The Syrian airfield prepare for reception of military aircraft of China
The latest news about fast emergence in borders of Syria of navy of China encouraged Syrians and res[...]
1940
January 18 At Selfridge Field, Michigan, the 94th Pursuit Squadron wins the Luke Trophy Award for the highest gunnery average of the year. This is the lineal successor to Captain Eddie Rickenback – er’s 94 th Aero Squadron of World War I.
JANUARY 19 Major James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle is elected president of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences.
January 23 At Hamilton Field, California, a force of 38 bombers from the 7th Bomber Group loads a battalion of the 65th Coast Artillery and flies them to a point 500 miles distant. This is a pioneering attempt at mass troop transport.
FEBRUARY 26 At Mitchel Field, New York, the Air Defense Command is established to coordinate defensive tactics and strategy by the U. S. Army Air Corps to thwart any possible air attack on the continental United States.
MARCH 15 At Mitchel Field, New York, Brigadier General James E. Chaney assumes command of the new Air Defense Command.
MARCH 25 In Washington, D. C., a liberalized release and export policy allows the Army Air Corps to sell modern aircraft to anti-Axis nations. This has the effect of boosting aircraft production domestically, broadening the production base for the Air Corps.
MARCH 26 At St. Louis, Missouri, the Curtiss CW-20T prototype flies for the first time. It enters service as the C-46 Commando and performs yeoman work as transport during World War II.
APRIL 1 In Oslo, Norway, 31-year old Captain Robert M. Losey, Army Air Corps Attache, is killed in a German air raid. He becomes the first American officer casualty of World War II.
APRIL 8 An Army Air Forces Douglas B – 18 Bolo bomber flies nonstop for the first time between Denver, Colorado, and Miami, Florida.
April 14 At Fairbanks, Alaska, the first detachment of Army Air Corps personnel and aircraft deploy.
April 15 In Washington, D. C., the War Department issues Field Manual 1-5 relative to the tactical employment of air power, and imposes centralized control over all aerial assets.
May 16 President Franklin D. Roosevelt, having conferred closely with Major General Henry H. Arnold, appeals to Congress for a $1.18 billion defense appropriation. He seeks an increase in military aircraft production to 50,000 per year.
May 23—25 Near Barksdale, Louisiana, 300 Air Corps aircraft participate in large-scale wargames staged by the Third Army.
May 28 Major General Henry H. Arnold and Dr. Robert H. Goddard confer as to the possible military application of his rockets. Nothing material results, but Dr. Theodore von Karman is directed to pursue the possibility of rocket-powered assists for heavily laden bombers.
June 11 Dr. Robert H. Goddard test fires a rocket engine that burns for 43.5 seconds, the longest duration yet achieved.
June 27 In Washington, D. C., the Council of National Defense establishes the National Defense Research Committee to work on scientific projects with potential military applications. Among them is the Azon (azimuth only) guided bomb.
June 29 In Washington, D. C., Congress approves a plan to procure 12,000 modern warplanes for the Army Air Corps by
April 1, 1942. The Army will handle the training, organization, and procurement.
July 3 At El Segundo, California, the Northrop N-1M Flying Wing, a twin – engined pusher type aircraft that lacks a fuselage, is flight-tested.
July 8 Additional training facilities at Randolph Field, Texas; Maxwell Field, Alabama; and Moffett Fields, California, are established by the Army Air Corps.
July 16 At Lowry Field, Colorado, the Air Corps opens its first formal bombardier training school, whose initial cadre will serve as the instructors for subsequent classes.
August 17 Over Sussex, England, Pilot Officer William L. M. Fiske III is killed in an air battle while fighting with the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain. He is the first American pilot to die in World War II.
AUGUST 19 Over Inglewood, California, the North American NA-62, a highly modified NA-40 prototype, is successfully flight-tested; this version enters production as the famous B-25 Mitchell.
September 16 In Washington, D. C., the War Department announces that the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) will assist the Army to recruit and train African American aviation units.
OCTOBER 8 In Great Britain, the first Eagle Squadron forms from American volunteers serving with the Royal Air Force; it subsequently forms the basis of the 4th Fighter Group.
OCTOBER 12 Off the coast of Virginia, Curtiss P-40 Warhawks under Major Reuben Moffat, 33rd Pursuit Group, take off from the carrier Wasp to see how well land aircraft operate at sea.
OCTOBER 26 Over Inglewood, Los Angeles, the North American A-36 Apache, precursor to the famous P-51 Mustang fighter, flies for the first time. Built to British specifications, it is powered by the low-altitude Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engine. It performs so impressively that the Army Air Corps decides to adopt it.
OCTOBER 30 In England, the first Eagle Squadron, composed primarily of American military personnel, is declared operational.
NOVEMBER 1 At Fort Shafter, Hawaii, the Hawaiian Air Force (later Seventh Air Force) is activated.
November 19 The General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ) is taken from the chief of the Air Corps and assigned to the general commanding the field forces. This proves something ofa setback for independent air power.
NOVEMBER 25 In Baltimore, Maryland, the Martin XB-26 makes its flying debut at the Martin Middle River plant. It enters service as the B-26 Marauder, and garners the reputation as a “hot” aircraft from its high performance.
In Washington, D. C., the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) declares it is building a $6.4 million engine research laboratory at the Cleveland Municipal Airport, Ohio.
December 18 The Army Air Corps establishes new commands within its existing structure: Northeast Air District, Northwest Air District, Southeast Air District, and Southwest Air District.