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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1943<br />
Forces, Middle East <strong>Air</strong> Command, and Royal <strong>Air</strong> Force Malta Command.<br />
March 1: Lt. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, newly promoted, assumed command <strong>of</strong><br />
Twelfth <strong>Air</strong> Force.<br />
March 2–4: In the Battle <strong>of</strong> the Bismarck Sea, Fifth <strong>Air</strong> Force heavy bombers,<br />
medium bombers, light bombers, and fighters attacked a 16-ship<br />
Japanese convoy on the way to New Guinea, sinking eight troop-laden<br />
transports and four <strong>of</strong> eight escorting warships. Modified B–25s participated<br />
in the attack, using low-level skip bombing for the first time.<br />
Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Gen. George S. Kenney, head <strong>of</strong> Fifth <strong>Air</strong> Force, in<br />
the Southwest Pacific during World War II<br />
March 10: <strong>The</strong> Army <strong>Air</strong> Forces activated Fourteenth <strong>Air</strong> Force at Kunming,<br />
China, under Maj. Gen. Claire L. Chennault, former commander <strong>of</strong><br />
the American Volunteer Group, the “Flying Tigers.” Fourteenth <strong>Air</strong><br />
Force, which included a composite wing composed <strong>of</strong> U.S. and Chinese<br />
pilots, conducted tactical air operations against Japanese forces<br />
occupying China.<br />
47
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