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

The Air Force rescued 116 U.S. servicemen from behind enemy lines in
Korea using the H–19 Chickasaw, first flown in 1949.
1951
April 18: From Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, an Aerobee research
rocket carried the first primate, a monkey, into space.
May 20: Capt. James Jabara, an F–86 Sabre pilot of the 334th Fighter-Interceptor
Squadron, became the world’s first jet ace, shooting down his
fifth and sixth MiGs in the Korean War.
July 6: An Air Materiel Command KB–29M tanker, operated by a 43d Air Refueling
Squadron crew, conducted the first in-flight refueling over enemy
territory under combat conditions. The tanker refueled four RF–80
Shooting Stars flying reconnaissance missions over North Korea.
August 17: Flying a combat-equipped F–86E Sabre, Col. Fred J. Ascani set a
world speed record of 635.6 miles per hour in the 100-kilometer
closed-course competition at the National Air Races in Detroit, Michigan.
This feat earned Colonel Ascani the Mackay Trophy for the most
meritorious flight of 1951.
September 14: Capt. John S. Walmsley, Jr., USAF, lost his life illuminating an
enemy supply train while piloting a searchlight-equipped B–26
Invader in Korea. After stopping the train with bombs, Captain Walmsley
repeatedly passed over it to guide other aircraft to the target. His
actions earned him the Medal of Honor.
September 20: A monkey and 11 mice survived an Aerobee flight to an altitude
of 236,000 feet, marking the first time the Air Force had recovered
animals from a rocket flight.
September 27: In Operation PELICAN, a C–124 Globemaster II flew for the
first time from Japan to Korea, delivering 30,000 pounds of aircraft
parts to Kimpo Airfield and demonstrating the potential of very large
transport aircraft in a combat theater.
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