Introduction

he popular expression “Wild Blue Yonder” conjures up imagery of fleets of American warplanes, invincible in combat and in seemingly end­less abundance. However, such popular notions belie the relatively humble origins of the U. S. Air Force, and its forebears. American military aviation is rooted in the U. S. Army Signal Corps, which operated reconnaissance balloons during the Civil War. It was not until airplanes became tech­nologically feasible that the Signal Corps Aeronautical Division manifested in 1907, which, in turn, gave way to the Signal Corps Aviation Section in 1917. However, the United States had fallen far behind Europe in terms of military aviation by the advent of World War I, and it was not until May 1918 that the U. S. Army Air Service arose to manage the 10-fold increase in machines and personnel. Despite this shaky start, the Air Service acquitted itself well in combat, downing 756 enemy aircraft and 76 balloons at a cost of 289 aircraft, 48 bal­loons, and 237 crewmen. Success here stimulated cries for an independent air force, free of army control, and of which General William G. “Billy” Mitchell was the most vocal proponent.

Over the next decade a series of aviation boards and studies concluded that American air power merited greater recognition as a quasi-independent arm, so in 1926 the Army Air Corps was born. Despite a lack of funding brought on by the Depression era, America airmen managed to make signifi­cant technological and doctrinal strides with a number of historic flights, and new institu­tions such as the Air Corps Tactical School. Among the most significant creations was the General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ), which enjoyed a measure of autonomy from the Army and formed the kernel of American strategic bombing. By 1941, the inadequacies of the Army Air Corps forced it to give way to the new Army Air Forces (AAF), whereby commander General Henry “Hap” Arnold enjoyed coequal status and recognition with leaders of traditional ground forces. The war was also a turning point in American aviation history, for the AAF emerged as a conquer­ing force of 1.2 million men and 160,000 airplanes, unprecedented in the annals of warfare. Significantly, AAF B-29s named Enola Gay and Bock’s Car ushered in a defin­ing moment in human history by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, and heralding the dawn of nuclear warfare.

The dream of an independent air arm was finally realized in 1947 when the U. S. Air Force emerged through the National Secu­rity Act of that year. The new organization performed splendidly during the Korean War, 1950-1953, the West’s first challenge of the Cold War, and by decade’s end had pioneered the development and deployment of new Atlas, Titan, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles. However, despite more capable aircraft and heroic sacrifices, the Air Force proved unable to materially change the course of events in the Vietnam War, or its collateral theaters in Laos and Cambodia. Thereafter, the Air Force concentrated on the acquisition of even more modern weapons systems, lavish in price and capabilities in combat, and proved itself capable of neutralizing the threat posed by the mighty Red Air Force. Ironically, its greatest challenge was mounted not by the Soviet Union but rather Iraq, during its invasion of neighboring Kuwait. The Air Force proved itself up to the challenge of defeating this modern, up-to-date adversary in an aerial campaign lasting 39 days, which enabled Operation desert storm to triumph in only 100 hours on the ground. Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Air Force has continued displaying its global flexibility and capacities in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, all of which reinforce its reputation as a high-tech, unbeatable adversary, and

America’s first line of defense in the war against terrorism.

This chronology is an attempt to capture the impressive historical sweep of the U. S. Air Force, and its antecedents, in a single volume. To that end, all important conflicts and personages are covered to properly con­textualize military events at the time they occurred. Great care is also taken to mention important laws, military texts, schools, weapons systems, and occasional political developments affecting military affairs. Overall, this book should sketch out for lay readers the growth and maturation of American military aviation, while the detailed bibliography ofthe latest scholarship points the way to subsequent inquiries. It will also afford prospective researchers a workable time frame, or stepping-off point, from which they can investigate events and personalities of interest. The author would like to thank editors Padraic Carlin and Andy McCormick for their support and advice in compiling what the author hopes is a useful and relevant addition to any library shelf, public or private.

—-John C. Fredriksen, Ph. D.

June 18 In Virginia, Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe sends the first aerial telegraph message from a balloon tethered to the vessel Enterprise.

September 24 Over Washington, D. C., Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe flies a balloon 1,000 feet across the Potomac

River; his messages assist Union gunners bombarding Confederate positions in Virginia.

OCTOBER 1 The U. S. Army establishes a Balloon Corps, which musters fifty men and five balloons. This is the first forma­tion of its kind in military history.