1942: Through 8 May, the Battle of Coral Sea features the first naval engagement fought by aircraft, as the opposing ships made no contact with […]
Category Archives: History
May 3, 1973
1973: The 1972 Mackay Trophy goes to three Vietnam aces: Captains Richard S. “Steve” Ritchie, Charles B. DeBellevue, and Jeffery S. Feinstein.
May 2, 1957
1957: The USAF accepts its first F-101A Voodoo.
May 1, 1943
1943: B-17 gunner Sergeant Maynard H. Smith receives the MEDAL OF HONOR for heroic service on this date saving his crew members’ lives. http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3004/smith-maynard-h.php
April 30, 1917
1917: In World War I, Maj William “Billy” Mitchell becomes the first American officer to fly over the German lines, as an observer in a […]
April 27, 1979
1991: A C-141 delivers 15 tons of blankets for Kurdish refugees in the first airlift mission into Iran since 1979.
April 26, 1952
1952: KOREAN WAR. Maj. William H. Wescott destroys his fifth MiG in four weeks to become the war’s 12th ace. His F-86 Saber Jet, “Lady […]
April 25, 1967
1967: Maj Gen Benjamin D. Foulois dies at Andrews AFB at the age of 87. He was the first person to fly an Army dirigible; […]
April 24, 1943
1943: The first class of women pilots graduates from US Army Air Force flight training (shown on their initial reporting date).
April 23, 1991
1991: SECAF Donald B. Rice announces the winner of the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition. He selects the Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics F-22 with the Pratt and Whitney […]