Air Force Day

From USAFA Folklore

Certain historical events, typically included in Contrails, were identified as Air Force Days. Basic cadets and fourth class cadets were required to know the next Air Force Day as part of Checkpoints.

[edit] Air Force Days

31 Jan 1958	Explorer I, the first US satellite to go into orbit, was launched from Cape Canaveral
26 Mar 1926	Robert H. Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket.
12 Apr 1981	The first space shuttle orbiter, OV-102, Columbia, is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
18 Apr 1942	Lt.Col. James Doolittle leads his B-25 raid on Tokyo.
5 May 1961	Cmdr Alan B. Shepard becomes the first U.S. astronaut in space.
3-7 Jun 1965	Major Edward H. White, USAF, became the first American to walk in space
12 May 1949	The Soviet blockade of Berlin is lifted, ending the Berlin Airlift.
20 Jul 1969	The first manned space vehicle lands on the moon.
26 Jul 1947	The National Security Act was signed into law, providing for the establishment of the Air Force
6 Aug 1945	The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan by the B-29 Enola Gay.
18 Sep 1947	Executive Order 9877 established the roles and missions of the United States Air Force; W. Stewart Symington was sworn in as the first Secretary of the Air Force.
28 Sep 1924	Four Douglas biplanes, under the command of Major Frederick L. Douglas, complete the first around-the-world flight in aviation history.
1 Oct 1942	The first jet flight by an aircraft (Bell XP-59A) is made.
14 Oct 1947	The Bell X-1, piloted by Capt. Charles E. Yeager, became the first piloted plane to break the sound barrier.
8 Nov 1950	The first all-jet aerial combat takes place; Lt. Russel J. Brown in an F-80 shoots down a MiG-15 over North Korea.
17 Dec 1903	The Wright brothers make the first sustained, controlled, powered flight in history from Kill Devil Hill, North Carolina.