1975: Brig Gen Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to exceed the speed of sound, flies his last Air Force sortie in an F-4 at Edwards […]
February 24, 1967 and 1969
(Wilbanks above, Levitow below) 1967 and 1969: MEDAL OF HONOR. Two are awarded on this day in separate years. 1967: Capt Hilliard A. Wilbanks: […]
February 23, 1952
1952: By shooting down a MiG-15, Maj William T. Whisner, Jr., 25th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, achieves ace status.
February 22, 1967
1967: Operation JUNCTION CITY. 23 USAF C-130s carry 700 troops from the 173d Airborne Brigade on the first parachute personnel drop in the Vietnam War. […]
February 19, 1977
1977: An asst. Secretary of Defense stops the selection process on the Advanced Tanker/Cargo Aircraft pending reassessment. After consultation with the President Sec of Defense […]
February 18, 1943
1943: The first class of 30 flight nurses graduates from the U. S. Army Air Forces School of Air Evacuation at Bowman Field, KY.
February 17, 1913
1913: The Army tests Lawrence Sperry’s Gyrostabilizer, or automatic pilot, for the first time.
February 16-17, 1945
1945: On the Japanese-held island of Corregidor in Manila Bay, C-47s drop 2,065 paratroopers to support an American amphibious landing aimed at capturing the harbor […]
February 15, 1951
1951: H-5 pilots of the 3rd Air Rescue Squadron fly through a blinding snowstorm and 40-knot winds to deliver blood plasma and medical supplies to […]
February 12, 1973
1973: Operation HOMECOMING/MACKAY TROPHY. After N. Vietnam releases its POWs, MAC airlift returns them to Clark. When the POWs reach America, the 375th Aeromedical Airlift […]