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

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