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

1960–61
speed of 614 miles per hour before opening his parachute. This was
the highest jump and longest free fall on record.
August 19: Piloting a C–119, Capt. Harold F. Mitchell, USAF, retrieved the
Discoverer XIV reentry capsule in midair, marking the first successful
aerial recovery of a returning space capsule.
August 30: With six Atlas missiles ready to launch, the 564th Strategic Missile
Squadron at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, became
the first fully operational intercontinental ballistic missile squadron.
September 21: In a ceremony at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Tactical Air
Command accepted the first Republic F–105D Thunderchief, an allweather
fighter able to carry a nuclear weapon.
1961
January 31: The Mercury space capsule life-support system was first tested
on a space mission, carrying a chimpanzee named Ham.
February 1: The ballistic missile early warning system site at Thule, Greenland,
became operational. Subsequently, other sites became operational
at Clear, Alaska, and Fylingdales in the United Kingdom. Operated
by the North American Air Defense Command, the system could
provide the United States warning of an impending Soviet missile
attack in time to respond.
February 1: The Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile was launched
for the first time at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in a major test. Under full
guidance, it traveled 4,600 miles to its target area. The solid-fueled
Minuteman could be stored more easily and fired more quickly than
the liquid-fueled Atlas and Titan intercontinental ballistic missiles.
February 3: As part of a project called “LOOKING GLASS,” Strategic Air
Command began flying EC–135s to provide a 24-hour-a-day airborne
command post for the president and secretary of defense in case
enemy attack wiped out land-based command and control sites that
controlled strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
February 13: The Air Force first launched its solid-fueled air-to-surface missile,
the GAM–83B Bullpup, from an F–100 Super Sabre. The missile
could fly at supersonic speed, carry a nuclear weapon, and be guided
to its target by the pilot of the launching aircraft.
March 7: Strategic Air Command declared the Quail operational. The B–52
would use this missile (GAM–72A) as a diversionary device.
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