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

1939
planes. Although he could not immediately request sufficient funds
for the program from Congress, Roosevelt committed his administration
to a vastly expanded air force.
February 14: Maj. Caleb V. Haynes and his crew flew the Boeing XB–15,
laden with more than 3,000 pounds of medical supplies, from Langley
Field, Virginia, to Chile for the relief of earthquake victims. The flight
demonstrated not only U.S. humanitarian-airlift capabilities, but also
the range and payload of the new airplane.
April 3: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Defense Act of
1940, which provided the Army Air Corps more than 48,000 personnel,
a $300 million budget, and 6,000 airplanes. It also authorized the
Air Corps to train black pilots.
May 20: Pan American Airways initiated the first regularly scheduled passenger
and airmail service across the Atlantic Ocean.
August 27: The Heinkel He–178 made the first jet-powered aircraft flight at
Marienhe Airfield, Germany.
September 1: Germany invaded Poland, precipitating World War II. Two
days later, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany.
December 16: Maj. Gen. Delos C. Emmons assumed command of General
Headquarters Air Force, succeeding Maj. Gen. Frank Andrews.
1940
1938–40
April 9: German troops invaded Denmark and Norway, landing troops from
the air for the first time in war to seize an airfield at Stavanger, Norway.
April 15: The War Department issued a new field manual, FM 1-5, on the
employment of Army aviation. It advocated the centralized use of air
power against strategic and interdiction targets and mentioned that
airplanes could be used to support tactical commanders on the battlefield.
May 13: Igor I. Sikorsky flew in his VS–300 (Vought-Sikorsky) helicopter in
its first truly free flight. Previous experimental flights had consisted of
short, tethered hops.
May 16: President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for the production of 50,000
airplanes a year.
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