The T-33 "Thunderbird" was the training variant of the U.S. Air Force's first production jet fighter, the F/P-80 "Shooting Star." Originally designed by Lockheed's "Kelly" Johnson during WWII, the P-80 went from drawing board to airborne in a record 150 days. The T-bird was three feet longer than the P-80, and boasted a second seat, instrumentation and flight controls. Equipped with an Allison J33 turbojet, the T-33 had a maximum speed of 600 mph, a range of over 1200 miles in ferry, and a service ceiling of 48,000 feet. The Navy also operated the T-33 as the TV-2 or T-33B, and eventually...

Over the past twelve years, the base infrastructure of the United States Air Force (USAF) has shrunk rapidly to accommodate force downsizing engendered by the ending of the Cold War. Still more radical changes are necessary to efficiently support the agile forces required to wage the "Global War on Terrorism." Historically, the ebb, flow, and utilization of Air Force installations are interconnected to changes in the size, composition, and capabilities of major flying and nonflying organizations. As a result, the number of USAF installations has fluctuated according to the complex interaction...

From June 25, 1950, to May 20, 1951, Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer, the Far East Air Forces commander, kept a diary of his activities during the Korean War. A number of general officers kept such diaries during World War II, although the practice was generally frowned upon by higher headquarters and, in the Navy at least, was against regulations. In the Korean War, the writing of such works became less wide-spread. Surprisingly, however, three diaries written by senior Air Force officers (Stratemeyer, Maj. Gen. Earle E. Partridge, Commander, Fifth Air Force, and Maj. Gen. Edward J....

Commemorating the first century of aviation, this chronology is dedicated to the men and women who gave their lives to advance air and space flight. It includes significant air and space events since the Wright brothers first demonstrated in 1903 that humankind could fly in heavier-than-air machines. Although focused on the evolution of the United States Air Force (USAF), it also includes major developments in military, naval, civil, and international airpower. Air Force History and Museums Program, Air University Press.

One of the more striking aspects of the war in Southeast Asia was the adaptation of existing weapons in the American arsenal to the peculiar needs of an unconventional war. This volume traces the history from initial conception of the fixed-wing gunship in the early 1960's through deployment and operations to the end of American combat involvement in early 1973.

The U.S. Air Force reached its nadir during the opening two years of the Rolling Thunder air campaign in North Vietnam. Never had the Air Force operated with so many restraints and to so little effect. These pages are painful but necessary reading for all who care about the nation's military power. Van Staaveren wrote this book near the end of his distinguished government service. He was an Air Force historian in Korea during the Korean War and he began to write about the Vietnam War while it was still being fought.

This monograph is one in a series of five works dealing with various aspects of the Air Force's participation in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Historians of the Air Force History Program built a foundation for researching any topic related to the Gulf War air campaign. Before, during, and after Desert Storm, they collected thousands of feet of documents and conducted a number of valuable oral history interviews.

The expanding role of the Guard and its close cooperation with the Air Force are Dr. Gross' themes, explaining the rise of the Guard to the prominence it plays in today's air operations. He pulls no punches in recounting the conflict between Guard and regular Air Force, or in explaining how each side maneuvered to safeguard its interests. However, the author also shows how common concerns and mutual dedication to the national defense overcame parochialism and led from cooperation to integration. The result was displayed for all the Air Force to see in the professionalism of Guard units in the...

The concept of flight has fascinated man for millennia. The minds of the ancients invented winged gods and goddesses who lived in the heavens or who traversed it in chariots of gold. The restless brilliance of Leonardo da Vinci designed a flying machine five centuries ago; but his vision, as well as those of many who followed, relied on the muscle power of man to make it work. That would not be enough. A mechanical engine would be necessary. Flight would have to be a byproduct of the industrial revolution. In the meantime, man turned to an alternative means of reaching into the sky-balloons....

General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the Pacific forces in World War II, viewed the Battle of the Bismark Seat as a disaster for the Japanese and a triumph for the Allies. In that great air-sea confrontation, U.S. and Australian air forces proved that air power could be decisive in preventing the resupply of ground troops by sea. Months of tortuous warfare in the jungles of New Guinea had left Japanese troops vulnerable to disease and starvation. In the end Allied airmen were able to break Japan's grip on New Guinea and end its threat to Australia through the innovative and aggressive use...