X-Nico

82 unusual facts about United States Air Force


105th Air Refueling Squadron

The United States Air Force's 105th Air Refueling Squadron (105 ARS) is an aerial refueling unit that operates the KC-135 Stratotanker at AFB.

28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron

The 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (28 EARS) is a provisional United States Air Force unit.

306th Air Refueling Squadron

The 306th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

308th Air Refueling Squadron

The 308th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron

The 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force unit.

380th Air Refueling Squadron

The 380th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

41st Air Refueling Squadron

The 41st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

427th Air Refueling Squadron

The 427th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

429th Air Refueling Squadron

The 429th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

46th Air Refueling Squadron

The 46th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

507th Air Refueling Wing

The 507th Air Refueling Wing (507 ARW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force.

904th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron

The 904th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

In 1985, the 904th and the 404th Bombardment Squadron were consolidated when the United States Air Force combined inactive units that had served in World War II with squadrons that had been established after the war ended.

908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron

The 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force (USAF) unit.

90th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron

The 90th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (90 EARS) is a provisional United States Air Force unit.

916th Air Refueling Squadron

The 916th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

917th Air Refueling Squadron

The 917th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

919th Air Refueling Squadron

The 919th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

Abraham Lavender

He served from 1964 to 1968 in the United States Air Force and completed his service as a Captain, serving at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and in Izmir, Turkey, as part of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

Al Anthony

Anthony is a Korean War veteran, having served as an aircraft flight engineer in a B-29 heavy bomber (the same that was used in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,Japan,ending World War II) in the United States Air Force.

Aluminium–air battery

Aluminium-chlorine battery was patented by United States Air Force in the 1970s and designed mostly for military applications.

Bob Topp

After the 1954 season, Topp was inducted into the United States Air Force and missed the 1955 season.

Boston Camera

It was given to the Air Force Museum in 1964, along with a contact print of a golf ball on a course.

Brian Patrick Regan

Brian Patrick Regan is a former master sergeant in the United States Air Force who was convicted of offering to sell secret information to foreign governments.

Budweiser Rocket

Despite an unauthorized written speed certification by the United States Air Force, there is much debate over the validity of the claim.

Burtonwood

RAF Burtonwood was mainly used by the United States Air Force between 1942 and closure of the main airfield in 1958 and was the biggest US airbase in Europe.

Cam Ranh Bay

The United States Air Force operated a large cargo/airlift facility called Cam Ranh Air Base, which was also used as a tactical fighter base.

Chester A. Chesney

He entered the United States Air Force in June 1941 as a private and was discharged as a major in 1946 with service in the Pacific and European Theaters.

Chloe Sutton

Her father is a U.S. Air Force officer who was in the Pentagon at the time of the September 11 attacks and is a former football player who played for the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Community College of the Air Force

The Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) is a federal program offered by the United States Air Force which grants two-year Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees in association with Air University.

Compass Cope

Compass Cope was a program initiated by the United States Air Force to develop an upgraded reconnaissance Unmanned aerial vehicle.

Dayton's Devils

Frank Dayton (Leslie Nielsen) leads a group of crooks in a caper to steal $2,500,000 from an Air Force base.

Dick Goddard

Goddard began his weather career while taking classes on meteorology during a stint with the United States Air Force from 1949 through the early 1950s.

Dining in

The United States Army, the United States Navy the United States Coast Guard and the United States Air Force refer to this event as a dining in or dining-in.

Elliott Ward Cheney, Jr.

Cheney was awarded grants for his research on approximation theory from the National Science Foundation, United States Air Force and United States Army as well as the UK Research Councils and the Italian Scientific Research Council, among others.

Eric Clemons

His daughter, 24, is an aspiring filmmaker graduating from Emerson College in 2010 and his son, 21, is a member of the United States Air Force.

Eric Schadt

In 1983, Schadt left high school early to enlist in the United States Air Force and joined a Special Operations/Rescue unit.

F-117 Night Storm

Arcade mode allows players to pick and choose every aspect of the mission, while campaign mode is basically a career in the United States Air Force.

Firsby railway station

Between 1943 and 1958 Firsby station was kept busy as the nearest railhead staging point for RAF and later USAF airmen travelling to and from the nearby RAF Spilsby airfield at Great Steeping.

Grog

Honoring the 18th century British Army regimental mess and grog's historical significance in the military, the United States Navy, United States Air Force, and United States Army carry on a tradition at its formal dining in ceremonies whereby those in attendance who are observed to violate formal etiquette are "punished" by being sent to "the grog" and publicly drink from it in front of the attendees.

Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash

The first emergency response arrived at 8:22 am with the fire brigade, ambulance and police services being assisted by doctors and a medical unit of the United States Air Force.

Itek

Richard Leghorn was a former United States Air Force (USAF) aerial reconnaissance expert who had first proposed flying reconnaissance missions over enemy territory in peacetime.

Jeep CJ

Produced in Mexico from 1984 to 1986, they were used by the United States Air Force for use as an aircraft pulling vehicle.

Jim Van Pelt

Van Pelt's football career was cut short when he was drafted into the United States Air Force in the summer of 1960 for a three-year period of service.

His professional football career ended in 1960 when he was drafted into the United States Air Force for a three-year term of service.

Joseph Cyril Bamford

Working in supply and logistics, he returned to the African Gold Coast, to run a staging post for USAF planes being ferried to the Middle East.

Judy Buenoano

In 1971, she was married to James Goodyear (1934–1971), a sergeant in the United States Air Force.

Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2003

Physician and former Air Force pilot Ernie Fletcher won the Republican primary easily.

Kissin' Cousins

Elvis plays the dual role of look-alike cousins Josh Morgan, a dark-haired U.S. Air Force second lieutenant, and Jodie Tatum, a blond hillbilly.

Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research

The Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project is a collaboration of the United States Air Force, NASA, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory for the systematic discovery and tracking of near-Earth asteroids.

Lincoln Park, Calgary

The neighbourhood is located on the section of the former Canadian Forces Base Calgary that during World War II was a Royal Canadian Air Force airfield; the name of the district derives from a small area of military housing located between 54th Avenue S.W. and Glenmore Trail which was reserved for United States Air Force members stationed at the airfield during World War II.

Linda A. Morabito

Linda Morabito married Major David Meyer (U.S. Air Force, Retired), an Associate Professor of Astronomy, in 2008.

Linda Vallejo

Her father entered the United States Air Force as a commissioned officer and the family moved to Germany.

Lo'renzo Hill-White

After graduating high school, Hill-White joined the United States Air Force.

M. A. Foster

He spent over sixteen years as a Captain and Russian linguist in the United States Air Force.

Major Anderson

Rudolf Anderson (15 September 1927 – 27 October 1962), a pilot and officer in the United States Air Force

Michael J. Saylor

Saylor was born in 1965 and spent his early years on various Air Force bases around the world, as his father was an Air Force chief master sergeant.

Michael N Schmitt

From 1979-1999, Schmitt was an intelligence officer and judge advocate in the United States Air Force.

Montana Air National Guard

Under the "Total Force" concept, Montana Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components (ARC) of the United States Air Force (USAF).

National Airlines Flight 102

At the time of the crash, the aircraft was flying on behalf of the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.

Nocton Hall

It was used by civilians and forces personnel until 1984, when it was leased to the USAF as a United States Air Force wartime contingency hospital.

Non-commissioned officer

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, all ranks of sergeant are termed NCOs, as are corporals in the Army and Marine Corps.

Peter O. Price

He subsequently graduated from Yale Law School; after graduation, he served as an officer in the United States Air Force.

After his stint in the United States Air Force, Price moved to New York City, where he served in city government as Counsel To The Taxi Commission and as Counsel to the New York Council on Child Psychiatry.

Philip Lieberman

In the late 1950s and in the 1960s he worked as a research assistant at MIT before serving in the United States Air Force and also carrying out research there at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL) at Hanscom Air Force Base and also working at Haskins Laboratories.

Politics of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi

After the 1986 bombing of Libya by the United States Air Force, Gaddafi decreed that the word "Great" should be appended to the beginning of the name, rendering its official name Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma, or Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Programmable read-only memory

The invention was conceived at the request of the United States Air Force to come up with a more flexible and secure way of storing the targeting constants in the Atlas E/F ICBM's airborne digital computer.

R.I. Bong Air Force Base

The United States Air Force then instructed the Air Defense Command to study the possibility of locating a base which would house two fighter-interceptor squadrons within a 70-mile radius from the city.

Robert J. McIntosh

McIntosh served in the United States Air Force from 1942 to 1945 and was assigned to the Eighth Air Force in England as a fighter pilot.

Robert M. L. Baker, Jr.

While on a two-year tour of active duty in the United States Air Force, he worked on a variety of classified aerospace projects.

Schierstein

The Schierstein Kaserne eventually became the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force 497th Reconnaissance Technical Group in early 1952, who remained until the site was deactivated on 1 July 1992.

Stephen Reinhardt

After law school, Reinhardt worked at the legal counsel’s office for the United States Air Force as a lieutenant in Washington, D.C..

Technology readiness level

The United States Air Force adopted the use of Technology Readiness Levels in the 1990s.

A Technology Readiness Level Calculator was developed by the United States Air Force.

The Big Green Egg

The mushikamado first came to the attention of the Americans after World War II when US Air Force servicemen would bring them back from Japan in empty transport planes.

The Conversion of Chaplain Cohen

The Conversion of Chaplain Cohen is a 1963 novel by the American writer and rabbi Herbert Tarr about a young rabbi serving as a United States Air Force military chaplain.

The Sound Barrier

Contrary to what is depicted in the film, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier was the Bell X-1 flown by Chuck Yeager of the United States Air Force in 1947.

Trouble in the Glen

By the time American widower, Major Jim "Lance" Lansing (Tucker), a former Air Force pilot who was stationed in Scotland during World War II, returns there, the disgruntled villagers are burning the laird in effigy.

United States Air Force Web Posting Response

The United States Air Force Web Posting Response Assessment is a twelve-point plan developed by the Emerging Technology Division of the US Air Force’s Affairs Agency that illustrates how US Airmen should respond to online blogs.

University of North Texas System

1982–2002: Alfred Hurley, PhD & Brig. Gen. USAF (Ret.), was appointed president and chancellor on February 1, 1982, making him UNT's twelfth president and second chancellor.

Wantagh Fire Department

During the month of August in 1954 a United States Air Force fighter while traveling from Delaware to Massachusetts crashed into the middle of the street on Denver Road in Wantagh.

William H. Clothier

He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force during World War II, during which he flew seventeen missions on the Memphis Belle.


39th Airlift Squadron

The 39th Airlift Squadron (39 AS) is a United States Air Force unit based at Dyess Air Force Base, Abilene, Texas.

43d Air Refueling Squadron

The 43d Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

903d Air Refueling Squadron

The 903d Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit.

Air Force Plant 4

Air Force Plant 4 is a government-owned, contractor-operated aerospace facility in Fort Worth, Texas, currently owned by the U.S. Air Force and operated by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

BrightQube

BrightQube was started in 2007 by Lee Corkran, a decorated combat photographer for the United States Air Force.

CFB Shearwater

Beginning in the 1970s, CFB Shearwater began hosting an Armed Forces Day every fall, typically on the weekend following Labour Day, and included an air show where the long and wide runways at Shearwater hosted some of the largest aircraft in the world, including the U.S. Air Force's C-5 Galaxy transport planes and B-52 Stratofortress bombers.

Chabua

Chabua airfield was one of the largest bases used by the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command to ferry supplies and personnel across The Hump to China in World War II.

Colin Eaborn

Thanks to grants from the United States Air Force and Army, Eaborn was able to assemble a team of 15 researchers and students, and in 1960 published the textbook Organosillicon Compounds, which had "a major influence on the development of what has become one of the most prolific areas of organometallic chemistry, with extensive applications in organic synthesis, catalysis and materials science".

Comet Man

Stephen Beckley was the son of Jack Beckley of the United States Air Force.

Earl S. Hoag

In October 1943, he became commanding general of the India-China Wing of Air Transport Command, which operated supply and sustainment flights over "The Hump" between India and China.

Edward Gibson

He completed a 53-week course in flight training at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, and earned his Air Force wings.

Ewell Ross McCright

Ewell Ross McCright, (4 December 1917 - 24 April 1990) of Benton, Saline County, Arkansas was a captain in the United States Air Force during World War II who was famous for maintaining secret journals detailing information about fellow prisoners of war while held captive in a German prison camp.

Fighter Mafia

The Fighter Mafia was a controversial group of U.S. Air Force officers and civilian defense analysts who, in the 1970s, advocated the use of John Boyd and Thomas P. Christie's Energy-Maneuverability (E-M) theory as the sole driver in designing fighter aircraft.

Flight Officer Badge

The Navigator Badge and Aircrew Badge, variations of the Flight Officer Badge, are issued by the Air Force.

Gulfstream III

C-20B - United States Air Force and United States Coast Guard variant with upgraded electronics, used for Operational Support Airlift (OSA) and Special Assignment Airlift Missions (SAAM); the single Coast Guard C-20B was used by the Commandant of the Coast Guard and other senior USCG officials as well as the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Hochvogel

According to the United States Air Force the accident was due to a navigation error when the aircraft flew into a snowstorm.

Kill box

First developed by the U.S. Air Force in the late 1980s, the technique gained notoriety through its use during the first Gulf War (1991).

Marion Keisker

Marion Keisker MacInnes (September 23, 1917 – December 29, 1989), born in Memphis, Tennessee, was a radio show host, station manager, U.S. Air Force officer, and assistant to Sam Phillips at Sun Records.

Maurice Bishop International Airport

The seizure of the airfield allowed United States Air Force C-141 transport planes to land and unload paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division.

Military disc-shaped aircraft

In the US, a number of experimental saucer shaped craft were apparently developed as black projects by Lockheed Corporation for the USAF, and by Convair for the CIA.

Montana Air National Guard

As state militia units, the units in the Montana Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command.

National Security Personnel System

Also, employees working at DoD agencies, such as the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Tricare, the Office of the Inspector General and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, earned higher performance ratings and payouts overall than did their civilian counterparts in the three military service branches: United States Army, United States Navy, and United States Air Force.

Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle

Operations during this period were described by Ernest K. Gann, based upon his personal experiences in the Air Transport Command, in his book, Fate Is the Hunter.

Oklahoma World War II Army Airfields

Most of these airfields were under the command of Third Air Force or the Army Air Forces Training Command (AAFTC) (a predecessor of the current-day United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command).

Oregon World War II Army Airfields

Most of these airfields were under the command of Second Air Force or the Army Air Forces Training Command (AAFTC) (predecessor of the current-day United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command).

Parasite aircraft

During the early years of the Cold War, the United States Air Force experimented with a variety of parasite fighters to protect its Convair B-36 bombers, including the dedicated XF-85 Goblin, and methods of either carrying a Republic F-84 Thunderjet in the bomber's bomb bay (the FICON project), or attached to the bomber's wingtips (Project Tom-Tom).

Pianosa

Joseph Heller's absurdist novel Catch-22 is set on a U.S. Army Air Corps bomber squadron base on Pianosa during World War II, but Heller conceded that he took literary license in making Pianosa big enough for a major military complex.

Project Mogul

In 1994-1995, in response to an official inquiry by New Mexico Congressman Steven Schiff, the Air Force published a report which advanced the theory that Mogul Flight #4, launched from Alamogordo, New Mexico, on June 4, 1947, was what crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, and formed the source of the debris which sparked the Roswell UFO Incident.

Richard R. Muller

Dr Richard R. Muller is professor of airpower history within the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies at the USAF's Air University in Montgomery, Alabama.

Scaled Composites Proteus

Scaled, in partnership with Northrop Grumman, is offering a fully unmanned version of the Proteus, labeled Model 395, as part of the competition for the USAF Hunter-Killer competition.

Squadron Officer School

Squadron Officer School (SOS), is an eight-week long Professional Military Education course for U.S. Air Force Captains.

Stormy Rottman

After his experience with reporting weather conditions for the U.S. Air Force during World War II and the Korean War, Rottman began a civilian career as a weather presenter on both television and radio.

Taejon Airfield

Taejon Airfield also known as K-5 Air Base was a former United States Air Force (USAF) and Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) air base northwest of the city of Taejon, South Korea.

Travis Raven

He entered the University of Texas in 1941 and graduated in 1948 with three years in between serving in the Air Force.

Vernouillet Airport

A completely new NATO airfield was eventually built near the village of Dampierre, about 10 miles to the west, to accommodate the United States Air Force as a tactical airlift base.

Wendell L. Griffin

Major General Wendell Lee Griffin, USAF, is a retired American Air Force officer who served as the Chief of Safety of the United States Air Force from 2007 to 2009.

William Burton Roy

William Burton "Bill" Roy (born on 4 December 1958 in Versailles, Illinois) is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force and former U.S. Olympian in skeet shooting.