1.
Lockheed F-94 Starfire
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The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet aircraft of the United States Air Force. It was developed from the twin-seat Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star in the late 1940s as an all-weather, the aircraft reached operational service in May 1950 with Air Defense Command, replacing the piston-engined North American F-82 Twin Mustang in the all-weather interceptor role. The F-94 was the first operational USAF fighter equipped with an afterburner and was the first jet-powered all-weather fighter to combat during the Korean War in January 1953. It had a brief operational life, being replaced in the mid-1950s by the Northrop F-89 Scorpion. The last aircraft left active-duty service in 1958 and Air National Guard service in 1959, the F-94 was derived from the TF-80C which was a two-seat trainer version of the F-80 Shooting Star. A lengthened nose area with guns, radar and automatic control system was added. Since the conversion seemed so simple, a contract was awarded to Lockheed in early 1949, the early test YF-94s used 75% of the parts used in the earlier F-80 and T-33As. The fire control system was the Hughes E-1, which incorporated an AN/APG-33 radar and this short-range radar system was useful only in the terminal phases of the interception. Most of the operation would be directed using ground-controlled interception, as was the case with the aircraft it replaced. The combination reduced the fuel capacity. The F-94 was to be the first US production jet with an afterburner, the J33-A-33 had standard thrust of 4,000 pounds-force, and with water injection this was increased to 5,400 pounds-force and with afterburning a maximum of 6,000 pounds-force thrust. The YF-94As afterburner had many teething problems with its igniter and the stabilization system. The initial production model was the F-94A, which entered service in May 1950. Its armament was four 0.50 in M3 Browning machine guns mounted in the fuselage with the muzzles exiting just behind the radome, two 165 US Gallon drop tanks, as carried by the F-80 and T-33, could be carried beneath the wingtips. Alternatively, these could be replaced by 1,000 lb bombs, the F-94A was in operational service for only a brief time as it was originally built, and was not received well by its aircrews. Primarily, this was due to the unreliability of its J33 engine, the aircraft was judged as unstable and hard to maneuver at high altitude by its pilots. The pilot and radar operator found that the cockpit was too narrow for them to be able to get in and out of the aircraft quickly during alerts, the clearance for the ejection seats was too small, resulting in several tragic accidents during emergency ejections. The subsequent F-94B, which entered service in January 1951, was virtually identical to the F-94A
2.
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
3.
Interceptor aircraft
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An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent successful missions by enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. For daytime operations, conventional fighters normally fill the interceptor role, few aircraft can be considered dedicated daytime interceptors. Night fighters and bomber destroyers are, by definition, interceptors of the heavy type, examples of classic interceptors of this era include the F-106 Delta Dart, Sukhoi Su-15 and English Electric Lightning. Dedicated interceptor designs became rare, with the widely used examples designed after the 1960s being the Tornado F3, Mikoyan MiG-25 Foxbat. The first dedicated interceptor squadrons were formed up during World War I in order to defend London against attacks by Zeppelins, early units generally used aircraft withdrawn from front-line service, notably the Sopwith Pup. They were told about their targets prior to take-off from a centralized command center in the Horse Guards building. The Pup proved to have too low performance to intercept the Gotha G. IV bombers. Before Second World War started, offensive bomber speeds had improved so much that it appeared that the mission would be effectively impossible. The visual and acoustic detection had a range on the order of a few miles. This could be addressed by a cover of aircraft. The conclusion at the time was that the bomber will always get through, the introduction of radar upset this equation. Radar was able to detect aircraft at long range, on the order of 100 miles even for early systems and this provided enough time for fighters to start up, climb to altitude and chase down their targets. The introduction of jet power increased speeds from perhaps 200 miles per hour to 600 miles per hour in a single step, although radars also improved in performance, the gap between offense and defense was dramatically reduced. Large attacks could so confuse the defenses ability to communicate information to the pilots that the method of manual ground controlled interception was increasingly seen as inadequate. In the United States, this led to the introduction of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment to computerize this task. In the 1950s, during the Cold War, an interceptor force was crucial for the great powers. Hence for a period of time they faced rapid development. Thus, the doctrine of mutually assured destruction replaced the trend of defense strengthening and their utility waned as the role became blurred into the role of the heavy air superiority fighters dominant in military thinking at the time
4.
414th Fighter Group
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The 414th Fighter Group is an Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 944th Fighter Wing of Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, the group was first activated in the fall of 1944 as a long-range fighter unit. It moved to the Pacific Ocean Theater, where it saw limited combat as an element of Twentieth Air Force, the 414th was activated again in the summer of 1955 at Oxnard Air Force Base, California as part of the air defenses of the Pacific coast. It was the United States Air Force host organization at Oxnard and it flew various interceptor aircraft at Oxnard through 1969 when it was inactivated in a reduction of manned interceptors as the United States faced a reduced threat from Soviet bombers. The group was activated in its current role as a unit in 2010. The 414th Fighter Group was reactivated as an Air Force Reserve Command associate unit in July 2010, the group is an associate unit of the 4th Fighter Wing of Air Combat Command and if mobilized the wing is gained by ACC. Media related to 414th Fighter Group at Wikimedia Commons The 414th Fighter Group as activated on 15 October 1944 at Seymour Johnson Field, most of the pilots had been flying Curtiss P-40s at Harris Neck Army Air Field, Georgia. The group consisted of three squadrons, the 413th, 437th and 456th Fighter Squadrons, in November 1944 the group relocated to Selfridge Field, Michigan where they transitioned into long-range P-47N Thunderbolts. On 19 March 1945, the Group moved to Bluethenthal Field, an advance echelon left in May 1945 and the remainder of the group left for the Pacific on converted aircraft carriers. The first element left from the Pacific Coast in June on the USS Cape Esperance, with 49 planes for Iwo Jima, the USS Casablanca, with 60 planes departed on 7 July 1945 and arrived at Guam on 22 July 1945. On arrival in the Pacific, the 414th Group was assigned to the 301st Fighter Wing of VII Fighter Command, part of Twentieth Air Force. The air echelon that was based temporarily on Guam flew two missions from Harmon Field to Truk, one of the Caroline Islands, beginning on 13 July intending to attack Japanese planes, the group suffered its first combat loss on these missions. The portion of the group on Iwo Jima began operations with an attack against a radar station on Chichi Jima with guns and rockets on 29 July. Operations during August were directed primarily against enemy airfields in Japan but the group also strafed hangars, barracks, ammunition dumps, trains, marshalling yards and shipping. A raid on Okazaki was diverted due to visibility and the target, Nagoya Airfield, had no planes. Boeing B-29 Superfortress navigation pathfinders led the Thunderbolts to and from Japan, if the rendezvous with the pathfinder for the return journey was missed, it was a daunting prospect to find the way back to Iwo Jima 600 miles away. Lt. Robert Dunnavant, of the 437th Fighter Squadron, spent 8 hours and 45 minutes in the air in his Thunderbolt, rather than trying to land at North Field he landed at a small Navy airstrip on the islands coast because of his lack of fuel. On 12 August 1945, the portion of the group at Guam attempted to join the rest of the unit on Iwo Jima, two pilots, Roy Abbott, and George W. Caka, were lost on this flight due to the weather
5.
Victory in Europe Day
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It thus marked the end of World War II in Europe. The term VE Day existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory, on 30 April 1945, Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin. Germanys surrender, therefore, was authorised by his successor, Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz, the administration headed by Dönitz was known as the Flensburg Government. The act of surrender was signed on 7 May in Reims, France and on 8 May in Berlin. The former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries have historically celebrated the end of World War II on 9 May, however, the Baltic countries now commemorate VE day on 8 May. In Ukraine from 2015,8 May was designated as a day of Remembrance and Reconciliation, upon the defeat of Germany, celebrations erupted throughout the world. From Moscow to Los Angeles, people celebrated, in the United Kingdom, more than one million people celebrated in the streets to mark the end of the European part of the war. Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander incognito among the crowds, in the United States, the victory happened on President Harry Trumans 61st birthday. He dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, flags remained at half-staff for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period. Truman said of dedicating the victory to Roosevelts memory and keeping the flags at half-staff that his wish was that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day. Later that day, Truman said that the victory made it his most enjoyable birthday, massive celebrations also took place in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and especially in New Yorks Times Square. As the Soviet representative in Reims had no authority to sign the German instrument of surrender, the surrender ceremony was repeated in Berlin on 8 May, where the instrument of surrender was signed by supreme German military commander Wilhelm Keitel, by Georgy Zhukov and Allied representatives. East Germany as Tag der Befreiung, a holiday from 1950 to 1966. Between 1975 and 1990, as Tag des Sieges, France as Victoire 1945 Slovakia as Deň víťazstva nad fašizmom Czech Republic as Den vítězství or Den osvobození Poland as Narodowy Dzień Zwycięstwa – National Victory Day. Norway as Frigjøringsdagen Ukraine День памяті та примирення Ukraine День перемоги над нацизмом у Другій світовій війні — from 2015
6.
United States Army Air Forces
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Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff. S. Army to control its own installations and support personnel, the peak size of the AAF during the Second World War was over 2.4 million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft by 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943. By V-E Day, the Army Air Forces had 1.25 million men stationed overseas, in its expansion and conduct of the war, the AAF became more than just an arm of the greater organization. By the end of World War II, the Army Air Forces had become virtually an independent service and this contrast between theory and fact is. fundamental to an understanding of the AAF. Gen. Billy Mitchell that led to his later court-martial, a strategy stressing precision bombing of industrial targets by heavily armed, long-range bombers emerged, formulated by the men who would become its leaders. Since 1920, control of units had resided with commanders of the corps areas. Both were created in 1933 when a conflict with Cuba seemed possible following a coup détat. Activation of GHQ Air Force represented a compromise between strategic airpower advocates and ground force commanders who demanded that the Air Corps mission remain tied to that of the land forces. GHQ Air Force organized combat groups administratively into a force of three wings deployed to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts but was small in comparison to European air forces. Corps area commanders continued to control over airfields and administration of personnel. The expected activation of Army General Headquarters prompted Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to request a study from Chief of the Air Corps Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold resulting on 5 October 1940 in a proposal for creation of an air staff, unification of the air arm under one commander, and equality with the ground and supply forces. Marshall implemented a compromise that the Air Corps found entirely inadequate, naming Arnold as acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Air but rejecting all organizational points of his proposal. GHQ Air Force instead was assigned to the control of Army General Headquarters, although the latter was a training and not an operational component, when it was activated in November 1940. A division of the GHQ Air Force into four air defense districts on 19 October 1940 was concurrent with the creation of air forces to defend Hawaii. The air districts were converted in March 1941 into numbered air forces with an organization of 54 groups. Marshall had come to the view that the air forces needed a simpler system, Arnold and Marshall agreed that the AAF would enjoy a general autonomy within the War Department until the end of the war, while its commanders would cease lobbying for independence. Marshall, a proponent of airpower, left understood that the Air Force would likely achieve its independence following the war
7.
North American P-51 Mustang
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The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North American Aviation in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission, the Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force. Rather than build an old design from another company, North American Aviation proposed the design, the prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940,102 days after the contract was signed, and first flew on 26 October. The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine and it was first flown operationally by the RAF as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber. The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C model transformed the Mustangs performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, the P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian and Pacific theaters. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft, despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After the Korean War, Mustangs became popular civilian warbird and air racing aircraft, in April 1940 the British government established a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self. Self was given responsibility for Royal Air Force production and research and development, and also served with Sir Wilfrid Freeman. Self also sat on the British Air Council Sub-committee on Supply and one of his tasks was to organize the manufacturing and supply of American fighter aircraft for the RAF. At the time, the choice was limited, as no U. S. aircraft then in production or flying met European standards. The Curtiss-Wright plant was running at capacity, so P-40s were in short supply, North American Aviation was already supplying its Harvard trainer to the RAF, but was otherwise underutilized. NAA President Dutch Kindelberger approached Self to sell a new medium bomber, instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture the Tomahawk under license from Curtiss. Kindelberger said NAA could have an aircraft with the same engine in the air sooner than establishing a production line for the P-40. In March 1940,320 aircraft were ordered by Sir Wilfred Freeman who had become the head of the Ministry of Aircraft Production. The NA-73X, which was designed by a led by lead engineer Edgar Schmued, followed the best conventional practice of the era. One was a wing designed using laminar flow airfoils which were developed co-operatively by North American Aviation and these airfoils generated very low drag at high speeds. The results of this test showed the superiority of the wing designed with the NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils, the other feature was a new cooling arrangement that reduced the cooling drag. It was later discovered that, after lot of development, the assembly could take advantage of the Meredith Effect
8.
Beale Air Force Base
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Beale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 8 miles east of Marysville, California. The host unit at Beale is the 9th Reconnaissance Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command, the 9 RW collects intelligence essential for Presidential and Congressional decisions critical to the national defense. The wing also maintains a state of readiness in its combat support. The 940th Air Refueling Wing is a tenant Air Force Reserve Command wing at Beale AFB flying the KC-135 Stratotanker, Camp Beale became a United States Air Force installation on 1 April 1951 and was renamed Beale Air Force Base. Beale AFB is the home of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, which serves as the host wing for the base. The installation is located outside of Linda, about 10 miles east of the towns of Marysville and Yuba City, Beale is a large base in terms of land and has five gates providing access on all sides of the base. Visitors enter the base through a gate that local merchants, individuals. The base is home for approximately 4,000 military personnel, Beale Air Force Base covers nearly 23,000 acres of rolling hills in northern California. The bases natural resources are as rich as its significant cultural and historical heritage, Native Americans lived on this land, the mortar bowls they carved into the bedrock lie embedded in a shallow stream. To preserve these and other areas, the base proudly maintains 38 Native American sites,45 homestead sites. The 9th Reconnaissance Wing is composed of four groups at Beale AFB, 9th Operations Group Consists of multiple squadrons and detachments. 9th Maintenance Group Consists of the 9th Maintenance Operations Squadron, the 9th Maintenance Squadron, the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, the group is responsible for a $5.8 million annual budget. The group is also the Air Forces single focal point for providing mass ammunition production training, 9th Mission Support Group Provides trained combat support forces to theater commanders- in-chief worldwide. 9th Medical Group Consists of three squadrons, 9th Medical Operations, 9th Medical Support and 9th Physiological Support Squadrons and they provide for the medical needs of Beale AFB beneficiaries and support Beales high-altitude flyers in the U-2 aircraft. The Beale Clinic is located at 15301 Warren Shingle Road on a hillside near base housing. The clinics primary mission is to support the operational readiness. They provide comprehensive care, physiological and environmental support and promote health education. This outpatient clinic consists of both the 9th Medical Operations and 9th Medical Support Squadrons that provide primary care services with aerospace medicine, no inpatient or emergency services are available and minimal specialty services exist
9.
Dobbins Air Reserve Base
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Dobbins Air Reserve Base or Dobbins ARB is a United States Air Force reserve air base located in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb about 20 miles northwest of Atlanta. Originally known as Dobbins Air Force Base, it was named in honor of Captain Charles M. Dobbins and it is also home to the Army Aviation Service Facility #2 of the Georgia Army National Guard and their fleet of UH-60 Blackhawks. Dobbins is also home to Marine and Navy Reserve units, Dobbins ARB has two runways which it shares with the General Lucius D. Clay National Guard Center to its south. Runway 11/29 is the runway and is 10,000 feet long and 300 feet wide with directions 110 and 290 magnetic. The second runway, called a strip, is a 3500×60-foot runway referred to as 110-290. This air traffic environment takes place within the area of the busiest airport in the world and is as busy as many medium-sized commercial airports, originally intended by Cobb County, Georgia as an alternative airfield for Atlantas Candler Field, this airfield was constructed in 1941 as Rickenbacker Field. About 450 to 500 of these were built in preparation for any war against the United States - from the east or from the west. In 1940, the CAA offered to build a paved airport in Cobb County if the local governments provided the land. Due to the labor force for defense factories in this area. On October 24, the government of Cobb County announced the existence of this airport project, the Atlanta City Council also passed a resolution endorsing this project on January 2,1941. Since the Army Air Corps had recently taken part of Candler Field, the principal municipal airport for Atlanta. The CAA next allocated $400,000 for construction of two 4, 000-foot -long runways on the land, the W. L. Florence Company of Powder Springs, Georgia, the low bidder with a bid of $290,000, won the contract. This bid, well-below the estimated cost of $400,000, the construction began on 14 July 1941. In the next month, the Gulf Oil Corporation and Georgia Air Services agreed to lease the airport, once completed, in the same month, the U. S. Navy requested permission to use this airport for the flight training of Naval aviators. In October, Georgia Air Services signed a $70,000 contract for two 180x160-ft, although it was far from completion, the dedication of this airfield took place in October 1941 After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, work on this new airfield accelerated rapidly. In January 1942, Lawrence Dale Bell, the founder and president of the Bell Aircraft Company, meanwhile, the Department of the Navy announced its intention to take over the new airfield as an auxiliary naval air station. The Navy shortly began land-condemnation proceedings, the Department of War, in turn, announced that it would not contest the wish of the Department of the Navy to take over Rickenbacker Field, and that it would build its new factory elsewhere. The Cobb County government appealed to the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, since other options were available for flight training
United States
United States Air Force
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
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