The White Falcon - 22.09.1967, Blaðsíða 4

4
WHITE FALCON
Friday, September 22, 1967
THE AIR FORCE’S newest strategic reconnais-
sance aircraft, the SR-71 flies at three times the
speed of sound at altitudes above 80,000 feet.
FIRST FIGHTER designed for pursuit operations,
the Curtis P-1 Hawk was introduced in 1925. Its
435 horsepower engine produced a top speed of
163 mph.
USAF Marks 20th Anniversary
57th FIS Concludes
Fifth Year In Iceland
THE ABOVE COMPOSITE shows only few of the aircraft used over the past 60 years. In the center
twof aviators, flying a Wright Flying Machine prepare to drop the first live bomb from an aircraft.
Moving clockwise from top right, other aircraft are: C-121, BT-9, B-58, F-102, B-29, a side winder equip-
ped jet and a MB-2.
Highlights In Aviation
by Bruce Weidner
Mid September can be conside-
red “Anniversary Time” for the
57th Fighter Interceptor Squad-
rons Black Knights as well as for
the entire Department of the Air
Force.
Monday marked the actual 20th
anniversary of the Air Force as a
separate United States military
organization. Then, today marks
the end of the fifth year
that the F102’s of the 57th Figh-
ter Interceptor Squadron have
provided air defense support from
Iceland.
Although the Air Force has
been a separate service only 20
years; it has a proud heritage
that dates back more than 60
years. It all started when the
Wright Brothers flew the world’s
first powered aircraft over the
sand dunes near Kitty Hawk, N.C.
Four year later American mili-
tary aviation became a reality
with the creation of the Aeronau-
tical Division in an obscure cor-
ner of the U. S. Army Signal
Corps.
From Kitty Hawk to Cape Ken-
nedy Americans have created his-
tory in manned aircraft.
At the outset of World War I
the airplane was still considered
a toy by most military men. A'
few realists, struggling against
skeptics and inertia, developed it
into a potentially deadly weapon.
Despite the lessons demonstrated
early in the war, the United
States entered the conflict with-
out combat planes worthy of
joining the air battle.
Even with the appropriation of
$640 million for aeronautics by
an enthusiastic Congress, Ameri-
can industry was unable to design
and produce one plane that saw
combat.
The devasting results of the
air victory in World War II were
clearly evident in the rubble of
Germany’s cities and in the
mushroom cloud over Japan. The
importance of the airman and his
machine was proven beyond
doubt.
Development of the first opera-
tional jet in 1944 opened new hori-
zons for the pilot. And he would
put his new jet machine to the test
in just six short years — in a
place called Korea.
Then, in August 1945, the nu-
clear age was born as American
bombers shortened the war by de-
livering the world’s first atomic
weapon against Japan.
In the years since, American
airmen have flown the skies to
keep the peace in Korea and
Southeast Asia.
In a message to all Air Force
personnel Air Force Chief of Staff
General John P. McConnell ex-
pressed his pride in Air Force ac-
complishments over the past 20
years. The General stated that
“The Air Force both past and pre-
sent, is people — diligent, dedi-
cated and highly skilled people
with vision and faith — who have
etched the primacy of air power
into history. He concluded his an-
niversary message by saying, “I
share your pride in Air Force ac-
complishments as together we
mark this historic occasion.”
Over the past five years and
more significantly during the
past two years the personnel of
the 57th Fighter Interceptor
Squadron have made an impres-
sive record for themselves, ad-
ding other pages to the overall Air
Force history.
In the past two years alone, the
57th has set numerous Air De-
fense Command and Air Force
records. The 57th was one of two
Air Force Defense Command in-
terceptor squadrons to receive the
Outstanding Unit Award, for the
past two year period. It was also
recognized for having the highest
operational ready rate in the Air
Force over the past two years.
In carrying out the squadrons
mission it was recently noted
that the pilots of the 57th ex-
perienced more “eyeball to eye-
ball” contact with Russian fliers
than any other military organi-
zation in the Free World.
Over the past two years, 57th
pilots have made some 670 active
defense scrambles resulting in 94
successful intercepts on un-
known or lost aircraft. In recog-
nition for the 8,900 single engine
jet aircraft hours flown with an
outstanding flying safety record,
the 57th was awarded the Air
Force Flying Safety award in
1966.
The aircraft flown by members
of the squadron has been commonly
nicknamed the “dagger in the sky.”
The first production model of
this, the Air Force’s first all
weather supersonic interceptor,
was completed in late 1954 by Con-
vair, a division of General Dyna-
'mics Corporation.
Although faster and more
sophisticated interceptors have
been introduced into the Air Force
inventory, the F-102 still plays an
important role in aerospace de-
fense not only here in Iceland but
also in Southeast Asia, Alaska and
with the Air National Guard units
in the United States.
The primary objective of the
F-102’s in Iceland is to carry on
the traditions and mission of the
57th “Black Knights.” The more
Oct. 26, 1909 — The first officer to
solo in the first military airplane
was Frederic E. Humphreys. He
performed the feat at College
Park, Md.
Aug. 20, 1910 — Fighter Aircraft
can be traced back to this date,
when Lieutenant Jacob E. Fickel
fired a rifle from an aeroplane
piloted by Glen H. Curtiss over
Sheepshead Bay Track, N. Y.
Dec. 17, 1911 — The first aerial re-
connaissance motion picture in
America was filmed by camera-
man E. R. Shaw a Wright Flier
during a flight at Beaumont, Tex.
April 29, 1918 — Lieutenant Ed-
ward V. Rickenbacker, America’s
first air Ace shot down his first
enemy plane.
Nov. 12. 1921 — Wesley May com-
pleted the first air-to-air- refue-
ling, when he climbed from the
wing of a Lincoln Standard to a
JN-4. He then poured five gallons
of gas from a can strapped to his
specific mission of the squadron
is to intercept, identify and des-
troy hostile aircraft under all
weather conditions, day or night.
As evident by the impressive re-
cord of the 57th to date the aims
of their mission have been carried
out to its fullest.
back into the latter plane’s tank.
Sept. 4, 1922 — Lieutenant James
H. Doolittle became the first per-
son to cross the United States in
a single day. Flying a rebuilt HD-
4B Liberty 400 he flew the 2,163
mile trip from Pablo Beach Fla.,
to San Diego, Calif in 21 hours
and 20 minutes.
June 1923 — Using DeHavilland
4B’s early aerial refueling tests
were conducted by military avia-
tors. These tests set the pattern
for techniques that were impor-
tant in the development of avia-
tion.
Aug. 1934 — Boeing began con-
struction of the XB-17. First
flown in July 1935, it lead
the way to one of the worlds
most famous series of bom-
ber aircraft. Accepted by the
military in January 1937 as the
YB-17 Flying Fortress, it had a
top speed of 256 MPH with a
maximum range of 3,320 miles.
Oct. 1, 1942 — The first American
jet fighter, the Bell XP-59A,
made its initial flight.
Jan. 27, 1943 — The first American
bombing of Germany during
World War II took place when
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of
the Eighth Air Force’s 1st Bom-
bardment Wing attacked Wil-
helmshaven and Emden.
Oct. 14, 1947 — The first faster-
than-sound flight was made by
Captain Charles E. Yeager at
Muroc, Calif., in the rocket powe-
red Bell SX-1.
March 2, 1949 — The first non-stop
round the world flight was com-
pleted by the “Lucky Lady II”.
The Boeing B-50 Superfortress and
its 14-man crew commanded by
Captain James Gallager, covered
the 23,452-mile route with four
aerial refuelings in 94 hours and
1 minute.
June 29, 1955 — The first Boeing
B-52 Stratofortress, current main-
stay of the U. S. Air Force’s
Strategic bomber force became
operational with the 93d Bomb
Wing at Castle AFB, Calif.
Nov. 11, 1956 — The Air Force’s
first supersonic Bomber, the delta
winged Convair B-58 Hustler
made its initial flight at Fort
Worth, Tex.
Jan. 31. 1957 — The worlds first
pure-jet tanker, the Boeing KC-
135 Stratotanker was delivered to
the Air Force.
Jan. 20, 1966 — The first SR-71,
mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft
was delivered to the Strategic
Air Command. This is a recon-
naissance version of the YF-12A
interceptor.