1.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
United States Army Air Forces
–
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
3.
United States Air Force
–
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
4.
41st Tactical Group
–
The 41st Tactical Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 7217th Air Division at Cigli Air Base, Turkey, from 1966 to 1970 the group controlled deployed fighter squadrons. During World War II, the unit was a North American B-25 Mitchell unit serving with Seventh Air Force in the Pacific and it was inactivated in January 1946 at Manila, Philippines. A World War II medium bomber unit, the 41st was cited for heroism in action against the enemy Japanese forces during the Okinawa Campaign. Bearing the burden of land-based aircraft bombardment missions, the 41st Bombardment Group began the first sustained medium bombardment strikes against the islands of Japan. It established its facilities and operated its aircraft under the most hazardous field conditions, the 41st Bombardment Group was activated 15 January 1941 at March Field, California. Its components were the 46th, 47th, and 48th Bombardment Squadrons, attached to the 19th Bombardment Group for training, the 41st received a cadre of 4 officers and 120 enlisted men from the parent organization. During February the Group received additional personnel, and four months after activation it received its first aircraft, in June, two B-18s were assigned to each squadron. Meanwhile, on 14 May the Group moved to Tucson, where it grew to a third of its authorized strength. It was not until after it moved to the Muroc Bombing and Gunnery Range, California, four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, within a month, a large increment of pilots had arrived from flying school and 45 A-29s had been assigned to the Group. On 26 February, the 41st moved to Hammer Field, Fresno, in addition to training its pilots and ground crews, the Group also assisted in patrolling the coastal waters for enemy submarines. In May, the 46th Bombardment Squadron moved to Alameda, California, later in the same year the 48th moved to Alameda and continued its patrol work. Meanwhile, the composition of the Group had changed, the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron was assigned during March 1942. Headquarters Squadron was disbanded in July 1942, during the following year, in March 1943, the 46th was reassigned, and in October the 820th took its place in the Group. Thus the Group consisted of the 47th, 48th, 396th, by mid-1943 the military situation in the Pacific had changed considerably. The United States was no longer on the defensive, Units which had been employed to defend the west coast might now be diverted to the Pacific to press the attack against the enemy. A projected offensive against the Japanese in the Central Pacific required that the Seventh Air Force be augmented by one heavy, in order to fill one those requirements, the Army Air Force decided to place the 41st under the jurisdiction of the Seventh Air Force. The 41st Bombardment Group moved from California to Hawaii during October 1943, at Oahu Hawaii, the men of the 41st were briefed on how to live in the tropics
5.
Fort Lawton
–
Fort Lawton was a United States Army post located in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington overlooking Puget Sound. In 1973 a large majority of the property,534 acres of Fort Lawton, was given to the city of Seattle, both the Fort and the nearby residential neighborhood of Lawton Wood are named after Maj. Gen. Henry Ware Lawton. While Fort Lawton was a quiet outpost prior to World War II, it became the second largest port of embarkation of soldiers, the fort was included in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list. Fort Lawton officially closed on September 14,2011, in 1896, the Secretary of War selected what would later be Fort Lawton for construction of an artillery battery intended to defend Seattle and the south Puget Sound from naval attack. Local citizens and governments donated 703 acres land to the United States Army for the installation the next year. Fort Lawton was named after Maj. Gen. Henry Ware Lawton, a veteran of the American Civil War, the Indian Wars, and Spanish–American War campaigns, who was killed in action in the Philippines. The fort opened on February 9,1900 on a 1,100 acres site, in 1910, a design overhaul, to include housing for officers and enlisted men, was prepared by landscape architect John C. In 1938 during the Great Depression, the Army offered to sell Fort Lawton back to the city of Seattle for one dollar, but the city declined, citing maintenance concerns. During World War II, at least 20,000 troops at a time were stationed at Fort Lawton and it was the second-largest port of embarkation for US forces and material to the Pacific Theater during the war. The post was used as a prisoner-of-war camp, with more than 1,000 Germans imprisoned there. Approximately 5,000 Italians were passed through en route to Hawaii for imprisonment, on August 15,1944 an Italian POW, Guglielmo Olivotto, was found murdered at Fort Lawton after a night of rioting between Italian POWs and American soldiers. Twenty-eight African-American soldiers were later court-martialed, convicted of the crime and they and their families challenged the convictions, after an investigation, the convictions were set aside in 2007. On Memorial Day 1951, a grove of trees and monument honoring the war dead was dedicated near the post chapel, the Korean War brought a flurry of activity as troops headed to or returned from Korea were processed through Fort Lawton. In February 1953, the Fort Lawton Processing Center transferred half of its functions, returnees continued to process through Fort Lawton. The Army surplussed 534 acres in 1971, the property was transferred back to the city in 1972, and dedicated as Discovery Park in 1973. In 2005, the fort was included in the Base Realignment, Fort Lawtons family housing has been used by the U. S. Navy for Navy and Coast Guard personnel for almost 40 years. It is currently being vacated, with the officer and NCO housing scheduled to be sold to the public when the market improves. The Capehart Housing in the center of the park was vacated by December 2009 and demolished during the summer of 2010, a closing ceremony took place on February 25,2012
6.
Seventh Air Force
–
United States Air Forces Korea and USAFK redirect here. The Seventh Air Force is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces and it is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The commands mission is to plan and direct air component operations in the Republic of Korea and in the Northwest Pacific. It was assigned units engaging enemy forces in the Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, and in the last major battle of the Pacific War, the Battle of Okinawa. Returning to its role in Hawaii after the war,7 AF became the primary USAF command. 7 AF is commanded by Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Bergeson, the Vice Commander is Brig Gen Kyle W. Robinson Command Chief Master Sergeant is Anthony W. Johnson. Since then, both as U. S. Air Forces Korea, under the joint U. S and it develops the total air campaign and reinforcement plans for ROK defense and sustains mission readiness of 117 operational units and 8,300 U. S. Air Force personnel. It operates in conjunction with United States Pacific Command, United Nations Command, U. S. Forces, Korea/Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea. Airplanes assigned to the 6th Aero Squadron consisted of three Curtiss N-9 seaplanes which were single-engine biplanes carrying a crew of two and capable of a top speed of 70 miles an hour. The first inter-island flight occurred in February 1919 and by 1920 inter-island flights were used for training purposes. Early in 1920 the 4th Observation Squadron arrived at Ford Island, known by then as Luke Field, also by this time, Luke Field was used jointly by the aerial forces of the Army and Navy. The year 1920 marked an advance in aviation in the Islands. The first night flight over Oahu took place on 30 June 1920, also air power began to take its place in the Hawaiian Departments military maneuvers. The first detachment of twenty men started clearing land south of Schofield Barracks for Wheeler Field in February 1922 and this Field was named for Major Sheldon H. Wheeler, who had assumed command of Luke Field in 1920 and was killed in an air accident in 1921. By June 1923, Wheeler boasted six 112x200 foot hangars, three used for housing shops and three others for planes, plus four hangars used as warehouses, and oil tanks holding 50,000 gallons. Tents and huts housed the men, the First commander of Wheeler Field was Major George E. Stratemeyer, who by 1941 was a brigadier general and Acting Chief of the Army Air Corps. The first known reforesting by plane was accomplished for the Department of Agriculture by a plane from Wheeler in 1926, the first non-stop Hawaiian flight from Oakland, California to Wheeler Field was made in June 1927 by L. J. Maitland and A. F. Hegenberger. The famous Dole flight also took place in 1927, with Art Goebel and Lt. W. V. Davis, USN, during the period from 1917 to 1931, the military air component in Hawaii grew to seven tactical squadrons and two service squadrons
7.
Hawaii
–
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
8.
Tarawa
–
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, in the central Pacific Ocean. The atoll is best known by outsiders as the site of the Battle of Tarawa during World War II, Tarawa has a large lagoon,500 square kilometres total area, and a wide reef. Although naturally abundant in fish and shellfish of all kinds, marine resources are being strained by the large, drought is frequent, but in normal years rainfall is sufficient to maintain breadfruit, papaya and banana trees as well as coconut and pandanus. North Tarawa consists of a string of islets, with the most northern islet being Buariki, the islets are separated in places by wide channels that are best crossed at low tide. On South Tarawa, the construction of causeways has now created a strip of land from Betio in the West to Buota in the Northeast. The climate is pleasant from April to October, with predominant northeastern winds, from November to March, western gales bring rain and occasional cyclones. For example, the average is 3,000 mm in the north and 500 mm in the south of the Gilbert Islands. Most of these islands are in the dry belt of the oceanic climatic zone. Tarawa atoll has three subdivisions, Betio Town Council, on Betio Islet, Teinainano Urban Council, from Bairiki to Bonriki Eutan Tarawa Council. South Tarawa hosts the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, the House of Assembly is in Ambo, and the State House is in Bairiki. The offices of the ministries of the government range from Betio at the south-west extreme to Nawerewere. The settlements on Tarawa include, Marenanuka, Taborio, which has Immaculate Heart College, four resident diplomatic missions exist, the Embassies of Taiwan and Cuba and the High Commissions of Australia and New Zealand. In Kiribati mythology, Tarawa was the earth when the land, ocean, thus after calling the sky karawa and the ocean marawa, he called the piece of rock that Riiki had stood upon when he lifted up the sky as, Tarawa. Nareau then created the rest of the islands in Kiribati and also Samoa, people arrived on these islands thousands of years ago, and there have been migrations to and from Kiribati since antiquity. Evidence from a range of sources, including carbon dating and DNA analyses, the people of Kiribati are still excellent seafarers, capable of making ocean crossings in locally-made vessels using traditional navigation techniques. Thomas Gilbert, captain of the East India Company vessel Charlotte, was the first European to describe Tarawa and he named it Matthew Island, after the owner of his ship, the Charlotte. He named the lagoon, Charlotte Bay, Tarawa Post Office opened on 1 January 1911. Sir Arthur Grimble was an administrative officer based at Tarawa. and became Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert
9.
Central Pacific Area
–
Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz of the U. S. Navy headed the command throughout its existence. The vast majority of Allied forces in the theatre were from the U. S. Navy, U. S. Army, however units and/or personnel from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Fiji and other countries also saw active service. On 24 March 1942, the newly formed British and US Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive designating the Pacific theater an area of American strategic responsibility. On 30 March the US Joint Chiefs of Staff divided the Pacific theater into three areas, the Pacific Ocean Areas, the South West Pacific Area, and the Southeast Pacific Area. The JCS designated Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, US strategic bomber forces in the theatre were under the direct control of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. All land forces in Alaska and Canada remained under the control of the US Armys Western Defense Command, the Joint Chiefs further divided the Pacific Ocean Areas into the North, Central and South Pacific Areas. Nimitz designated subordinate commanders for the North and South Pacific Areas but retained the Central Pacific Area, including the Hawaiian Department, from 1942-1943, three Army infantry divisions and two Marine divisions fought in the POA. From 1944-1945, five Army infantry divisions and six Marine divisions served in the POA, among allied land force formations was the 3rd New Zealand Division, which fought in the Solomon Islands campaign during 1943-44. U. S. Army Air Forces operated in the POA under the Seventh, Thirteenth, Allied air forces included units of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. In the separate South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur assumed command, Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley Vice Adm. /Adm. William Halsey, Jr. Vice Adm. John H. Newton Vice Admiral William L. Calhoun Rear Adm. Robert A. Theobald Rear Adm. Thomas C, kinkaid Vice Adm. Frank J. Fletcher United States Navy in World War II Cressman, Robert J. The Official Chronology of the U. S. Navy in World War II, contemporary History Branch, Naval Historical Center. The War in the Pacific—Strategy and Command, The First Two Years, United States Army In World War II. Center Of Military History, United States Army, Nimitz, Chester W. Admiral, Steele, James M. Captain. Operational Archives, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington Navy Yard, United States Army In World War II. Washington, DC, Center Of Military History, United States Army, the Barrier and the Javelin, Japanese and Allied Pacific Strategies February to June 1942. The U. S. Army Campaigns of World War II, United States Army Center of Military History
10.
Marshall Islands
–
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line. Geographically, the country is part of the island group of Micronesia. The countrys population of 53,158 people is spread out over 29 coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The islands share maritime boundaries with the Federated States of Micronesia to the west, Wake Island to the north, Kiribati to the south-east, about 27,797 of the islanders live on Majuro, which contains the capital. Micronesian colonists gradually settled the Marshall Islands during the 2nd millennium BC, Islands in the archipelago were first explored by Europeans in the 1520s, with Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar sighting an atoll in August 1526. Other expeditions by Spanish and English ships followed, the islands derive their name from British explorer John Marshall, who visited in 1788. The islands were known by the inhabitants as jolet jen Anij. The European powers recognized Spanish sovereignty over the islands in 1874 and they had been part of the Spanish East Indies formally since 1528. Later, Spain sold the islands to the German Empire in 1884, in World War I the Empire of Japan occupied the Marshall Islands, which in 1919 the League of Nations combined with other former German territories to form the South Pacific Mandate. In World War II, the United States conquered the islands in the Gilbert, along with other Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands were then consolidated into the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands governed by the US. Self-government was achieved in 1979, and full sovereignty in 1986, Marshall Islands has been a United Nations member state since 1991. The country uses the United States dollar as its currency, the majority of the citizens of the Marshall Islands are of Marshallese descent, though there are small numbers of immigrants from the United States, China, Philippines, and other Pacific islands. The two official languages are Marshallese, which is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, and English, micronesians settled the Marshall Islands in the 2nd millennium BC, but there are no historical or oral records of that period. Over time, the Marshall Island people learned to navigate over long distances by canoe using traditional stick charts. Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar was the first European to see the islands in 1526, commanding the ship Santa Maria de la Victoria, on August 21, he sighted an island at 14°N that he named San Bartolome. On September 21,1529, Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón commanded the Spanish ship Florida and he stood off a group of islands from which local inhabitants hurled stones at his ship. These islands, which he named Los Pintados, may have been Ujelang, on October 1, he found another group of islands where he went ashore for eight days, exchanged gifts with the local inhabitants and took on water. These islands, which he named Los Jardines, may have been Enewetak or Bikini Atoll
11.
Enewetak Atoll
–
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
12.
Caroline Islands
–
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end. Historically, this area was also called Nuevas Filipinas or New Philippines as they were part of the Spanish East Indies, the Carolines span a distance of approximately 3540 kilometers, from Tobi, Palau at the westernmost point to Kosrae at the easternmost. The group consists of about 500 small coral islands, east of the Philippines, in the Pacific Ocean, most of the islands comprise low, flat coral atolls, but some rise high above sea level. Other significant populations include Filipinos and Japanese, the natives live mainly on horticulture and fishing, also supplementing their diet with many different varieties of bananas and taro, either of the swamp or purple varieties. On some islands housing continues to be built with materials including coconut thatch. The language spoken in commerce is English, but there are several indigenous languages and they traditionally believe in a Supreme Being and in a bad spirit, yet they have hardly any religious rites. Due to extensive work, Christianity is the primary religion practiced in this region of Micronesia. Master Micronesian Navigator Mau Piailug was from the Carolinian island of Satawal and he learned the traditional navigation techniques of the Weriyeng school. These techniques had been preserved while similar techniques had been forgotten partly due to the remoteness of the Carolinian Islands. In 1985 a study was made on the origin of the sidereal compass used in the Caroline Islands, different islands and island groups in the Carolines passed down unique and variant oral legends recounting the origins and early histories of their peoples. On Pohnpei, for example, pre-colonial history is divided into three eras, Mwehin Kawa or Mwehin Aramas, Mwehin Sau Deleur, and Mwehin Nahnmwarki, Pohnpeian legend recounts that the Saudeleur rulers, the first to bring government to Pohnpei, were of foreign origin. The Saudeleur centralized form of rule is characterized in Pohnpeian legend as becoming increasingly oppressive over several generations. Arbitrary and onerous demands, as well as a reputation for offending Pohnpeian deities, the Saudeleur Dynasty ended with the invasion of Isokelekel, another semi-mythical foreigner, who replaced the Saudeleur rule with the more decentralized nahnmwarki system in existence today. The Spanish explorers Toribio Alonso de Salazar and Diego de Saavedra arrived on August 22,1526, on 1 January 1528 the discoverer Álvaro de Saavedra took possession of the Uluti Islands on behalf of the King of Spain. Spanish explorers visited the archipelago in 1542,1543, and 1545, in 1565 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the first Governor-General of the Philippines, passed through. The name was extended to include the Palau Islands and the archipelagos which were named the Gilbert Islands, the occupation of the Caroline Islands had, as in most of the Spanish colonies, a marked religious character. A royal decree of October 19,1707 granted authorization for the sending of missionaries in several expeditions to the islands, one such expedition was made by Father Juan Antonio Cantova, who was killed
13.
Makin (islands)
–
Makin is the name of a chain of islands located in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. Makin is the northernmost of the Gilbert Islands, with a population of 1,798, Makin is located six km northeast of the northeastern corner of Butaritari atoll reef and 6.9 km from the Butaritari islet of Namoka. It is a linear feature,12.3 km long north-south, with five islets. The third largest, and southernmost islet, Onne, is also inhabitable and this string of islands is the northernmost feature of the Gilbert Islands, and the third most northerly in the island nation of Kiribati. Kiebu, the second largest islet, has a smaller, completely landlocked lagoon on its eastern side, with about 80 m in diameter. Since neighboring Butaritari was called Makin Atoll by the U. S. military, now that Butaritari has become the preferred name for that larger atoll, speakers tend to drop the qualifier for Makin. The Gilbert islands are sometimes regarded as the continuation of the Marshall Islands. The closest island of the Marshall Islands, Nadikdik Atoll, is 290 km NNW of Makin, Makin has a land area of 6.7 km² and a population of 1,798. Makin island consists of five small islets, of these, only Makin and Kiebu islands are permanently inhabited. The total population of Makin is 1,798, the climate is very similar to neighboring Butaritari atoll, with lush vegetation and high rainfall. Typical annual rainfall is about 4 m, compared with about 2 m on Tarawa Atoll and 1 m in the far south of Kiribati, rainfall on Makin is enhanced during an El Niño. Higher sea levels are resulting in saltwater intrusion to bwabwai or babai pits, at Kiebu islet, one communal bwabwai pit is located very close to a saltwater pond. When it rains the pond overflows causing damage to the bwabwai plants, more recently, the increasing incidence of unusually high tides has caused the intrusion of saltwater into the communal pit, resulting in salt contamination and damage of food crops. Makin, like other Kiribati islands, has a subsistence economy. Most houses are made from local materials, and most households rely on fish, coconut and fruit as the mainstay of their diet, though imported rice, sugar and tobacco are also seen as necessities. Makin is a producer of copra, but has few other economic activities apart from a limited number of Government. Many families receive remittances from relatives working on South Tarawa or overseas, there are different stories told as to the creation of Makin and the other islands in the Gilberts. An important legend in the culture of Makin is that spirits who lived in a tree in Samoa migrated northward carrying branches from the tree, Te Kaintikuaba and it was these spirits, together with Nareau the Wise who created the islands of Tungaru
14.
Okinawa Prefecture
–
The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller ones are mostly coral islands. The largest of the islands is Okinawa, the climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate in the north to tropical rainforest climate in the south. Precipitation is very high, and is affected by the rainy season, the islands beyond the Tokara Strait are characterized by their coral reefs. The Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama Islands have a native population collectively called the Ryukyuan people, the varied Ryukyuan languages are traditionally spoken on these islands, and the major islands have their own distinct languages. In modern times, the Japanese language is the language of the islands. The northern islands are called the Satsunan Islands, while the southern part of the chain are called the Ryukyu Islands in Japanese. Following are the grouping and names used by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard, the islands are listed from north to south where possible. Nansei Islands Satsunan Islands Ōsumi Islands with, Tanegashima, Yaku, Kuchinoerabu, Mageshima in the North-Eastern Group and they agreed on February 15,2010, to use Amami-guntō for the Amami Islands, prior to that, Amami-shotō had also been used. The English and Japanese uses of the term Ryukyu differ, in English, the term Ryukyu may apply to the entire chain of islands, while in Japanese Ryukyu usually refers only to the islands that were previously part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom after 1624. Nansei-shotō is the name for the whole island chain in Japanese. Japan has used the name on nautical charts since 1907, based on the Japanese charts, the international chart series uses Nansei Shoto. Nansei literally means southwest, the direction of the chain from mainland Japan. Some humanities scholars prefer the uncommon term Ryūkyū-ko for the island chain. In geology, however, the Ryukyu Arc includes subsurface structures such as the Okinawa Trough, the name of Ryūkyū is strongly associated with the Ryūkyū Kingdom, a kingdom that originated from the Okinawa Islands and subjected the Sakishima and Amami Islands. The name is considered outdated in Japanese although some entities of Okinawa still bear the name. In Japanese, the Ryukyu Islands cover only the Okinawa, Miyako, the northern half of the island chain is referred to as the Satsunan Islands in Japanese, as opposed to Northern Ryukyu Islands in English. Humanities scholars generally agree that the Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, there is, however, no good name for the group. The native population do not have their own name, since they do not recognize themselves as a group this size, Ryukyu is the principal candidate because it roughly corresponds to the maximum extent of the Ryūkyū Kingdom
15.
Kyushu
–
Kyushu is the third biggest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternative ancient names include Kyūkoku, Chinzei, and Tsukushi-no-shima, the historical regional name Saikaidō referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands. In the 8th century Taihō Code reforms, Dazaifu was established as an administrative term for the region. As of 2016, Kyushu has a population of 12,970,479, the island is mountainous, and Japans most active volcano, Mt Aso at 1,591 metres, is on Kyushu. There are many signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of hot springs. The most famous of these are in Beppu, on the east shore, the island is separated from Honshu by the Kanmon Straits. The name Kyūshū comes from the nine ancient provinces of Saikaidō situated on the island, Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Osumi, excepting Oita and Miyazaki cities, the eastern seaboard shows a general decline in population. Designated cities Fukuoka Kitakyushu Kumamoto Core cities Kagoshima Ōita Nagasaki Miyazaki Naha Kurume Parts of Kyushu have a climate, particularly Miyazaki. Major agricultural products are rice, tea, tobacco, sweet potatoes, the island is noted for various types of porcelain, including Arita, Imari, Satsuma, and Karatsu. Heavy industry is concentrated in the north around Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, and Oita and includes chemicals, automobiles, semiconductors, in 2010, the graduate employment rate in the region was the lowest nationwide, at 88. 9%. Besides the volcanic area of the south, there are significant mud hot springs in the part of the island, around Beppu. These springs are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile micro-organisms, the Kanmon Bridge also connects the island with Honshu. Railways on the island are operated by the Kyushu Railway Company, and Nishitetsu Railway
16.
China
–
China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
17.
Manila
–
Manila, officially City of Manila, is the capital of the Philippines. Founded on June 24,1571, by Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi and it is situated on the eastern shore of Manila Bay and is home to many landmarks, some of which date back to the 16th century. In 2012, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network listed Manila as a global city, the city proper is home to 1,780,148 people in 2015, forming the historic core of Metro Manila, the capital region of the Philippines. The metropolitan area, which includes the much larger Quezon City, Manila is also the most densely populated city proper in the world, with 41,515 people per square kilometer. The term Manila is commonly used to refer to either the whole area or the city proper. Manila is located on the shore of the Manila Bay on one of the finest harbors in the country. The city has six districts for the lower house of the Philippine Congress. Manila was once ruled by the Kingdom of Tondo before it became a province of the Majapahit Empire. During the Bruneian invasion of the Philippines, Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei captured Seludong and renamed it Maynilà, Maynilà became a vassal state of the Sultanate of Brunei, established to overpower Tondo. In 1571, conquistadors arrived from Mexico, across the Pacific Ocean, Spanish missionaries soon Christianized the city, incorporated Tondo and built some of the oldest churches in the country, including San Agustin Church. The conquistadors renamed the area Nuevo Reino de Castilla, Manila became the center of Spanish activity in the Far East and one end of the Manila–Acapulco galleon trade route linking Spanish America with Asia, one of the earliest examples of globalization. Because of its location on Pacific trade routes, Manila received the moniker Pearl of the Orient. Spanish rule of the Philippine archipelago lasted for more than three centuries, until 1898, order was usually quickly restored and the city returned to the business of trade. In the 19th century, Manila was one of the most modern cities in Asia, before the Spanish–American War, it saw the rise of the Philippine Revolution. After the war, the United States took control, switched the official language from Spanish to English, near the end of World War II, during the Battle of Manila, most of the city was flattened by intensive aerial bombardment by the United States Air Force. As a result, relatively little remains of Manilas prewar and colonial architecture, although there are ongoing projects, especially within the old walled city. Maynilà, the Filipino name for the city, originated from the word nilà, referring to a mangrove tree that grew on the delta of the Pasig River. The flowers were made into garlands that, according to folklore, were offered to statues on religious altars or in churches
18.
Philippines
–
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.
25th Antisubmarine Wing
–
The 25th Antisubmarine Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, based in New York City and it was the principal United States Army Air Forces Unit conducting anti-submarine warfare off the Atlantic Coast of the United States and Canada until it was disbanded on 15 October 1943. In 1985 the wing was reconstituted and redesignated the 525th Combat Crew Training Group, the 25th Antisubmarine Wing was activated in November 1942 to combat German U-Boats in the coastal waters of the United States. The wings tactical area of responsibility ranged from Labrador south along the Atlantic Coast to the Georgia/Florida border, the wing was disbanded on 15 October 1943 when its mission was transferred to United States Navy. Most of the components were transferred to Second Air Force where many of them became cadres for newly forming bombardment groups. In 1985 the wing was reconstituted as the 525th Combat Crew Training Group, notes This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/. Maurer, Maurer, ed. Air Force Combat Units of World War II, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History. Maurer, Maurer, ed. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History
20.
Charleston Air Force Base
–
Charleston Air Force Base is a United States military facility located in the City of North Charleston, South Carolina. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Forces 628th Air Base Wing and it is part of Joint Base Charleston, which combined Charleston Air Force Base with Naval Support Activity Charleston. The 437th Airlift Wing of the Air Mobility Command and the 315th Airlift Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command operate the C-17A Globemaster III from the base. The installation has also in the past maintained an alert site for rotational Air Combat Command, Charleston Air Force Base is home to the 628th Air Base Wing, the host wing for installation support. Additionally, they also provide expeditionary Airmen to combatant commanders in support of joint, the air base has four operational groups consisting of 21 squadrons and two wing staff directorates. It is augmented by a parallel, collocated Air Force Reserve Command associate wing, the 315th Airlift Wing, which shares the same C-17 aircraft with the 437 AW. In addition, the USAF Auxiliary / Civil Air Patrols Coastal Charleston Composite Squadron is also assigned to Charleston Field, utilizing the Charleston AFB Aero Club facility near the control tower. The history of Charleston Air Force Base began in 1919 when U. S. Army Colonel Herbert A. Dargue, then Chief of the Air Service, visited the area looking for a suitable landing field for aeroplanes. But it was Charles Lindberghs nonstop solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 1927 that heightened city officials interest to air operations in Charleston. In 1928, the City of Charleston rented land and began operating a simple airfield about twelve miles north of city limits, foreseeing a commercial future in air travel, the city formed the Charleston Aircraft Corporation to acquire the land for a municipal airport. In May 1931, the corporation purchased 432 acres for $25,000 from the South Carolina Mining and Manufacturing Company, later in the year, the city acquired the airport facility for $60,000 and immediately began improvements. During the 1930s, airport operations expanded to keep pace with advances in general and commercial aviation being experienced throughout the country, despite the Great Depression, the Federal Government stepped in to assist the city with modernizing the airport. In 1935, the Works Progress Administration literally poured $313,000 into the airport, workers paved one 3, 500-foot-long runway and constructed a second 3, 000-foot one. The project also improved upon the existing lighting system with up-to-date field lighting, given the continuing growth in passenger aviation, Pan American Airways selected Charleston Airport as its western terminus for trans-Atlantic flights. Although this plan never came to fruition, it contributed to a increase in traffic for the airport. As a result, the city purchased 300 more acres of surrounding the airport for $300,000 in 1937 to accommodate additional service buildings. In 1939, with world tensions heightening, the United States Army Air Corps began a buildup of troops, bases. As a result, Charleston acquired more land in 1940 for additional improvements that included construction of a hangar
21.
South Carolina
–
South Carolina /ˌsaʊθ kærəˈlaɪnə/ is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the south and west by Georgia across the Savannah River, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U. S. Constitution, doing so on May 23,1788. South Carolina became the first state to vote to secede from the Union on December 20,1860, after the American Civil War, it was readmitted into the United States on June 25,1868. South Carolina is the 40th most extensive and the 23rd most populous U. S. state and its GDP as of 2013 was $183.6 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3. 13%. The capital and largest city is Columbia with a 2013 population of 133,358, South Carolina is named in honor of King Charles I of England, under whose reign the English colony was first formed, with Carolus being Latin for Charles. There is evidence of activity in the area about 12000 years ago. Along the Savannah River were the Apalachee, Yuchi, and the Yamasee, further west were the Cherokee, and along the Catawba River, the Catawba. These tribes were village-dwellers, relying on agriculture as their food source. The Cherokee lived in wattle and daub houses made with wood and clay, about a dozen separate small tribes summered on the coast harvesting oysters and fish, and cultivating corn, peas and beans. Travelling inland as much as 50 miles mostly by canoe, they wintered on the plain, hunting deer and gathering nuts. The names of these survive in place names like Edisto Island, Kiawah Island. The Spanish were the first Europeans in the area, in 1521, founding San Miguel de Gualdape, established with 500 settlers, it was abandoned within a year by 150 survivors. In 1562 French settlers established a settlement at what is now the Charlesfort-Santa Elena archaeological site on Parris Island, three years later the Spanish built a fort on the same site, but withdrew following hostilities with the English navy. In 1629, King Charles I of England established the Province of Carolina an area covering what is now South and North Carolina, Georgia, in the 1670s, English planters from the Barbados established themselves near what is now Charleston. Settlers built rice plantations in the South Carolina Lowcountry, east of the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, settlers came from all over Europe. Plantation labor was done by African slaves who formed the majority of the population by 1720, another cash crop was the Indigo plant, a plant source of blue dye, developed by Eliza Lucas. Meanwhile, in Upstate South Carolina, west of the Fall Line, was settled by farmers and traders. Colonists overthrew the rule, seeing more direct representation
22.
Fresno Yosemite International Airport
–
Fresno Yosemite International Airport, formerly Fresno Air Terminal, is a joint civil-military public airport in eastern Fresno, in Fresno County, California. The airport covers 2,150 acres and has two runways and one helipad and it is the air transport center for the San Joaquin Valley, with flights to several airline hubs in the western United States. International flights to Mexico are available through Aeroméxico and Volaris and it is also home to Fresno Air National Guard Base and the 144th Fighter Wing of the California Air National Guard. The airfield opened in June 1942, during World War II the airfield was known as Hammer Field and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Fourth Air Force. Hammer Field was a base and had three sub-bases and two gunnery ranges. Today the California Air National Guard 144th Fighter Wing occupies two parcels of land at the airport—the main base area and the Munitions Storage Area. These areas of the airport are known as the Fresno Air National Guard Base and this military unit currently operates F-15 Eagle jet fighters, and previously operated F-16C Fighting Falcon and F-4D Phantom jet interceptor aircraft. Trans World Airlines and United Airlines flights to San Francisco/Oakland and Los Angeles moved from Chandler Field to Fresno Air Terminal in 1947, in 1988 the FAA designated the airport an International Point of Entry, allowing international flights. In 1996 the airports name was changed to attract out-of-state and international visitors to Yosemite National Park, since its opening, the airport has gone through multiple renovations and expansions. In 2002, a new two-level concourse building designed by DMJM Aviation was completed, Fresno has been the headquarters for at least three airlines. In the mid 1990s Air 21 flew Fokker F28 Fellowship jets to destinations including nonstop to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and San Francisco. Allegiant Air also called Fresno home but then moved its headquarters to Las Vegas, in 2000, Allegiant was operating McDonnell Douglas DC-9 jet service nonstop to Las Vegas and Long Beach. United Airlines was a player at the airport for many years, operating Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200, Boeing 737-200, Boeing 737-300. United even flew stretched Douglas Super DC-8 series 61 flights to Denver, San Francisco, with over 200 seats these DC-8-61s were the largest airliners ever scheduled into Fresno. In the 1990s there was a shift to smaller regional jet and turboprop aircraft, however, mainline jet aircraft currently serving Fresno include Boeing 737-800 service nonstop to Dallas/Fort Worth operated by American Airlines. Allegiant Air flies McDonnell Douglas MD80s nonstop to Las Vegas and Phoenix/Mesa and was also operating Boeing 757-200 nonstops to Honolulu before ceasing service to Hawaii from the airport, Aeroméxico flies Boeing 737s while Volaris operates Airbus A319s with both airlines flying nonstop to Guadalajara, Mexico. Delta Air Lines had announced new flights to Fresno from Atlanta, however, the current version of Frontier Airlines was flying nonstop Airbus A319 service to Denver three days a week but has since abandoned this service. Direct international service from Fresno ended when Mexicana ceased operations in August 2010 to Guadalajara International Airport, however, international flights returned when Volaris and Aeroméxico restored service between Fresno and Guadalajara in April 2011
23.
California
–
California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
24.
Hickam Air Force Base
–
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
25.
Hawkins Field (Tarawa)
–
Hawkins Field is a former World War II airfield on Betio, Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands of the Central Pacific. The airfield was named in honor of USMC 1st Lt. William Dean Hawkins who was killed in the battle to recapture Tarawa, the airfield was built by the Japanese in 1943. There was a turnaround at the end of the runway. The Japanese had Zeros, Vals, Nells and Bettys operating from this base, during the Battle of Tarawa, United States Marines seized the airfield as a target of the operation, to enable USAAF land-based air operations against the Japanese in the Marshall Islands. After the battle, US Navy Seebees bulldozed all the debris off the airfield and extended the right to the western end. Initially the USAAF moved the 41st Bombardment Group to Hawkins which operated four squadrons of B-25 Mitchell medium bombers from the airfield starting in December. In January 1944, Hawkins became the headquarters of the United States Army Air Forces VII Bomber Command, by late January, the USAAF moved both groups over to Bonriki and Hawkins was then used by Naval fighters, light aircraft and as an emergency landing airfield for Mullinix. As the battles moved further towards Japan, the airfield was abandoned and after the war, today, the roads on the island reflect the outlines of the airfield and supporting roads of the wartime facilities. USAAF in the Central Pacific This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History
26.
Gilbert Islands
–
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean about halfway between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii. They form the part of Kiribati. The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands are arranged in an approximate north-to-south line, as the crow flies it is approximately 420 nautical miles between the northernmost island, Makin, and the southernmost, Arorae. In a geographical sense, the equator serves as the line between the northern Gilbert Islands and the southern Gilbert Islands. The International Hydrographic Organization considers the Gilberts wholly within the South Pacific Ocean, another method of grouping the Gilbert Islands is by former administrative districts, the Northern, Central, and Southern Gilberts. A group of the southern Gilberts is called the Kingsmill Group, the Gilberts form a continuous chain of seamounts with the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands to the north. In official north-south order, the islands and atolls are, The Northern Gilberts geographically and traditionally encompass Butaritari, Makin, Marakei, Abaiang and they have unique tonal accents with differences particularly noted amongst Butaritari and Makin inhabitants. Traditionally, Butaritari and Makin were ruled by a chief who lived on Butaritari Island, the northern Gilberts have a greater mean rainfall in comparison to the southern and central Gilberts allowing cultivation of a wider crop range. Butaritari and Makin supply most of the bananas sold in Kiribati, the cultivation of taro or babai has been historically easier in the northern Gilberts due to a higher water table and regular rainfall. The Central Gilberts or nuka have traditionally included Maiana, Abemama, Kuria, however, the latter three are considered the main islands that have unique historical and cultural characteristics which distinguish the Central Gilberts from the north and south. Tembinok, the last king of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka died in the part of the 20th century. The Southern Gilberts include the atolls of Nonouti, South and North Tabiteuea, Beru, Nikunau, Onotoa, Tamana, the islands had been inhabited by Micronesians for several millennia. In 1606 Pedro Fernandes de Queirós sighted Butaritari and Makin, which he named the Buen Viaje Islands, Captain John Byron passed through the islands in 1764 during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of HMS Dolphin. French captain Louis Duperrey was the first to map the whole Gilbert Islands archipelago and he commanded La Coquille on its circumnavigation of the earth. Two ships of the United States Exploring Expedition, USS Peacock and USS Flying Fish, under the command of Captain Hudson, while in the Gilberts, they devoted considerable time to mapping and charting reefs and anchorages. A British protectorate was first proclaimed over the Gilberts by Captain Davis of HMS Royalist on 27 May 1892, British official Arthur Mahaffy visited the Islands in 1909. He noted that the villages are kept in order and the roads are scrupulously clean. A hospital was on island, as well
27.
Butaritari Atoll Airport
–
Butaritari Atoll Airport is an airport on Butaritari in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. Butaritari Atoll Airport was built in Kiribati during World War II by the United States after seizing the island from the Japanese, construction lasted approximately one month, from November 20 to mid-December, of 1943. During the war, the airport was known as Makin Airfield, Butaritari Airfield, Antakana Airfield, the airfield was the base of operations for the United States Army Air Forces Seventh Air Force 41st Bombardment Group which flew four squadrons of B-25 Mitchell medium bombers. Missions from the airfield were flown against Japanese shipping, bypassing islands in the Marshalls, in addition to the 41st, the 43d Fighter Squadron flew P-39 Airacobras and the 531st Bomb Squadron flew A-24 Dauntless light attack aircraft from the airfield in late 1943 and early 1944. The Americans pulled out at the end of 1944, abandoning the airfield, after the war, the airfield was turned into a commercial airport. USAAF in the Central Pacific This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History, Maurer, Maurer, ed. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History
28.
Wheeler Army Airfield
–
It is a National Historic Landmark for its role in the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Two canvas hangars were erected and the field cleared of weeds, guava, thus Wheeler Field got its modest start. It was named Wheeler Field on 11 November 1922 in honor of Major Sheldon H. Wheeler, former commander of Luke Field on Ford Island, killed in the crash of DH-4B, No.63525 on 13 July 1921. In June 1923,13 months after the designation of the new flying field, shop hangars, airplane hangars, in 1927, one of the wooden shop hangars was remodeled to provide space for a barracks and a mess hall incident to the formation of a pursuit group. It was not until 1930 that any permanent construction was started, many different units were originally stationed at Wheeler Field. The first units of the Schofield Barracks divisional airdrome were the 4th Observation Squadron, Photo Section No.11, in October 1922, the photo section and intelligence units were returned to Luke Field. The following May, the 17th Composite Group was organized at Wheeler and it consisted of a Headquarters Squadron, the 19th Pursuit Squadron and the 4th Observation Squadron. These units operated from the field until January 1924, when the 17th Group was rendered inactive, three years later, the foundation for the present 18th Pursuit Group was laid and the 6th and 19th Pursuit Squadrons were transferred from Luke Field. More squadrons were added to the 18th Pursuit Group and Bellows Field was opened as an aerial gunnery camp for the use of tactical organizations. The 15th Pursuit Group was formed next and was made a permanent part of the airdrome, hand in hand with this move came the formation of the 14th Pursuit Wing. S. to Australia in 1928, and the first Hawaii-to-Mainland solo flight in 1935 by Amelia Earhart. Ms. Earhart visited Wheeler Field in 1935 in her Lockheed Vega, kingsford Smith, in his plane, the Southern Cross, also used the airfield on his historic flights across the Pacific. By 1940, Wheeler Field had evolved into a base for Army Air Corps pursuit aircraft such as the P-40 Warhawk. Wheeler Army Airfield was a target and site of the first attack on 7 December 1941. The Japanese attacked the airfield to prevent the numerous planes there from getting airborne, 2nd Lieutenant Phil Rasmussen found an old, unscathed Curtiss P-36 Hawk and taxied it to a revetment where he had it loaded with ammunition. During a lull in the bombing, he took off three other pilots. Lieutenant Rasmussen managed to shoot down a Mitsubishi A6M Zero and the American pilots subsequently engaged 11 Japanese aircraft, the installation has a National Historic Landmark District in association with the attack on 7 December 1941. The 1941 Flightline, hangars and barracks survive today, casualties at Wheeler totaled 33 killed and 75 wounded. Of the 233 aircraft assigned to the Hawaiian Air Force,146 were in commission before the attack, afterward, only 83 were in commission and 76 had been totally destroyed
29.
Yontan Airfield
–
Yontan Airfield is a former military airfield on Okinawa, located Yomitan, Okinawa Village on the Okinawa western coast. It was closed in July 1996 and turned over to the Japanese government in December 2006, today it is home to the Yomitan Village Office and community complex, including baseball fields, running tracks, and community facilities. Yontan Airfield was originally established by Imperial Japanese Army in 1944 as Kita Airfield, during the Battle of Okinawa on April 1,1945, United States Marine Corps and United States Army forces seized the airfield on the first day of the landing. It was quickly repaired and became the first airfield on Okinawa to be used by the American forces, later, it was developed into a major American base for Army, Marine, and Navy aircraft. Boeing B-29 Bockscar landed at Yomitan after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It was at Yontan that the American forces first found copies of the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka rocket-propelled kamikaze aircraft, the final approach was almost unstoppable because the aircraft gained tremendous speed. Seven US ships were damaged or sunk by Ohkas throughout the war, eighth Air Force was reassigned to Mac Dill AAF, Florida on June 7,1946. All assigned units in the Pacific were reassigned to Twentieth Air Force that date, the 312th Bomb Group, 386th Bomb Squadron was the sole USAAF squadron that flew the Consolidated B-32 Dominator in combat. Following the dropping of the bombs, in August 1945, the squadron was ordered to move to Okinawa from the Philippines. These combat missions were flown in spite of a de facto cease-fire that had been called following the bombing of Nagasaki, during this time, the B-32s flew mainly photographic reconnaissance missions, most of which were unopposed. However, on August 17, a group of four B-32s flying over Tokyo were fired on by radar-directed flak and were attacked by Japanese fighters, the American aircraft escaped with only minor damage, claiming one confirmed fighter kill and two probables. During a reconnaissance mission over Tokyo on August 18, serials 42-108532, the American gunners claimed two kills and one probable, but 578 was badly shot up and one of her crew was killed with two being injured. That was to prove to be the last combat action of World War II, the last Dominator mission of the war was flown by four B-32s on August 28 in a reconnaissance mission to Tokyo. The mission was a disaster, although not because of any enemy action, 42-108544 lost an engine on takeoff and skidded off the runway. All 13 men aboard perished when the aircraft exploded and burned, on the way back from the target, 42-108528 lost power on two of its four engines. The planes pilot ordered the crew to bail out, but two men were killed, after 1947, there were no permanently assigned units to Yontan, and the base was used as auxiliary for Kadena Air Base until the mid-1950s. Afterward it was placed in reserve status. In June 1948, the 170th Airway and Air Communications Service Squadron was activated at Yontan, to air traffic control
30.
Douglas O-46
–
The United States Douglas O-46 was an observation aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps and the Philippine Army Air Corps. The O-46A, the last of a line of Douglas observation planes, was a victim of progress. It was designed to operate from established airfields behind fairly static battle lines as in World War I, consequently, in 1942, the O designation was changed to L. The O-46 was a development of the earlier Douglas O-43, the 24th airframe of the O-43A contract was completed as the XO-46 prototype, with a revised wing and an engine switch, from the O-43s inline engine to a radial engine, the Pratt & Whitney R-1535-7. The Air Corps ordered 90 O-46As in 1935 and they were built between May 1936 and April 1937. At least 11 O-46s saw overseas duty, two were destroyed in the Japanese raid on Clark Field in the Philippines on 8 December 1941, the Maryland Air National Guard operated O-46As off the coast of New Jersey for anti-submarine duty. The remainder were declared obsolete in late 1942 and after that were used primarily in training, a proposed variant with a Wright R-1670-3 engine received the designation O-48 but was not built. The only surviving O-46A is currently in storage at National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio. On 27 November 1942, O-46A, 35-179, of the 81st Air Base Squadron, landed downwind at Brooks Field, Harlingen, Texas, ran out of runway, written off, it was abandoned in place. More than 20 years later it was discovered by the Antique Airplane Association with trees growing through its wings, and in 1967, it was rescued and hauled to Ottumwa, Iowa. Restoration turned out to be beyond the capability, and in September 1970. The Air Force Museum had it restored at Purdue University, and placed it on display in 1974, the sole survivor of the 91 O-46s built
31.
Lockheed Ventura
–
The Lockheed Ventura is a twin engine medium bomber of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises, including maritime patrol. The Ventura was developed from the Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar transport, used in daylight attacks against occupied Europe, they proved to have weaknesses and were removed from bomber duty and some used for patrols by Coastal Command. After United States Army Air Forces monopolization of land-based bombers was removed, the Ventura was very similar to its predecessor, the Lockheed Hudson. The primary difference was not in layout, rather, the Ventura was larger and heavier than the Hudson, the RAF ordered 188 Venturas in February 1940. They were delivered from mid-1942 onwards, Venturas were initially used for daylight raids on occupied Europe. Like some other RAF bombers, they proved too vulnerable without fighter escorts and they were replaced in this role by the very fast de Havilland Mosquito. The Venturas were gradually transferred to patrol duties with Coastal Command,30 went to the RCAF, the RAF placed a further order for 487 Ventura Mark IIs, but many of these were diverted to USAAF service. The USAAF placed its own order for 200 Ventura Mark IIA, in August 1941, large orders for Venturas were placed with Lend-Lease Act money. Among the orders were for 550 armed reconnaissance versions of the Ventura and this aircraft was originally planned to be built under the designation O-56. The main differences between the Ventura and the O-56 were in the engines, rather than the 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radials of the Ventura, the O-56 used 1,700 hp Wright R-2600-13 radials. Before completion of the first O-56, the U. S. Army Air Forces dropped the O- category used to designate observation aircraft, the O-56 was redesignated the RB-34B. Before the first of these flew, the design was redesignated again as the B-37 with a powered version of the R-2600. The PV-1 Ventura, built by the Vega Aircraft Company division of Lockheed, was a version of the Ventura built for the U. S. Navy. The main differences between the PV-1 and the B-34 were the inclusion of special equipment in the PV-1, adapting it to its patrol bombing role. The maximum fuel capacity of the PV-1 was increased from 1,345 gal to 1,607 gal, to increase its range, the most important addition was of an ASD-1 search radar. Early production PV-1s still carried a bombardiers station behind the radome, with four side windows. Late production PV-1s dispensed with this position and replaced it with a pack with three 0.50 in machine guns underneath the nose. These aircraft could carry eight 5 in HVAR rockets on launchers underneath the wings
32.
North American B-25 Mitchell
–
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American twin-engine, medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was named in honor of Major General William Billy Mitchell, used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II and after the war ended many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 Mitchells rolled from NAA factories and these included a few limited models, such as the United States Marine Corps PBJ-1 patrol bomber and the United States Army Air Forces F-10 reconnaissance aircraft and AT-24 trainers. The Air Corps issued a circular in March 1938 describing the performance they required from the next bombers — a payload of 1,200 lb with a range of 1,200 mi at more than 200 mph and those performance specifications led NAA to submit their NA-40 design. However, the experience from the XB-21 contributed to the design. The single NA-40 built flew first at the end of January 1939 and it went through several modifications to correct problems. These improvements included fitting 1,600 hp Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone radial engines, in March 1939, in March 1939, North American delivered the substantially redesigned and improved NA-40 to the United States Army Air Corps for evaluation. It was in competition with other manufacturers designs but failed to win orders, however, the French had already opted for a revised Douglas 7B. Unfortunately, the NA-40B was destroyed in a crash on 11 April 1939 while undergoing testing, although the crash was not considered due to a fault with the aircraft design, the Army ordered the DB-7 as the A-20. There was no YB-25 for prototype service tests, in September 1939, the Air Corps ordered the NA-62 into production as the B-25, along with the other new Air Corps medium bomber, the Martin B-26 Marauder off the drawing board. The NA-40 lost out to the Douglas A-20 in the competition, but NAA developed a more advanced design, the NA-40B. Early into B-25 production, NAA incorporated a significant redesign to the wing dihedral, the first nine aircraft had a constant-dihedral, meaning the wing had a consistent, upward angle from the fuselage to the wingtip. Flattening the outer wing panels by giving them a slight anhedral angle just outboard of the engine nacelles nullified the problem, less noticeable changes during this period included an increase in the size of the tail fins and a decrease in their inward tilt at their tops. NAA continued design and development in 1940 and 1941, both the B-25A and B-25B series entered AAF service. The B-25B was operational in 1942, combat requirements lead to further developments. Before the year was over, NAA was producing the B-25C, also in 1942, the manufacturer began design work on the cannon-armed B-25G series. The NA-100 of 1943 and 1944 was an interim armament development at the Kansas City complex known as the B-25D2, Similar armament upgrades by U. S-based commercial modification centers involved about half of the B-25G series. Further development led to the B-25H, B-25J, and B-25J2, the gunship design concept dates to late 1942 and NAA sent a field technical representative to the SWPA
33.
International Standard Book Number
–
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
34.
OCLC
–
The Online Computer Library Center is a US-based nonprofit cooperative organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the worlds information and reducing information costs. It was founded in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the largest online public access catalog in the world. OCLC is funded mainly by the fees that libraries have to pay for its services, the group first met on July 5,1967 on the campus of the Ohio State University to sign the articles of incorporation for the nonprofit organization. The group hired Frederick G. Kilgour, a former Yale University medical school librarian, Kilgour wished to merge the latest information storage and retrieval system of the time, the computer, with the oldest, the library. The goal of network and database was to bring libraries together to cooperatively keep track of the worlds information in order to best serve researchers and scholars. The first library to do online cataloging through OCLC was the Alden Library at Ohio University on August 26,1971 and this was the first occurrence of online cataloging by any library worldwide. Membership in OCLC is based on use of services and contribution of data, between 1967 and 1977, OCLC membership was limited to institutions in Ohio, but in 1978, a new governance structure was established that allowed institutions from other states to join. In 2002, the structure was again modified to accommodate participation from outside the United States. As OCLC expanded services in the United States outside of Ohio, it relied on establishing strategic partnerships with networks, organizations that provided training, support, by 2008, there were 15 independent United States regional service providers. OCLC networks played a key role in OCLC governance, with networks electing delegates to serve on OCLC Members Council, in early 2009, OCLC negotiated new contracts with the former networks and opened a centralized support center. OCLC provides bibliographic, abstract and full-text information to anyone, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat—the OCLC Online Union Catalog, the largest online public access catalog in the world. WorldCat has holding records from public and private libraries worldwide. org, in October 2005, the OCLC technical staff began a wiki project, WikiD, allowing readers to add commentary and structured-field information associated with any WorldCat record. The Online Computer Library Center acquired the trademark and copyrights associated with the Dewey Decimal Classification System when it bought Forest Press in 1988, a browser for books with their Dewey Decimal Classifications was available until July 2013, it was replaced by the Classify Service. S. The reference management service QuestionPoint provides libraries with tools to communicate with users and this around-the-clock reference service is provided by a cooperative of participating global libraries. OCLC has produced cards for members since 1971 with its shared online catalog. OCLC commercially sells software, e. g. CONTENTdm for managing digital collections, OCLC has been conducting research for the library community for more than 30 years. In accordance with its mission, OCLC makes its research outcomes known through various publications and these publications, including journal articles, reports, newsletters, and presentations, are available through the organizations website. The most recent publications are displayed first, and all archived resources, membership Reports – A number of significant reports on topics ranging from virtual reference in libraries to perceptions about library funding
35.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
36.
Bellows Air Force Station
–
Bellows Air Force Station is a United States military reservation located in Waimanalo, Hawaii. Bellows AFS is operated by Detachment 2, 18th Force Support Squadron of the 18th Mission Support Group based at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, located on the opposite side of Oahu is the similar Pililaau Army Recreation Center, part of the Armed Forces Recreation Centers system. Created in 1917 as the Waimanalo Military Reservation, the base was renamed Bellows Field in 1933 after Lt. Franklin Barney Bellows, a World War I war hero. Bellows Field was made a permanent military post in July 1941, Bellows Field was used for recreational gliders in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In this way the pilot could keep the glider in the air as long as desired, Bellows AFS was also the Air Force transmitter facility site for long haul HF radio communications from the late 1950s until HF radio was largely replaced by the military satellite program. HF radio links were established using highly directional Sloping V antennas to Clark Air Base, Philippines, message circuits were originated or relayed at Hickam AFB, near Pearl Harbor, and sent to Bellows for re-transmission over the HF systems. The receiver site was separated from the transmitter site to prevent RF interference from the high power transmitters. In 1958, when the last runways were closed and the flying field status terminated, as a Recreation Center, Bellows AFS provides beachfront cabins, camping, and limited condominium style apartments for active duty, reserve, and retired military personnel to stay in. Additionally, there is a small AAFES Express shopette, a paintball course, the Marine Corps acquired approximately 1,049 acres of Bellows from the Air Force in 1999. The Marine Corps Training Area Bellows is now part of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, MCTAB adds significant training capabilities and maneuver space for non-live fire military training activities. The Marines and other services use the areas to conduct amphibious, helicopter. It is currently the only place in Hawaii where amphibious landings can transition directly into maneuver training areas for extremely military training. Recent improvements to the area over the old runway include construction of a forward operating base mock-up around the old Bldg. 700 renovations, and a military operations in urban terrain training system that consists of 74 buildings on four separate sites. Additional containers have been moved into the training area to be used as part of a combat vehicle operators course for Marines to simulate driving in real-world conditions. The 298th Regiment, Multi-Functional Training Unit, Regional Training Institute is part of the Armys Training, the headquarters and 1st and 2nd Battalions are located at Bellows Air Force Station in Waimanalo, Hawaii. The Ordnance Training Company is located at the Regional Training Site Maintenance facilities in Pearl City, Hawaii World War II Army Airfields Bellows Air Force Station Homepage Bellows Air Force Station at GlobalSecurity. org
37.
Ie Shima Airfield
–
The airfield was inactivated after 1946 and largely returned to Japanese control in 1972. The airfields on Ie Shima were built by the Japanese prior to the American invasion, the island was not declared secure until 24 April. The runways were ditched and blasted and the central area sown with mines. The airfields were also mined by unused aerial bombs and mines made from drums of gasoline, base development proceeded rapidly once the mopping up was completed. The coral foundation of the island and the rubble of the town of Ie facilitated the work, there was ample room for dispersal area, and the sloping ground on the sides and ends of the central plateau provided space for housing base personnel. Japanese civilians were evacuated to Tokashiki in the Kerama Islands, engineers discovered a large limestone basin on the north coast which produced 100,000 gallons of fresh water. Under these conditions work proceeded rapidly and by 10 May one fighter group was based on the island, by the middle of the month three runways were ready for operational use along with taxiways. In addition, radar and air warning facilities installed, although construction work remained. By 14 June three fighter groups and one fighter squadron were operating from the airfield. As expected, Ie Shima proved to be a base for the support of operations on Okinawa. On August 19,1945, two B-25Js of the 345th Bombardment Group and 80th Fighter Squadron P-38 Lightnings escorted two Japanese Mitsubishi G4M Betty bombers, the Japanese aircraft carried a delegation from Tokyo en route to Manila to meet General MacArthurs staff to work out details of the surrender. The Betty bombers were painted white with green crosses on the wings, fuselage and vertical tail surface and use the call signs Bataan I, after the delegation landed at Ie Shima, they boarded a C-54 Skymaster and were flown to Manila. After the meeting, they returned to Ie Shima, one of the two Bettys crashed on its way back to Japan out of fuel, due to an incorrect conversion of liters to gallons when the bombers were refueled. The crew were helped by a fisherman, and returned to Tokyo by train. With the end of the war, many of the assigned to Ie Shima were reassigned or inactivated. By the end of 1946, the facility was closed and placed in reserve status, most of the island was returned to Japanese control in 1972. In the late 1950s the air station was used as a gunnery range. Relations between the U. S. military and local authorities were at an all-time low
38.
VII Bomber Command
–
The VII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Seventh Air Force, based on Okinawa and it was inactivated on 31 March 1946. Constituted as VII Bomber Command on 23 January 1942 Activated on 29 January 1942, afterward, served in combat in the Central and Western Pacific This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/. Maurer, Maurer, ed. Air Force Combat Units of World War II, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History
39.
VII Fighter Command
–
The VII Fighter Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. Its last assignment was with Far East Air Forces, based on Guam and it was inactivated after being redesignated the 46th Fighter Wing on 24 August 1948. The command was established in Hawaii in February 1942, from its inception until March 1945, the mission of the command was the air defense of the Hawaii Territory. Within ten days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the VII Interceptor Command consolidated all Hawaiian Islands defense units and its assigned units were deployed to forward bases in the Central Pacific Area in rotational deployments. During the assault on the Marshall Islands by Seventh Air Force bombers that began in late 1943, the Seventh eventually fitted some of its P-40 Warhawks with belly tanks, and on January 26,1944, sent them out to wait above the clouds for the pursuing Japanese. They shot down ten enemy fighters in three minutes, effectively ending interception of the bombers over the Marshalls, by March 1944, VII Fighter Command was back on Oahu for regrouping, reinforcement, aircraft transition, and general reorganization in preparation for the Marianas campaign. Its strength was increased from four squadrons to three fighter groups of three squadrons each. It was during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign in mid-1944 that the command began their transition from a defensive unit in the rear to the spearhead of the attacks on Japan. Beginning in March 1945, the command was reassigned to Twentieth Air Force on Iwo Jima, the commands units flew Very Long Range bomber escort operations against the armed forces of the Empire of Japan. On 7 April 1945,119 P-51 Mustangs of VII Fighter Command lifted off from Iwo Jima on the first Very Long Range mission by land-based fighter aircraft against the Japanese mainland. Off the coast of Honshu they rendezvoused with more than 100 B-29 Superfortresses for an attack on the Nakajima aircraft plant in Tokyo. The B-29s had been taking heavy losses to Japanese fighters on these Empire strikes, VII Fighter command pilots described the Japanese, who attacked singly during the bomb run and immediately after, as easy targets for the Mustangs that broke off in pairs to engage them. Combined, the American fighters and bombers accounted for 71 Japanese aircraft destroyed, after the end of the war, the command was re-designated as a Wing, with the elimination of the command echelon in the postwar Air Force. It moved to Guam in the Marianas and remained assigned to the Far East Air Force, the organization was inactivated on 24 August 1948. Constituted as VII Interceptor Command on 23 January 1942 Activated on 2 February 1942, Redesignated VII Fighter Command in May 1942 Redesignated 20th Fighter Wing in May 1946 Redesignated 46th Fighter Wing in December 1947 Inactivated on 24 August 1948. afhra. af. mil/. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, maxwell AFB, AL, Office of Air Force History
40.
7th Air Division
–
The 7th Air Division served the United States Air Force with distinction from early 1944 through early 1992, earning an outstanding unit decoration and a service streamer along the way. The division provided air defense of the Hawaiian Islands April 1944 – September 1948, Strategic Air Command formed two air divisions in early 1951. General Old hastily flew to England, where he took command of the 7th Division until Maj Gen John P. McConnell could arrive, once a new commander was appointed in May, General Old and his staff left for Morocco. The division controlled deployed bombardment and reconnaissance forces between 1951 and 1965, during the 1950s, SACs presence in England grew, with nine bases being constructed for the use of SAC bombers, and another six throughout the United Kingdom for support of SAC activities. It participated in alerts, exercises, operational readiness inspections, evaluations, in September 1957, B-47s in Morocco were put on ground alert, armed, fueled and ready to take of upon notice. This posture was expanded to the bases under the 7th Air Divisions command in early 1958, for the remainder of the divisions existence, this status, known as Reflex Action, would be the normal status for the Stratojets rotating through England. The number of 7th Air Division bases used for Reflex reached a peak of nine in early 1959, the development of Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles by the Soviet Union made forward bases for SAC medium range bombers increasingly vulnerable. The number of B-47 wings capable of sending aircraft to Reflex operations at the divisions began to decline after 1958. It assured that assigned units trained to conduct strategic warfare according to the Emergency War Order and it also assured that assigned units could conduct strategic reconnaissance and air refueling and function as the nucleus of a SAC advanced echelon in event of contingency operations. Source, Gulf War Air Power Survey Vol V. 21-25, one B-52G was sent from the 340th BS/97th BW at Eaker AFB, Arkansas. Aircraft were also drawn from the 328th BS/93d BW at Castle AFB, six aircraft were transferred to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 17 January 1991 and they were replaced by six B-52Gs from the 1500th SW at Andersen AFB, Guam. S. List of United States Air Force air divisions This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, Maurer, Maurer, ed. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History, Maurer, Maurer, ed. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History, Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History, schake, Col Kurt W. Strategic Frontier, American Bomber Bases Overseas, 1950-1960. Trondheim, Norway, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
41.
5th Operations Group
–
The 5th Operations Group is an operational component of the United States Air Force 5th Bomb Wing, stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. Its mission is to manage and operate B-52H Stratofortress bombers serve as part of the Air Forces conventional and strategic combat force. The group is one of the oldest units in the United States Air Force, being an organization of the 5th Group. It originally activated as the 2nd Group 15 August 1919, at Luke Field in the Territory of Hawaii, in 1921, the group was redesignated the 5th Group. A year later, it became the 5th Group with its crews flying DeHaviland DH-4 aircraft, activities included training, participating in Army-Navy maneuvers, staging aerial reviews and sowing seeds from the air for the Territorial Forestry Division. In 1935, the group helped save the city of Hilo, Hawaii, ten Keystone B-3 and B-4 bombers from the group’s 23d and 72d Bombardment Squadrons dropped 20, 600-pound bombs around the volcano to divert molten lava away from the town. Redesignated 5th Bombardment Group in March 1938, 5th Bombardment Group in December 1939, equipped with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Douglas B-18 Bolos by December 1941. However, the group’s aircrews went on to become the first U. S. military forces to take to the air following the attack, assigned to Seventh Air Force in February 1942. Engaged primarily in search and patrol missions off Hawaii from December 1941 to November 1942, in Hawaii, the B-17E-equipped 5th and 11th Bombardment Groups were used in the Battle of Midway to attack Japanese surface fleets. High-altitude bombing attacks against moving ships capable of action proved to be completely unsuccessful at Midway. Although several attacks were made by the B-17s, none of their bombs hit a single Japanese ship. An attack against naval vessels at sea was found to be a job best done by low-altitude B-25 Mitchell/B-26 Marauder medium bombers or by Douglas A-24 Banshee dive bombers. Flew long patrol and photographic missions over the Solomon Islands and the Coral Sea, attacked Japanese shipping off Guadalcanal, then struck enemy bases and installations on Bougainville, New Britain, and New Ireland. The group moved between bases in the Southwest Pacific and by mid-1943, most B-17s were withdrawn in favor of the longer-ranged Consolidated B-24 Liberator. The B-24 was better suited for operations in the Pacific, having a higher speed, in addition, the losses in Europe were reaching such magnitudes that the entire B-17 production was urgently needed for replacements and training in that theatre. The 5th raided the heavily defended Japanese base on Woleai during April and May 1944, helped to neutralize enemy bases on Yap and in the Truk and Palau Islands, June–August 1944, preparatory to the invasion of Peleliu and Leyte. Flew missions to the Netherlands Indies, receiving a DUC for an attack, conducted through heavy flak and fighter defenses, on oil installations at Balikpapan, Borneo, moved to the Philippines in 1945 till the end of the war. During the time, its members accumulated more than 13,300 medals, remained in the theater as part of Far East Air Forces after the war, but all personnel evidently had been withdrawn by early in 1946
42.
11th Wing
–
The 11th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. It is stationed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland where it is the host unit, the 11th Wing is one of the largest wings in the Air Force. It is known as “The Chief’s Own, ” an honorific originally intended to reflect that the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force personally created the organization. The 11th Wing traces its roots back to the 11th Observation Group which was established on 1 October 1933, the group was redesignated as the 11 Bombardment Group on 1 January 1938, although not activated until 1 February 1940. Later that year it became a bombardment unit. The group fought in combat in the Pacific Theater of Operations with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, the 11th Bombardment Group earned a Navy Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in the South Pacific from 31 July to 30 November 1942. It participated in the Central Pacific, Air Offensive, Japan, Guadalcanal, Northern Solomons, Eastern Mandates, Western Pacific, Ryukyus, in 1978 the group was reactivated as the 11th Strategic Group, managing forward deployed Strategic Air Command aircraft at RAF Fairford, England until 1990. It also had SM-65 Atlas missiles assigned during the early 1960s, in 1968 the wing became the 11th Air Refueling Wing, retaining only its tankers until it was inactivated in 1969. In 1982 the wing was consolidated with the 11th Strategic Group, the consolidated unit has served in its current mission since 1994, first as the 11th Support Wing and then as the 11th Wing The commander of the 11th Wing is Colonel Bradley T. Hoagland. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Vance C, the Chiefs Own provides base operating and logistic support in the National Capital Region. It also provides United States Air Force ceremonial, music, protocol, the 11th Wing was first constituted as the 11th Observation Group 1 October 1933, and redesignated as the 11 Bombardment Group on 1 January 1938, but was not activated until 1 February 1940. In November, it became a bombardment group, acquiring its first 21 B-17 Flying Fortresss in May 1941. Nine were sent to the Philippines in September 1941 and many of the remainder were destroyed in the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the 11th Bombardment Group was assigned to the Seventh Air Force in February 1942 and trained with the B-18 Bolo. Its aircraft flew patrols and search missions off Hawaii after the Japanese attack, the group, now fully equipped with new B-17s, moved to the Pekoa Airfield, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides in July 1942 and became part of Thirteenth Air Force. It continued to attack Japanese airfields, installations, and shipping in the Solomon Islands, the group returned to Hawaii where it was again assigned to Seventh Air Force and trained with B-24 Liberators. Combat operations resumed in November 1943 with the participation in the Allied offensive through the Gilberts, Marshalls, and Marianas, while operating from Funafuti, Tarawa, in October 1944 the Group moved to Guam and attacked shipping and airfields in the Volcano and Bonin Islands. After the war, the unit flew reconnaissance and surveillance missions over China and its aircraft also ferried liberated prisoners of war from Okinawa to Luzon. The Group remained in the theater as part of Far East Air Forces but had no personnel assigned after mid-December 1945 when the group was transferred to the Philippines
43.
30th Operations Group
–
The 30th Operations Group is an operational component of the United States Air Force 30th Space Wing, stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The group provides the capability for West Coast spacelift and range operations. Operations Group professionals are responsible for operating and maintaining the Western Range for spacelift, missile test launch, aeronautical, the 2nd ROPS directs over 1,000 Air Force and contractor personnel at four geographically separated locations spanning more than 450 miles. The squadron ensures optimum conVguration and performance of tracking, telemetry, communications, data analysis, 30th Space Communications Squadron Is a key partner in the successful launching of satellites for combatant commanders requirements and other test range activities. The squadron is focused on the operation and maintenance of the Western Range network segment enabling Wight test, spacelift, additionally, the 30th SCS provides support for telephone services and infrastructure management/upgrades. 30th Range Management Squadron Manages day-to-day contractor operations and maintenance of the range, launch complexes, the unit provides acquisition program management and quality assurance expertise on all 30th SW and Space and Missile Systems Center mission support contracts and space programs. Additionally, the 30th RMS provides technical requirements development, systems integration, operational acceptance testing, the squadron interfaces with SMC for all range sustainment, integration and development efforts. 30th Weather Flight Provides 30th Space Wing and tenant units a full range of services supporting launch, air. Major services include daily weather forecasting, toxic hazard zone forecasting, surface and upper-air observing, technical support, the 30th WS provides planning and day-of-launch on-console weather support to the Western Range Control Center for all Western Range launch operations. For additional history and lineage, see 30th Space Wing Patrolled west coast, 1942–1943, began operations in the Pacific in November 1943. Attacked enemy installations on the Gilbert Islands in support of U. S. invasion, from January–March 1944, bombed installations in the Marshalls in preparation for their occupation. During April–Jul, raided airfields and navy facilities in the Truk Islands to keep them neutralized during the U. S. attack on the Marianas, also bombed Wake, Guam, and Saipan. From August 1944 until the U. S. Search, rescue, launched meteorological and surveillance satellites into polar earth orbit, 1990–. Launched first interceptor missile in Ground-based Midcourse Defense program, September 2006, deployed airmen worldwide to meet national commitments, 2005–. afhra. af. mil/. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History. Vandenberg AFB factsheet, 30th Operations Group
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/..svg)
