1.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
2.
Ramstein Air Base
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Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa, Ramstein is located near the town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, in the rural district of Kaiserslautern. The Air Base is used to coordinate and execute most of the United States global drone program, the east gate of Ramstein Air Base is about 10 miles from Kaiserslautern. Other nearby civilian communities include Ramstein-Miesenbach, just outside the bases west gate, the host unit is the 86th Airlift Wing, commanded by Brigadier General Patrick X. Mordente. The 86th Airlift Wing is composed of six groups,27 squadrons and its mission is the operation and maintenance of airlift assets consisting of C-130Js, C-20s, C-21s, C-40B and C-37A Gulfstream aircraft throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Also at Ramstein is the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing, which focuses on base-support responsibilities within the KMC and it is composed of five groups and 20 squadrons. The wing provides rapid mobility and agile combat support for military operations, the commander of the 435th AGOW is Colonel Andra V. P. The new 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing stood up on 4 September 2008, the current commander of the 521st AMOW is Colonel Thomas Cooper. Ramsteins wings are assigned to the headquarters 3rd Air Force also based at Ramstein AB, Ramstein AB is part of the Kaiserslautern Military Community, where more than 54,000 American service members and more than 5,400 US civilian employees live and work. U. S. organizations in the KMC also employ the services of more than 6,200 German workers, Air Force units in the KMC alone employ almost 9,800 military members, bringing with them nearly 11,100 family members. There are more than 16,200 military, U. S. civilian, while the KMC remains the largest U. S. community overseas at 53,000 people, the defense drawdown continues to shape its future. Due to the departure of other main operating installations, more than 100 geographically separated units receive support from Ramstein, Ramstein Air Base also served as temporary housing for the United States mens national soccer team during the 2006 World Cup. There is often a Summer Camp to Ramstein from British CCF, the construction of the air base was a project designed and undertaken by the French Army and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1949 to 1952. The area was a swamp that had to be built up by two meters, trainloads of earth were moved over the line and spread over the bases current area to raise it to its current level. Once the ground was level, building construction began, Landstuhl Air Base on the south side and Ramstein Air Station on the north. From 1948 to the opening of the bases in 1953 it was the largest one spot construction site in Europe employing over 270,000 Europeans at one time. A part of the autobahn to the west of Mannheim. The airstrip was used by the advancing U. S. Army Air Forces during the final months of World War II
3.
Interceptor aircraft
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An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent successful missions by enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. For daytime operations, conventional fighters normally fill the interceptor role, few aircraft can be considered dedicated daytime interceptors. Night fighters and bomber destroyers are, by definition, interceptors of the heavy type, examples of classic interceptors of this era include the F-106 Delta Dart, Sukhoi Su-15 and English Electric Lightning. Dedicated interceptor designs became rare, with the widely used examples designed after the 1960s being the Tornado F3, Mikoyan MiG-25 Foxbat. The first dedicated interceptor squadrons were formed up during World War I in order to defend London against attacks by Zeppelins, early units generally used aircraft withdrawn from front-line service, notably the Sopwith Pup. They were told about their targets prior to take-off from a centralized command center in the Horse Guards building. The Pup proved to have too low performance to intercept the Gotha G. IV bombers. Before Second World War started, offensive bomber speeds had improved so much that it appeared that the mission would be effectively impossible. The visual and acoustic detection had a range on the order of a few miles. This could be addressed by a cover of aircraft. The conclusion at the time was that the bomber will always get through, the introduction of radar upset this equation. Radar was able to detect aircraft at long range, on the order of 100 miles even for early systems and this provided enough time for fighters to start up, climb to altitude and chase down their targets. The introduction of jet power increased speeds from perhaps 200 miles per hour to 600 miles per hour in a single step, although radars also improved in performance, the gap between offense and defense was dramatically reduced. Large attacks could so confuse the defenses ability to communicate information to the pilots that the method of manual ground controlled interception was increasingly seen as inadequate. In the United States, this led to the introduction of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment to computerize this task. In the 1950s, during the Cold War, an interceptor force was crucial for the great powers. Hence for a period of time they faced rapid development. Thus, the doctrine of mutually assured destruction replaced the trend of defense strengthening and their utility waned as the role became blurred into the role of the heavy air superiority fighters dominant in military thinking at the time
4.
Convair F-102 Delta Dagger
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The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft that was built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Forces air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its purpose was to intercept invading Soviet strategic bomber fleets during the Cold War. Designed and manufactured by Convair,1,000 F-102s were built, a member of the Century Series, the F-102 was the USAFs first operational supersonic interceptor and delta-wing fighter. It used an internal weapons bay to carry guided missiles and rockets. As originally designed, it could not achieve Mach 1 supersonic flight until redesigned with area ruling, the F-102 replaced subsonic fighter types such as the Northrop F-89 Scorpion, and by the 1960s, it saw limited service in the Vietnam War in bomber escort and ground-attack roles. It was supplemented by McDonnell F-101 Voodoos and, later, by McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs, the follow-on replacement was the Mach-2 Convair F-106 Delta Dart, which was an extensive redesign of the F-102. On 8 October 1948, the board of officers of the U. S. Four months later, on 4 February 1949, the USAF approved the recommendation, in November 1949, the Air Force decided that the new aircraft would be built around a fire-control system. The FCS was to be designed before the airframe to ensure compatibility, the airframe and FCS together were called the weapon system. In January 1950, the USAF Air Materiel Command issued request for proposals to 50 companies for the FCS, by May, the list was revised downward to 10. Following recommendations by the committee to the Saville Board, the proposals were further reduced to two competitors, Hughes Aircraft and North American Aviation. Although the Valley Committee thought it was best to award the contract to companies, Hughes was chosen by Saville and his team on 2 October 1950. Proposals for the airframe were issued on 18 June 1950, on 2 July 1954, three companies, Convair, Republic and Lockheed won the right to build a mockup. Until then, Convair had done research into delta-winged aircraft, experimenting with different designs, of the three, the best design was to win the production contract under the name Project MX-1554. In the end, Convair emerged as the victor with its design, designated XF-102, after Lockheed dropped out, the development of three different designs was too expensive and in November, only Convair was allowed to continue with its Model 8-80. To speed development, it was proposed to equip the prototypes, continued delays to the J67 and MA-1 FCS led to the decision to place an interim aircraft with the J40 and a simpler fire control system into production as the F-102A. The failure of the J40 led to the Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet with afterburner, rated with 10,000 pounds-force of thrust being substituted for the prototypes, the F-102B would later evolve to become the F-106A, dubbed the Ultimate Interceptor. The prototype YF-102 made its first flight on 23 October 1953, at Edwards AFB, the second aircraft flew on 11 January 1954, confirming a dismal performance
5.
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
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The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, supersonic interceptor aircraft which later became widely used as an attack aircraft. It was originally developed by Lockheed for the United States Air Force, but became used by US Allies around the world. One of the Century Series of fighter aircraft, it was operated by the air forces of more than a dozen nations from 1958 to 2004. Its design team was led by Kelly Johnson, who went on to lead or contribute to the development of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the F-104 set numerous world records, including both airspeed and altitude records. The poor safety record of the Starfighter also brought the aircraft into the public eye, Fighter ace Erich Hartmann was forced to retire from the Luftwaffe due to his outspoken opposition to selection of the F-104. The ultimate production version of the model was the F-104S, an all-weather interceptor designed by Aeritalia for the Italian Air Force. An advanced F-104 with a wing, known as the CL-1200 Lancer, was considered. In 2018 a privately owned Starfighter is scheduled to launch a group of small cubesat satellites into low orbit by carrying the rocket aloft. Clarence Kelly Johnson, the engineer at Lockheeds Skunk Works, visited Korea in December 1951. At the time, the U. S. pilots were confronting the MiG-15 with North American F-86 Sabres, the pilots requested a small and simple aircraft with excellent performance. Armed with this information, Johnson immediately started the design of such an aircraft on his return to the United States. In March, his team was assembled, they studied several designs, ranging from small designs at 8,000 lb. The engine chosen was the new General Electric J79, an engine of dramatically improved performance in comparison with contemporary designs, the small L-246 design powered by a single J79 remained essentially identical to the L-083 Starfighter as eventually delivered. The design was presented to the Air Force in November 1952, although all were interesting, Lockheed had an insurmountable lead, and was granted a development contract in March 1953 for two prototypes, these were given the designation XF-104. Work progressed quickly, with a ready for inspection at the end of April. Meanwhile, the J79 engine was not ready, both prototypes were designed to use the Wright J65 engine, a licensed-built version of the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire. The first prototype was completed by early 1954 and first flew on 4 March at Edwards AFB, the total time from contract to first flight was less than a year. When the USAF revealed the existence of the XF-104, they gave a vague description of it
6.
North American F-86D Sabre
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The North American F-86D Sabre was a transonic jet all-weather interceptor of the United States Air Force and others. Based on North Americans F-86 Sabre day fighter, the F-86D had only 25 percent commonality with other Sabre variants, with a fuselage, larger afterburner engine. The YF-95 was a development of the F-86 Sabre, the first aircraft designed around the new 2. 75-inch Mighty Mouse Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket, a second prototype, 50-578, was also built, but the YF-95 nomenclature was short-lived as the design was subsequently redesignated YF-86D. Later models of the F-86D received an uprated J-47-GE-33 engine rated at 5,550 lbf, a total of 2,504 D-models were built. On 18 November 1952, F-86D, 51-2945, set a record of 698.505 mph. Captain J. Slade Nash flew over a three km course at the Salton Sea in southern California at a height of only 125 ft. Another F-86D broke this record on 16 July 1953, when Lieutenant Colonel William F. Barns, flying F-86D 51-6145, in the same path of the previous flight. YF-95A prototype all-weather interceptor, two built, designation changed to YF-86D YF-86D originally designated YF-95A, F-86D Production interceptor originally designated F-95A,2,504 built. F-86G Provisional designation for F-86D variant with uprated engine and equipment changes,406 built as F-86Ds, yF-86K Basic version of F-86D intended for export with rocket tray replaced by four 20 mm cannon and simplified fire control system, two conversions. F-86K NATO version of F-86D, MG-4 fire control system, four 20 mm M24A1 cannon with 132 rounds per gun,120 were built by North American,221 were assembled by Fiat. F-86L Upgrade conversion of F-86D with new electronics, extended wingtips and wing leading edges, revised cockpit layout, source, Dorr Denmark Royal Danish Air Force Received 59 ex-USAF F-86Ds 1958-1960, assigned to 723,726 and 728 Squadrons. France French Air Force Fiat built 62 F-86Ks for France, assigned to EC 1/13 Artois, EC 2/13 Alpes, serials were 55-4814/4844, 55-4846/4865, 55-4872/4874, 55-4876/4879. Germany German Air Force Acquired 88 U. S. F-86Ks 22 July 1957–23 June 1958, the Ks were assigned to Jagdgeschwader 75/renamed 74. Greece Greek Air Force Acquired some U. S. F-86Ds were received in 1961, honduras Honduran Air Force Acquired Six Venezuelan F-86Ks in 1970. Italy Italian Air Force Fiat produced 121 F-86Ks for Italy, 1955-1958, also,120 U. S. F-86Ks were acquired. F-86s were assigned to the AMI air groups,6 Gruppo COT/1 Stormo,17 Gruppo/1 Stormo,23 Gruppo/1 Stormo,21 Gruppo/51 Aerobrigata,22 Gruppo/51 Aerobrigata and 12 Gruppo/4 Aerobrigata. Japan Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Acquired 122 US F-86Ds, 1958–1961, assigned to four all-weather interceptor Hikōtai, Netherlands Royal Netherlands Air Force Acquired 57 U. S. -built and six Fiat-built F-86K Sabres, 1955–1956, and assigned to three squadrons, No. Norway Royal Norwegian Air Force Acquired 60 U. S. -built F-86K Sabres, 1955–1956, philippines Philippine Air Force Acquired 20 F-86Ds, assigned to 8th Fighter Interceptor Squadron Vampires beginning 1960, part of the U. S. military assistance package
7.
86th Airlift Wing
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The 86th Airlift Wing is a United States Air Force wing, currently assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. The 86th AW is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, the wings primary mission is to conduct airlift, airdrop and aeromedical evacuation operations flying the C-21A, C-20H, C-37A, C-40B and C-130J aircraft. The 86th Airlift Wing commander also serves as the Kaiserslautern Military Community commander, originally the 86th Fighter Wing was established and activated on 1 July 1948 at Neubiberg AB, Germany. The exact reporting chain for the 779th EAF is not known, the 86th Fighter Wing was established and activated on 1 July 1948 at Neubiberg AB, Germany. Its initial mission was to air defense, primarily in West Germany with its operational component. Equipped with P Thunderbolts, the 86th was one of two active USAF fighter units in Germany during the postwar years. Over the next years, the 86th underwent several redesignations. In June 1948, the 86th Fighter Wing was stationed at Neubiberg Air Base, in February 1951, the United States and France signed an agreement in which USAF bases in their German occupation zone would be built and made available to USAFE. In late 1952, enough construction was completed at Landstuhl and the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing was reassigned to the new base, the 86th Wing has been assigned to Ramstein for almost 60 years, with a brief period being inactive or assigned to Zweibrücken Air Base. In March 1958 the 86th Fighter-Bomber Group was inactivated and its squadrons being assigned to the Wing. In May, the 406th FIW at RAF Manston, England was inactivated and its three F-86D squadrons, the 512th, 513th and 514th were reassigned to bases on the continent and were also assigned to the 86th. HQ USAFE decided to uprade the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing and centralize command of all the European Air Defense squadrons in USAFE to it, with this change, the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing was redesignated the 86th Air Division on 18 November 1960. On 1 November 1969, the Air Force reactivated the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing at Zweibrücken and it received its first flying unit, the 17th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, on 12 January 1970. The 17th TRS and its McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom IIs was reassigned to the 86th TFW from the inactivating 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at RAF Upper Heyford, Squadron tail code for the 17th TRS was initially ZS, then was recoded to ZR in 1971. For 18 months the 17th was the operational squadron on the base. The 81st TFS, however remained a part of the 50th TFW but was detached from the operational control. Squadron tail code for the 81st TFS was ZS, in 1972, tail codes for all 86th TFW aircraft at Zweibrücken were standardized as ZR, per AFM 66-1, when squadron tail codes were eliminated. However, with reconnaissance aircraft at Zweibrücken the 86th Tactical Fighter Wings designation did not coincide with the wings mission
8.
521st Air Mobility Operations Wing
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The 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing is part of Air Mobility Command and is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It coordinates logistical air movements into, out of, and through Europe, the 521st AMOW expedites warfighting and humanitarian efforts by the United States Air Force throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It provides all command and control, en route maintenance support and it operates Air Terminal Operations Centers, providing passenger and fleet services, cargo processing, special handling, ramp services, and load planning. The Wing is composed of two groups and these groups are assigned twelve squadrons and fourteen other geographically separated units. The wing was constituted as the 555th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion The unit served as an aircraft warning unit in defense of the continental United States from 1942 to 1943. The battalion moved to England in 1944 where it provided communications support until the day after the Normandy landings when it moved to support the forces in France. It moved frequently to support elements of Ninth Air Force, arriving in Belgium in September and it continued it mission during the occupation of Germany from 1945. At the end of 1945, the battalion was converted to an Air Corps unit, redesignated the 501st Tactical Control Group and its component companies replaced by Aircraft Control and it provided radar coverage and navigational aid to allied aircraft flying over the U. S. Zone of Occupied Germany in 1946 and 1947, the unit was reactivated as the 501st Aircraft Control and Warning Group in 1949 to replace the 7402d Aircraft Control and Warning Group. Between 1949 and 1960, it provided tactical control systems, including control and warning facilities, passive detection devices. In 1952, it became a control group again. In 1954, the moved to Landstuhl Air Base. It operated the Tactical Control System to exercise control of offensive and defensive units in Europe. In the 1960s, its mission, personnel, and equipment were combined with those of the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, Army Air Forces Stations, A Guide to the Stations Where U. S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II. Maxwell AFB, AL, Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, archived from the original on 4 March 2016. U. S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields D-Day to V-E Day, maxwell AFB, AL, Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016, Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History, craven, Wesley F, Cate, James L, eds
9.
Western Europe
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Western Europe, or West Europe, is the region comprising the western part of Europe. Below, some different geographic and geopolitical definitions of the term are outlined, prior to the Roman conquest, a large part of Western Europe had adopted the newly developed La Tène culture. This cultural and linguistic division was reinforced by the later political east-west division of the Roman Empire. The division between these two was enhanced during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages by a number of events, the Western Roman Empire collapsed, starting the Early Middle Ages. By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, mostly known as the Greek or Byzantine Empire, survived, in East Asia, Western Europe was historically known as taixi in China and taisei in Japan, which literally translates as the Far West. The term Far West became synonymous with Western Europe in China during the Ming dynasty, the Italian Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci was one of the first writers in China to use the Far West as an Asian counterpart to the European concept of the Far East. In his writings, Ricci referred to himself as Matteo of the Far West, the term was still in use in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Post-war Europe would be divided into two spheres, the West, influenced by the United States, and the Eastern Bloc. With the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain, behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Although some countries were neutral, they were classified according to the nature of their political. This division largely defined the popular perception and understanding of Western Europe, the world changed dramatically with the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The Federal Republic of Germany peacefully absorbed the German Democratic Republic, COMECON and the Warsaw Pact were dissolved, and in 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Several countries which had part of the Soviet Union regained full independence. Although the term Western Europe was more prominent during the Cold War, it remains much in use, in 1948 the Treaty of Brussels was signed between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It was further revisited in 1954 at the Paris Conference, when the Western European Union was established and it was declared defunct in 2011, after the Treaty of Lisbon, and the Treaty of Brussels was terminated. When the Western European Union was dissolved, it had 10 member countries, six member countries, five observer countries. The CIA divides Western Europe into two smaller subregions, regional voting blocs were formed in 1961 to encourage voting to various UN bodies from different regional groups. The European Union is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe, some Western and Northern European countries of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are members of EFTA, though cooperating to varying degree with the European Union
10.
The Pentagon
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The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D. C. As a symbol of the U. S. military, The Pentagon is often used metonymically to refer to the U. S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon was designed by American architect George Bergstrom, and built by general contractor John McShain of Philadelphia. Ground was broken for construction on September 11,1941, General Brehon Somervell provided the major motive power behind the project, Colonel Leslie Groves was responsible for overseeing the project for the U. S. Army. The Pentagon is one of the worlds largest office buildings, with about 6,500,000 sq ft, approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground, two basement levels, and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 mi of corridors. It was the first significant foreign attack on Washingtons governmental facilities since the city was burned by the British, when World War II broke out in Europe, the War Department rapidly expanded in anticipation that the United States would be drawn into the conflict. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson found the situation unacceptable, with the Munitions Building overcrowded, Stimson told U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in May 1941 that the War Department needed additional space. On July 17,1941, a hearing took place, organized by Virginia congressman Clifton Woodrum. Reybold agreed to back to the congressman within five days. The War Department called upon its construction chief, General Brehon Somervell, Government officials agreed that the War Department building, officially designated Federal Office Building No 1, should be constructed across the Potomac River, in Arlington County, Virginia. Requirements for the new building were that it be no more than four stories tall, the requirements meant that, instead of rising vertically, the building would be sprawling over a large area. Possible sites for the building included the Department of Agricultures Arlington Experimental Farm, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, the site originally chosen was Arlington Farms which had a roughly pentagonal shape, so the building was planned accordingly as an irregular pentagon. Concerned that the new building could obstruct the view of Washington, D. C. from Arlington Cemetery, the building retained its pentagonal layout because a major redesign at that stage would have been costly, and Roosevelt liked the design. Freed of the constraints of the asymmetric Arlington Farms site, it was modified into a pentagon which resembled the star forts of the gunpowder age. While the project went through the process in late July 1941, Somervell selected the contractors, including John McShain, Inc. and Doyle and Russell. In addition to the Hoover Airport site and other government-owned land, construction of the Pentagon required an additional 287 acres, which were acquired at a cost of $2.2 million. The Hells Bottom neighborhood, a slum with numerous pawnshops, factories, approximately 150 homes, Later 300 acres of land were transferred to Arlington National Cemetery and to Fort Myer, leaving 280 acres for the Pentagon. Contracts totaling $31,100,000 were finalized with McShain and the contractors on September 11
11.
NATO
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved
12.
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
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Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations Allied Command Operations. Since 1967 it has been located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons, from 1951 to 2003, SHAPE was the headquarters of Allied Command Europe, ACE. Since 2003 it has been the headquarters of Allied Command Operations, SHAPE retained its traditional name with reference to Europe for legal reasons although the geographical scope of its activities was extended in 2003. At that time, NATOs command in Lisbon, historically part of the Atlantic command, was reassigned to ACO, an integrated military structure for NATO was first established after the Korean War raised questions over the strength of Europes defences against a Soviet attack. The first choice for commander in Europe was American General of the Army Dwight D, on December 19,1950, the North Atlantic Council announced the appointment of General Eisenhower as the first SACEUR. British Field Marshal Sir Bernard L, montgomery moved over from the predecessor Western Union Defence Organization to become the first Deputy SACEUR, who would serve until 1958. In establishing the command, the first NATO planners drew extensively on WUDO plans, General Eisenhower arrived in Paris on January 1,1951, and quickly set to work with a small group of planners to devise a structure for the new European command. The Planning Group worked in the Hotel Astoria in central Paris while construction of a permanent facility began at Rocquencourt, just west of the city, devising command arrangements in the Central Region, which contained the bulk of NATO’s forces, proved to be much more complicated. Drawing upon his World War II experience, General Eisenhower decided to retain overall control himself, instead there would be three separate C-in-Cs. In December 1950 it was announced that the forces initially to come under General Eisenhowers command were to be the U. S, on April 2,1951, General Eisenhower signed the activation order for Allied Command Europe and its headquarters at SHAPE. Headquarters, Allied Forces Central Europe was activated in Fontainebleau, France in 1953, on the same day, ACEs subordinate headquarters in Northern and Central Europe were activated, with the Southern Region following in June. By 1954 ACEs forces consisted of Allied Forces Northern Europe, at Oslo, Allied Forces Central Europe, Allied Forces Southern Europe, hodes, United States Army Allied Forces Southern Europe – Admiral R. P. M. Two 1952 central region exercises involved air-ground combined forces, equinox was a major air-ground exercise involving French-American tactical air units and a French airborne infantry unit under the command of Général dArmée Alphonse Juin, French Army. They maneuvered east of the Rhine River in the British Zone under the command of Lt. General Sir Richard Nelson Gale. Finally, Rosebud involved ground maneuvers by the U. S, seventh Army in the American Zone of Occupation of Allied-occupied Germany. The initial plans saw the defence of Western Europe from a Soviet invasion resting heavily on nuclear weapons, the conventional forces would attempt to hold this line while the allied strategic air forces defeated the Soviets and their allies by destroying their economy and infrastructure. What this strategy meant for the battle in the central region was described for publicity purposes in January 1954 by then-Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alfred Gruenther as. An air-ground shield which, although still not strong enough, would force an enemy to concentrate prior to attack, in doing so, the concentrating force would be extremely vulnerable to losses from atomic weapon attacks
13.
Allied Air Forces Central Europe
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Allied Air Forces Central Europe was the NATO command tasked with air and air defense operations in NATOs Allied Forces Central Europe area of command. Allied Air Forces Central Europe was activated on 2 April 1951 at Fontainebleau in France through General Dwight D. Eisenhowers General Order No.1. The first commanding officer of AAFCE was U. S. Air Force general Lauris Norstad, commanding general of US Air Forces in Europe, Wiesbaden. AAFCE reported to Allied Forces Central Europe at Fontainebleau, which in turn reported to Allied Command Europe, the task of AAFCE was to control and command allied air assets in the NATO Central Region in wartime. 2 Group RAF, Belgian-Dutch 69 Group, and British-Belgian No.83 Group RAF, fourth Allied Tactical Air Force, under General Dean C. Strother, comprised the Twelfth Air Force, French 1er Air Division, and its task was to provide central direction and control for NATO air forces in the European Central Region. Second Allied Tactical Air Force had been formed in 1958 to direct NATO air units in the Netherlands, Belgium, commander of 2ATAF was the commanding general of RAF Germany. The peacetime headquarters of 2 ATAF was at RAF Rheindahlen, the center in case of war for 2 ATAF and NORTHAG was in the Netherlands. In 1983 NATO began with the construction of Static War Headquarters Castlegate in Linnich, fourth Allied Tactical Air Force had been formed in 1958 to direct NATO air units in the southern part of Germany in support of Central Army Group. Commander of 4ATAF was the general of US Seventeenth Air Force. In 1985 NATO began with the construction of a new command bunker for CENTAG and 4 ATAF in Ruppertsweiler, during the early 1990s, following the relaxation of the tensions between East and West, a major reorganization of the NATO command and control structure was undertaken. The new command was inaugurated on 1 June 1993 retaining the name of Allied Air Forces Central Europe, the command was redesignated Component Command-Air Headquarters Ramstein in 2004, Allied Air Command, Ramstein in 2010 and Allied Air Command in 2013
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Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum
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The Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum is a NATO command at Brunssum, the Netherlands. Originally the command was known as Headquarters, Allied Forces Central Europe when it was activated in August 1953 in Fontainebleau, outside Paris, drawing upon his Second World War experience, Eisenhower decided to retain overall control himself and did not appoint a CINC for the Central Region. Instead there would be three separate commanders-in-chief (for Allied Air Forces Central Europe, Allied Land Forces Central Europe and Flag Officer Central Europe, vice Admiral Robert Jaujard of the French Navy was appointed as Flag Officer Central Europe, and served from 2 April 51 until 20 August 1953. On 20 August 1953 General Ridgeway, Eisenhowers successor, established a single Commander-in-Chief for the region with subordinate land, air, one of the commands exercises in the 1950s was Operation Counter Punch. Counter Punch was a September 1957 AFCENT air-ground military exercise that also tested NATOs integrated air-defense system in its central European front, Operation Counter Punch revealed deficiencies in the Integrated NATO Air Defense System as well as air force responsiveness to theoretical Soviet and Warsaw Pact ground advances. After July 1962 and the establishment of Commander Allied Forces Baltic Approaches, AFCENT remained in France under French command until 1967, when France removed itself from the military command structure. The headquarters was moved to Brunssum in 1967 and activated under German command, in 2000, the deactivation of Headquarters, Allied Forces Northern Europe in Kolsås, Norway led to the redesignation of AFCENT as Regional Headquarters, Allied Forces Northern Europe. The headquarters operated as RHQ AFNORTH until 2004, when it was renamed Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum to add flexibility to the command structure by removing regional restrictions. Circa 2010, JFC Brussum appears to be responsible for Contingency Plan Eagle Guardian, NATOs Article 5 plan to defend Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk Camp is the headquarters and main base area of JFC Brunssum. Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk Camp also boasts an all ranks club called Club 13, a small department store called the B&S Store, a film theatre, a swimming pool, tennis courts. Additional services are provided by the AAFES on US Army Garrison Schinnen, static War Headquarters Castlegate is a NATO command and communications bunker located approximately 2 km north-east of the town of Linnich, Germany. SWHQ Castlegate is operated in caretaker status by a German military contingent, on activation, it would have deployed to Europe from bases in the United States. A forward element, 3rd Brigade, US 2nd Armored Division, was located at Garlstedt, US III Corps also maintained a forward headquarters at Tapijn Kazerne, Maastricht, Netherlands. The commander of JFC-B is known as Commander, Joint Force Command Brunssum, the position was formerly known as Commander-in-Chief North and Commander-in-Chief Central. JFC-B is normally commanded by a German General but now is commanded by an Italian four-star general for the contribution of the Italian armed forces to NATO. The current commander is General Salvatore Farina of the Italian Army, official JFC-B Website Allied Land Forces Central Europe
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65th Air Division
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The 65th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with United States Air Forces in Europe, assigned to Seventeenth Air Force, being stationed at Lindsey Air Station and it was inactivated on 30 June 1991. Established as the 4 Air Defense Wing, the unit was not activated or manned, redesignated as the 65th Fighter Wing, the wing and its subordinate units transferred to England and was assigned to VIII Fighter Command in June 1943 and began flying combat missions. Subordinate units escorted bombers, flew air patrols, and dive bombing missions. They attacked airdromes, marshaling yards, missile sites, industrial areas, ordnance depots, oil refineries, trains, during Big Week February 1944, the 65th participated in the assaults against the German Air Force and the German aircraft industry. As an Air Division, it carried out air operations in Iceland from 1952 to 1954. Activated three years later it transferred to Spain, where it cooperated with Spanish Air Force units in the Air Defense Direction Centers, the 65th Air Division directed base construction, and the establishment of off base housing and radar sites. Its fighter squadrons flew air defense interceptions over Spanish airspace, the 65th also controlled the operations of attached tactical fighter squadrons deployed to Spain for temporary duty. Assigned or attached units of the participated in numerous exercises with the Spanish Air Defense Command. In June 1985, the 65th assumed responsibility for integrating USAFEs electronic combat systems to maximize overall warfighting potential, the division was inactivated in June 1991 as the Air Force eliminated air divisions to shorten the chain of command. 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. Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History
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West Berlin
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West Berlin was an enclave which comprised the western part of the city of Berlin during the Cold War. It was formally controlled by the Western Allies and formed a de facto part of West Germany, and was entirely surrounded by the Soviet-controlled East Berlin and East Germany. West Berlin had great significance during the Cold War, as it was widely considered by westerners as an island of freedom. A wealthy city, West Berlin was noted for its liberal and cosmopolitan character. With about two million inhabitants, West Berlin had the biggest population of any city in Cold War Germany and it was 100 miles east of the Inner German border and only accessible by land from West Germany by narrow rail and highway corridors. It consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors established in 1945 and was de facto part of West Germany and it had a special and unique legal status because its administration was formally conducted by the Western Allies. East Berlin, de jure occupied and administered by the Soviet Union, was the de facto capital of East Germany, the Berlin Wall, built in 1961, physically divided West Berlin from its East German surroundings until it fell in 1989. The Potsdam Agreement established the framework for the occupation of Germany in the wake of World War II. The territory of Germany, as it existed in 1937, would be reduced by most of Eastern Germany thus creating the former territories of Germany. The remaining territory would be divided into four zones, each administered by one of the allied countries, according to the agreement, the occupation of Berlin would end only as a result of a quadripartite agreement. The Western Allies were guaranteed three air corridors to their sectors of Berlin, and the Soviets also informally allowed road, at first, this arrangement was intended to be only a temporary administrative structure, with all parties declaring that Germany and Berlin would soon be reunited. However, as the relations between the allies and the Soviet Union soured and the Cold War began, the joint administration of Germany. Soon, Soviet-occupied Berlin and western-occupied Berlin had separate city administrations, in 1948, the Soviets tried to force the Western Allies out of Berlin by imposing a land blockade on the western sectors—the Berlin Blockade. The West responded by using its air corridors for supplying their part of the city with food, in May 1949, the Soviets lifted the blockade, and West Berlin as a separate city with its own jurisdiction was maintained. Following the Berlin Blockade, normal contacts between East and West Berlin resumed, however, in cases this proved only temporary. In 1952, the East German government began sealing its borders, as a direct result the electrical grids were separated and phone lines were cut. However, the culmination of the schism did not occur until 1961 with the construction of the Berlin Wall. From the legal theory followed by the Western Allies, the occupation of most of Germany ended in 1949 with the declaration of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic
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Berlin Tempelhof Airport
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Berlin Tempelhof Airport was one of the airports in Berlin, Germany. Tempelhof was designated as an airport by the Ministry of Transport on 8 October 1923, the old terminal was originally constructed in 1927. In anticipation of increasing air traffic, the Nazi government began a reconstruction in the mid-1930s. While it was cited as the worlds oldest operating commercial airport, the title was disputed by several other airports. Tempelhof was one of Europes three iconic pre-World War II airports, the others being Londons now defunct Croydon Airport and the old Paris – Le Bourget Airport and it acquired a further iconic status as the centre of the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49. Tempelhof Airports main building was once among the top 20 largest buildings on earth, in contrast, Tempelhof Airport closed all operations on 30 October 2008, despite the efforts of some protesters to prevent the closure. A non-binding referendum was held on 27 April 2008 against the impending closure, the former airfield has subsequently been used as a recreational space known as Tempelhofer Feld. In September 2015 it was announced that Tempelhof would also become a refugee camp. Tempelhof was often called the City Airport and these events respectively marked the debut at Tempelhof of the largest aircraft in commercial airline service at the time and the then-largest aircraft overall. Runway 09L/27R was 2,094 metres long and runway 09R/27L was 1,840 m, the taxiway was in the shape of an oval around these two runways, with a single terminal on the northwest side of the airport. Other possible uses for Tempelhof have been discussed, and many people are trying to keep the buildings preserved. The site of the airport was originally Knights Templar land in medieval Berlin, later, the site was used as a parade field by Prussian forces, and by unified German forces from 1720 to the start of World War I. In 1909, Frenchman Armand Zipfel made the first flight demonstration in Tempelhof, Tempelhof was first officially designated as an airport on 8 October 1923. Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded in Tempelhof on 6 January 1926, the old terminal, originally constructed in 1927, became the worlds first with an underground railway. As part of Albert Speers plan for the reconstruction of Berlin during the Nazi era, ernst Sagebiel was ordered to replace the old terminal with a new terminal building in 1934. With its façades of shell limestone, the building, built between 1936 and 1941, forms a 1.2 kilometre long quadrant. Arriving passengers walked through customs controls to the reception hall, Tempelhof was served by the U6 U-Bahn line along Mehringdamm and up Friedrichstraße. Zentralflughafen Tempelhof-Berlin had the advantage of a location just minutes from the Berlin city centre
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Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
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The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1954 and was the first independent Air Force decoration created, the Air Force Longevity Service Award would follow in 1957 with most of the standard Air Force awards established in the early to mid 1960s. The Outstanding Unit Award is awarded to any unit of the U. S, multiple awards of the Outstanding Unit Award are denoted by oak leaf clusters on the ribbon. Until 2004, the Outstanding Unit Award was the senior most unit award in the U. S. Air Force and it is awarded to personnel who were assigned or attached to the unit receiving the award during the period it was awarded for. Non-USAF personnel personnel assigned to USAF units awarded the Outstanding Unit Award are also eligible to wear the ribbon on their uniforms, however, the ribbon does not come in the larger size of unit awards common to the U. S. Army
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McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
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It first entered service in 1960 with the U. S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was adopted by the U. S. Marine Corps and the U. S. Air Force. The Phantom is a fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2. It can carry more than 18,000 pounds of weapons on nine hardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles. The F-4, like other interceptors of its time, was designed without an internal cannon, later models incorporated an M61 Vulcan rotary cannon. Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records for performance, including an absolute speed record. The Phantom has the distinction of being the last U. S. fighter flown to attain ace status in the 20th century. The F-4 Phantom II remained in use by the U. S. in the reconnaissance and Wild Weasel roles in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996. It was also the aircraft used by both U. S. flight demonstration teams, the USAF Thunderbirds and the US Navy Blue Angels. The F-4 was also operated by the forces of 11 other nations. Israeli Phantoms saw extensive combat in several Arab–Israeli conflicts, while Iran used its fleet of Phantoms in the Iran–Iraq War. Phantoms remain in front line service with five countries, Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built, making it the most numerous American supersonic military aircraft. The F-4 is currently used by Greece, Iran, Japan, South Korea and it has been recently used in combat against the Islamic State. In 1952, McDonnells Chief of Aerodynamics, Dave Lewis, was appointed by CEO Jim McDonnell to be the preliminary design manager. With no new aircraft competitions on the horizon, internal studies concluded the Navy had the greatest need for a new and different aircraft type, in 1953, McDonnell Aircraft began work on revising its F3H Demon naval fighter, seeking expanded capabilities and better performance. The company developed several projects including a variant powered by a Wright J67 engine, the J79-powered version promised a top speed of Mach 1.97. On 19 September 1953, McDonnell approached the United States Navy with a proposal for the Super Demon, the Navy was sufficiently interested to order a full-scale mock-up of the F3H-G/H, but felt that the upcoming Grumman XF9F-9 and Vought XF8U-1 already satisfied the need for a supersonic fighter. On 26 May 1955, four Navy officers arrived at the McDonnell offices and, within an hour, because the Navy already had the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk for ground attack and F-8 Crusader for dogfighting, the project now had to fulfill the need for an all-weather fleet defense interceptor
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Alaskan Air Command
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Alaskan Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command originally established in 1942 under the United States Army Air Forces. Its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise control of all active measures. In addition, the also supported Strategic Air Command elements operating through. It was redesignated Eleventh Air Force on 9 August 1990 and, concurrently, established on 18 December 1945 the end of World War II, assuming jurisdiction of former Eleventh Air Force, assets in the Alaska Territory. Headquartered at Davis Army Airfield on Adak, the mission of AAC was the consolidation of wartime Army Air Forces in Alaska. Its headquarters was moved back to Anchorage, and was re-established at Elmendorf Field on 1 October 1946. The 57th FG was equipped with 3 squadrons of very-long range P-51H Mustangs, originally designed for missions of B-29 Superfortresses during the war from the Mariana Islands to Japan. Two of its squadrons the 64th and 66th were located at Shemya, the 449th Fighter Squadron was activated at Davis AFB on 1 September 1947. It was equipped with P-61 Black Widows and assigned directly to Headquarters, the only other flying unit was the 54th Troop Carrier Squadron at Elmendorf Field. It was believed that Alaska was threatened more by Soviet bomber attacks across the polar regions, shortly after the Japanese Capitulation, most airfields in the Aleutians were placed in a standby status. Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command was moved to Elmendorf Field on 1 October 1946, the Aleutian Sector was inactivated on 1 July 1947. Following the National Security Act of 1947, the United States Air Force assumed control of the original Army Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Field, Elmendorf officially became an Air Force base 28 March. With tight Air Force budgets in the late 1940s, Amchatka AFB was placed in caretaker status in February 1949, Cape and Thornborough AFB were inactivated in January 1950, avis AFB was transferred to the Department of the Navy. With the exception of Shemya AFB, the Air Force had no bases in the Aleutian Islands. Following the Armistice in Korea, Shimeya was declared surplus and inactivated on 1 July 1954, see also, Kee Bird, Boeing RC-135 Strategic Air Command established a significant presence in Alaska in the late 1940s, initially as a result of its strategic reconnaissance mission. The first efforts were in photo-reconnaissance and mapping, with very long-range B-29 Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft based at Ladd AFB, with growing tensions in US-Soviet relations, SAC explored the possibility of attacking Soviet targets via great circle routes over the North Pole as part of Project Nanook. Ladd AFB, however, due to the geography of its location, was unsuitable for SACs postwar B-36 Peacemaker bomber as well as the new jet B-47 Stratojet. Ladd, being sited next to the Chena River, could not have its runway expanded to meet the requirements for new aircraft
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525th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
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The 525th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 3d Operations Group and stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, the 525th FS trains in the fighter missions of strategic attack, interdiction, offensive counterair, suppression of enemy air defenses, as well as offensive and defensive counterair. The 525th Fighter Squadron originally activated during World War II as the 309th Bombardment Squadron on 10 February 1942, the squadron began training for operations at Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma, and was assigned to the 86th Bombardment Group. In August 1942, the transferred to Key Field, Mississippi. A month later, the squadron was redesignated the 309th Bombardment Squadron, by years end, the squadron started the transition to two new combat aircraft types, the Vultee A-31 Vengeance and the North American A-36 Apache. The squadron achieved combat ready status on 19 March 1943, Ready to support the war effort, the 309th Bombardment Squadron boarded the SS John Erickson in April 1943. Twelve days after its departure from the United States, the squadron landed at La Senia, Algeria. The 309th moved to Mediouna, French Morocco, on 15 May 1943, Marnia, French Morocco, on 3 June 1943 and this is where the squadron acquired its first combat experience on 6 July 1943. On the squadrons first day of combat, it struck enemy entrenchments in Sicily, the 309th Bombardment Squadron was redesignated as the 525th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 23 August 1943. While in Italy, the 525th moved several times while participating in the Rome-Arno campaign. Bases for the 525th included Italian airfields at Sele, Serretella, during 1944, the squadron operated from Marcianise, Ciampino, Orbetello, Grosseto, Italy and Poretta, Corsica. Two of the famous battles during the Italian campaigns were Salerno and Cassino. The 525th Fighter-Bomber Squadron figured prominently in these battles, providing air support to Allied ground forces, in 1944, the 525th transitioned to the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. Along with the new aircraft the 525th was redesignated the 525th Fighter Squadron on 30 May 1944, in February 1945, the squadron moved to Tantonville, France, to fly missions against Germany. Two months later it moved into Germany, establishing its headquarters at Braunschardt on 18 April 1945, the 525th flew its last combat mission on 8 May 1945, and postwar the headquarters moved to Schweinfurt on 23 October 1945. The 525 FS was administratively moved to Bolling Field, Washington D. C. on 23 October 1945, Forces under the Status of Forces Agreements at the end of World War II. The 525th FS was temporarily inactivated on 31 March 1946 and it was reactivated on 20 August 1946, at Nordholz Airbase, Germany, again flying the P-47 Thunderbolt. On 20 January 1950, the 525th Fighter Squadron was redesignated the 525th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, in October 1950, the squadron transitioned to its first jet aircraft, the Republic F-84E Thunderjet and operated under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program
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Bitburg Airport
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Bitburg Airport is a commercial airport serving Bitburg, a city in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. It is located 2 miles southeast of Bitburg,32 km north of Trier, from 1952 until 1994, Bitburg Air Base was a front-line NATO air base. It was the home of the United States Air Forces 36th Fighter Wing for over 40 years as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe. Under contract with the United States Air Force, the French Army began construction of what would become the base in Western Germanys Eifel Mountains in early 1951. Located in the French occupation zone, construction began on land that had been a Wehrmacht tank staging. The air base and its housing area occupied nearly 1,100 acres, with a 8, in July 1952, the 53rd Fighter-Bomber Squadron from the 36th Wing moved from Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base a few miles west of Munich and arrived at the newly built base. Throughout the summer, elements of the 36th FBW moved into Bitburg, with the end of the Cold War, it was deemed that Bitburg AB was no longer needed as a military base and it was turned over to the German government on 1 October 1994. Bitburg Airport was the most logical place—only 10 miles down the road, the USAF departed for the second time in September 1997 and Bitburg Airport was returned to use by the civil aircraft which now call it home. On September 15,2008, the Ministry of Transport of Rhineland-Palatinate granted the airport landing rights for aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of more than 14 tonnes. The airport contracting company is currently evaluating plans to develop the airport into a regional freight airport, there are no scheduled airline services to and from Bitburg Airport. Transport in Germany List of airports in Germany Donald, David Century Jets, aIRtime ISBN 1-880588-68-4 Fletcher, Harry R. Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History, Tail Code, The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History. Schiffer Military Books ISBN 1-57427-079-6 Mueller, Robert, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History, Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present Mindling, George and Bolton, US Air Force Tactical Missiles 1949-1969 The Pioneers
United States
Air Force
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
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