for executing global conventional bombing directed by proper command authority. It is the Air Forces largest B-1 operations group comprising 36 B-1s, the 317th Airlift Group is now the largest C-130J unit in the world. The base is named after Lt Col William Edwin Dyess, a native of Albany, Texas, Dyess escaped in April 1943 and fought with guerilla forces on Mindanao until evacuated by submarine in July 1943. During retraining in the United States, his P-38 Lightning caught fire in flight on 23 December 1943 near Burbank and he refused to bail out over a populated area and died in the crash of his P-38 in a vacant lot. In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces built Tye Army Air Field, as it was popularly known, on 18 December 1942, the field was opened and was initially named Abilene Army Air Base. The name was changed on 8 April 1943 to Abilene Army Airfield, the first host unit as Abilene AAB was the 474th Base HQ and Airbase Squadron, established on 18 December 1942. The airfield was assigned to Second Air Force and its mission was to be a flying training center for cadets. The 408th was a new group which received A-24, A-26, P-40 and it was disbanded shortly after leaving Abilene on 1 April 1944
37.
Boeing B-47 Stratojet
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The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was an American long range, six-engine, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft. The B-47s primary mission was to drop bombs on the Soviet Union. With its engines carried in nacelles under the wing, the B-47 was a major innovation in post-World War II combat jet design. The B-47 entered service with the United States Air Forces Strategic Air Command in 1951 and it never saw combat as a bomber, but was a mainstay of SACs bomber strength during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and remained in use as a bomber until 1965. The B-47 arose from an informal 1943 requirement for a reconnaissance bomber. In December 1944, North American Aviation, the Convair Corp, Boeing and the Glenn Martin Company submitted proposals for the new long-range jet bomber. The USAAF awarded study contracts to all four companies, requiring that North American and Convair concentrate on four-engined designs, while Boeing, the powerplant was to be General Electrics new TG-180 turbojet engine. In May 1945, the von Kármán mission of the Army Air Forces inspected the secret German aeronautics laboratory near Braunschweig, on von Kármáns team was the eminent chief of the technical staff at Boeing, George S. Schairer. He wired his home office, Stop the bomber design, analysis work by Boeing engineer Vic Ganzer suggested an optimum sweepback angle of about 35 degrees. Boeings aeronautical engineers modified their Model 432 design to include swept wings and tail, resulting in the Model 448, the Model 448 retained its four TG-180 jet engines in its forward fuselage, with two more TG-180s in the rear fuselage. The flush-mounted air intakes for the engines were inadequate, while the USAAF disliked the installation of engines within the fuselage. The Army Air Force liked this new configuration, and so Boeings team of engineers continued to refine it, with the engines being moved further inboard. As the landing gear arrangement made rotation impossible, the gear was designed so that the aircraft rested on the ground at the proper angle for takeoff. The USAAF was very pleased with the refined Model 450 design, and in April 1946, the first XB-47 was rolled out on 12 September 1947, a few days before the USAAF became a separate service, the U. S. Air Force, on 18 September 1947. The XB-47 prototype flew its first flight on 17 December 1947, with the test pilots Robert Robbins and it flew from Boeing Field in Seattle to the Moses Lake Airfield in central Washington state, in a flight that lasted just 27 minutes, with no major problems. In Feb.1949, Russ Schleeh and Joe Howell broke all coast-to-coast speed records flying from Moses Lake Air Force Base to Andrews Air Force Base and they averaged 607.8 miles per hour. During early tests of the XB-47 prototype, the canopy came off at high speed, the copilot safely landed the aircraft. This resulted in a redesign, and the hiring of pilot Tex Johnston as chief test pilot
38.
341st Missile Wing
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The United States Air Forces 341st Missile Wing is an intercontinental ballistic missile unit headquartered at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. Up until 1 July 2008, it was designated as the 341st Space Wing, today, the 341st is one of three remaining United States Air Force wings that maintain and operate the LGM-30 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. The mission of the 341st Missile Wing is to defend America with safe, secure, effective nuclear forces, the base is also host to two tenant units, the 819th RED HORSE Squadron and the 40th Helicopter Squadron. 341st Operations Group 10th Missile Squadron 12th Missile Squadron 490th Missile Squadron 341st Operations Support Squadron The 564th Missile Squadron served with the wing from 1967–2008, the 341st Security Forces Group is the largest security forces group in the USAF. The 341st Missile Wing has its origins in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II, the unit was one of the first bomber units in the CBI, being equipped with B-25 Mitchell medium bombers which were shipped from the United States to Karachi. The aircraft were readied for operations by Air Technical Service Command at Karachi Air Depot and dispatched to Chakulia Airfield. The group was formed with two squadrons which had been attached to the 7th Bombardment Group since May 1942. The 11th Bombardment Squadron was already in China, having flown combat missions with China Air Task Force since 1 July 1942, planes and crews of the 22d Bombardment Squadron had been flying recon and tactical missions over north and central Burma, also since July. The group entered combat early in 1943 and operated chiefly against enemy transportation in central Burma until 1944 and it bombed bridges, locomotives, railroad yards, and other targets to delay movement of supplies to the Japanese troops fighting in northern Burma. The 341st Bomb Group usually functioned as if it were two groups and for a time as three, fourteen months later the group headquarters along with 22d and the 491st Squadrons joined the 11th Squadron under the command of 69th Composite Wing, Fourteenth Air Force. 341st Group HQ was Kunming and the 22d and 491st were at Yangkai, while the 11th continued to be based at Kweilin, however, the 490th Burma Bridge Busters remained in India, under the command of Major-General Howard Davidsons Tenth Air Force. Still later the 11th Squadron and a detachment of the 491st operated for a time under the East China Task Force. </ref name=Strotman/>From several airfields in China the group engaged primarily in attacking enemy concentrations and storage areas and in conducting sea sweeps and attacks against inland shipping. They also bombed and strafed such targets as trains, harbors, and railroads in French Indochina, received a DUC for developing and using a special bombing technique against enemy bridges in French Indochina. It was inactivated on 2 November 1945, the day after Group and Squadron personnel debarked at Newark, the 341st flew the B-47 in training missions and participated in various SAC exercises and deployments with the Stratojet to bases in Morocco and England designed for forward deployments. Also controlled a KC-97 Stratotanker squadron to provide air refueling for B-47 operations, the Stratojet began to be phased out of the inventory and the 341st Bomb Wing began sending its aircraft to storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in 1961. The unit was inactivated on 25 June, on 15 July 1961 the 341st was reactivated as the 341st Strategic Missile Wing. A year later, in late July 1962, the first LGM-30A Minuteman I ICBM arrived at Malmstrom and was placed at Alpha-9 launch facility, the 10th Strategic Missile Squadron accepted its final missile on 28 February 1963. Two months later, the 12th SMS became 100 percent combat ready, in July, the 490th SMS became fully operational, giving the 341st SMW responsibility for 150 silos
39.
LGM-30A Minuteman I
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The LGM-30 Minuteman is a U. S. land-based intercontinental ballistic missile, in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. As of 2016, the LGM-30G Minuteman III version is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States, development of the Minuteman began in the mid-1950s as the outgrowth of basic research into solid fuel rocket motors which indicated an ICBM based on solids was possible. Such a missile could stand ready for extended periods of time with little maintenance, in comparison, existing U. S. missile designs using liquid fuels required a lengthy fueling process immediately before launch, which left them open to the possibility of surprise attack. This potential for immediate launch gave the missile its name, like the Revolutionary Wars Minutemen, Minuteman entered service in 1962 as a weapon tasked primarily with the deterrence role, threatening Soviet cities with a counterattack if the U. S. was attacked. However, with the development of the U. S, the Minuteman-II entered service in 1965 with a host of upgrades to improve its accuracy and survivability in the face of an anti-ballistic missile system the Soviets were known to be developing. Minuteman-III was the first multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle ICBM to be deployed, each missile can carry up to three nuclear warheads, which have a yield in the range of 300 to 500 kilotons. By February 2018 this will be reduced to 400 armed missiles, with 50 unarmed missiles in reserve, the Air Force plans to keep the missile in service until at least 2030. It is one component of the U. S. nuclear triad—the other two parts of the triad being the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile, and nuclear weapons carried by long-range strategic bombers, Minuteman owes its existence largely to the efforts of then Air Force Colonel Edward N. Hall. Solid fuels were already used in rockets, but strictly for short-range uses. But Hall was convinced that they could be used for a true ICBM with 5,500 nautical miles range, to achieve the required energy, that year Hall began funding research at Boeing and Thiokol into the use of ammonium perchlorate composite propellant. Adapting a concept developed in the UK, they cast the fuel into large cylinders with a hole running along the inner axis. This allowed the fuel to burn along the length of the cylinder, rather than just the end as in earlier designs. The increased burn rate meant increased thrust, in comparison, older designs burned primarily from one end to the other, meaning that at any instant one small section of the fuselage was being subject to extreme loads and temperatures. Guidance of an ICBM is based not only on the direction the missile is travelling, too much thrust and the warhead will overshoot its target, too little and it will fall short. This appeared at first to be a problem, but in the end was solved in almost trivial fashion. A series of ports were added inside the nozzle that were opened when the guidance systems called for engine cut-off. The reduction in pressure was so abrupt that the last burning fuel ejected itself, the first to make use of these developments was not the Air Force, but the Navy. They had been involved in a joint program with the US Army to develop the liquid-fueled Jupiter missile and they felt that liquid fuels were too dangerous to use onboard ships, and especially submarines
40.
321st Air Expeditionary Wing
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The 321st Air Expeditionary Wing was a United States Air Force unit assigned United States Air Forces Central, the USAF component command of United States Central Command. The unit was reestablished on 1 November 2008 and was a nexus of all Coalition Air Force Training Teams, in 2001, the wing was converted to provisional status and allocated to Air Combat Command. It was believed to be active between 2001 and 2004, and deployed to Masirah Island Air Base, Oman and its operational component was believed to be the 355th Air Expeditionary Group. On order, it transitioned designated missions, organizations and functions to other US Government agencies no later than 31 December 2011, two weeks later, on 1 January 1954, the wing was assigned to Strategic Air Command as the B-47 combat crew training mission was transferred to SAC. Colonel Michael N. W. McCoy was appointed commander of the 321st Bombardment Wing on 24 May 1954 and he previously commanded the 306th Bombardment Wing at MacDill AFB, Florida, and was considered the dean of Strategic Air Command’s B-47 Stratojet operational wing commanders. On 7 May 1958 Pinecastle AFB was renamed McCoy Air Force Base in memory of the late Colonel Michael N. W. McCoy. Formal dedication ceremonies were held on 21 May 1958 in conjunction with an open house. The 321st Bomb Wing began phasing out its operations in June 1961 and was inactivated in October 1961, on 1 November 1963, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the first Strategic Air Command LGM-30 Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing, at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota. During 1965, the three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB, California. In August 1965, the received its first Minuteman II missile, shipped by train from Assembly Plant 77 at Hill AFB. During the following March, the received the first Minuteman II to be shipped via aircraft. On 25 April 1966, the 447th Strategic Missile Squadron and its 50 Minuteman II missiles were declared operational, additional flights came on line throughout 1966. On 7 December 1966, the wing, with its component 446th, 447th, the first launch from a Grand Forks silo occurred on 19 October 1966 and was declared unsuccessful. Nine days later, a second attempt also failed, a third attempt under Project Giant Boost occurred in August 1968 and again proved unsuccessful. Crews from the 321 SMW competed in SAC’s first Missile Combat Competition held at Vandenberg AFB from 2 through 7 April 1967, later that month, members from the wing launched its first Minuteman II from Vandenberg. Despite the wing’s relative youth, it established a reputation for excellence by winning numerous honors during its first few years. For example, in 1969, the unit received numerous significant honors, including the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, throughout the next two decades, the unit would score additional triumphs at Olympic Arena missile competitions and receive numerous best accolades. From December 1971 to March 1973, the converted to Minuteman III missiles
41.
Grand Forks Air Force Base
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Grand Forks Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles west of Grand Forks. In the 2010 census, the base was counted as a place with a total population of 2,367. Opened 60 years ago in early 1957, the current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command. The 319th Air Base Wing is commanded by Colonel Rodney Lewis, schools on base, Nathan Twining Elementary School. During the Cold War, GFAFB was an installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers. Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Commands 319th Air Base Wing, the 319 ABW is organized into two distinct groups, Mission Support and Medical. It was occupied for use on 28 January 1957, and was named after the city of Grand Forks. Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base. The site was chosen in 1954 and the land was paid for by the citizens of Grand Forks, the beginning of the 5, 400-acre air base started in 1956 with the construction of a 12, 300-foot runway. On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was moved from Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan on 1 May 1960, and flew the F-101B Voodoo until 15 April 1971, when it was inactivated and the Voodoos were retired. It was replaced by the 460th FIS, moved from Kingsley Field at Klamath Falls, the 460th FIS flew F-106 Delta Darts until it also was inactivated on 15 July 1974. In addition to the squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958. DC-11 was operated by the Grand Forks Air Defense Sector, activated on 8 December 1957 under the 31st Air Division at Snelling AFS, on 1 January 1959, GFADS was transferred to the operational control of the 29th Air Division at Malmstrom AFB at Great Falls, Montana. SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, with the inactivation of DC-11, Grand Forks AFB was reassigned from the Air Defense mission to Strategic Air Command. In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit, the DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing. Following the end of Minuteman IIIMinuteman III]] missile operations in 1998, on 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site. With president Richard Nixons 14 March 1969, announcement constructing a Safeguard installation at Grand Forks became a top priority, however, construction was stalled throughout mid-1969, as Congress debated the merits of BMD. Finally, after the Senate defeated amendments to kill Safeguard deployment, survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks
42.
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
43.
Westover Air Reserve Base
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Westover Air Reserve Base is an Air Force Reserve Command installation located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Westover hosts the largest Air Reserve Base in the world in terms of area, until 2011, it was a backup landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle and in the past few years has expanded to include a growing civilian access airport sharing Westovers military-maintained runways. The installation was named for Major General Oscar Westover who was commanding officer of the Army Air Corps in the 1930s, the host unit is the 439th Airlift Wing of the Fourth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command. Outside of the AFRC command structure, the 439 AW and Westover are operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command. Due to its location as one of the few remaining active military air bases in the northeast United States, Westover ARB is transitted by many different U. S. military aircraft of all the services. S. In 1951, Air Defense Command arrived, but then turned over the base in 1955 to Strategic Air Command, the 99th Bombardment Wing arrived in 1956. In case of war, an alternate SAC command bunker. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission ruled that Westover would absorb other military units in New England, the expansion proposed the transfer of all military operations at Bradley International Airport to Westover and the nearby Barnes Municipal Airport. The exception to this decision is the 103rd Airlift Wing, which remain at Bradley. A $32 million building project is underway to accommodate the additional 1600 service members required by the plan, the new Armed Forces Reserve Center will host Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy Reserve operations. The Massachusetts Army National Guard will also make its debut at the base, the base celebrated its 75th anniversary with an air show on May 16-17,2015, where the Blue Angels headlined the 2015 Great New England Air Show. During this time, it was announced that the Westover was in the running for a squadron of the new KC-46A Pegasus. Later that year, it was announced that the base would not be receiving the plane, Westover was also in competition with Tinker Air Force Base and Grissom Air Reserve Base for the plane. The local government credits Westover with spurring development of the Memorial Drive corridor, including several planned hotels, as a center for military air operations, Westover Air Reserve Base poses several hazards to local residents. These include air pollution, noise pollution, and water contamination hazards – all of which are shared with similar-sized commercial airports, Westovers extended operations history has produced numerous hazardous waste sites. The portion of the Westover complex still under military control covers an area of 2,500 acres which contains two runways, 5/23, measuring 11,597 x 301 ft and 15/33 measuring 7,082 x 150 ft. A new Air Traffic Control tower was constructed in 2002 and the old tower was demolished, there were 46 aircraft based at this airport, 35% military, 50% single engine, 9% multi-engine, 2% jet aircraft, 2% helicopters and 2% ultralight. Military facilities are control of the Commander, 439th Airlift Wing
44.
Bradley International Airport
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Bradley International Airport is a civil/military airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, in Hartford County, Connecticut. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, it is the second-largest airport in New England, the airport is about halfway between Hartford and Springfield. It is Connecticuts busiest commercial airport with 350 daily operations and the second-busiest airport in New England after Bostons Logan International Airport. The four largest carriers at Bradley International Airport are Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and American Airlines with market shares of 28%, 19%, 15%, and 14%, respectively. As a dual-use military facility with the U. S. Air Force, in 2014, Bradley was the 53rd busiest airport in the United States by number of passengers enplaned. Bradley was originally branded as the Gateway to New England and is home to the New England Air Museum, in 2016, Bradley International launched its new brand, Love The Journey. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, the now defunct Bradlees department store chain was named after the airport when investors held a meeting there. Bradley has its origins in the 1940 acquisition of 1,700 acres of land in Windsor Locks by the State of Connecticut, in 1941, this land was turned over to the U. S. Army, as the country began its preparations for the impending war. The airfield began civil use in 1947 as Bradley International Airport and its first commercial flight was Eastern Air Lines Flight 624. International cargo operations at the airport also began that year, Bradley eventually replaced the older, smaller Hartford-Brainard Airport as Hartfords primary airport. In 1948, the government deeded the Airport to the State of Connecticut for public. In 1950, Bradley International Airport exceeded the 100, 000-passenger mark, in 1952, the Murphy Terminal opened. Later dubbed Terminal B, the terminal was the oldest passenger terminal in the US when it closed in 2010, the April 1957 OAG shows 39 weekday departures,14 American,14 Eastern,9 United, and 2 Northeast. Nonstops never reached west of Chicago or south of Washington until Eastern, nonstops to Los Angeles and Atlanta started in 1968. In 1960, Bradley handled 500,238 passengers, in 1971, the Murphy Terminal was expanded with an International Arrivals wing. This was followed by the installation of Instrument Landing Systems on two runways in 1977, in 1976, an experimental monorail was completed to link the terminal to a parking lot seven-tenths of a mile away. The people mover cost US$4 million and was anticipated to cost $250 thousand annually to operate, due to the high anticipated operating cost, the monorail was never put in service and was dismantled in 1984 to make room for a new terminal building. The retired vehicles from the system are now on display at the Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor, in 1979, the Windsor Locks tornado ripped through the eastern portions of the airport
45.
Andersen Air Force Base
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Andersen Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 4 miles northeast of Yigo near Agafo Gumas in the United States territory of Guam. Along with Naval Base Guam, Andersen AFB was placed under the command of Joint Region Marianas on 1 October 2009, the two bases are about 30 miles away at opposite ends of the island. Administration offices for Joint Region Marianas are about half-way in between, at Nimitz Hill, the host unit at Andersen AFB is the 36th Wing, assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Thirteenth Air Force. A non-flying wing, the 36 WGs mission is to support to deployed air and space forces of USAF and foreign air forces to Andersen. Andersen AFB was established in 1944 as North Field and is named for Brigadier General James Roy Andersen, the 36th Wing Commander is Brig. Gen. Douglas A. Cox. The Vice Wing Commander is Colonel Scott Hurrelbrink and the Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Orlando Ureña, Andersen is one of four bomber forward operating locations in the US Air Force. These locations provide forward support to bomber crews deploying overseas in Europe, Southwest Asia, the Air Force is establishing forward-deployed bomber beddown support at key locations throughout the world and Andersen is one of two critical bases in the Asia-Pacific region. The other location is Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, Guams almost unrestricted airspace and the close proximity of the Farallon de Medinilla Island, a naval bombing range 184 miles north, makes this an ideal training environment. General Andersen graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1926, served at various army installations, during 1943–1944 he served on the War Department General Staff. In January 1945, General Andersen was assigned to HQ AAF and he died on 26 February 1945 in the crash of a B-24 Liberator aircraft between Kwajalein and Johnston Island while en route to Hawaii. Andersen Air Force Bases origins begin on 7 December 1941 when Guam was attacked by the forces of Imperial Japan in the Battle of Guam three hours after the Attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States Navy surrendered Guam to the Japanese on 10 December, at the height of the war, approximately 19,000 Japanese soldiers and sailors were deployed to the island. Guam was liberated by the United States Marine Corps 3rd Amphibious Corps on 21 July 1944, in the Battle of Guam, the Japanese managed to contain the marines on two beachheads, but their counter-attack failed. The marines renewed their assault, and reached the tip of the island on 10 August 1944. Japanese guerrilla activities continued until the end of the war, Guam was considered as being ideal to establish air bases to launch B-29 Superfortress operations against the Japanese Home Islands. The Marianas Islands are about 1,500 miles from Tokyo, most important of all, it could be put on a direct supply line from the United States by ship. North Field, as Andersen AFB was first named, was the first air base built on Guam after its liberation, the first host unit at North Field was the 314th Bombardment Wing, XXI Bomber Command, Twentieth Air Force. The 314th arrived on Guam on 16 January 1945 from Peterson Field, the 314th controlled four operational B-29 bomb groups, the 19th, 29th, 39th, and 330th
46.
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
47.
North American T-6 Texan
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Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. Starting in 1948, the new United States Air Force designated it the T-6 and it remains a popular warbird aircraft used for airshow demonstrations and static displays. It has also used many times to simulate various Japanese aircraft. The Texan originated from the North American NA-16 prototype which, modified as the NA-26, was submitted as an entry for a USAAC Basic Combat aircraft competition in March,1937. The first model went into production and 180 were supplied to the USAAC as the BC-1 and 400 to the RAF as the Harvard I, the US Navy received 16 modified aircraft, designated the SNJ-1, and a further 61 as the SNJ-2 with a different engine. Three BC-2 aircraft were built before the shift to the advanced trainer designation, AT-6, the differences between the AT-6 and the BC-1 were new outer wing panels with a swept-forward trailing edge, squared-off wingtips, and a triangular rudder, producing the canonical Texan silhouette. Next came the AT-6A which was based on the NA-77 design and was powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-1340-49 Wasp radial engine, the USAAF received 1,549 and the US Navy 270. The AT-6B was built for training and could mount a.30 in machine gun on the forward fuselage. It used the R-1340-AN-1 engine, which was to become the standard for the remaining T-6 production, in late 1937, Mitsubushi purchased two NA-16s as technology demonstrators and possibly a licence to build more. However, the aircraft developed by Watanabe/Kyushu as the K10W1 bore no more than a superficial resemblance to the North American design and it was used in very small numbers by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1942 onwards. After the war, the Japanese Air Self Defense Force operated Texans, the NA-88 design resulted in 2,970 AT-6C Texans and 2,400 as the SNJ-4. The RAF received 726 of the AT-6C as the Harvard IIA, modifications to the electrical system produced the AT-6D and SNJ-5. The AT-6D, redesignated the Harvard III, was supplied to the RAF, the AT-6G involved major advancements including a full-time hydraulic system and a steerable tailwheel and persisted into the 1950s as the USAF advanced trainer. Subsequently, the NA-121 design with a completely clear rearmost section on the canopy, gave rise to 25 AT-6F Texans for the USAAF and 931, as the SNJ-6 for the US Navy. The ultimate version, the Harvard 4, was produced by Canada Car and Foundry during the 1950s, a total of 15,495 T-6s of all variants were built. They also engaged in combat on a number of occasions. The Israeli Air Force bought 17 Harvards, and operated nine of them in the stages of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, against the Egyptian ground forces. In the Sinai Campaign, IAF Harvards attacked Egyptian ground forces in Sinai Peninsula with two losses, communist guerillas called these aircraft O Galatas, because they saw them flying very early in the morning
48.
Beechcraft Model 18
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The Beechcraft Model 18 is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to November 1969, over 9,000 were produced, sold worldwide as a civilian executive, utility, cargo aircraft, and passenger airliner on tailwheels, nosewheels, skis or floats, it was also used as a military aircraft. In World War II, over 90% of USAAF bombardiers and navigators trained in these aircraft, in the early postwar era, the Beech 18 was the pre-eminent business aircraft and feeder airliner. Many are now owned, around the world, with over 300 in the U. S. still on the FAA Aircraft Registry in December 2014. The design was conventional for the time, including twin radial engines, all-metal semimonocoque construction with fabric-covered control surfaces. Less conventional was the twin-tailfin configuration, the Model 18 can be mistaken for the larger Lockheed Electra series of airliners which closely resemble it. Early production aircraft were powered either by two 330-hp Jacobs L-6s or 350-hp Wright R-760Es, the 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 became the definitive engine from the prewar C18S onwards. The Beech 18 prototype first flew on January 15,1937, prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, the Beech 18 was outsold by the Lockheed 12 by two-to-one. However, war priorities forced Lockheed to concentrate on its heavier aircraft, the aircraft has used a variety of engines and has had a number of airframe modifications to increase gross weight and speed. At least one aircraft was modified to a 600-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340 powerplant configuration, nearly every airframe component has been modified. In 1955, deliveries of the Model E18S commenced, the E18S featured a fuselage that was extended 6 in higher for more headroom in the passenger cabin, all later Beech 18s featured this taller fuselage, and some earlier models have been modified to this larger fuselage. The Model H18, introduced in 1963, featured optional tricycle undercarriage, unusually, the undercarriage was developed for earlier-model aircraft under an STC by Volpar, and installed in H18s at the factory during manufacture. A total of 109 H18s were built with tricycle undercarriage, construction of the Beechcraft Model 18 ended in 1970 with a final Model H18 going to Japan Airlines. Through the years,32 variations of the design had flown, over 200 improvement modification kits were developed. In one case, the aircraft was modified to a tail, trigear, humpbacked configuration. Another distinctive conversion was carried out by PacAero as the Tradewind and this featured a lengthened nose to accommodate the tricycle nosewheel, and the Model 18s twin tailfins were replaced by a single fin. Work began in earnest on a variant specifically for training pilots, bombardiers. The effort resulted in the Army AT-7 and Navy SNB, further development led to the AT-11 and SNB-2 navigation trainers and the C-45 military transport
49.
Bleu celeste
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Bleu celeste is a rarely occurring and non-standard tincture in heraldry. This tincture is sometimes also called ciel or simply celeste and it is depicted in a lighter shade than the range of shades of the more traditional tincture azure, which is the standard blue used in heraldry. In the arms of the University of Natal Athletic Union the azure is defined as sky blue, when in 1965 that borough merged with its neighbours to form the Borough of Richmond upon Thames, the coloured oars were transferred to the supporters in the arms of the new borough. Tincture Azure Columbia blue Sky blue Scott-Giles, C. W. Boutells Heraldry, london & New York, Frederick Warne & Co
United States
United States Air Force
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This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
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