One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University

1970
April 14: A C–141 Starlifter crew conducted the first airlift of an operational
Minuteman III missile, transporting it from Hill Air Force Base, Utah,
to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.
May 5: The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps expanded to include
women after test programs at Ohio State, Drake, East Carolina, and
Auburn Universities proved successful.
May 8: An AC–119K Shadow gunship crew attacked one of the most heavily
defended road sections in Southeast Asia. Despite the loss of 15 feet of
the aircraft’s right wing and one aileron, the crew destroyed three
enemy supply trucks and successfully returned to base. For this feat,
the crew received the Mackay Trophy.
June 2: U.S. Air Forces Southern Command personnel and aircraft from
Howard Air Force Base (AFB) and Albrook AFB, Canal Zone, and
C–130s from Lockbourne AFB, Ohio, began disaster-relief operations
for victims of a devastating earthquake in Peru that killed 70,000 and
left 800,000 homeless. In 31 days, Southern Command crews airlifted
1.5 million pounds of supplies and equipment and 2,827 passengers;
they also made 501 medical evacuations—all while operating under
practically bare-base conditions 1,500 miles from their home base.
June 6: Gen. Jack J. Catton, commander of Military Airlift Command, accepted
delivery of the first C–5 Galaxy for operational use in the Air Force. At
the time, the C–5 was the largest operational airplane in the world.
June 19: The first Minuteman III missile unit became operational at Minot
Air Force Base, North Dakota. The Minuteman III could launch multiple,
independently targetable warheads.
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The C–5 Galaxy