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7th Air Division (United States)
The 7th Air Division (7 AD) served the United States Air Force with distinction from early 1944 through early 1992, earning an outstanding unit decoration and a service streamer along the way. History Hawaii As the 7th Fighter Wing, the division provided air defense of the Hawaiian Islands from 21 April 1944, assigned to VII Fighter Command, and then Army Air Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas. 15th Fighter Group and 21st Fighter Group came under the command of the wing at different times in 1944. On 15 December 1947 the wing was redesignated the 7 Air Division, but then inactivated on 1 May 1948. It was organized again on the same day, but then discontinued on 3 September 1948. Strategic Air Command rotation to England Strategic Air Command (SAC) formed two air divisions in early 1951. The 7th Air Division was formed for its bases in England, while the 5th Air Division was and activated at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, where Maj Gen Archie J. Old, Jr. formed its cadre befor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. Common examples of aircraft include airplanes, helicopters, airships (including blimps), gliders, paramotors, and hot air balloons. The human activity that surrounds aircraft is called ''aviation''. The science of aviation, including designing and building aircraft, is called '' aeronautics.'' Crewed aircraft are flown by an onboard pilot, but unmanned aerial vehicles may be remotely controlled or self-controlled by onboard computers. Aircraft may be classified by different criteria, such as lift type, aircraft propulsion, usage and others. History Flying model craft and stories of manned flight go back many centuries; however, the first manned ascent — and safe descent — in modern times took place by larger hot-air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1951 Atlantic C-124 Disappearance
The 1951 Atlantic C-124 disappearance involved a Douglas C-124 Globemaster II of the 2d Special Operations Squadron#Strategic Air Command, 2nd Strategic Support Squadron, Strategic Air Command, which ditched into the Atlantic Ocean on the late afternoon of 23 March 1951 after reporting a fire in the cargo hold. The ditching and subsequent evacuation were successful, but the aircraft and its occupants had vanished by the time USS Casco (AVP-12), US Coast Guard Cutter ''Casco'' arrived at the last reported location. Flight The transport was on a military flight from Walker Air Force Base in Roswell, New Mexico, to RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, with a stopover at Limestone Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine. It was commanded by Major Robert S. Bell, of the Second Strategic Support Squadron. At 1300 hours on 23 March 1951, the aircraft radioed "Mayday" to weather ship USCGC ''Casco'', reporting a fire in the cargo crates. The radio call gave their position as 51 degrees 30 minut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3920th Strategic Wing
The 3920th Strategic Wing (3920th SW) is an inactive United States Air Force unit, discontinued on 31 March 1965. The 3920th SW was a non-flying ground service support element for the 7th Air Division (AD) of Strategic Air Command (SAC), based at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It was established on 1 December 1952 as the 3920th Air Base Group. When activated, the wing assumed the resources (Manpower, Equipment, Weapons, & Facilities) of the 7503d Air Support Wing, which had been established on 25 May 1951. Throughout its existence it was controlled by Strategic Air Command and served as the host for deployed SAC bombardment, strategic reconnaissance, and air refueling units. Strategic Air Command Support The group, which was upgraded to a wing in 1964, provided host station support functions primarily for SAC B-47 / RB-47 Stratojet and KC-97 Stratofreighter elements deployed to RAF Brize Norton during REFLEX deployments from United States bases. It was or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons can also be delivered with varying effectiveness, but have never been deployed on ICBMs. Most modern designs support multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), allowing a single missile to carry several warheads, each of which can strike a different target. Russia, the United States, China, France, India, the United Kingdom, and North Korea are the only countries known to have operational ICBMs. Early ICBMs had limited precision, which made them suitable for use only against the largest targets, such as cities. They were seen as a "safe" basing option, one that would keep the deterrent force close to home where it would be difficult to attack. Attacks against military targets (especially hardened ones) still demanded th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Brize Norton
Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney. The station is the base for air transport, air-to-air refuelling and military parachuting, with aircraft operating from the station including the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, Airbus A400M Atlas and Airbus Voyager which replaced the now-decommissioned Vickers VC10 in September 2013 and the Lockheed TriStar in March 2014. Major infrastructure redevelopment began in 2010, ahead of the closure of RAF Lyneham in 2012, and Brize Norton became the sole air point of embarkation for British troops. History Royal Air Force Construction of RAF Brize Norton began in 1935 with the official opening taking place on 13 August 1937. The station was originally to be named RAF Carterton, given its proximity and relationship with the town of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
100th Bombardment Wing
The 100th Air Refueling Wing (100th ARW), nicknamed ''the Bloody Hundredth'', is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Third Air Force, United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. It is stationed at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, United Kingdom. It is also the host wing at RAF Mildenhall. The 100th ARW is the only permanent U.S. air refueling wing in the European theater, operating the Boeing KC-135R/T Stratotanker. During World War II, its predecessor unit, the 100th Bombardment Group (Heavy), was an Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress unit in England, stationed at RAF Thorpe Abbotts. Flying over 300 combat missions, the group earned two Distinguished Unit Citations (Regensburg, 17 August 1943; Berlin, 4/6/8 March 1944). The group suffered tremendous losses in combat, with 177 aircraft missing in action (MIA), flying its last mission on 20 April 1945. One of the wing's honors is that it is the only modern USAF operational wing allowed to display on its assi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile
An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of 3,000–5,500 km (1,864–3,418 miles), between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ballistic missiles by range is done mostly for convenience; in principle there is very little difference between a low-performance ICBM and a high-performance IRBM, because decreasing payload mass can increase range over ICBM threshold. The range definition used here is used within the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. Some other sources include an additional category, the long-range ballistic missile (LRBM), to describe missiles with a range between IRBMs and true ICBMs. The more modern term theatre ballistic missile encompasses MRBMs and SRBMs, including any ballistic missile with a range under . The progenitor for the IRBM was the A4b winged rocket, based on the V-2 (officially called A4) rocket used by Nazi Germany at the end of World War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alert Status
An alert state or state of alert is an indication of the state of readiness of the armed forces for military action or a state against natural disasters, terrorism or military attack. The term frequently used is "on high alert". Examples scales indicating alert state are the DEFCON levels of the US military, South Korea's "Jindogae" system, and the UK Threat Levels The United Kingdom Terror Threat Levels, often referred to as UK Threat Levels, are the alert states that have been in use since 1 August 2006 by the British government to warn of forms of terrorist activity. In September 2010 the threat level .... High alert states are synonymous with "red alert". See also References Military life Alert measurement systems {{mil-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first test of a fission ("atomic") bomb released an amount of energy approximately equal to . The first thermonuclear ("hydrogen") bomb test released energy approximately equal to . Nuclear bombs have had yields between 10 tons TNT (the W54) and 50 megatons for the Tsar Bomba (see TNT equivalent). A thermonuclear weapon weighing as little as can release energy equal to more than . A nuclear device no larger than a conventional bomb can devastate an entire city by blast, fire, and radiation. Since they are weapons of mass destruction, the proliferation of nuclear weapons is a focus of international relations policy. Nuclear weapons have been d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Lakenheath
Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, UK, north-east of Mildenhall and west of Thetford. The base also sits close to Brandon. Despite being an RAF station, Lakenheath currently only hosts United States Air Force (USAF) units and personnel. The host wing is the 48th Fighter Wing (48 FW), also known as the Liberty Wing, assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). The wing operates the F-15E Strike Eagle and the F-35A Lightning II. History First World War The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was during the First World War, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from RFC Feltwell and RFC Thetford. Second World War In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for nearby RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield. Surfaced runways were constructed in 1941 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Touch-and-go Landing
In aviation, a touch-and-go landing (TGL) or circuit is a maneuver that is common when learning to fly a fixed-wing aircraft. It involves landing on a runway and taking off again without coming to a full stop. Usually the pilot then circles the airport in a defined pattern known as a circuit and repeats the maneuver. This allows many landings to be practiced in a short time. If the pilot brings the aircraft to a full stop before taking off again, it is known as a "stop-and-go". If the aircraft's wheels do not touch the ground, it is known as a "low pass". Both a touch-and-go landing and a low pass are types of go-around. An unplanned touch-and-go landing is also called a "rejected landing" or "balked landing". Touch-and-go landings can perform a crucial safety role when a plane lands with not enough space to come to a complete stop, but has enough space to accelerate and take off again. Standard procedure In a normal landing, the pilot flies the traffic pattern and establish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
