1970: Two HH-53s complete the 1st nonstop transpacific helicopter flight as they land at Da Nang AB, South Vietnam, after a 9,000-mile flight from Eglin […]
Category Archives: History
August 23, 1954
1954: Lockheed pilots Stanley Beltz and Roy Wimmer fly the YC-130 t Hercules transport on its first flight.
August 22, 1990
1990: President George H. W. Bush calls-up 200,000 ANG and AFRES personnel for Operation DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. Some 15,300 reservists, roughly 22 percent […]
August 21, 1923
1923: The first airways lighting occurs when 18- and 36-inch electric arc beacons are used to light 42 landing fields between Chicago and Cheyenne. They […]
August 20, 1953
1953: Dr. Werner von Braun and his team join US Army personnel at Cape Canaveral in firing the first Redstone (Redstone No. 1). It was […]
August 17, 1943
1943: 8AF sends over 300 B-17s on raid of Schweinfurt and Regensburg, losing 60; leadership re-evaluates need for fighter escort.
August 16, 1960
1960: Capt Joseph W. Kittinger Jr. jumps from 102,800 feet over New Mexico; he reaches speeds over 600 mph during 13:08 minute descent.
August 15, 1945
1945: VICTORY DAY–JAPAN. The Japanese government announces its intention to surrender “unconditionally.”
August 14, 1912
1912: Sgt. Vernon Burge receives rating as the U.S. Army’s first enlisted pilot.
August 13, 1953
1953: The XC-99, the world’s largest plane to date, makes its first transatlantic flight from Kelly AFB to Frankfurt, Germany, with 60,000 pounds of cargo. […]