One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University
One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University
One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University
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1981–82<br />
November 23: During the BRIGHT STAR ’82 exercise, eight B–52 bombers<br />
assigned to the strategic-projection force established a record for the<br />
longest nonstop B–52 bombing mission. Flying a distance <strong>of</strong> 15,000<br />
miles with three midair refuelings in 31 hours from air bases in North<br />
Dakota, the bombers delivered their conventional munitions on a simulated<br />
runway in Egypt.<br />
1982<br />
April 2: With the help <strong>of</strong> air power, Argentina invaded and captured the<br />
Falkland Islands, a British crown colony.<br />
May 4: An Argentine airplane sank the British destroyer HMS Sheffield with<br />
an Exocet missile during fighting over the Falkland Islands. Later that<br />
month, Argentine aircraft sank three more British ships, including two<br />
frigates and a destroyer.<br />
June 9–11: Israeli pilots flying U.S.-made fighters achieved an unmatched<br />
82-0 aerial victory ratio in combat against Syrian fighter pilots in<br />
Soviet-made MiGs over Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. <strong>The</strong>y also destroyed 19<br />
Syrian surface-to-air missile batteries and suffered no losses.<br />
June 10: Strategic <strong>Air</strong> Command’s first all-woman KC–135 crew, assigned to<br />
the 924th <strong>Air</strong> Refueling Squadron, Castle <strong>Air</strong> Force Base, California,<br />
performed a five-hour training mission that included a midair refueling<br />
<strong>of</strong> a B–52 Strat<strong>of</strong>ortress aircraft.<br />
June 14: <strong>The</strong> last Argentine forces surrendered to British troops in the Falkland<br />
Islands. British carrier-based Harrier aircraft, which could take<br />
<strong>of</strong>f and land vertically and hover, had supported the British forces in<br />
their successful campaign.<br />
June 21: Strategic <strong>Air</strong> Command conducted a successful aerial refueling<br />
only 750 miles from the South Pole. During this southernmost in-flight<br />
refueling, a KC–10A Extender transferred 67,400 pounds <strong>of</strong> aviation<br />
fuel to a Military <strong>Air</strong>lift Command transport that was conducting<br />
resupply operations in Antarctica.<br />
July 1: United States <strong>Air</strong> Forces in Europe activated the 501st Tactical Missile<br />
Wing at Royal <strong>Air</strong> Force Greenham Common, United Kingdom. This<br />
unit was the first <strong>of</strong> six ground-launched cruise missile wings in Europe.<br />
September 1: <strong>The</strong> <strong>Air</strong> Force activated Space Command, redesignated <strong>Air</strong><br />
Force Space Command on November 15, 1985, following activation <strong>of</strong><br />
United States Space Command—a joint organization—at Peterson <strong>Air</strong><br />
Force Base, Colorado, on September 23, 1985.<br />
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