1D 1.12

Question 1

When did President Harry S. Truman sign into law the Nat’l Security Act of 1947, which provided for a separate Dept of the Air Force?
(1.12.1)

Answer 1

26 July, 1947

Question 2

On 18 Sep 1947, who became the first Secretary of the Air Force and officially established the USAF as an independent, coequal service?
(1.12.1)

Answer 2

Stuart Symington

Question 3

Who was the first Chief of Staff of the Air Force?

1.12.1

Answer 3

General Carl A. Spaatz

Question 4

When were the distinctive blue uniforms of the USAF introduced?
(1.12.2)

Answer 4

Only after large stocks of Army clothing were used up

Question 5

By what year had Airman’s lives changed so they were eating in “dining halls,” rather than “mess halls,” dealing with “air police,” instead of “military police,” and buying necessities at the “base exchange,” instead of the “post exchange?”
(1.12.2)

Answer 5

By 1959

Question 6

What rank was removed from NCO status in 1950?

1.12.3

Answer 6

Corporal

Question 7

When the new Air Force established specialty codes as standard designations for functional and technical specialties, what became part of the criteria for promotion?
(1.12.3)

Answer 7

Qualification for an advanced AF specialty code

Question 8

By what year had Airman’s lives changed so they were eating in “dining halls,” rather than “mess halls,” dealing with “air police,” instead of “military police,” and buying necessities at the “base exchange,” instead of the “post exchange?”
(1.12.2)

Answer 8

By 1959

Question 9

What rank was removed from NCO status in 1950?

1.12.3

Answer 9

Corporal

Question 10

When the new Air Force established specialty codes as standard designations for functional and technical specialties, what became part of the criteria for promotion?
(1.12.3)

Answer 10

Qualification for an advanced AF specialty code

Question 11

What operation tailed 277,804 flights and delivered 2.3 million tons of supplies into West Berlin? This nonviolent use of air-power defused a potentially disastrous confrontation.
(1.12.4)

Answer 11

Operation Vittles

Question 12

What commander organized an airlift by US Air Forces in Europe to deliver food, medicine, and coal into West Berlin on a precise schedule of flights every three minutes, 24 hours a day?
(1.12.4)

Answer 12

General Curtis E. LeMay

Question 13

After the first month of the Berlin Airlift, who assumed command of an expanded effort that would include 300 American and 100 British a/c flown by aircrews who would apply lessons learned while flying the “Hump” during WWII?
(1.12.4)

Answer 13

Major General William H. Tunner

Question 14

What operation tailed 277,804 flights and delivered 2.3 million tons of supplies into West Berlin? This nonviolent use of air-power defused a potentially disastrous confrontation.
(1.12.4)

Answer 14

Operation Vittles

Question 15

What was the first bomber with intercontinental range?

1.12.6

Answer 15

Convair B-36 Peacemaker

Question 16

Why did the AF conduct a highly secret, extensive electronic recon program that included covert flights over the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics?
(1.12.6)

Answer 16

To assess Communist air defenses

Question 17

The 1948 Berlin Crisis and 1949 Soviet detonation of an atomic device motivated the AF to improve their war readiness. What did General LeMay emphasize as the new Strategic Air Command Commander?
(1.12.16)

Answer 17

a) Rigorous training
b) Exacting performance standards
c) Immediate readiness

Question 18

What was the first bomber with intercontinental range?

1.12.6

Answer 18

Convair B-36 Peacemaker

Question 19

Why did the AF conduct a highly secret, extensive electronic recon program that included covert flights over the Union of Soviet Socialist Replublics?
(1.12.6)

Answer 19

To assess Communist air defenses

Question 20

What was the Air Force’s first operational Jet Fighter, introduced in December of 1945?
(1.12.7)

Answer 20

Lockheed P-80

Question 21

On 14 Oct 1947, who seized headlines as the first man to break the sound barrier?
(1.12.7)

Answer 21

Charles “Chuck” Yeager

Question 22

His Bell X-1 :Glamorous Glennis” reached Mach 1.06 at 43K ft after a launch from a B-29 mother ship. Who piloted this a/c?
(1.12.7)

Answer 22

Charles “Chuck” Yeager

Question 23

What was the first major flare-up of the Cold war?

1.12.8

Answer 23

Korean conflict

Question 24

On _____, Communist North Korea launched a massive invasion of US-backed South Korea
(1.12.8)

Answer 24

25 June 1950

Question 25

The initial phase of the Korean War illustrated the dangers of being unprepared. What did the American Airmen struggle to relearn?
(1.12.8)

Answer 25

a) Close Air Support

b) Interdiction Skills

Question 26

Who, flying an F-80C, shot down a MiG-15 in the world’s first all-jet air battle on 8 November 1950?
(1.12.9)

Answer 26

Lieutenant Russell Brown

Question 27

In response to the superiour speed and altitude of the enemy’s MiG-15 during the Korean War, what a/c did the AF leaders rush into action? (Which matched the MiG’s speed and proved a more stable gun platform.)
(1.12.9)

Answer 27

F-86 Sabre

Question 28

On 9 Nov 1950, who, as gunner, scored the first B-29 victory over a jet by downing a MiG-15?
(1.12.10)

Answer 28

Corporal Harry LaVene

Question 29

Which tail gunner, flying an Okinawa-based B-29, shot down two MiGs on 12 April 1951; a feat unmatched by any other gunner?
(1.12.10)

Answer 29

Sergeant Billie Beach

Question 30

During the Korean War, a new group of AF pilots entered the pantheon of fighter aces. What remarkable kill ratio did the F-86 pilots establish?
(1.12.13)

Answer 30

10-to-1

Question 31

Who gained recognition as the world’s first jet ace?

1.12.13

Answer 31

Captain James Jabara

Question 32

In late 1953, Assistant Secretary of the AF for Research and Development, Trevor Gardner, convened a group of experts to examine the field of long-range missiles. What was this committee known as?
(1.12.15)

Answer 32

Teapot Comittee

Question 33

In 1954, AF senior leaders directed the development of an electro-optical reconnaissance satellite based on a RAND corporation report, due to which weapon system requirement?
(1.12.16)

Answer 33

Weapon System Requirement No. 5
(later known as 117L which broadened to include other space-based missions, such as meteorology, missile warning, and multi-spectral imaging)

Question 34

What was the name of the satellite the Soviet Union launched into orbit on 4 Oct 1957?
(1.12.17)

Answer 34

Sputnik I

Question 35

What rocket, which began as a US Army Air Corps ballistic missile, was used to launch the MERCURY missions?
(1.12.18)

Answer 35

Atlas

Question 36

In 1960, the National Reconnaissance Office was formed to take charge of highly classified reconnaissance satellites. What classified initiative did President Eisenhower establish to help prevent a surprise nuclear attack against the US?
(1.12.19)

Answer 36

Corona satellite photo reconnaissance program

known publicly as the Discoverer program

Question 37

What technology supported strategic deterrence throughout the Cold War, providing invaluable knowledge of the Soviet Union’s nuclear inventory and verifying arms control treaty compliance?
(1.12.20)

Answer 37

Space Reconnaissance satellites