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442nd Fighter Wing
The 442d Fighter Wing is an Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. Overview The 442d Fighter Wing trains reserve personnel and the 358th Fighter Squadron to operate, maintain and support the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II at combat readiness. Units The 442nd Fighter Wing is organized like most Air Force wings. There are three groups and a medical squadron under the wing that are physically located at Whiteman AFB: * 442nd Fighter Wing ** Headquarters 442nd Fighter Wing ** 442nd Operations Group *** 303rd Fighter Squadron – A-10C Thunderbolt II *** 442nd Operations Support Flight ** 442nd Maintenance Group *** 442nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron *** 442nd Maintenance Operations Flight *** 442nd Maintenance Squadron ** 442nd Mission Support Group *** 442nd Civil Engineer Squadron *** 442nd Communications Flight *** 442nd Force Support Squadron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fighter Aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets. The key performance features of a fighter include not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to the target aircraft. The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters. Many modern fighter aircraft also have secondary capabilities such as ground attack and some types, such as fighter-bombers, are designed from the outset for dual roles. Other fighter designs are highly specialized while still filling the ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
303rd Fighter Squadron
The 303rd Fighter Squadron is assigned to the 442d Operations Group at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and flies the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft conducting close air support missions. The squadron was first activated during World War II. After training in the United States, it deployed to the European Theater of Operations, where it earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions on D-Day. After V-E Day, the squadron remained in Germany until the fall of 1946 as part of the occupation forces. The squadron was reactivated in the reserve in 1949. It was mobilized for the Korean War, but was inactivated and its personnel used as fillers for other units. When the reserve began flying operations again in 1952, it was once again activated. The 303d was mobilized again during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. It continued the airlift mission until 1984, when it converted to operating fighter aircraft. History World War II The squadron was constitu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Defense Command
Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inactivated in 1950, reactivated in 1951, and then redesignated ''Aerospace'' rather than ''Air'' in 1968. Its mission was to provide air defense of the Continental United States (CONUS). It directly controlled all active measures, and was tasked to coordinate all passive means of air defense. Air defense during World War II Continental United States air defense forces during World War II were initially under the command of the four air districts – Northeast Air District, Northwest Air District, Southeast Air District, and Southwest Air District. The air districts were established on 16 January 1941, before the Pearl Harbor attack. The four air districts also handled USAAF combat training with the Army Ground F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grandview Air Force Base
Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport is a former airport that operated alongside Richards-Gebaur Air Reserve Station (also Richards-Gebaur Air Force Station) until the base's closure in 1994, and until it was closed in 1999. Formerly, it was operated as Grandview Airport from 1941 until it was leased by the United States Army in 1944. History World War II The City of Kansas City built Grandview Airport (IATA code GVW) in 1941. During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces I Troop Carrier Command built a facility on part of the airfield in 1944 which was used as a sub-base for Sedalia AAF (later Whiteman Air Force Base) for overflow traffic and training uses. The United States Navy also used the airport as an Outlying Landing Field (OLF) to Naval Air Station Olathe, Kansas where aviators were trained for carrier operations. The airport remained the property of Kansas City, Missouri. During the 1950s As a result of the Cold War military buildup, Grandview Airport was lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile components of the United States military's strategic nuclear forces from 1946 to 1992. SAC was also responsible for the operation of strategic reconnaissance aircraft and airborne command post aircraft as well as most of the USAF's aerial refueling fleet, including aircraft from the Air Force Reserve (AFRES) and Air National Guard (ANG). SAC primarily consisted of the Second Air Force (2AF), Eighth Air Force (8AF) and the Fifteenth Air Force (15AF), while SAC headquarters (HQ SAC) included Directorates for Operations & Plans, Intelligence, Command & Control, Maintenance, Training, Communications, and Personnel. At a lower echelon, SAC headquarters divisions included Aircraft Engineering, Missile Concept, and Strategic Communicat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Air Station Olathe
Naval Air Station Olathe is a former United States Navy base located in Gardner, Kansas. On its grounds at one point was Olathe Air Force Station. After it was closed, it was redeveloped into New Century AirCenter. History Navy use The base opened as Naval Air Station Olathe on 1 October 1942 and was referred locally as the Gardner, Kansas, Navy Base because it was to be used for the Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) and Naval Air Primary Training Command (NAPTC) which had been operating out of Fairfax Airport. Future astronaut John Glenn was in the first class to be trained at the base and he was to make his first solo flight in a military plane from the base. Glenn described the airport in its early days: :It was a sea of mud and we made our way from building to building on wooden 'duck boards'. After World War II, NAS Olathe was used for flight operations by units of the Naval Air Reserve and Marine Air Reserve, as well as a Naval Air Technical Training Center Olathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front-line service with various military operators for many years.Parker 2013, pp. 13, 35, 37, 39, 45-47. Design and development The C-47 differed from the civilian DC-3 by way of numerous modifications, including being fitted with a cargo door, hoist attachment and strengthened floor - along with a shortened tail cone for glider-towing shackles, and an astrodome in the cabin roof.Wilson, Stewart. ''Aircraft of WWII''. Fyshwick, ACT, Australia: Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd., 1998. . During World War II, the armed forces of many countries used the C-47 and modified DC-3s for the transport of troops, cargo, and wounded. The U.S. naval designation was R4D. More than 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica, California, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtiss C-46 Commando
The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a twin-engine transport aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company publicity. It was used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces and also the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps, which called it R5C. The C-46 served in a similar role to its Douglas-built counterpart, the C-47 Skytrain, but it was not as extensively produced as the latter. After World War II, a few surplus C-46 aircraft were briefly used in their original role as passenger airliners but the glut of surplus C-47s dominated the marketplace and the C-46 was soon relegated to cargo duty. The type continued in U.S. Air Force service in a secondary role until 1968. The C-46 continues in operation as a rugged cargo transport for arctic and remote locations with its service life extended into the 21st century. Design and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hobson Plan
The Hobson Plan was an organizational structure established by the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1948, following experimental organization in 1947. Known as the "Wing-Base Organization," it replaced the organization used by the United States Army Air Forces (AAF), the predecessor organization of the USAF, which used separate chains of command for combat and support units. The plan made the wing the basic combat unit of the AAF, rather than the group and placed all support elements on a base under the command of the wing commander in addition to combat elements. Background United States Army Air Forces As part of the United States Army, the operational units of the United States Army Air Forces (AAF) operated from facilities known as army air fields. They consisted of a ground station, which consisted of streets, buildings, barracks and the support facilities and organizations. The airfield consisted of the runways, taxiways, hangars, and other facilities used to support fli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1948–1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. During the Korean War, ConAC provided the necessary augmentation to the regular Air Force while it rebuilt itself under wartime conditions. Later, during the 1950s, it was a training force for reservists with no prior military service. ConAC provided peacetime airlift missions for the Air Force. It was mobilized twice in 1961 and 1962 by president Kennedy for the Berlin and Cuban Missile Crisis. Lastly, it was used by president Lyndon B. Johnson for airlift operations into the Dominican Republic and South Vietnam. It was inactivated in 1968 and replaced by Headquarters, Air Force Reserve (AFRES). History Origins After the end of World War II, the Truman Administration was determined to bring the Federal budget back into balance. An enormous deficit had built up, so expenditure was cut, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairfax Field
Fairfax Field was a wartime (WWII) facility of the United States Army Air Forces and later, the United States Air Force. The installation was north of Kansas City, Kansas. Used as a pre-war Naval Air Station, the United States Army Air Forces leased the municipal airfield and built an Air Force Plant and modification center for North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber production. Military use of the site continued as late as 1957 by the Strategic Air Command's 3903rd Radar Bomb Scoring Group for bombing practice. Background The airfield was first used in 1921 for an air meet and became the 1925 Sweeney Airport and the 1928 Fairfax Airport. A naval reserve air base was established at Fairfax Field in 1935; a Navy squadron and a Marine squadron were established on July 12. In 1937 Fairfax acted as an "army reserve base" with Douglas O-46 observation planes, and by 1938 the airport had four runways, including one long. Fairfax's "U.S. Naval Reserve aviation base", had a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Air Combat Command (ACC), the latter serving as the host unit. Aviation use at Offutt began in September 1918 during World War I as an Army Air Service balloon field. Originally named Fort Crook, it was renamed in honor of World War I pilot and Omaha native 1st Lt. Jarvis Offutt in 1924. Offutt AFB's legacy includes the construction of the '' Enola Gay'' and '' Bockscar'', the planes that dropped Little Boy and Fat Man over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Offutt served over 40 years as the headquarters for the former Strategic Air Command (SAC) and home for its associated ground and aerial command centers for the United States in the case of nuclear war during the Cold War. The population was 8,901 at the 2000 census. History Offut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
