1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Maryland
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The states largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, the state is named after Henrietta Maria of France, the wife of Charles I of England. George Calvert was the first Lord of Baltimore and the first English proprietor of the colonial grant. Maryland was the state to ratify the United States Constitution. Maryland is one of the smallest U. S. states in terms of area, as well as one of the most densely populated, Maryland has an area of 12,406.68 square miles and is comparable in overall area with Belgium. It is the 42nd largest and 9th smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii, the next largest state, its neighbor West Virginia, is almost twice the size of Maryland. Maryland possesses a variety of topography within its borders, contributing to its nickname America in Miniature. The mid-portion of this border is interrupted by Washington, D. C. which sits on land that was part of Montgomery and Prince Georges counties and including the town of Georgetown. This land was ceded to the United States Federal Government in 1790 to form the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore. Close to the town of Hancock, in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state. This geographical curiosity makes Maryland the narrowest state, bordered by the Mason–Dixon line to the north, portions of Maryland are included in various official and unofficial geographic regions. Much of the Baltimore–Washington corridor lies just south of the Piedmont in the Coastal Plain, earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent and small due to the states distance from seismic/earthquake zones. The M5.8 Virginia earthquake in 2011 was felt moderately throughout Maryland, buildings in the state are not well-designed for earthquakes and can suffer damage easily. The lack of any glacial history accounts for the scarcity of Marylands natural lakes, laurel Oxbow Lake is an over one-hundred-year-old 55-acre natural lake two miles north of Maryland City and adjacent to Russett. Chews Lake is a natural lake two miles south-southeast of Upper Marlboro. There are numerous lakes, the largest of them being the Deep Creek Lake. Maryland has shale formations containing natural gas, where fracking is theoretically possible, as is typical of states on the East Coast, Marylands plant life is abundant and healthy. Middle Atlantic coastal forests, typical of the southeastern Atlantic coastal plain, grow around Chesapeake Bay, moving west, a mixture of Northeastern coastal forests and Southeastern mixed forests cover the central part of the state
3.
Air National Guard
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When Air National Guard units are used under the jurisdiction of the state governor they are fulfilling their militia role. However, if federalized by order of the President of the United States and they are jointly administered by the states and the National Guard Bureau, a joint bureau of the Army and Air Force that oversees the National Guard of the United States. The ANG of the territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands have no aircraft assigned, ANG units typically operate under Title 32 USC. However, when operating under Title 10 USC all ANG units are operationally-gained by an active duty USAF major command. ANG units of the Combat Air Forces based in the Continental United States, conversely, CONUS-based ANG units in the Mobility Air Forces, plus the Puerto Rico ANGs airlift wing and the Virgin Islands ANGs civil engineering squadron are gained by the Air Mobility Command. The vast majority of ANG units fall under either ACC or AMC, established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U. S. S. When not in a status, the Air National Guard operates under their respective state. The exception to rule is the District of Columbia Air National Guard. Because both state Air National Guard and the Air National Guard of the United States relatively go hand-in-hand, Air National Guard of the United States units or members may be called up for federal active duty in times of Congressionally sanctioned war or national emergency. The United States Air National Guard has about 110,000 men and women in service, even traditional part-time air guardsmen, especially pilots, navigators/combat systems officers, air battle managers and enlisted aircrew, often serve 100 or more man-days annually. As such, the concept of Air National Guard service as representing only one weekend a month, the Georgia Air National Guard and the Kansas Air National Guard previously flew the B-1B Lancer prior to converting to the E-8 Joint STARS and KC-135R Stratotanker, respectively. In addition, the 131st Fighter Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard transitioned from flying the F-15C/D Eagle at St and these proposals were eventually overruled and cancelled by the U. S. Congress. As state militia units, the units in the Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command and they are under the jurisdiction of the United States National Guard Bureau unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. Air National Guard units are trained and equipped by the United States Air Force, the state ANG units, depending on their mission, are operationally gained by a major command of the USAF if federalized. Air National Guard personnel are expected to adhere to the moral and physical standards as their full-time active duty Air Force. The same ranks and insignia of the U. S. Air Force are used by the Air National Guard, the Air National Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in a service members home state or equivalent. The creation of the regiments was caused by the perceived need to defend the Bay Colony against American Indians. This organization formed the basis of subsequent colonial and, post-independence, state and this distinction accounts for why there are no National Guard components in the U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps or U. S. Coast Guard
4.
Maryland Air National Guard
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The Maryland Air National Guard is the air force militia of the State of Maryland, United States of America and a reserve component of the United States Air Force. It is, along with the Maryland Army National Guard, an element of the Maryland National Guard, as state militia units, the units in the Maryland Air National Guard are not actively in the United States Air Force chain of command until federalized. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Maryland though the office of the Maryland Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States, the Maryland Air National Guard is headquartered in Baltimore, and its commander is Brigadier General Allyson Solomon. Under the Total Force concept, Maryland Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force, Maryland ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are operationally gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. The 175 WG has two active USAF gaining commands, the Air Combat Command for its aircraft and United States Air Forces in Europe for its 235th Civil Engineer Flight. The Maryland Air National Guard traces its origins to 29 June 1921, on that date the 104th Observation Squadron was federally recognized in Baltimore. It became the first post-World War I National Guard unit to be equipped with its own aircraft,13 Curtiss JN-4 Jennies, the unit was based at Logan Field in Baltimore. The 104th was initially assigned as division aviation for the 29th Infantry Division and their annual summer training encampments were at Langley Field, Virginia and Detrick Field, Maryland. In addition to Jennies, the 104th flew a variety of aircraft during the interwar period. Shortly before the U. S. entry into World War II, along with the rest of the Maryland National Guard, the 104th was mobilized for federal service on 3 February 1941. During the war, the 104th flew anti-submarine patrols out of Atlantic City, in late 1942, the unit was inactivated and its personnel transferred to the 517th Bombardment Squadron, later redesignated the 12th Anti-Submarine Squadron, at Langley Field, Va. In the fall of 1943, the 12th was transferred to California, by this time most of its original National Guard members had been reassigned to other units as individual replacements. In 1946, the 104th was reactivated as the 104th Fighter Squadron at Baltimore Municipal Airport, equipped with P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft, from 1955 to 1958, the unit was organized as a fighter-interceptor squadron and charged with defending the Baltimore-Washington area against possible Soviet bomber attack. The unit soon converted to F-86 Sabre, and in 1957 relocated to the Glenn L. Martin Company Airport, Maryland gained a second flying unit – and its first group-level headquarters – in 1955 when the 135th Air Resupply Group was organized at Harbor Field. The 135th was one of a handful of Air Force special operations units in existence at the time, equipped with Curtiss C-46 Commando transports and SA-16 Albatross seaplanes, its mission was the covert infiltration, resupply, and extraction of special forces. Redesignated as the 135th Air Commando Group in 1963 and then the 135th Special Operations Group in 1968 and it remained at Harbor Field until 1960, when it too relocated to the Martin Company Airport. A second group headquarters was added in 1962, when the 175th Tactical Fighter Group was established in October, the 104th Tactical Fighter Squadron, which had heretofore operated as an independent squadron, became a part of the new group
5.
175th Wing
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The 175th Wing is a unit of the Maryland Air National Guard, stationed at Warfield Air National Guard Base, Middle River, Maryland. The 104th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the wings 175th Operations Group, is a descendant organization of the 104th Observation Squadron and it is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. It is the oldest unit in the Maryland Air National Guard, having over 90 years of service to the state, the wing comprises two operations groups, The 175th Operations Group is the wings flying unit, and includes a fighter squadron and an operations support squadron. The 175th Cyberspace Operations Group is the cyber unit. The wing also includes support units, including security forces, engineers, communications, logistics, approximately 1,500 full-time and traditional part-time members of the Maryland Air National Guard are assigned to the 175th Wing. The 175th Wing has both federal and state missions, federal, In peacetime, the 175th Wing prepares for wartime taskings and to augment active military forces. In wartime, provides air support and cyberspace operations capability to meet the needs of combatant commanders worldwide. Blue alludes to the sky, the theater of Air Force Operations. Yellow refers to the sun and the excellence required of Air Force personnel, the crossbow symbolizes the fighter mission and the Pegasus denotes the airlift mission. The representation of the Maryland state flag reflects the consolidation of two missions within the wing and also indicates the units home location. Background, Approved by Air Force on 23 August 1996 and this insignia superseded one previously approved by the Air Force for the 175th Fighter Group following that units re-designation as the 175th Wing. On 1 October 1962, the Maryland Air National Guards 175th Tactical Fighter Group was federally recognized and activated by the National Guard Bureau, the 104th TFS becoming the groups flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 175th Headquarters, 175th Material Squadron, 175th Combat Support Squadron, equipped with F-86H Sabres, the 175th TFG was operationally gained by Tactical Air Command. On 13 May 1968 the 175th Tactical Fighter Group was federalized and ordered to active service and it was transferred to Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico along with the NY ANG 139th Tactical Fighter Squadron and 174th Tactical Fighter Squadron as well as the 104th TFS. At Cannon AFB, the Groups mission was to act as a unit for the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing which were deployed to the Vietnam War. At Cannon, the squadron trained active Air Force pilots in forward air controller duties, the unit did not deploy overseas. The units were returned to New York and Maryland state control on 20 December 1968 when the TAC 4429th Combat Crew Training Squadron was activated with regular active-duty Air Force personnel. In 1970 the 175th TFG was realigned from a Tactical Fighter mission when the F-86H Sabres were transferred after being with the 104th TFS for thirteen years, the 175th was one of the last ANG units to fly the F-86
6.
Military Air Transport Service
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The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and it was inactivated and discontinued on 8 January 1966 when the Air Force and Navy set up separate strategic airlift commands. In 1982, the World War II Air Transport Command and the Military Air Transport Service were consolidated with Military Airlift Command, the Military Air Transport Service was activated under United States Air Force Major General Laurence S. Kuter, in order to harness interservice efforts more efficiently. It was an amalgamation of Navy and Army air transport commands, MATS was the first Joint-Service command and Naval aircrews participated in every major MATS airlift operation. During the Berlin Airlift, Naval aviators flew transport aircraft from the United States to European supply depots, in the Korean War, in its original organization, a Rear Admiral commanded the MATS Pacific Division and another rear admiral served as MATS vice-commander. During the 1958 reorganization, senior Naval officers were on the staffs of the commanders of both EASTAF and WESTAF, and at MATS Headquarters. In 1965 conflicting views of the Air Force and Navy triggered by the demands of the Vietnam War led to the returning to separate airlift commands. In turn, MATS was disbanded and superseded in the Air Force by the Military Airlift Command, with the end of World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command found itself in limbo. Senior ATC officers, on the hand, thought that ATC should be developed into a national government operated airline. While the war had firmly established the necessity of a troop carrier mission, when the United States Air Force was established as a separate service in 1947, the Air Transport Command was not established as one of its major commands. The ATC commander and his staff took it upon themselves to convince the new leadership of the newly created Department of Defense that ATC had a mission. Williams had been pressing for the development of a troop carrier airplane when he made his statement. Also, as a measure, MATS would combine the resources of Air Transport Command with those of the Naval Air Transport Service. This way the command would be sanctioned by the Department of Defense, although MATS was under the operational control of the United States Air Force, the United States Navy was a full partner in the command and operational components of the organization. Major naval components of MATS were naval air transport squadrons, vR-3 and VR-6 were assigned to McGuire AFB and VR-22 was assigned to the Naval Air Transport Station at Naval Station Norfolk/Chambers Field, Virginia. Together they constituted MATS EASTAFs Naval Air Transport Wing, Atlantic, on the Pacific Coast, Naval Air Transport Wing, Pacific, consisted of Air Transport Squadron VR-7 and Maintenance Squadron VR-8, both at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California. A detachment of VR-7 was also stationed at Tachikawa Air Base, Naval aviators flew scheduled MATS routes to Newfoundland, Iceland, Scotland, West Germany, Italy, Puerto Rico and Africa. In the Pacific, MATS naval aviators flew to all MATS stations from Hawaii to Japan to South Vietnam, Bangkok, India, Air Force pilots flew Navy MATS planes, just as naval aviators could be found piloting Air Force MATS transport aircraft
7.
Grumman HU-16 Albatross
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Originally designated as the SA-16 for the USAF and the JR2F-1 and UF-1 for the USN and USCG, it was redesignated as the HU-16 in 1962. An improvement of the design of the Grumman Mallard, the Albatross was developed to land in open ocean situations to accomplish rescues and its deep-V hull cross-section and keel length enable it to land in the open sea. The Albatross was designed for optimal 4-foot seas, and could land in severe conditions. The majority of Albatrosses were used by the U. S. Air Force, primarily in the search and rescue mission role, the USAF used the SA-16 extensively in Korea for combat rescue, where it gained a reputation as a rugged and seaworthy craft. Later, the redesignated HU-16B Albatross was used by the U. S. Air Forces Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service, in addition a small number of Air National Guard air commando groups were equipped with HU-16s for covert infiltration and extraction of special forces from 1956 to 1971. Other examples of the HU-16 made their way into Air Force Reserve air rescue units prior to its retirement from USAF service, the U. S. Navy also employed the HU-16C/D Albatross as a search and rescue aircraft from coastal naval air stations, both stateside and overseas. It was also employed as a support aircraft worldwide and for missions from the former NAS Agana. Goodwill flights were common to the surrounding Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in the early 1970s. Open water landings and water takeoff training using JATO was also conducted frequently by U. S. The HU-16 was also operated by the U. S. Coast Guard as both a coastal and long-range open ocean SAR aircraft for years until it was supplanted by the HU-25 Guardian. The final USAF HU-16 flight was the delivery of AF Serial No, 51-5282 to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio in July 1973 after setting an altitude record of 32,883 ft earlier in the month. The final US Navy HU-16 flight was made 13 August 1976 when an Albatross was delivered to the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola, the final USCG HU-16 flight was at CGAS Cape Cod in March 1983, when the aircraft type was retired by the USCG. The Albatross continued to be used in the service of other countries. The Royal Canadian Air Force operated Grumman Albatrosss with the designation CSR-110 rather than the US standard of HU-16, in 1970, Conroy Aircraft marketed a remanufactured HU-16A with Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines as the Conroy Turbo Albatross, but only one prototype was ever built. Many surplus Albatrosses were sold to operators, mostly to private owners. These aircraft are operated under either Experimental-Exhibition or Restricted category and cannot be used for commercial operations, in the early 1980s Chalks International Airlines owned by Merv Griffins Resorts International had 13 Albatrosses converted to Standard category as G-111s. This made them eligible to be used in scheduled airline operations, the G-111s were operated for only a few years and then put in storage in Arizona. Most are still parked there, but some have returned to regular flight operations with private operators
8.
Naval Air Station Patuxent River
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Naval Air Station Patuxent River, also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Marys County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. Commissioned on 1 April 1943, on land acquired through eminent domain. The Cedar Point community included several churches, a post office, some of the old homes now serve as quarters for Navy personnel stationed there. C. and the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cedar Point was selected due to its location on the coastline, well removed from air traffic congestion. The onset of American involvement in World War II spurred establishment of the new air station, rear Admiral John Henry Towers, Chief of Bureau of Aeronautics, requested approval and authorization to begin construction on December 22,1941. Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, gave approval on 7 January 1942, many residents were forced to sell land that had been in their families for generations. Some families had roots in the going back 300 years. These included traditional farming, crabbing and fishing families and there were protests, National wartime urgency was however felt in Washington at the time to take precedence, and the process of eminent domain went through. Rail service ended in 1965, and the line was subsequently scrapped, a highway extension to the new air station was required by the project—250,000 tons of material were transported by either truck or water routes during a year of construction. Marines first arrived and took over security, during construction, housing needs far outstripped supply, and barracks were built for workers on the station. The station was formally commissioned U. S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, in a ceremony presided over by RADM John S. McCain, Sr. then chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Patuxent River was referred to as the most needed station in the Navy. The base also served as the facility for the V-22 Osprey. VQ-4 provided long-range, very-low-frequency communications relay between the National Command Center and the ballistic missile submarine fleet, cooperation with the British also led to transatlantic visits to PAX River by RAF squadrons. Research and development at NAS Patuxent River forged ahead in the 1970s, helicopter programs also achieved major milestones during the 1970s. The Naval Air Test Center at NAS Patuxent River took part in development and testing for new roles. The final flight of the acceptance trials for the Bell AH-1 SuperCobra gunship were made at NATC Patuxent River. On 1 April 1976, Patuxent Rivers air field was named after pioneering aviator VADM Frederick M. Trapnell, keynote address speaker, ADM Frederick H. Michaelis, Chief of Naval Material, noted, All who fly in Navy blue remain indebted to Vice Admiral Trapnell. This field will serve as a reminder of that debt
9.
John F. Kennedy
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Kennedy was a member of the Democratic Party, and his New Frontier domestic program was largely enacted as a memorial to him after his death. Kennedy also established the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, Kennedys time in office was marked by high tensions with Communist states. He increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam by a factor of 18 over President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in Cuba, a failed attempt was made at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro in April 1961. He subsequently rejected plans by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to orchestrate false-flag attacks on American soil in order to gain approval for a war against Cuba. After military service in the United States Naval Reserve in World War II and he was elected subsequently to the U. S. Senate and served as the junior Senator from Massachusetts from 1953 until 1960. Kennedy defeated Vice President, and Republican presidential candidate, Richard Nixon in the 1960 U. S, at age 43, he became the youngest elected president and the second-youngest president. Kennedy was also the first person born in the 20th century to serve as president, to date, Kennedy has been the only Roman Catholic president and the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22,1963, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested that afternoon and determined to have fired the shots that hit the President from a sixth floor window of the Texas School Book Depository. Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald two days later in a jail corridor, then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded Kennedy after he died in the hospital. The FBI and the Warren Commission officially concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin, the majority of Americans alive at the time of the assassination, and continuing through 2013, believed that there was a conspiracy and that Oswald was not the only shooter. Since the 1960s, information concerning Kennedys private life has come to light, including his health problems, Kennedy continues to rank highly in historians polls of U. S. presidents and with the general public. His average approval rating of 70% is the highest of any president in Gallups history of systematically measuring job approval and his grandfathers P. J. Kennedy and Boston Mayor John F. Fitzgerald were both Massachusetts politicians. All four of his grandparents were the children of Irish immigrants, Kennedy had an elder brother, Joseph Jr. and seven younger siblings, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Ted. Kennedy lived in Brookline for ten years and attended the Edward Devotion School, the Noble and Greenough Lower School, and the Dexter School through 4th grade. In 1927, the Kennedy family moved to a stately twenty-room, Georgian-style mansion at 5040 Independence Avenue in the Hudson Hill neighborhood of Riverdale, Bronx and he attended the lower campus of Riverdale Country School, a private school for boys, from 5th to 7th grade. Two years later, the moved to 294 Pondfield Road in the New York City suburb of Bronxville, New York. The Kennedy family spent summers at their home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in September 1930, Kennedy—then 13 years old—attended the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut. In late April 1931, he required an appendectomy, after which he withdrew from Canterbury, in September 1931, Kennedy attended Choate, a boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, for 9th through 12th grade
10.
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
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The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medevac and it is now the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. Over forty variants and versions of the Hercules, including a civilian one marketed as the Lockheed L-100, the C-130 entered service with the U. S. in the 1950s, followed by Australia and others. During its years of service, the Hercules family has participated in numerous military, the C-130 Hercules is the longest continuously produced military aircraft at over 60 years, with the updated Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules currently being produced. The new transport would have a capacity of 92 passengers,72 combat troops or 64 paratroopers in a compartment that was approximately 41 feet long,9 feet high. Unlike transports derived from passenger airliners, it was to be designed from the ground-up as a transport with loading from a hinged loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage. A key feature was the introduction of the Allison T56 turboprop powerplant, as was the case on helicopters of that era, such as the UH-1 Huey, turboshafts produced much more power for their weight than piston engines. Lockheed would subsequently use the engines and technology in the Lockheed L-188 Electra. The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter also had a ramp, which made it possible to drive vehicles onto the plane. The ramp on the Hercules was also used to airdrop cargo, the new Lockheed cargo plane design possessed a range of 1,100 nmi, takeoff capability from short and unprepared strips, and the ability to fly with one engine shut down. Fairchild, North American, Martin, and Northrop declined to participate, the remaining five companies tendered a total of ten designs, Lockheed two, Boeing one, Chase three, Douglas three, and Airlifts Inc. one. The contest was an affair between the lighter of the two Lockheed proposals and a four-turboprop Douglas design. The Lockheed design team was led by Willis Hawkins, starting with a 130-page proposal for the Lockheed L-206, both Hibbard and Johnson signed the proposal and the company won the contract for the now-designated Model 82 on 2 July 1951. The first flight of the YC-130 prototype was made on 23 August 1954 from the Lockheed plant in Burbank, the aircraft, serial number 53-3397, was the second prototype, but the first of the two to fly. The YC-130 was piloted by Stanley Beltz and Roy Wimmer on its 61-minute flight to Edwards Air Force Base, Jack Real, kelly Johnson flew chase in a Lockheed P2V Neptune. After the two prototypes were completed, production began in Marietta, Georgia, where over 2,300 C-130s have been built through 2009. The initial production model, the C-130A, was powered by Allison T56-A-9 turboprops with three-blade propellers, deliveries began in December 1956, continuing until the introduction of the C-130B model in 1959. Some A-models were equipped with skis and re-designated C-130D, four-bladed Hamilton Standard propellers replaced the Aeroproducts three-blade propellers that distinguished the earlier A-models
11.
146th Airlift Wing
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The 146th Airlift Wing is a unit of the California Air National Guard, stationed at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Oxnard, California. If activated to service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command. The 115th Airlift Squadron assigned to the Wings 146th Operations Group, is a descendant organization of the 115th Observation Squadron and it is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. It is the oldest unit in the California Air National Guard, having almost 90 years of service to the state, the 146th AWs primary mission is to provide global military airlift capability to a full spectrum of state and federal agencies. MAFFS II was used for the first time on a fire in July 2010, the 146th Airlift Wing was the first to transition to the MAFFS2 system in 2008, and it remains the only unit flying the new system on the C-130J aircraft. During World War II the 373d Fighter Group was assigned to the European Theater of Operations and it was equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts. The Group flew its first combat mission on 8 May 1944 and it then took part in preinvasion activities, e. g. escorting B-26 Marauders to attack airdromes, bridges and railroads in Occupied France. The Group bombed such targets as troops in the Falaise-Argentan area in August 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 - January 1945, the Group concentrated on the destruction of bridges, marshalling yards and highways. It flew reconnaissance missions to ground operations in the Rhine Valley in March 1945, hitting airfields, motor transports. The Group continued tactical air operations until 4 May 1945, returned to the United States and prepared for transfer to the Pacific Theater during the Summer of 1945, the Japanese Capitulation in August led to the Groups inactivation in November 1945. The wartime 373d Fighter Group was re-designated as the 146th Fighter Group and it was organized at Van Nuys Airport, Los Angeles, California and was extended federal recognition on 16 September by the National Guard Bureau. The 146th Fighter Group was bestowed the lineage, history, honors, the Group was assigned to the California ANG 62d Fighter Wing. All of the squadrons were initially equipped with F-51D Mustangs, with a mission of air defense of Southern California. The 115th was equipped with B-26 Invader light bombers, gained by Tactical Air Command, other components were the 146th Headquarters, 146th Material Squadron, 146th Combat Support Squadron, and the 1146th USAF Dispensary. At the end of October 1950, the Air National Guard converted to the wing-base organization, as a result, the 62d Fighter Wing was withdrawn from the California ANG and was inactivated on 31 October 1950. The 146th Composite Group was assigned to the new wing as its group with the three fighter squadrons. The 115th Bombardment Squadron at Van Nuys Airport was transferred from the 62d Fighter Wing to the new 144th Composite Wing, the 115th was a re-designation of the original California National Guard pre-war 115th Observation Squadron with origins dating to 1917. With the surprise invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950, the 146th Fighter Wing was federalized on 1 March 1951 and assigned to Tactical Air Command
12.
Kandahar International Airport
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Kandahar International Airport is located 10 miles south-east of Kandahar City in Afghanistan. It serves as the second main international airport and as one of the largest military bases. The airport was designed and built by the United States in the late 1950s and it was occupied by the Soviets during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan. Following their withdrawal the airport remained in control of Najibullahs government until he stepped down in 1992, thereafter, local warlords and the Taliban took control of the airport until the U. S. -led invasion in late 2001. Since 2007, the airport has been repaired and expanded and it is used for both military and civilian flights. The airport is maintained by the Resolute Support Mission and the Afghan National Security Forces, the 2nd Wing of the Afghan Air Force has a separate base within the airport ground. The Afghan National Police provides security inside the passenger terminal, the airfield itself was built between 1954 and 1962 by American consultants, for a cost of USD15 million. However, with the advent of jet aircraft, such stops were no longer necessary, and the airport saw little use. Since the airport was designed as a base, it is likely that the United States intended to use it in case there was a show-down of war between the United States and former USSR. While the United States was busy building Kandahar International Airport, the USSR was busy in the north, fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense. However, Kandahar airport was relatively untouched and its main building was largely intact at the end of the war. The airstrip did suffer extensive damage that was repaired by the United Nations in the mid-1990s to support humanitarian flights. Ariana Afghan Airlines also flew infrequent flights out of Kandahar to Pakistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001, Kandahar Airport was one of the first coalition bases established in Afghanistan. The airport was captured by an air insertion coinciding with a rapid overland push from troops based at Camp Rhino, a perimeter was quickly secured around the terminal building and airstrip, and initially all troops worked and lived in and around the main terminal building itself. The first spartan ablutions were established in the middle of a rose garden out front. The accommodation area began to enlarge down along the airfield to where the current military base is located, the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade became the main U. S. Army Aviation unit at the airport while the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing became the main USAF unit. After June 2009 under Operation Herrick they were replaced by a squadron of Panavia Tornado GR4 aircraft, carrying out air support. 904 Expeditionary Air Wing, the home was RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire until the end of 2011 when the squadrons home station was changed to RAF Brize Norton
United States
Maryland
Air National Guard
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
