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

1977–78
October 12: The first class of USAF women navigators graduated, with three
of the five assigned to Military Airlift Command aircrews.
1978
January 24: Tactical Air Command deployed eight F–15 Eagle aircraft from
Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, to Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea,
in the first operational-training deployment of F–15s to the Western
Pacific.
February 8–17: In Operation SNOW BLOW II, USAF C–5s, C–141s, and
C–130s airlifted 2,339 tons of snow-removal equipment, generators,
communications gear, and more than 1,000 passengers after a severe
snowstorm in southern New England.
February 9: From Cape Canaveral, Florida, an Atlas-Centaur booster hoisted
into orbit the first Fleet Satellite Communications System satellite.
February 22: An Atlas booster launched the first Global Positioning System
satellite. A “constellation” of such satellites revolutionized navigation.
May 16–27: In Operation ZAIRE I, Military Airlift Command used 43 C–141
and C–5 missions to transport 931 tons of cargo and 124 passengers to
Zaire in support of Belgian and French troops who had intervened to
rescue European workers threatened by a Katangan rebel invasion of
Zaire from Angola. During this operation, Lt. Col. Robert F. Schultz
and Capt. Todd H. Hohberger and their C–5 crews earned the Mackay
Trophy for overcoming fatigue, limited en route support, crippling
mechanical problems, and adverse operational conditions in a hostile
area.
May 31–June 16: In Operation ZAIRE II, C–141s and C–5s airlifted Belgian
and French troops from Zaire, replacing them with African peacekeeping
troops. In 72 missions, they transported 1,225 passengers and
1,619 tons of cargo.
August 11–17: Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman, flying in
the Double Eagle II, completed the first balloon crossing of the Atlantic
Ocean. The flight from Maine to France covered 3,100 miles.
November 22–29: Three HH–53 Jolly Green Giant helicopters of the 55th
Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron airlifted 911 bodies from a
mass suicide in Jonestown to Georgetown, Guyana. HC–130s refueled
the helicopters as they shuttled between the sites. At Georgetown the
bodies were transferred to C–141 Starlifter aircraft, which transported
them to the United States.
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