Enlisted History Flashcards
The USAF can trace its origins to the establishment of the Aeronautical Division, to when?
1 August 1907
Enlisted Airmen historically comprised ___% of America’s air forces?
80%
WWI dates?
1917-1918
When the first shots of the Great War were fired in Europe in August 1914, the 1st Aero Squadron mustered how many officers, enlisted, and aircraft?
12 officers, 54 enlisted men, and 6 aircraft
By the end of 1915, the 1st Aero Squadron had how many officers, enlisted, and aircraft?
44 officer, 224 enlisted, and 23 airplanes
In what year was the 2nd Aero Squadron added? Where was the 2nd Aero Squadron assigned duties?
1916 ; The Philippines
When the U.S declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917, there were 24 aero squadrons, but only the ___ Aero Squadron was fully manned , equipped, and organized>
First
WWI: Why did congress refuse to appropriate funds for Army aeronautics, as the war in Europe dragged on?
- The Army had no plan to enable them building an air force and did not send trained observers to Europe
- General Staff Officers were so out of touch with modern aerial warfare requirements that their main complaint about air prsnl was the disrespectful manner in which the flying officers flouted regulations by refusing to wear cavalry spurs while flying air planes.
WWI: Tradition dictated that pilots be drawn from the rank of commissioned officer, but the aviation section soon realized the need for trained enlisted personnel to serve as what?
- Supply and construction
- Photo reconnaissance and radio
- Mechanics
WWI: Where were the two largest mechanic technical schools located? And were later trained where?
St Paul MN and Kelly Field TX.; Great Britain and France
WWII years?
1939-1945
In 1939, what President asked for $300 millions for military aviation?
Franklin D. Roosevelt
In 1938, during the signs of war in Europe, the Army’s air arm was divided into two command organizations, what were they? And the total force had less than how many enlisted members?
Army Air Corps and GHQ Air Force: 20K
In what year did congress pass the first peacetime conscription law in US history?
1940
From 1939 until 1941, the concept of training did not chain, but the scale did. How?
Training centers expanded and multiplied. The air corps could not find enough housing or qualified instructors and relied on private schools (15 civilian schools)
More than how many enlisted airmen served in the USAAF during the largest war ever?
2 million
When was the Womens auxiliary Air Corps (WAAC) created?
May 1942
Top priority for assignment of WAACs was to serve at?
AC warning service stations
WAAC was changed to Womens Air Corp (WAC) when?
Spring 1943
Where did the women in the WAC serve at?
clerical and admin, topographers, medical, chemists, and even aircraft machanics
The Air Force became a distinct service in what year?
1947
On 11 May 1949, Air Force Letter 35.3 was published, mandating what?
black Airmen be screened for reassignment to formerly all white units according to qualifications.
On what date was the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan? Where? What flight was it?
6 August 1945; Hiroshima; flight of the Enola Gay
On what date was the second atomic bomb dropped on Japan? Where? What flight was it?
9 August 1945; Nagasaki; flight of Bocks Car
What were the dates for the cold war?
1948-1991
In what year did the big three meet to discuss post war division of Europe? Although the meeting did not go well it laid the foundation for what?
1945; United Nations
Who is the Big three?
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Josef Stalin, and President Franklin D Roosevelt
Who vetoed the dismantling and destruction of existing nuclear weapons and prevention of further production of nuclear weapons, ultimately resulting in five decades of cold war?
Soviet Union
What was the arguably the airpowers single-most decisive contribution to the Cold War?
The Berlin Airlift
How long was the Luftbruke (Berlin Airlift) used to deliver supplies to Berlin?
15 months
The airlift came of age during what war?
WWII
Who led the Hump Airlift over the Himalayan mountains to supply China during WWII?
Major General William Tunner (remember by tunnel=bridge)
What dates were the Korean War?
1950-1953
North Korea invaded South Korea on what date, and left the AF ill prepared for conventional war in a remote corner of the world?
25 June 1950
Who led the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) during the Korean War?
General George Stratemeyer (remember by setting Korea straight)
What jets did not have the ability to reach Korea from Japan?
F 80
The first aerial combat between the US and North korea took place over where? On what date?
Kimpo; 27 June 1950
On 29 June, B-26 gunner________shot down a North Korean YaK-3, recorded as the first such victory of the war?
SSgt Nyle S. Mickley
What planes did gunners fly on for the first several months of the Korean War? and through the war?
B-26; B-29
On 15 Sept 1950, US forces, led by the First Marine Division successfully landed at _____, near Seoul, South Korea, effectively cutting off North Korean Army supply lines, threatening its rear?
Inchon
The US Eighth Army launched its own offensive from _____a day later and retreated stalled North Korean offensives?
Punsan
The B-52 performed a number of missions not even considered before the Korean war, to include?
interdiction, battlefield support, and air superiority (counter airfield)
Who scored the first of 27 B-29 victory on MiG-15’s?
Corporal Harry Lavene (remember by sounds like laughing in a way that Koreans might say it…La Vene that he shot them down)
Who was the tail gunner who shot down 2 MiG’s on 12 April 1951, a feat that was unmatched by any other gunner?
Sergeant Billie Beach (remember by beached two MiGs)
On 27 September 1950, President Truman authorized U.S forces to pursue the beaten North Korean Army north of what parallel?
38th Parallel
