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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1983–84<br />
August 30: Lt. Col. Guion S. Bluford, <strong>USAF</strong>, became the first black astronaut<br />
to journey into space. He rode aboard Challenger on the eighth spaceshuttle<br />
mission.<br />
September 1: A Soviet Su–15 interceptor shot down a Boeing 747 Korean<br />
airliner with 269 people aboard near Sakhalin Island, north <strong>of</strong> Japan.<br />
Three HC–130 Hercules aircraft from the 33d Aerospace Rescue and<br />
Recovery Squadron at Kadena <strong>Air</strong> Base, Japan, participated in the subsequent<br />
search but found no survivors. KC–135 Stratotankers also supported<br />
the search operation.<br />
September 3–25: As part <strong>of</strong> Operation RUBBER WALL, Military <strong>Air</strong>lift Command<br />
flew 85 C–141 Starlifter, 24 C–5 Galaxy, and four C–130 Hercules<br />
missions to transport about 4,000 tons <strong>of</strong> supplies from the<br />
United States to American marines in Lebanon.<br />
September 5: A KC–135 Stratotanker crew led by Capt. Robert J. Goodman<br />
saved an F–4E Phantom and its crew over the Pacific. <strong>The</strong> KC–135<br />
refueled the F–4E four times and towed it with a refueling boom. <strong>The</strong><br />
crew received the Mackay Trophy for the most meritorious flight <strong>of</strong> the<br />
year.<br />
October 23–December 9: After a terrorist bomb exploded at a Marine Corps<br />
barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, Military <strong>Air</strong>lift Command and <strong>Air</strong> Force<br />
Reserve cargo and aeromedical-evacuation aircraft transported 239<br />
dead and 95 wounded Americans to the United States and Europe for<br />
burial and medical treatment.<br />
October 24–November 3: In Operation URGENT FURY, American military<br />
forces raided the Caribbean island <strong>of</strong> Grenada to evacuate U.S. citizens,<br />
restore democracy, and eliminate a hostile Cuban/Soviet base.<br />
Military <strong>Air</strong>lift Command and <strong>Air</strong> Force Reserve C–5 Galaxy, C–141<br />
Starlifter, and C–130 Hercules aircraft flew 496 missions to transport<br />
11,389 passengers and 7,709 tons <strong>of</strong> cargo to Grenada. Strategic <strong>Air</strong><br />
Command tankers and Tactical <strong>Air</strong> Command fighters, as well as <strong>Air</strong><br />
National Guard EC–130Es, supported the operation, which accomplished<br />
its triple mission. During Operation URGENT FURY, Lt. Col.<br />
James L. Hobson, Jr., <strong>USAF</strong>, led a flight <strong>of</strong> MC–130 Hercules aircraft<br />
that successfully completed an airborne assault on Point Salinas, dropping<br />
paratroopers at the exact planned time over target in a hail <strong>of</strong><br />
antiaircraft fire. For his actions in assuming the assault lead from a disabled<br />
aircraft, Colonel Hobson earned the Mackay Trophy.<br />
1984<br />
February 24: Military <strong>Air</strong>lift Command flew two C–141 Starlifter missions<br />
from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Cherry Point, North Carolina, to support the<br />
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