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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November 10–13: More than 100 P–40s <strong>of</strong> the 33d Fighter Group flew from<br />
two aircraft carriers—the USS Chenango and the HMS Archer—to Port<br />
Lyautey, Morocco.<br />
November 12: Under Lt. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton, Ninth <strong>Air</strong> Force began<br />
combat operations in Egypt, providing tactical air support to the<br />
British in the drive westward across North Africa.<br />
November 28: In the first Army <strong>Air</strong> Forces air raid on Thailand, nine B–24<br />
Liberators flew 2,760 miles from Gaya, India, to bomb Bangkok.<br />
December 1: Maj. Gen. Ira C. Eaker assumed command <strong>of</strong> Eighth <strong>Air</strong> Force<br />
in England, replacing Maj. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, who transferred to the<br />
Mediterranean theater.<br />
December 27: Second Lt. Richard I. Bong, flying a P–38 against the Japanese<br />
in the Pacific, scored his first two aerial victories. By the end <strong>of</strong> the<br />
war, he had earned 40 such credits, making him the top U.S. ace.<br />
1943<br />
Capt. Richard I. Bong, the leading U.S. ace during World War II<br />
1942–43<br />
January 5: Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander <strong>of</strong> Operation TORCH,<br />
activated Allied <strong>Air</strong> Force under Maj. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz in the Northwest<br />
African theater.<br />
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