1.
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
2.
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
3.
Hickam Air Force Base
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Hickam Field is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The base merged with the Naval Base Pearl Harbor to become part of the Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, the base neighbors Honolulu International Airport and currently shares runways with the airport for its activities and purposes. Hickam is home to the 15th Wing and 67 partner units including Headquarters of Pacific Air Forces, Hawaii Air National Guard, the Air Mobility Commands 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing provides tactical and strategic airlift within the Pacific region. In addition, Hickam supports 140 tenant and associate units, the 15th Wing is composed of four groups each with specific functions. The 15th Operations Group controls all flying and airfield operations, the 15th Maintenance Group performs aircraft and aircraft ground equipment maintenance. The 15th Medical Group provides medical and dental care and these units are structured according to the Total Force Integration concept, and as such have both an active duty Commander and a Guard Commander. They share missions as well as equipment.78 and it was the largest peacetime military construction project in the United States to that date and continued through 1941. The Quartermaster Corps was assigned the job of constructing a modern airdrome from tangled algaroba brush, planning, design, and supervision of construction were all conducted by Capt. Howard B. Construction was still in progress when the first contingent of 12 men, Hickam Field was completed and officially activated on September 15,1938. In early 1939 construction began on the barracks, a single three-story nine-winged structure to house 3,200 men at a cost of $1,039,000. Personnel began moving into the barracks in January 1940, and by its completion on 30 September 1940, it was fully occupied, Hickam was the principal army airfield in Hawaii and the only one large enough to accommodate the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. In connection with plans for the Pacific, aircraft were brought to Hawaii throughout 1941 to prepare for potential hostilities. The first mass flight of bombers from Hamilton Field, California arrived at Hickam on 14 May 1941, Hickam suffered extensive damage and aircraft losses, with 189 people killed and 303 wounded. During World War II, the became a major center for training pilots. Hickam is home to the 65th Airlift Squadron which transports theater senior military leaders throughout the world in the C-37B and C-40 Clipper aircraft. In mid-2003, the 15th Air Base Wing was converted to the 15th Airlift Wing as it prepared to beddown and fly the Air Forces newest transport aircraft, the first Hickam-based C-17 arrived in February 2006, with seven more to follow during the year. The C-17s will be flown by the 535th Airlift Squadron, on September 16,1985, the Secretary of the Interior designated Hickam Field a National Historic Landmark, recognizing its key role in the World War II Pacific campaign. A bronze plaque reflecting Hickams national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America took its place among other memorials surrounding the base flagpole, dominating the area is a large bronze tablet engraved with the names of those who died as a result of the 1941 attack
4.
Hawaii
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Hawaii is the 50th and most recent state to have joined the United States of America, having received statehood on August 21,1959. Hawaii is the only U. S. state located in Oceania and it is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. Hawaii is the only U. S. state not located in the Americas, the state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles. At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight main islands are—in order from northwest to southeast, Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and the Island of Hawaiʻi. The last is the largest island in the group, it is called the Big Island or Hawaiʻi Island to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania, Hawaii has over a million permanent residents, along with many visitors and U. S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaii is the 8th-smallest and the 11th-least populous, but the 13th-most densely populated of the fifty U. S. states. It is the state with an Asian plurality. The states coastline is about 750 miles long, the fourth longest in the U. S. after the coastlines of Alaska, Florida, the state of Hawaii derives its name from the name of its largest island, Hawaiʻi. A common Hawaiian explanation of the name of Hawaiʻi is that was named for Hawaiʻiloa and he is said to have discovered the islands when they were first settled. The Hawaiian language word Hawaiʻi is very similar to Proto-Polynesian *Sawaiki, cognates of Hawaiʻi are found in other Polynesian languages, including Māori, Rarotongan and Samoan. According to linguists Pukui and Elbert, lsewhere in Polynesia, Hawaiʻi or a cognate is the name of the underworld or of the home, but in Hawaii. A somewhat divisive political issue arose in 1978 when the Constitution of the State of Hawaii added Hawaiian as an official state language. The title of the constitution is The Constitution of the State of Hawaii. Article XV, Section 1 of the Constitution uses The State of Hawaii, diacritics were not used because the document, drafted in 1949, predates the use of the okina and the kahakō in modern Hawaiian orthography. The exact spelling of the name in the Hawaiian language is Hawaiʻi. In the Hawaii Admission Act that granted Hawaiian statehood, the government recognized Hawaii as the official state name. Official government publications, department and office titles, and the Seal of Hawaii use the spelling with no symbols for glottal stops or vowel length
5.
Western Transport Air Force
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Twenty-Second Air Force is a Numbered Air Force component of Air Force Reserve Command. It was activated on 1 July 1993 and is headquartered at Dobbins Air Reserve Base,22 AF is responsible for recruiting and training reservists and for maintaining subordinate units at the highest level of combat readiness. A by-product of training is to coordinate daily support of the active duty air force,22 AFs wartime mission is to provide combat-ready airlift and support units and augments personnel requirements to Air Mobility Command in the United States. Twenty-Second Air Force manages more than 25,000 Reservists and has 149 unit-equipped aircraft, Reserve crews in 22 AF fly the C-130 Hercules, including the WC-130 Hurricane Hunter aircraft, which are located at nine different Air Force Reserve wings. The wings, flying squadrons and support units are spread throughout nine states – from New York to Mississippi, Ohio and Minnesota, with its western most wing in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1946, the organization was transferred to Air Transport Command and became, in essence, when MATS became MAC, WESTAF was redesignated 22d AF, with headquarters at Travis AFB, CA. During the 1960s, Twenty-Second Air Force transports flew missions worldwide, supporting the efforts of the United States in Southeast Asia, Europe, in December 1974, the Twenty-Second Air Force absorbed Tactical Air Commands Twelfth Air Force C-130 Hercules tactical airlift operations. On 29 March 1979, the Twenty-Second Air Force assumed responsibility for managing Military Airlift Command resources in the Pacific, the division participated in tactical exercises such as Team Spirit, Ulchi Focus Lens, and Capstan Dragon. The unit was relieved from assignment to Military Airlift Command and assigned to Air Mobility Command on 1 June 1992, activated the same day at Dobbins ARB, GA, with a change in assignment to the Air Force Reserve. It is under the command of Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command at Robins Air Force Base. Dec 1948,1 Dec 1949 –1 Jul 1957
6.
Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
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The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed Old Shaky, was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary transport for United States Air Force Military Air Transport Service during the 1950s and early 1960s. It served in MATS-gained, later Military Airlift Command -gained, units of the Air Force Reserve, Douglas Aircraft developed the C-124 from 1947 to 1949, from a prototype they created from a World War II–design Douglas C-74 Globemaster, and based on lessons learned during the Berlin Airlift. The aircraft was powered by four large Pratt & Whitney R-4360 piston engines producing 3,800 hp each, the C-124s design featured two large clamshell doors and a hydraulically actuated ramp in the nose as well as a cargo elevator under the aft fuselage. The C-124 was capable of carrying 68,500 lb of cargo, and it was the only aircraft of its time capable of transporting heavy equipment such as tanks and bulldozers without disassembly. The C-124 first flew on 27 November 1949, with the C-124A being delivered from May 1950, the C-124C was next, featuring more powerful engines, and an APS-42 weather radar fitted in a thimble-like structure on the nose. Wingtip-mounted combustion heaters were added to heat the cabin, and enable wing, the C-124As were later equipped with these improvements. One C-124C, 52-1069, c/n 43978, was used as a JC-124C, for testing the 15,000 shp Pratt & Whitney XT57 turboprop, first deliveries of the 448 production aircraft began in May 1950 and continued until 1955. The C-124 was operational during the Korean War, and was used to assist supply operations for Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica. They performed heavy lift cargo operations for the US military worldwide, including flights to Southeast Asia, Africa, from 1959 to 1961 they transported Thor missiles across the Atlantic to England. The C-124 was also used extensively during the Vietnam War transporting materiel from the U. S. to Vietnam, until the C-5A became operational, the C-124, and its sister C-133 Cargomaster were the only aircraft available that could transport very large loads. The United States Air Forces Strategic Air Command was the operator of the C-124 Globemaster. Four squadrons operated the type, consisting of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and their primary duty was to transport nuclear weapons between air bases and to provide airlift of SAC personnel and equipment during exercises and overseas deployments. The Military Air Transport Service was the operator until January 1966. The first ANG unit to receive the C-124C, the 165th Tactical Airlift Group of the Georgia Air National Guard, was the last Air Force unit to retire their aircraft in September 1974. YC-124 Prototype rebuilt from a C-74 with a new fuselage and powered by four 3,500 hp R-4360-39 engines, YC-124A Prototype YC-124 re-engined with four 3,800 hp R-4360-35A engines. C-124A Douglas Model 1129A, production version with four 3,500 hp R-4360-20WA engines,204 built, most retrofitted later with nose-radar and combustion heaters in wingtip fairings. C-124C Douglas Model 1317, same as C-124A but with four 3,800 hp R-4360-63A engines, nose radar, wingtip combustion heaters and they began jettisoning the crates and announced they were ditching
7.
Pacific Air Forces
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Pacific Air Forces is a Major Command of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Pacific Command. The mission of Pacific Air Forces is to provide air and space power to promote U. S. interests in the Asia-Pacific region during peacetime, through crisis. PACAF comprises three numbered Air Forces, nine main bases and nearly 375 aircraft. The commands area of responsibility extends from the west coast of the United States to the east coast of Asia and from the Arctic to the Antarctic, the area is home to nearly two billion people who live in 44 countries. Not to be confused with Far East Air Force, the military organization of the United States Army in the Philippine Islands from 1941 to 1942. The beginnings of PACAF can be traced back to June 1944, Far East Air Forces was activated on 3 August 1944, at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. FEAF had actually created on 15 June 1944, and Fifth Air Force assigned to it. FEAF was subordinate to the U. S. Army Forces Far East, the creation of FEAF consolidated the command and control authority over United States Army Air Forces units widely deployed throughout the southwest Pacific in World War II. A realignment of forces was needed by the USAAF to better organize its forces in the Pacific for peacetime. Shortly afterwards, Eighth Air Force was reassigned to the newly established Strategic Air Command on 7 June 1946, the major mission of PACUSA in the postwar years was occupation duty in Japan and the demilitarization of the Japanese society in conjunction with the United States Army. In addition, PACUSA helped to support atomic bomb testing in the Pacific Proving Grounds beginning with the Operation Crossroads test on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in 1946. With the impending establishment of the United States Air Force as an independent service later that year, on that same date, Seventh Air Force in Hawaii was inactivated with its organization absorbed by HQ, FEAF. On 25 June 1950, the forces of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea invaded South Korea. On 27 June, the United Nations Security Council voted to assist the South Koreans in resisting the invasion, president Harry Truman authorized General of the Army Douglas MacArthur to commit units to the battle. MacArthur ordered General George E. Stratemeyer, CIC of FEAF, despite the post-World War II demobilization of United States armed forces, the U. S. Air Force still had substantial forces in the Pacific to oppose the North Korean military. Support units were equipped with the Douglas C-54 Skymaster cargo aircraft and the Boeing RB-17 Flying Fortress, the 512th and 514th Weather Reconnaissance Squadrons of the 2143d Air Weather Wing were located at Yokota Air Base, Japan, and Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. On 29 June 1950, the unit began flying missions over the Korean Peninsula in their RB-29 Superfortresses to provide FEAF Bomber Command with target. Eventually, these USAF F-86 units would establish a kill ratio of 10,1 versus their KPAF adversaries, during the Korean War FEAFs Fifth Air Force was the main United Nations combat air command until the Korean Armistice Agreement ended the combat 1953
8.
1503d Air Transport Wing
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The 1503d Air Transport Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Western Transport Air Force of Military Air Transport Service at Tachikawa Air Base and it was inactivated on 22 June 1964 and its remaining squadron transferred to the 1503d Air Transport Group. The wing was first organized in at Haneda Air Base in June 1948 as the 540th Air Transport Wing by Military Air Transport Service. The wing was renamed the 1503d Air Transport Wing to comply with United States Air Force requirements that MATS units be numbered between 1200 and 2199. The first major mission by the 1503d was the evacuation of large numbers of Americans out of China in 1948 after the Communists defeated the Chinese Nationalist forces during the Chinese Civil War, around the clock planes arrived and departed. A typical flight might carry 35,000 pounds of hand grenades to South Korea, for thousands of servicemen whose tours took them into, through or out of Tachikawa, the USAF hospital became the best barometer of American military activities in the Far East. MATS flights arriving on C-118, C-121, C-124, and later C-135 jet transports from Hickam Field, mueller, Robert, Air Force Bases Volume I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History,1989
9.
Tachikawa Airfield
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Tachikawa Airfield is an airfield in the city of Tachikawa, the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense, it has served as the civil aviation with Japans first scheduled air service. Currently the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces Camp Tachikawa occupies the portion of the airfield. The main unit there is the GSDF Eastern Army Aviation Group and it operates helicopters, and also commands the anti-tank helicopter units at Camp Kisarazu. Equipment at Tachikawa includes the UH-1J Iroquois, and the Kawasaki OH-6D, the Tachikawa Disaster-Preparedness Base sits on 115 ha of land. In addition to the airfield, it includes emergency medical-treatment facilities and stores of emergency supplies, also in Tachikawa are Camp Higashi-Tachikawa of the Ground Self-Defense Force and the Tachikawa Depot of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. It is roughly southeast of Yokota Air Base, the alternate center for Japans national government is located on a portion of what used to be Tachikawa Air Base. The center includes billeting, offices, communications and control centers, hospital, the center is for the national government to use if forced to relocate or as a command center to direct a response to a significant national disaster or emergency. The underground complex is located under what was the Tachikawa Air Base housing section, from November 1977 to present day the tunnel and bunker system have been enlarged to accommodate up to 5,000 people and to sustain them for a period of one year if necessary. Tachikawa was originally built at the direction of the Imperial Guard for the purpose of providing defense for Tokyo. The Guard also considered sites in Sagamihara, Kawagoe and Kodaira and this small group was commanded by a Colonel Arikawa, Engineering Corps and the flying squadron commander was Captain Yoshitoshi Tokugawa. Civil aviation from the airfield commenced in 1929 with the inauguration of the commercial service by Japan Air Transport to Osaka. Japans first scheduled air service linked Tokyo and Osaka with a three-hour flight, the airport also had scheduled flights to Dalian and Seoul. The operations continued until 1933, when it transferred to Tokyo Airfield, Tachikawas next component was formed in November 1933 when the Ishikawajima Aircraft Manufacturing Company moved to the airfield. Six years later it was renamed the Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd, in addition, Hitachi, and Showa Aircraft Industry built plants in the vicinity. With the departure of the aviation in 1933, Tachikawa returned to being an Army airfield. Its warplanes were transferred to a base in Kashiwa in the corner of Chiba Prefecture in 1939. In 1937, two pilots, Masaaki Iinuma and Kenji Tsukagoshi departed Tachikawa with a Mitsubishi Ki-15, heading for London and their mission was to congratulate King George VI on his coronation
10.
Military Airlift Command
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The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force major command that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. In 1982, the heritage of the World War II Air Transport Command, mACs emblem reflected its predecessors history by incorporating the emblem of MATS into its shield. Under the USAF lineage system, they did not possess a permanent lineage or history and were discontinued upon inactivation, AFCON units were activated under MAC, to which USAF personnel and equipment formerly assigned to MATS MAJCOM units were reassigned effective 8 January 1966. No formal lineage or history between former MATS MAJCOM units and MAC AFCON units was ever made, with the establishment of MAC by the USAF, plans were also made to discontinue the role of the United States Navy within the new command. At first, MAC transports to Vietnam landed regularly only at Tan Son Nhut AB, New air bases opened at Da Nang AB and Cam Ranh AB in January 1966, and later at Pleiku, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat Air Bases, reducing the need for redistribution. Major unit movements by MAC aircraft from the United States usually required further airlifts to operating areas by in-country transports, eventually, however, C-5s could unload at Tan Son Nhut and elsewhere. Primarily, MAC transports carried high-value cargo such as aircraft and equipment parts, while MAC civilian-contract flights transported passengers to and from the combat zone. In the winter of 1965-66, MAC conducted Operation Blue Light, generally, patients requiring hospitalization for thirty days or more were moved to offshore hospitals, others were sometimes evacuated to keep an empty-bed reserve of fifty percent in Vietnam. Military Airlift Command transports carried the more serious cases from Clark AB to the United States, on 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched an all-out invasion of South Vietnam, which came to be known as the Easter Offensive. The Vietnamization policy of the United States had resulted in the vast majority of US ground combat forces been withdrawn from South Vietnam with PACAFs tactical air units also being reduced. Military Airlift Commands C-141 force, accustomed to operating in and out of Vietnam from offshore were utilized for movement of large amounts of men and materiel to oppose the invasion. Beginning on 21 April, MAC C-141s began shuttling passengers and cargo between Tan Son Nhut AB and the other main bases, principally Da Nang AB, Bien Hoa AB. Planes and crews were based for one or more nights at Tan Son Nhut and this C-141 effort permitted the VNAF and PACAF C-130s to concentrate on drops, unit hauls, and deliveries to forward locations. The rapid American response to the invasion allowed the South Vietnamese forces to defeat the invaders for the moment, by the terms of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, the cease-fire was to become effective in Vietnam the morning of 28 January 1973, Saigon time. American prisoners in North Vietnam were to be released and the last 23,700 American troops withdrawn from Vietnam within sixty days, planning for Operation Homecoming, the return of the Americans held by North Vietnam, was given to the Military Airlift Command. C-141s of the 63d Military Airlift Wing, stationed at Norton AFB, a second C-130 left Tan Son Nhut AB carrying members of the international commission to Hanoi oversee the repatriations. This C-130 arrived at Gia Lam Airport about one hour before the C-130 from CCK arrived, on the ground at Gia Lam the C-130 crew met the airport manager, and went indoors for tea offered by the North Vietnamese. The first of three C-141s flown in from Clark landed soon after and repatriation began, as the first returnee moved from the release desk, one of the C-130 flight engineers quickly moved to clear the way, leading the former prisoner by the arm
11.
61st Military Airlift Wing
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The 61st Air Base Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force, last stationed at Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California. The 61st was the host unit at Los Angeles Air Force Base, the wing is entitled to temporary bestowal of the history and honors stems of the 61st Troop Carrier Group. Its mission was to provide base operating support to Los Angeles Air Force Base customers, the wing was first activated as the 61st Troop Carrier Wing by the United States Air Forces in Europe in 1948 to control C-47 Skytrain and C-54 Skymaster units. The wing was the host organization at Rhein-Main Air Base, West Germany and it also operated Tempelhof Air Base, in Occupied Berlin until 5 November 1948 and Tulln Air Base in the American Occupation Zone of Austria until 10 December 1948. Its initial mission was to coordinate Berlin Airlift operations for USAFE in conjunction with units deployed from the United States, with the end of Berlin Airlift operations in 1949, flew theater airlift missions within USAFE and participated in numerous exercises. With the group deployed to Japan, the wing was inactivated in West Germany in June 1951 and it provided air transport and support functions for airlift operations in the entire Pacific Ocean area, Alaska to Antarctica, and the United States to Southeast Asia. Supported airlift, primarily in support of United States military forces in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, inactivated 1 April 1980 and is equipment and most personnel being reassigned to the 834th Airlift Division. On 1 August 2006, it was reactivated as the 61st Air Base Wing and it supported the Space and Missile Systems Center from 2006 to 2010, when it was inactivated and base support assigned to the 61st Air Base Group. Furthermore, the squadron was a consolidation of all the operations. Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History. United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978, a History and Memory of the 610th Military Airlift Support Squadron Los Angeles Air Force Base Home Page
12.
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
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The crisis started with the 823 Artillery Bombardment at 5,30 pm on August 23,1958, when the PRCs Peoples Liberation Army began an intense artillery bombardment against Quemoy. The ROC troops on Kinmen dug in and then returned fire, in the heavy exchange of fire, roughly 440 ROC soldiers and 460 PRC soldiers were killed. This conflict was a continuation of the First Taiwan Strait Crisis, the Nationalist Chinese had begun to build on the island of Kinmen and the nearby Matsu archipelago. During 1954, the PLA began firing artillery at both Kinmen and some of the nearby Matsu islands, the American Eisenhower Administration responded to the request for aid from the ROC according to its obligations in the mutual defense treaty that had been ratified in 1954. These missiles gave the Nationalist Chinese pilots a decisive edge over the Soviet-made MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters in the skies over the Matsu Islands, the ROC pilots used the Sidewinder missiles to score numerous kills on PLAAF MiG aircraft. The US Armys contribution was to reinforce the air defense capability of the ROC. A provisional Nike battalion was organized at Fort Bliss, TX, the 2nd Missile Battalion was augmented with detachments of signal, ordnance and engineers, totaling some 704 personnel. Recent research from the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration also indicates that the U. S. Air Force was prepared for nuclear warfare against the PRC. Twelve long-range 203 mm M115 howitzer artillery pieces and numerous 155 mm howitzers were transferred from the U. S. Marine Corps to the Army of the ROC and these were sent west to Kinmen Island to gain superiority in the artillery duel back and forth over the straits there. The impact of these artillery pieces led some members of the PLA to believe that American artillerymen had begun to use nuclear weapons against them. Soon, the Soviet Union dispatched its foreign minister, Andrei Gromyko, to Beijing to discuss the actions of the PLA and the Red Chinese Air Force, with advice of caution to the Red Chinese. On September 22,1958, the Sidewinder missile was used for the first time in combat as 32 Nationalist Chinese F-86s clashed with 100 Red Chinese MiGs in a series of aerial engagements. Numerous MiGs were shot down by Sidewinders, the first kills to be scored by air-to-air missiles in combat, soon, the PRC was faced with a stalemate, the PLAs artillerymen had run out of artillery shells. The Red Chinese government announced a large decrease in bombardment levels on October 6, afterwards, both sides continued to bombard each other with shells containing propaganda leaflets on alternate days of the week. This strange informal arrangement continued until the normalization of relations between the United States and the PRC in 1979. The timed shelling eventually created little damage and casualties, it was aimed at military compounds. It was also a way to expend expired ammunition and training new crews for the PRC in which eventually became a one way shelling from PRC to ROC. The spent shell casings and fragments have become a resource for steel for the local economy
13.
Taiwan Strait
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The Taiwan Strait, or Formosa Strait, is a 180 kilometres wide strait separating the island of Taiwan from mainland China. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north, the narrowest part is 130 km wide. The Taiwan Strait is the section of sea between the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan, much of mainland Chinas Fujian Province is west of the strait having the main islands of Kinmen, Xiamen, Pingtan and Matsu just off its coast. The Penghu or Pescadores Islands lie in the east of the strait, fishermen use the strait as a fishing resource. All of Fujians rivers run into the strait, except the Ting, taiwans government administers Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. The strait is on the shelf, it is almost entirely less than 150 m deep. It hosts major shipping lanes including over a bank, around 25 m in depth, a theoretical median maritime border known as the cross-strait median also exists on the water to prevent certain transportation from passing. As part of the Peoples Republic of Chinas National Expressway Plan, if such an extreme construction were ever built, it would by far exceed the length of any man-made tunnel in the world today. Engineers in Beijing state that a tunnel is technically feasible, a War Like No Other, The Truth About Chinas Challenge to America. ISBN 0-471-98677-1 Bush, R. Untying the Knot, Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait, ISBN 0-8157-1290-1 Carpenter, T. Americas Coming War with China, A Collision Course over Taiwan. ISBN 0-415-36581-3 Copper, J. Playing with Fire, The Looming War with China over Taiwan, ISBN 0-275-98888-0 Federation of American Scientists et al. Rising Star, Chinas New Security Diplomacy, ISBN 0-8157-3146-9 Shirk, S. China, Fragile Superpower, How Chinas Internal Politics Could Derail Its Peaceful Rise. If China Attacks Taiwan, Military Strategy, Politics and Economics, the Taiwan Strait, From Civil War to Status Quo. The Taiwan Strait, From Civil War to Status Quo Thies, Wallace J. Bratton, when Governments Collide in the Taiwan Strait
14.
Tactical Air Command
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Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 1 June 1992 and its personnel and equipment absorbed by Air Combat Command. Tactical Air Command was established to provide a balance between strategic, air defense, and tactical forces of the post–World War II U. S. Army Air Forces followed by, in 1947, the U. S. Air Force. In 1948, the Continental Air Command assumed control over air defense, tactical air, after two years in a subordinate role, Tactical Air Command was established as a major command. World War II showed the effectiveness of air power in supporting army ground forces. However, the demobilization in late 1945 meant that the huge air armada that had brought Germany to her knees. Following the end of World War II, Headquarters United States Army Air Forces had little funding and most wartime personnel had been released from active duty and returned to civilian life. Many USAAF aircraft were being sent to storage or scrapyards, although the tension with the Soviet Union meant that combat military air forces were still needed. The big questions were how large and what kind of forces, a major realignment of the USAAF was undertaken in early 1946. As part of the realignment, three major divisions within the Continental United States were formed, Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command. Each was given a specific responsibility, using assets prescribed to accomplish the assigned mission, Tactical Air Command was formed to command, organize, equip, train and administer assigned or attached forces. It was to plan for and participate in tactics for fighter, light bombardment and these included tactical fighters, tactical bombers, tactical missiles, troop carrier aircraft, assault, reconnaissance, and support units. TAC also planned for and developed the capability to deploy tactical striking forces anywhere in the world, during its existence, Tactical Air Command deployed personnel, material and/or aircraft to Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia in support of its prescribed mission. TACs original authorization was 25,500 officers and enlisted men, aircraft assets available consisted of propeller-driven North American P-51 Mustangs, Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and a handful of the new jet-powered Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars. TAC was also given control of the Third Air Force, Ninth Air Force, on 18 September 1947, the United States Air Force was established as a separate military force, with TAC as one of its major commands. At the time, there was only one U. S. Air Forces in Europe tactical air unit available in Europe, TAC was called upon to send additional units and aircraft to Europe to reinforce the 86 FG. The 36th Fighter Group, flying Lockheed F-80B Shooting Stars, was transferred from Howard AFB in the Panama Canal Zone to Furstenfeldbruck Air Base near Munich. In addition to fighter aircraft, TAC also deployed available C-47 Skytrain transports to Europe, transferring them to USAFE
15.
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
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The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, supersonic interceptor aircraft which later became widely used as an attack aircraft. It was originally developed by Lockheed for the United States Air Force, but became used by US Allies around the world. One of the Century Series of fighter aircraft, it was operated by the air forces of more than a dozen nations from 1958 to 2004. Its design team was led by Kelly Johnson, who went on to lead or contribute to the development of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the F-104 set numerous world records, including both airspeed and altitude records. The poor safety record of the Starfighter also brought the aircraft into the public eye, Fighter ace Erich Hartmann was forced to retire from the Luftwaffe due to his outspoken opposition to selection of the F-104. The ultimate production version of the model was the F-104S, an all-weather interceptor designed by Aeritalia for the Italian Air Force. An advanced F-104 with a wing, known as the CL-1200 Lancer, was considered. In 2018 a privately owned Starfighter is scheduled to launch a group of small cubesat satellites into low orbit by carrying the rocket aloft. Clarence Kelly Johnson, the engineer at Lockheeds Skunk Works, visited Korea in December 1951. At the time, the U. S. pilots were confronting the MiG-15 with North American F-86 Sabres, the pilots requested a small and simple aircraft with excellent performance. Armed with this information, Johnson immediately started the design of such an aircraft on his return to the United States. In March, his team was assembled, they studied several designs, ranging from small designs at 8,000 lb. The engine chosen was the new General Electric J79, an engine of dramatically improved performance in comparison with contemporary designs, the small L-246 design powered by a single J79 remained essentially identical to the L-083 Starfighter as eventually delivered. The design was presented to the Air Force in November 1952, although all were interesting, Lockheed had an insurmountable lead, and was granted a development contract in March 1953 for two prototypes, these were given the designation XF-104. Work progressed quickly, with a ready for inspection at the end of April. Meanwhile, the J79 engine was not ready, both prototypes were designed to use the Wright J65 engine, a licensed-built version of the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire. The first prototype was completed by early 1954 and first flew on 4 March at Edwards AFB, the total time from contract to first flight was less than a year. When the USAF revealed the existence of the XF-104, they gave a vague description of it
16.
Eniwetok Proving Ground
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Enewetak Atoll is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 850 people forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. With a land area less than 5.85 square kilometres, its not higher than 5 metres. It is the second-westernmost atoll of the Ralik Chain and is 305 kilometres west from Bikini Atoll. Nuclear testing by the US totaling more than 30 megatons of TNT took place during the war, in 1977–1980. The Runit Dome is deteriorating and could be breached by a typhoon, the U. S. government referred to the atoll as Eniwetok until 1974, when it changed its official spelling to Enewetak. Enewetak Atoll formed atop a seamount, the seamount was formed in the late Cretaceous. This seamount is now about 4,600 feet below sea level and it is made of basalt, and its depth is due to a general subsidence of the entire region and not because of erosion. Enewetak has an elevation above sea level of 10 feet. Humans have inhabited the atoll since about 1,000 B. C, the first European visitor to Enewetak, Spanish explorer Alvaro de Saavedra, arrived on 10 October 1529. He called the island Los Jardines, in 1794 sailors aboard the British merchant sloop Walpole called the islands Browns Range. It was visited by about a dozen ships before the establishment of the German colony of the Marshall Islands in 1885. With the rest of the Marshalls, Enewetak was captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1914 during World War I, the Japanese administered the island under the South Pacific Mandate, but mostly left affairs in hands of traditional local leaders until the start of World War II. The 1st Amphibious arrived on January 4,1944, combat also occurred on the main islet of Enewetak itself and on Parry Island, site of a Japanese seaplane base. Following its capture, the anchorage at Enewetak became a forward base for the U. S. Navy. The daily average of ships present during the first half of July 1944 was 488, woods, who executed the Nazi war criminals convicted at the Nuremberg Trials, was accidentally electrocuted here. Following the end of World War II, Enewetak came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986. During its tenure, the United States evacuated the local residents many times, the atoll was used for nuclear testing as part of the Pacific Proving Grounds. Before testing commenced, the U. S. exhumed the bodies of United States servicemen killed in the Battle of Enewetak, forty-three nuclear tests were fired at Enewetak from 1948 to 1958
17.
Clark Air Base
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Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U. S. Air Force under the aegis of Pacific Air Forces, the base covered 14.3 square miles with a military reservation extending north that covered another 230 square miles. The base was a stronghold of the combined Filipino and American forces during the months of World War II. Following the departure of American forces in 1991, the base became the site of Clark International Airport, the Clark Freeport Zone. In April 2016, an Air Contingent of USAF A-10s and HH-60s was deployed from U. S. air bases in Pyeongtaek, the air contingent builds upon previous deployments by U. S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft to Clark. Clark Air Base was originally established as Fort Stotsenburg in Sapang Bato, a portion of Fort Stotsenburg was officially set aside for the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps and named Clark Field in September 1919 after Harold M. Clark. Clark later served as a field for U. S. Army Air Corps medium bombers. It was very large for an air field of its day, however, most of them were destroyed on the ground during an air raid nine hours after the Pearl Harbor attack. The base was overrun by Japanese forces in early January 1942, Japanese aircraft flying out of Clark participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle of the Second World War. During the war, the Allied prisoners on the Bataan Death March passed by the gate of Clark Air Base as they followed the railway tracks north towards Camp ODonnell. Clark Air Base was recaptured by Americans in January 1945, after three months of fighting to liberate the Philippines. It was immediately returned to U. S. Army Air Forces control, Clark grew into a major American air base during the Cold War, serving as an important logistics hub during the Vietnam War. The base was closed by the United States in the early 1990s due to the refusal by the then- Philippine government to renew the lease on the base. In November 1991, the United States Air Force lowered the U. S. flag, with the United States militarys withdrawal from Clark, the base was systematically looted by the local population and was left abandoned for several years. It finally became the Clark Freeport Zone, the site of Clark International Airport and parts of it are owned and operated by the Philippine Air Force, retaining the same name. In June 2012, the Philippine government, under pressure from Chinese claims to their seas and it also hosted an interceptor squadron and a flight school, all of which flew a variety of other combat aircraft. Transient aircraft of many types, especially cargo jets, were common, fighter planes regularly visited to participate in aerial warfare exercises at Crow Valley about 30 miles to the northwest. In November 1973, headquarters for the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing was transferred to Clark Air Base, with this move came two squadrons of C-130E transport aircraft, the 21st Tactical Airlift Squadron and the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron
18.
Philippines
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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. The Philippines has an area of 300,000 square kilometers, and it is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. As of 2013, approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas, multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelagos earliest inhabitants and they were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic nations occurred, then, various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization, in 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion, during this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution. It is a member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte, eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other such as Islas del Poniente. The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history, during the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the name Philippines began to appear, since the end of World War II, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines. The metatarsal of the Callao Man, reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago is the oldest human remnant found in the archipelago to date and this distinction previously belonged to the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 26,500 years ago. Negritos were also among the archipelagos earliest inhabitants, but their first settlement in the Philippines has not been reliably dated, there are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos
19.
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
20.
48th Air Transport Squadron
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The 48th Air Transport Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 1502d Air Transport Wing, Military Air Transport Service, stationed at Hickam Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 25 June 1965. The squadron was first organized during World War II as a squadron in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. That squadron was redesignated on 1 October 1948 to comply with the requirement that Table of Distribution units be numbered with four digits, upgraded to Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter and Douglas C-124 Globemaster II long distance intercontinental transports. Flew over MATS Pacific routes from Hawaii until inactivated in 1965 with the phaseout of the C-124, Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History
21.
49th Air Transport Squadron
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The 49th Air Transport Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was as part of the 1502d Air Transport Wing, Military Air Transport Service, stationed at Hickam Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 1 July 1955. Activated as a unit during World War II, it served in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations until disbanded in 1943 and replaced by Station 10, North African Wing. It deployed elements of the squadron to Tachikawa Air Base, Japan during 1951-1952, after the Korean War, it returned to normal peacetime operations. It was inactivated simultaneously with the host 1500th ATW in July 1955, mueller, Robert, Air Force Bases Volume I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History,1989
22.
50th Military Airlift Squadron
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The 50th Military Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 1502d Air Transport Wing, Military Air Transport Service, stationed at Hickam Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 8 January 1966. It flew routes between India and the West Coast of the United States, Alaska and Japan and it was reassigned to the 61st Military Airlift Wing in 1966 when its parent 1502d Air Transport Wing was inactivated. Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History. Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History. Ulanoff, Stanley M. MATS, The Story of the Military Air Transport Service, new York, NY, Franklin Watts, Inc
23.
Korean War
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The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, China came to the aid of North Korea, and the Soviet Union gave some assistance. Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the days of World War II. In August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, as a result of an agreement with the United States, U. S. forces subsequently moved into the south. By 1948, as a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea was split into two regions, with separate governments, both governments claimed to be the legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither side accepted the border as permanent. The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union, on that day, the United Nations Security Council recognized this North Korean act as invasion and called for an immediate ceasefire. On 27 June, the Security Council adopted S/RES/83, Complaint of aggression upon the Republic of Korea and decided the formation, twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing 88% of the UNs military personnel. After the first two months of war, South Korean forces were on the point of defeat, forced back to the Pusan Perimeter, in September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Inchon, and cut off many North Korean troops. Those who escaped envelopment and capture were rapidly forced back north all the way to the border with China at the Yalu River, at this point, in October 1950, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war. Chinese intervention triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951, after these reversals of fortune, which saw Seoul change hands four times, the last two years of fighting became a war of attrition, with the front line close to the 38th parallel. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate, North Korea was subject to a massive bombing campaign. Jet fighters confronted each other in combat for the first time in history. The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when an armistice was signed, the agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no treaty has been signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war. Periodic clashes, many of which are deadly, continue to the present, in the U. S. the war was initially described by President Harry S. Truman as a police action as it was an undeclared military action, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. In South Korea, the war is referred to as 625 or the 6–2–5 Upheaval. In North Korea, the war is referred to as the Fatherland Liberation War or alternatively the Chosǒn War. In China, the war is called the War to Resist U. S
24.
Kadena Air Base
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Kadena Air Base, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Kadena Air Base is home to the USAFs 18th Wing, the 353d Special Operations Group, reconnaissance units, 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery, over 20,000 American servicemembers, family members, and Japanese employees live or work aboard Kadena Air Base. The airfield, used by Imperial Japanese warplanes, was one of the first targets of the Tenth United States Army 7th Infantry Division, the United States seized it from the Japanese. What the Americans captured was a 4,600 feet strip of badly-damaged coral runway, Army engineers from the 13th Combat Engineer Battalion, 7th U. S. Infantry Division quickly made repairs and, by nightfall the same day, upon reassignment, its headquarters element absorbed the command staff of the inactivated XX Bomber Command. Kadena was used by the staff for administrative flying requirements. In the planned invasion of Japan, the mission of Eighth Air Force would be to conduct strategic bombing raids from Okinawa, however, the atomic bombings of Japan led to the Japanese surrender before Eighth Air Force saw action in the Pacific theater. The surrender of Japanese forces in the Ryukyu Islands came on 7 September, General Joseph Stilwell accepted the surrender in an area that would later become Kadenas Stearley Heights housing area. 317th Troop Carrier Group Assigned to Seventh Air Force in the Philippines, Deployed aircraft to Kadena and flew courier and passenger routes to Japan, Guam, Korea, and the Philippines, and transported freight and personnel in the area. 333d Bombardment Group Assigned to Eighth Air Force for planned invasion of Japan, Operations terminated before the group could enter combat. For a time after the war the group ferried Allied prisoners of war from Japan to the Philippine Islands, 346th Bombardment Group Assigned to Eighth Air Force for planned invasion of Japan. Operations terminated before the group could enter combat, after the war the group participated in several show-of-force missions over Japan and for a time ferried Allied prisoners of war from Okinawa to the Philippine Islands. 316th Bombardment Wing Assigned to Eighth Air Force for planned invasion of Japan, Operations terminated before the group could enter combat. Far East Air Forces January 1946, redesignated as 316th Composite Wing in January 1946, and 316th Bombardment Wing in May 1946. 413th Fighter Group Assigned to Eighth Air Force and served as a part of the air defense, on 7 June 1946, Headquarters Eighth Air Force moved without personnel or equipment to MacDill AAF, Florida. It was replaced by the 1st Air Division which directed fighter reconnaissance, twentieth Air Force became the command and control organization for Kadena on 16 May 1949. The Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a presence in Okinawa. On 15 February 1951, the US Naval Facility, Naha, was activated, Commander Fleet Activities, Ryukyus was commissioned on 8 March 1957
25.
Cam Rahn Bay
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Cam Ranh Bay is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in the province of Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, Cam Ranh is considered the finest deepwater shelter in Southeast Asia. The continental shelf of Southeast Asia is relatively narrow at Cam Ranh Bay, historically, the bay has been significant from a military standpoint. The French used it as a base for their forces in Indochina. In January 1945 U. S. Naval Task Force 38 destroyed most Japanese facilities in an action called Operation Gratitude, the United States Air Force operated a large cargo/airlift facility called Cam Ranh Air Base, which was also used as a tactical fighter base. It was one of three ports where United States military personnel entered or departed South Vietnam for their 12-month tour of duty. The United States Navy operated a port facility at Cam Ranh. The Navy flew various aircraft from Cam Ranh and other bases, the APO for Cam Ranh Air Base was APO San Francisco 96326. During the Vietnam War, the U. S. Army maintained the 6th Convalescent Center at Cam Ranh Bay enabling most wounded soldiers to be treated in country, only those who required advanced treatment not available in Vietnam got sent out of country. The wards were typical wooden US Army Vietnam-type barracks, some patients, based on the status of their injuries, were initially admitted to an Intensive Care ward. They were nothing like one would view as an Intensive Care ward in a regular hospital. They were the normal barracks type wards, but the patients were more closely monitored, when well enough, patients were moved to a regular ward, from which they were ultimately discharged when recovered enough to return to duty with their units. Country wide coordination also was enhanced with establishment of the Naval Communications Station, in the beginning the shore facilities at Cam Ranh Bay were extremely limited, requiring interim measures to support assigned naval forces. Army depots provided common supplies, while Seventh Fleet light cargo ships USS Mark, until mid-1966 when shore installations were prepared to take over the task, messing and quartering of personnel were handled by APL-55, anchored in the harbor. Also, a dock was installed to permit the repair of the coastal patrol vessels. While the concentration at Cam Ranh Bay of Market Time headquarters and forces during the summer of 1967, accordingly, the Naval Support Activity Saigon, Detachment Cam Ranh Bay, was redesignated the Naval Support Facility, Cam Ranh Bay, a more autonomous and self-sufficient status. A greater allocation of resources and support forces to the shore resulted in an improved ability to cope with the buildup of combat units. In time, the Cam Ranh Bay facility accomplished major vessel repair, seabee Maintenance unit 302 provided public works assistance to the many dispersed Naval Support Activity, Saigon detachments
26.
Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter
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The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter is a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the B-29 and B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, with the prototypes first flight being on 9 November 1944, between 1947 and 1958,888 C-97s in several versions were built,811 being KC-97 tankers. C-97s served in the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, some aircraft served as flying command posts for the Strategic Air Command, while others were modified for use in Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadrons. It was built before the death of Boeing president Philip G. Johnson and it can be easily distinguished from the 377 Stratocruiser by the beak radome beneath the nose and by the flying boom and jet engines on later tanker models. The prototype XC-97 was powered by the 2,200 hp Wright R-3350 engine, the XC-97 took off for its first flight on November 9,1944. The tenth and all subsequent aircraft were fitted with the taller fin, the C-97 had clamshell doors under its tail, so that a retractable ramp could be used to drive in cargo. However, unlike the later Lockheed C-130 Hercules, it was not designed as a transport which could deliver directly to primitive forward bases using relatively short takeoffs. The rear ramp could not be used in flight for air drops, production models featured the 3,500 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major engine, the same engine as for the B-50. The C-97 had a payload of 35,000 lb. The C-97 was also the first mass-produced air transport to feature cabin pressurization, the civilian derivative of the C-97 was the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, a very luxurious transoceanic airliner which featured a lower deck lounge and could be fitted with sleeper cabins. The first Stratocruiser flew on July 8,1947, One YC-97A was used in the Berlin Airlift during April 1949 operating for the 1st Strategic Support Squadron. It suffered a landing accident at Rhein Main Air Base and by the time it was repaired. C-97s evacuated casualties during the Korean War, C-97s also participated in the Biafran airlift, delivering relief materials to Uli airstrip in Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War. Flying under the cover of darkness and at treetop level to evade radar, the USAF Strategic Air Command operated C-97 Stratofreighters from 1949–1978. Early in its life, it served as an airborne alternative SAC command post. While only 77 C-97 transports were built,811 were built as KC-97 Stratofreighters for inflight refueling, many KC-97s were later refitted as C-97G transports and equipped several squadrons of the US Air National Guard. Two C-97s are still airworthy at the present day, one operated as a privately owned warbird, the Israelis turned to Stratocruisers and KC-97s when they could not buy the highly regarded C-130. They adapted Boeing 377 Stratocruiser airliners into transports, including many using C-97 tail sections including the loading ramp, others were adapted with swiveling tails and refueling pods
27.
Convair C-131 Samaritan
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The Convair C-131 Samaritan was an American twin-engined military transport produced from 1954 to 1956 by Convair. It was the version of the Convair CV-240 family of airliners. The design began life in a requirement by American Airlines for a pressurized airliner to replace the classic Douglas DC-3. Convairs original design had two engines and 40 seats, and thus it was designated the CV-240, the first CV-240 flew on March 16,1947, and production aircraft were first delivered to American on February 28,1948. Seventy-five were delivered to American, with another fifty going to Western Airlines, Continental Airlines, Pan American Airways, KLM, Sabena, Swissair, the CV-240/340/440 series was used by the United States Air Force for medical evacuation and VIP transport and was designated as C-131 Samaritan. The first model Samaritan, the C-131A, was derived from the CV-240 model, first deliveries to the USAF were made in 1950 followed by large production quantities until early 1955. The USAF and the USN operated T-29s in separate units at separate locations until 1976, in 1974, the USAF T-29s with the 323d Flying Training Wing at Mather AFB, California began to be replaced by the Boeing 737-derived T-43. A planned bomber training version of the T-29 was never built, the CV-340 model was used for most C-131Ds. In addition to T-29 variants, the United States Navy used the Samaritan, initially designated as the R4Y until 1962, at which point the naval aircraft were also redesignated as C-131s. The C-131 was primarily replaced by the C-9 Nightingale in regular USAF service, with the Air National Guard replacing their OSA with C-130 Hercules aircraft and the Navy with C-12 Hurons. In 1959, a C-131 was the first aircraft to be used as a reduced-gravity aircraft or vomit comet, a Samaritan was the first aircraft used as a flying gunship testbed in mid-1963, in a program known as Project Tailchaser. A C-131B was given a gunsight for the window. Eventually the C-131 was ferried to Eglin AFB in Florida and a General Electric SUU-11A/A7.62 mm Gatling-style Minigun was installed, live ammunition was used and both over-water and overland tests were successful. On 20 March 1956 a T-29B was destroyed near Dobbins AFB, Georgia, while en route from Harlingen Air Force Base, Texas, to Idlewild Airport in New York, killing 2, Capt Cecil Bryant and 1/Lt. It was the first fatal accident involving Harlingen personnel since the base was re-activated, on 17 December 1960, a C-131D Samaritan crashed at Munich in what is the largest loss of life in an accident in the Bavarian capital. Shortly after takeoff one engine failed and the pilot tried to get back to Riem in heavy fog over Munich. Due to the limited visibility the aircraft struck the tip of St. Pauls church close to the Theresienwiese, and crashed onto a streetcar, killing all 20 people on board the plane, and 32 on the tram. On 4 May 1970, a T-29 en route from Hamilton AFB, Novato, California, to Fairchild AFB, Washington, crashed on take-off in remote Sonoma County, killing 13 of 14 aboard
28.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.