February 10, 1908
Capt. Charles S. Wallace signed the first Army airplane contract with the Wright Brothers for the Signal Corp. Augustus M Herring and James F. Schott also received contracts, but both failed to produce planes.
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February 10, 1933
Maj. Hugh J. Knerr developed the concept of establishing four provisional air transport squadrons, one at each air depot, to haul equipment and materiel between airfield and the depots as well as transport troops on maneuvers.
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February 10, 1947
Maj. E. M. Cassell set an unofficial helicopter altitude record of 19,167 feet in a Sikorsky R-5A at Dayton, Ohio.
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February 10, 1952
Maj. George A. Davis Jr, while leading a flight of three F-86 Sabre jets, engaged 12 enemy MiG-15s. After shooting down two enemy fighters and completely disrupting the enemy formation, a MiG-15 shot him down and killed him. For engaging superior forces and shooting down enemy aircraft, he received the Medal of Honor. Major Davis also became the first Air Force ace in two wars, World War II and Korea.
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February 10, 1958
For six days Airman 1st. Class Donald G. Ferrell lived in a space cabin simulator at Randolph AFB, Texas.
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February 10, 1992
Provide Hope I, a humanitarian airlift operation, delivers thousands of tons of food and medical supplies to the Commonwealth of Independent States, former republics of the USSR. U.S. Air Force flies 65 missions in support of the operation.
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February 10, 1994
Lt. Jeannie Flynn, the first woman selected for U.S. Air Force combat pilot training, completes training in an F-15E Eagle.
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February 11, 1913
The first bill to establish a separate Aviation Corps failed to pass.
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February 11, 1944
Eighth Air Force conducted a radar bombing attack on important German chemical plants.
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February 11, 1959
A weather balloon launched at the Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory, Fort Monmouth, N.J., set a world altitude record of 146,000 feet.
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February 11, 1962
The 1405th Air Base Wing at Scott AFB, Ill., acquired the first T-39 (later designated the CT-39) Sabreliner for the military air transport service.
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February 11, 1964
All B-26s in South Vietnam were grounded after a wing failed in combat. Then when other B-26s suffered structural wing failures the Air Force withdrew the aircraft from combat. On April 1, the last B-26 flew to Clark AB, Philippines. To keep its strike capability, the 1st Air Commando Squadron borrowed nine surplus T-28s from the Vietnamese.
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February 11, 1965
The U.S. for the first time stopped and restarted a Titan III-A in space to place the vehicle in three different orbits. This rocket also marked the 1,000th man-made object in space recorded by NORAD.
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February 11, 1966
To complete the accelerated B-47 phaseout program, Strategic Air Command retired its last two B-47 bombers (E-models). They were stationed at Pease AFB, N.H., and Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
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February 11, 1977
Jimmy Carter became the first President to fly in the E-4A National Emergency Airborne Command Post in a flight from Andrews AFB, Md., to Robins AFB, Ga.
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February 11, 1998
A B-1B dropped its first Joint Direct Attack Munition, a satellite guided conventional bomb, at China Lake, Calif.
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February 12, 1958
The Department of Defense transferred the Jupiter Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles program from the Army to the U. S. Air Force.
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February 12, 1959
Strategic Air Command retires its last B-36 Peacemaker to become an all-jet bomber force.
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February 12, 1965
U.S. Air Force scientists at Hanscom AFB, Mass., hit Explorer XXII with a ground-based laser, photographed the spot of reflected light and recorded it photo-electrically in relation to the surrounding stars.
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February 12, 1965
After a presidential decision to deploy B-52s to Southeast Asia for ARC LIGHT conventional bombing missions, KC-135s arrived at Andersen AFB, Guam, to support the bombers.
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February 12, 1967
The first production F-111A flew its first flight.
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February 12, 1969
Under the Force Modernization Program, Strategic Air Command removed the last Minuteman Is from silos at Malmstrom AFB, Mont. Contractors then began upgrading the silos for Minuteman II missiles.
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February 12, 1970
The first of four C-124s arrived for duty with the 20th Operations Squadron at Clark AB, Philippines. Pacific Air Force retained the C-124 for moving outsized equipment after the inactivation of all C-124 squadrons at Military Air Command.
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February 12, 1973
A U.S. Air Force C-141 lands in Hanoi to pick up the first returning POWs.
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February 13, 1959
The 5th Bombardment Wing at Travis AFB, Calif., received Strategic Air Command's first B-52G. This model had more fuel tanks to increase its nonrefueled range from 6,000 to 10,000 miles.
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February 13, 1961
The U.S. Air Force launched a solid-fuel, air-to-surface missile, the GAM-83B Bullpup, at supersonic speed from an F-100 Super Sabre. This modified Navy Bullpup missile could carry a nuclear weapon or could be guided by the pilot of the parent aircraft to its target.
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February 13, 1974
The first Have Mill program launch, using an Athena-H, took place from the Wake Island Launch Complex to test a reentry vehicle in an anti-ballistic missile role.
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February 13, 1987
Pacific Air Force conducted Team Spirit 82 in Korea through April 26. It involved nearly 14,500 people, 177 combat and support aircraft, and over 7,000 sorties.
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February 13, 1987
Two C-141 Starlifters and two C-130 Hercules aircraft flew through Feb. 15, 64 tons of tents and plastic sheeting to Vanuatu, New Hebrides following Typhoon Uma. The aircraft also searched the waters around the islands for survivors of shipwrecks.
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February 13, 1993
The U.S. Air Force sent airlift aircraft through March 9, with food and relief supplies from Hawaii to Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, to help 535 Chinese refugees whose ship had broken down in mid-Pacific.
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February 14, 1914
Lt. Townsend F. Dodd and Sgt. Herbert Marcus set an official nonstop American duration and distance record for pilot and passenger when they flew a Burgess H tractor 244.18 kilometers in four hours and 43 minutes.
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February 14, 1931
Congress created the Air Mail Flyers Medal of Honor, retroactive to May 15, 1918.
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February 14, 1939
The XB-15 flew a mercy mission from Virginia to Chile in 29 hours, 53 minutes.
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February 14, 1983
In Egypt Strategic Air Command's KC-10 demonstrated its dual importance as a tanker and a cargo carrier through Feb. 24. Three KC-10s refueled the E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft that monitored Libyan air traffic and preparations for a possible attack on Sudan. In the ten-day deployment, the KC-10s flew 21 sorties to refuel American and Egyptian aircraft and transported 832 passengers and 1,340 tons of cargo.
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February 14, 1989
In its first launch, the McDonnell-Douglas Delta II space booster lifted the first operational NavStar Block II Global Positioning System satellite into orbit.
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February 14, 1991
An unusual air-to-air incident occurred when Capts. Tim Bennett and Dan Bakke of the Fourth Tactical Fighter Wing from Seymour-Johnson AFB, N.C., shot down an Iraqi helicopter with a GBU-10 laser-guided bomb dropped from their F-15E Strike Eagle.
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February 14, 1996
The E-8A Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System flies its 50th mission in support of Operation Joint Endeavor. This surpasses the JSTARS record of 49 missions during Operation Desert Storm.
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February 15, 1908
The U.S. government received bids for its first airship.
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February 15, 1910
The Signal Corps relocated its flight training program from College Park, Md., to Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
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February 15, 1944
Twelfth Air Force sent 254 B-17s and B-25 bombers to attack and destroy the Abbey of Monte Cassino, Italy. The U.S. Fifth Army did not take the ruins until May 18, which allowed the U.S. Fifth and British Eighth Armies to advance on Rome.
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February 15, 1945
The Consolidated Vultee XP-81 first flew.
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February 15, 1948
The XF-87 made its first flight at Edwards AFB, Calif.
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February 15, 1961
Tactical Air Command received the first T-39B jet trainer at Nellis AFB, Nev.
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February 15, 1962
In the fifth consecutive silo launching, a Minuteman I missile set a new record by flying 3,900 miles, the longest distance for the Minuteman to date.
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February 15, 1965
The first OH-13E "Bubbletop" helicopter arrived at Edwards AFB, Calif., for use in a vertical short take-off and landing test pilot training program.
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February 15, 1975
The first pre-production A-10 completed its initial flight at Edwards AFB, Calif.
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February 15, 1979
A Minuteman III missile launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., to the Kwajalein missile range, where it deployed three Mark 12A reentry vehicles.
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February 16, 1914
Lts. Joseph E. Carberry and Walter R. Taliaferro set an Army altitude record of 8,700 feet for two people in a Curtiss plane at San Diego.
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February 16, 1943
B-17s and B-24s attacked St. Nazaire, France. Eight aircraft were lost and 30 damaged.
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February 16, 1951
The Army started using L-19 Bird Dogs for the forward airborne control mission and artillery spotting along the frontlines in the Korean War.
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February 16, 1961
NASA launched its first satellite from Wallops Station, Va., when a four-stage Scout booster lifted Explorer IX into orbit. This 12-foot diameter round "polka dot" balloon was the first satellite to be launched by the U.S. aboard a solid-fueled rocket.
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February 16, 1966
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. McConnell presented astronaut wings to Col. L. Gordon Cooper, Col. Frank Borman and Lt. Col. Thomas P. Stafford.
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February 16, 1968
The U.S. Air Force maintained Itazuke AB, Japan as a dispersed operating base with no active flying units since 1964. The arrival of 15 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron RF-4Cs and 16th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron EB-66s from Korea as part of Combat Fox brought the base back to life.
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February 16, 1975
Brig. Gen. Eugene D. Scott became the first navigator in U.S. Air Force history to command an operational flying unit, the 47th Air Division at Fairchild AFB, Wash.
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February 16, 1996
Lockheed Martin celebrated a major milestone in C-130 history, when the company assembled its last "H" model to end a 32-year production run. The C-130H was first introduced in 1964 and has been in steady production since.
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