The Air Force issued requirement for a new strategic bomber in November 1945. Boeing won the contract bid June 5, 1946. The B-52 design evolved from a straight-wing aircraft powered by six turboprop engines to the final prototype B-52s with eight turbojet engines. By early 1949, Boeing was preparing two prototypes, the XB-52 and YB-52, […]
On 16 January 1957: Operation POWER FLITE. At 1:00 p.m. PST, five Boeing B-52B Stratofortress eight-engine jet bombers of the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command, 93rd Bombardment Wing (Heavy), departed Castle Air Force Base, near Merced, California, on a non-stop around-the-world flight. 45 hours, 19 minutes later, three B-52s landed at March Air […]
On today's date in 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger crew was lost 73 seconds into flight. These astronauts made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.
March 7, 1942: The first class of Tuskegee Airmen graduate from U.S. Army Air Force Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama. The "Red Tail" P-51 Mustangs flown by the Tuskeegee Airmen became a welcome sight to the bomber crews they escorted on their missions
On National Vietnam War Veterans Day, we recognize the many men and women who served and fought during the difficult conflict, giving them the appreciation they deserve.
Major General Paul B. Wurtsmith was born on this date in1906
Remember those who were injured or died during the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001.
On 29 September 1965, ten years after it entered service, the first operational Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, RB-52B-15-BO 52-8711, was retired to the Strategic Aerospace Museum, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. 52-8711, had arrived at Castle Air Force Base, California on 29 June 1955, and was assigned to the 93rd Bombardment Wing (Heavy). It later served […]
18 October 1922: At Selfridge Field, near Mount Clemens, Michigan, Assistant Chief of the Air Service Brigadier General William Mitchell set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Absolute Speed Record flying a Curtiss R-6 biplane, Air Service serial number A.S. 68564, over a 1 kilometer course at a speed of 358.84 kilometers per hour (222.973 miles per […]