Air Force
Happy Birthday Chuck Yeager
The first person to break the sound barrier, Chuck Yeager was born on February 13, 1923, in Myra, West Virginia.
Birth of Aviator Jimmy Doolittle
James “Jimmy” Doolittle was born on December 14, 1896 in Alameda, California.
Battle of Britain Ends
On October 31, 1940, the nearly four-month-long Battle of Britain came to an end.
U.S. Air Force Established
After 40 years and two wars, the aeronautical division of the U.S. military was established as its own branch, the Air Force, on September 18, 1947.
First Flight of the B-17 Flying Fortress
On July 28, 1935, Boeing’s Model 299, as it was called at the time, embarked on its first flight from a Seattle airfield. The plane would go on to be one of the most famous used during World War II.
First Women Inducted into the U.S. Air Force
Staff Sergeant Esther McGowin Blake raised her right hand and enlisted in the first minute women were allowed to join the U.S. Air Force on July 8, 1948. In doing so, she paved the way for a new generation of women’s military service.