May 15, 1918
1918: Pilots in the Army Aviation Section (Signal Corps) start the government’s first permanent airmail route from Washington to New York.
1918: Pilots in the Army Aviation Section (Signal Corps) start the government’s first permanent airmail route from Washington to New York.
1973: From Kennedy Space Center, a two-stage Saturn V launches Skylab 1 into orbit, where its two Solar Array System wings fail to deploy. These were partially repaired on subsequent missions. Skylab was America’s first
1942: President Roosevelt orders the Air Medal to be established for any military person who accomplishes meritorious achievement in aerial flight.
1972: LINEBACKER I: 8th Tactical Fighter Wing F-4s drop precision-guided munitions on the Paul Doumer Bridge in Hanoi, closing it to traffic. For a recap on this and other bridge attacks during the Vietnam
1961: The 379th Bomb Wing at Wurtsmith AFB, MI., receives SAC’s first B-52H (number 60-0001, shown here later at Barksdale AFB). It was known as Memphis Belle IV.
1970: MACKAY TROPHY. An AC-119K gunship attacks a heavily defended road section in SEA. Despite losing 15 feet of the aircraft’s right wing and an aileron, the crew destroys three enemy supply trucks and then
1949: Henry H. Arnold is named General of the Air Force. He was made a five star general of the Army in December 1944, and is thus the only person to hold the rank in two services.
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 their opponents.
1973: The 1972 Mackay Trophy goes to three Vietnam aces: Captains Richard S. “Steve” Ritchie, Charles B. DeBellevue, and Jeffery S. Feinstein.