1948–49 July 20: Sixteen F–80 Shooting Stars completed a mission from Selfridge Field, Michigan, to Scotland after nine hours and 20 minutes—the first west-to-east transatlantic flight by jet planes. July 23: <strong>The</strong> Military <strong>Air</strong> Transport Service established <strong>Air</strong>lift Task Force with headquarters in Germany for relief to Berlin. Maj. Gen. William H. Tunner was named to command Task Force operations. July 30: North American Aviation delivered to the <strong>Air</strong> Force its first operational jet bomber—the B–45A Tornado. Later it became the first <strong>USAF</strong> aircraft to carry a tactical nuclear bomb. December 8: A B–36 completed a 9,400-mile nonstop flight from Texas to Hawaii and back without refueling. December 9–28: On December 9, 1948, an arctic storm forced the crew <strong>of</strong> a C–47 Skytrain to land on the Greenland ice cap, stranding a crew <strong>of</strong> seven. Subsequent rescue attempts by a B–17 and a towed glider failed, stranding five rescuers as well. On December 28, Lt. Col. Emil Beaudry landed a ski-equipped Skytrain on the ice cap, rescuing the 12 airmen and subsequently winning the Mackay Trophy. December 17: On the 45th anniversary <strong>of</strong> the first heavier-than-air aircraft flight, the Smithsonian Institution celebrated the return <strong>of</strong> the 1903 Wright Flyer, also called the Kitty Hawk, to the United States. <strong>The</strong> plane arrived in Washington, D.C., on November 22 from the Science Museum in London, where it had been displayed for 20 years. 1949 January 3: After severe blizzards hit eight western states, the <strong>Air</strong> Force began Operation HAYRIDE. By March 15 more than 200 airplanes had airlifted 4,778 tons <strong>of</strong> livestock feed, food, blankets, clothing, and medical supplies. March 2: Capt. James G. Gallagher and his crew in Lucky Lady II, a B–50 Superfortress, completed the first nonstop flight around the world. <strong>The</strong>y flew more than 23,450 miles in slightly more than 94 hours, taking <strong>of</strong>f and landing at Carswell <strong>Air</strong> Force Base, Texas, and refueling in the air over the Azores, Arabia, the Philippines, and Hawaii. For this flight, the Lucky Lady II crew won the Mackay Trophy. April 6: <strong>The</strong> Curtiss-Wright Company announced that the Bell X–1 rocket plane, powered by a Curtiss-Wright engine, flew at a record 1,000 miles per hour. 64
1949 Above: <strong>The</strong> Boeing B–50 Superfortress, essentially an improved version <strong>of</strong> the B–29. Below: When the B–36 Peacemaker flew in March 1949, it was the largest bomber ever built, carrying six propeller engines, later supplemented with four jet engines, two on the end <strong>of</strong> each wing. 65