1.
McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
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The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic jet fighter which served the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force. An F-101A set a number of speed records for jet powered aircraft, including fastest airspeed. They operated in the role until 1979. Delays in the 1954 interceptor project led to demands for an interceptor aircraft design. The F-101B entered service with Air Defense Command in 1959 and the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1961, US examples were handed off to the Air National Guard where they served until 1982. Canadian examples remained in service until 1984, the Voodoos career as a fighter-bomber was relatively brief, but the reconnaissance versions served for some time. Interceptor versions served with the Air National Guard until 1982, initial design on what would eventually become the Voodoo began just after World War II in response to a USAAF Penetration Fighter Competition in 1946. Several companies responded with designs, and the Air Force provided funds for several of them to produce prototypes, after being awarded a contract on 14 February 1947, McDonnell built two prototypes, designated the XF-88 Voodoo. The first prototype, powered by two 3,000 lbf Westinghouse XJ34-WE-13 turbojets, flew from Muroc on 20 October 1948, preliminary testing revealed that while handling and range was adequate, the top speed was a disappointing 641 mph at sea level. Fuel consumption was increased by use of the afterburners, however. Analysis of Korean war missions, however, revealed that contemporary USAF strategic bombers were vulnerable to fighter interception, in 1951, the USAF issued a new requirement for a bomber escort with all major US manufacturers submitting designs. The McDonnell design was a larger and higher powered version of the XF-88, the F-88 was redesignated the F-101 Voodoo in November 1951. The new design was larger, carrying three times the initial fuel load and designed around larger, more powerful Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojets. The greater dimensions of the J57 engines required modifications to the engine bays, the new intake also was designed to be more efficient at higher Mach numbers. In late 1952, the mission of the F-101 was changed from fighter to strategic fighter. The new Voodoo mock-up with the inlets, tail surfaces, landing gear. F-101A serial number 53-2418 was the first production aircraft, its flight was on 29 September 1954 at Edwards AFB where it reached Mach 0. It was previously on display at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum, the end of the war in Korea and the development of the jet-powered Boeing B-52 Stratofortress negated the need for fighter escort and Strategic Air Command withdrew from the program
2.
Shaw Air Force Base
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Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of downtown Sumter, South Carolina. It is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command, the United States Air Force 20th Fighter Wing is the host unit. It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, the Shaw line was constructed in 1941 to bring in materials for base development, and has two GE 80-ton locomotives,1644 and 1671. The base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw, Lieutenant Shaw was one of the first Americans to fly combat missions in World War I. Shaw, a Sumter County native, was assigned to the Royal Air Force 48 Squadron, Shaw died after three enemy aircraft attacked his Bristol F. 2B while he was returning from a reconnaissance mission on 9 July 1918. Lt. Shaw downed one of his attackers before he was killed, Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center. The mission of the new airfield was a flying school to instruct air cadets in flying. The airfield consisted of three 4, 500-foot runways and several auxiliary airfields, enough construction was completed for the first group of cadets entered training December 15,1941, and the first class completed training in February 1942. The concrete parking ramp was completed during May 1942, in October 1942, the flight training was changed to Advanced flying training and AT-6 Texan single-engine and Beech AT-10 twin-engine trainers were used. On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force, the 139th Army Air Force Base Unit, I Fighter Command became the host unit. And pilots were sent to Shaw for fighter training in Republic P-47 Thunderbolt single-engined fighters. For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp, the first group of German POWs arrived on 1 March 1945. Eventually,175 of them lived in an encampment just off the base, on Peach Orchard Road across from Shaws hospital gate. They departed in the months of 1946 for the rebuilding of European cities. Those prisoners were repatriated to Germany around 1947, with some returning to the Shaw and Sumter area. Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces installation after the war, after a period of reorganization, jurisdiction was transferred to Air Defense Command on 1 March 1946. From July 1946 until May 1947 Shaw was the home of the 414th and 415th Night Fighter Squadrons, the squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities. The 414th was transferred to Caribbean Air Force at Rio Hato AB, the 415th was reassigned to Alaska Air Command at Adak Island, Alaska in May 1947 also to perform an air defense mission, over the Aleutian Islands and the territorial waters of western Alaska
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
5.
Aerial reconnaissance
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Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. This role can fulfil a variety of requirements, including the collection of intelligence, observation of enemy maneuvers. The balloon found its first use in the 1794 conflict with Austria, moreover, the presence of the balloon had a demoralizing effect on the Austrian troops which improved the likelihood of victory for the French troops. After the invention of photography, primitive aerial photographs were made of the ground from manned and unmanned balloons, starting in the 1860s, an example was Arthur Batuts kite-borne camera photographs of Labruguière starting from 1889. In the early 20th century, Julius Neubronner experimented with pigeon photography, the pigeons carried small cameras with timers. Ludwig Rahrmann in 1891 patented a means of attaching a camera to a large calibre artillery projectile or rocket, Alfred Nobel in 1896 had already built the first rocket carrying a camera, which took photographs of the Swedish landscape during its flights. The first use of airplanes in combat missions was by the Italian Air Force during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-1912, on 23 October 1911, an Italian pilot, Capt. The use of aerial photography rapidly matured during the First World War, as used for reconnaissance purposes were outfitted with cameras to record enemy movements. At the start of the conflict, the usefulness of aerial photography was not fully appreciated, frederick Charles Victor Laws started experiments in aerial photography in 1912 with No.1 Squadron RAF using the British dirigible Beta. The dirigibles were eventually allocated to the Royal Navy, so Laws formed the first aerial unit of fixed-wing aircraft. Germany was one of the first countries to adopt the use of a camera for aerial reconnaissance, opting for a Görz, French Military Aviation began the war with several squadrons of Bleriot observation planes, equipped with cameras for reconnaissance. The French Army developed procedures for getting prints into the hands of field commanders in record time, the camera was inserted into the floor of the aircraft and could be triggered by the pilot at intervals. In 1916, the Austro-Hungarian Empire made vertical camera axis aerial photos above Italy for map-making. In January 1918, General Allenby used five Australian pilots from No.1 Squadron AFC to photograph a 624 square miles area in Palestine as an aid to correcting and improving maps of the Turkish front and this was a pioneering use of aerial photography as an aid for cartography. Beginning 5 January, they flew with an escort to ward off enemy fighters. In 1928, the RAF developed a heating system for the aerial camera. This allowed reconnaissance aircraft to take pictures from very high altitudes without the camera parts freezing, although this seems obvious now, with modern reconnaissance tasks performed by fast, high flying aircraft, at the time it was radical thinking. They proposed the use of Spitfires with their armament and radios removed and replaced with extra fuel and this led to the development of the Spitfire PR variants
6.
Tactical Air Command
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Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 1 June 1992 and its personnel and equipment absorbed by Air Combat Command. Tactical Air Command was established to provide a balance between strategic, air defense, and tactical forces of the post–World War II U. S. Army Air Forces followed by, in 1947, the U. S. Air Force. In 1948, the Continental Air Command assumed control over air defense, tactical air, after two years in a subordinate role, Tactical Air Command was established as a major command. World War II showed the effectiveness of air power in supporting army ground forces. However, the demobilization in late 1945 meant that the huge air armada that had brought Germany to her knees. Following the end of World War II, Headquarters United States Army Air Forces had little funding and most wartime personnel had been released from active duty and returned to civilian life. Many USAAF aircraft were being sent to storage or scrapyards, although the tension with the Soviet Union meant that combat military air forces were still needed. The big questions were how large and what kind of forces, a major realignment of the USAAF was undertaken in early 1946. As part of the realignment, three major divisions within the Continental United States were formed, Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command. Each was given a specific responsibility, using assets prescribed to accomplish the assigned mission, Tactical Air Command was formed to command, organize, equip, train and administer assigned or attached forces. It was to plan for and participate in tactics for fighter, light bombardment and these included tactical fighters, tactical bombers, tactical missiles, troop carrier aircraft, assault, reconnaissance, and support units. TAC also planned for and developed the capability to deploy tactical striking forces anywhere in the world, during its existence, Tactical Air Command deployed personnel, material and/or aircraft to Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia in support of its prescribed mission. TACs original authorization was 25,500 officers and enlisted men, aircraft assets available consisted of propeller-driven North American P-51 Mustangs, Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and a handful of the new jet-powered Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars. TAC was also given control of the Third Air Force, Ninth Air Force, on 18 September 1947, the United States Air Force was established as a separate military force, with TAC as one of its major commands. At the time, there was only one U. S. Air Forces in Europe tactical air unit available in Europe, TAC was called upon to send additional units and aircraft to Europe to reinforce the 86 FG. The 36th Fighter Group, flying Lockheed F-80B Shooting Stars, was transferred from Howard AFB in the Panama Canal Zone to Furstenfeldbruck Air Base near Munich. In addition to fighter aircraft, TAC also deployed available C-47 Skytrain transports to Europe, transferring them to USAFE
7.
Ninth Air Force
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The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces Air Combat Command. It has been headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, from 1990, units were deployed to the Middle East against Iraq, and from 2001 against threats emanating from Afghanistan. In this role, the organization was known as United States Air Forces Central, until August 2009, the Ninth Air Force shared its commander with USAFCENT. S. This article deals with the current organization, as the lineage of the organization currently belongs to USAFCENT. This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, archives of the Ninth Air Force Association Digital Collection at The University of Akron Archival Services Ninth Air Force Association
8.
432d Wing
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The 432d Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command, stationed at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. The group operates unmanned reconnaissance aircraft which provide real-time reconnaissance, surveillance, the 432d Wing is the first United States Air Force wing dedicated to unmanned aircraft systems. The wing stood up 1 May 2007 at Creech Air Force Base, the 432d is the first wing totally dedicated to operating remotely piloted aircraft, the MQ-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper, and RQ-170 Sentinel. The wing has flown aircraft in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom for intelligence surveillance reconnaissance and tactical missions, flown by pilots, the 432d is authorized 160 Predator and 60 Reapers. As of May 2007,6 Reapers and about 85 Predators have been delivered with half of the Predators deployed forward in the United States Central Command area of operations, the wing is expected to fly 12 combat air mission in Iraq and Afghanistan each day. The wing includes several operational squadrons and a maintenance squadron, there are 440 aircrew members, about half of whom are pilots and the other half sensor operators. There are also 450 maintenance personnel, half of whom are contractors and it served as the operational training unit of the USAAF School of Applied Tactics at Keystone Army Air Field, Florida. The group trained and provided reconnaissance to assist fighter, bombardment, Aircraft included Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter and Aeronca L-3 Grasshopper light observation aircraft. The group was disbanded on 1 November 1943, on 23 March 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw Air Force Base]], South Carolina. The 432ds mission at Shaw was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, the group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F Thunderflash and two squadrons flying the Martin RB-57A Canberra. In 1957, the group upgraded the 20th and 29th to the McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo, when elevated to the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing on 8 February 1958, the wing operated the USAF Advanced Flying Training School, Tactical Reconnaissance. With the elevation to wing status, the 432d TFW was realigned to a four squadron RF-101C wing, from 8 February 1958 to 18 June 1959 the wing was supervised by the 837th Air Division. In a budgetary move, the 432d TRW was inactivated on 8 April 1959, on 18 September 1966, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was activated at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand as an Douglas RF-4C Phantom II wing. The wing assumed the personnel, aircraft and equipment of the 6234th Tactical Fighter Wing, at Udon, it became one of the most diversified units of its size in the Air Force. The wing had numerous missions in the support area, the 432d TRW accounted for more than 80 percent of all reconnaissance activity over North Vietnam. In addition to the mission, the 432d also had a tactical fighter squadron component. The squadrons flew missions over North Vietnam and the pilots. In 1968, the 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, flying specialized Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft, the squadron had been attached to the wing as a temporary duty unit from Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam
9.
Cuban Missile Crisis
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The confrontation is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war. An agreement was reached during a meeting between Khrushchev and Fidel Castro in July 1962 and construction of a number of missile launch facilities started later that summer. The 1962 midterm elections were under way in the United States and these missile preparations were confirmed when an Air Force U-2 spy plane produced clear photographic evidence of medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic missile facilities. The United States established a blockade to prevent further missiles from reaching Cuba. It announced that they would not permit offensive weapons to be delivered to Cuba, after a long period of tense negotiations, an agreement was reached between U. S. President John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev. Secretly, the United States also agreed that it would dismantle all U. S. -built Jupiter MRBMs, when all offensive missiles and Ilyushin Il-28 light bombers had been withdrawn from Cuba, the blockade was formally ended on November 20,1962. The negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union pointed out the necessity of a quick, clear, as a result, the Moscow–Washington hotline was established. A series of sharply reduced U. S. –Soviet tensions during the following years. The United States had been embarrassed publicly by the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961, afterward, former President Eisenhower told Kennedy that the failure of the Bay of Pigs will embolden the Soviets to do something that they would otherwise not do. U. S. covert operations against Cuba continued in 1961 with the similarly unsuccessful Operation Mongoose, in addition, Khrushchevs impression of Kennedys weakness was confirmed by the Presidents response during the Berlin Crisis of 1961, particularly to the building of the Berlin Wall. He also told his son Sergei that on Cuba, Kennedy would make a fuss, make more of a fuss, CIA agents or pathfinders from the Special Activities Division were to be infiltrated into Cuba to carry out sabotage and organization, including radio broadcasts. When Kennedy ran for president in 1960, one of his key election issues was a missile gap with the Soviets leading. In fact, the U. S. led the Soviets by a margin that would only increase. In 1961, the Soviets had only four intercontinental ballistic missiles, by October 1962, they may have had a few dozen, with some intelligence estimates as high as 75. The U. S. on the hand, had 170 ICBMs and was quickly building more. It also had eight George Washington– and Ethan Allen–class ballistic missile submarines with the capability to launch 16 Polaris missiles each, the Soviet Union did have medium-range ballistic missiles in quantity, about 700 of them, however, these were very unreliable and inaccurate. The U. S. had an advantage in total number of nuclear warheads at the time. The U. S. also led in missile defensive capabilities, naval and air power, Khrushchev faced a strategic situation where the U. S. was perceived to have a splendid first strike capability that put the Soviet Union at a huge disadvantage
United States
United States Air Force
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This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
Tactical Air Command (TAC)