An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

News Search
NEWS | Aug. 1, 2011

This week in Air Force History

By Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs

July 31, 1941 - The U.S. Army Air Force officially established Tuskegee Army Air Field.

Aug. 1, 1958 - The U.S. detonated a missile-borne nuclear weapon at high altitude over Johnston Island in the Pacific as part of an anti-intercontinental ballistic missile defense program.

Aug. 2, 1987 - The 552nd Airborne Warning and Control Wing from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., completed the 5,000th mission for the Elf One deployment to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Elf One began October 1, 1980 when the war between Iran and Iraq erupted.

Aug. 3, 1972 - The F-15 Eagle completed its first supersonic flight. It reached Mach 1.5 during 45-minute test flight at Edwards AFB, Calif.

Aug. 4, 1964 - North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. On Aug. 7, Congress authorized President Johnson to use all measures to assist South Vietnam. That decision led to a buildup of airpower in the region.

Aug. 5, 1950 - In the first SA-16 rescue operation of the war, Capt. Charles Shroder led a crew in saving a Navy pilot who had crashed into the sea off the Korean coast.
Aug. 6, 1982 - Military Airlift Command supported a Multinational Peacekeeping Force in the Sinai Peninsula by sending nine missions to deliver a 101st Airborne Division battalion from Fort Campbell, Ky., to Ras Nastani and then to return a 82nd Airborne Division battalion to Fort Bragg, N. C.