This Week In AFLCMC History - September 12 - 18, 2022

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  • By Air Force Life Cycle History Office
12 Sep 1956 (Propulsion Directorate)

The Senior Review Panel of the Aircraft and Missiles Engine Advisory Group met at Wright-Patterson AFB to discuss the forecast for the Air Force’s propulsion engineering program at the Wright Air Development Center (WADC). At the time the WADC Power Plant Lab, headed by Col JJB Calderbank, conducted both R&D (AFRL) and direct operational support (AFLCMC). The programmed funding showed the beginnings of a trend that, by the end of the decade, had decimated turbine (jet) engine research and development (modern 6.2 and 6.3 funds) in favor of “in-service engineering.” This was the first such instance where jets were presumed to be a “mature technology,” ironically thanks to the significant advances made over the past decade using those research dollars. 

13 Sep 1985 (Fighters & Adv. Aircraft Dir./Armament Dir.)

Air Force Maj Wilbert “Doug” Pearson shot down a satellite using a specialized missile launched from his F-15A Eagle fighter, the first time the feat had been accomplished from an aircraft. Countries have been attempting to destroy satellites almost as long as they’ve been launching them. Most systems involved crude orbital intercepts using nuclear-armed ballistic missiles or employing laborious in-space rendezvous. When the Soviets successfully demonstrated this capability, the US responded with the development of the ASM-135 missile, managed by the Space & Missiles System Center, but using some off-the-shelf components from Air Force weapons. Once launched by the F-15, the ASM-135 propelled a small homing vehicle into space, which smashed into the target - an aging US weather satellite - destroying it. They compared it to “hitting a bullet with a bullet.” 

14 Sep 1917 (88 ABW-WPAFB)

Frank Stuart Patterson was commissioned a second lieutenant in the US Army Signal Corps Reserve. He was the son of one of the two Patterson brothers who had founded the National Cash Register (NCR) Company that made them the wealthiest and most influential family in Dayton. Frank was a student at Yale when he enlisted as private after the US entered WWI in 1917. Following training at MIT, Buffalo, Long Island, and Fort Sill, he received his commission and pilot rating. Patterson was assigned back home to Wilbur Wright Field (WWF; now WPAFB Area A) outside Dayton as a test pilot. A month later, he perished due to a structural failure in his airplane’s wing as he dove to a lower altitude during a routine test flight. The former WWF was renamed Patterson Field for him in 1931. 

15 Sep 1975 (Presidential & Executive Airlift Dir./Hanscom AFB)

The third and final E-4A National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) was accepted by the 1st Airborne Command and Control Squadron (1ACCS) at Andrews AFB, MD. While Boeing provided the airframes, E-Systems installed the on-board command and control equipment at its Greenville, TX, facility. This third aircraft had GE F103 (commercial CF6) high-bypass turbofans instead of the Pratt & Whitney JT9Ds on the previous ones, though those were soon retrofitted to the GE engines. The program was managed by the Advanced Airborne Command Post Program Office at the Hanscom Electronic Systems Division. The E-4As provided survivable, continuous command and control of the US military by the President and his national security team in the event of a nuclear strike. Starting in 1980, these E-4As were upgraded to the more advanced configuration found on the single E-4B that was delivered in 1979. 

16 Sep 1958 (Mobility & Training Aircraft Dir.)

The North American Aviation T-39 Sabreliner made its first flight as the civilian model NA-265. The company developed the aircraft with the intent of marketing it as a business jet and to compete for the Air Force’s Utility Trainer Experimental (UTX) contract. The typical military version had a crew of two, could carry four passengers, cruise at 500mph, and reach 40,000 feet. The T-39 could also be equipped for specialized aircrew training, such as navigators and radar operators, and was designated the T-39B. In its cargo configuration (CT-39A), the passenger stations could be removed to carry up to 2300 pounds, That version was typically used for specialized, high-priority cargo. One was also converted as a VIP transport for President Lyndon Johnson to use on regional flights from his Texas ranch. The Navy and Marine Corps also used the T-39, with over 200 built for military purposes.

17 Sep 1965 (Digital Directorate - Hanscom AFB)

The Electronic Systems Division at Hanscom established the Office of the Assistant for Limited War (ESD/ESGL), equivalent to a System Program Office. It was headed by Lt Col Dale D. Ryder. While this provided a formal organization for its efforts for limited war/counterinsurgency (LW/COIN) in Vietnam/Southeast Asia, ESD had been providing electronic systems support to the Air Force and the other military services in the region for several years. Major efforts included submarine cables and wireless (tropospheric) communications stations linking critical sites in-country and regionally. It was also deeply involved with the development and acquisition of tactical communications equipment  such as for close air support, air traffic control, navigation, and weather observation/prediction. EGSL disbanded on 30 July 1971 and its residual programs distributed to other ESD organizations. 

75 Years Ago This Week in AFLCMC History: 18 September 1947

The United States Air Force was born.
 
Nearly 40 years after the US military purchased its first airplane from the Wright Brothers, the dream of early air power advocates, theorists, and leaders for their own service branch, unbeholden to the limits of the traditional Army, came to fruition. Those years were filled with both progress and setbacks, but it was primarily the massive expansion and role of the Army Air Forces during World War II, followed by the desire for a standing Cold War deterrent to Soviet expansion, that was the ultimate catalyst for this move. The act was formally consummated on 18 September 1947 when W. Stuart Symington was sworn in as the first Secretary of the Air Force under the new Department of Defense, headed by James Forrestal. 

What is sometimes overlooked is that the 18th was not supposed to be the “birthday” of the Air Force. 

On 26 July 1947, President Harry Truman signed Public Law 235, the National Security Act of 1947 that had been passed by Congress. It created the unified DoD, with the Army and Navy subsumed under it, along with the now-independent Air Force, for civilian control purposes. By law, it was to take effect no later than 60 days after signing, which meant September 24th. However, Truman changed plans as he was returning from a South American trip aboard the USS Missouri. In his opinion, the “general international situation” —primarily Soviet actions abroad and in the new United Nations— warranted more immediate action. The President radioed instructions back to Washington that they should not wait for him to conduct the ceremonies. 

Forrestal was sworn in immediately on the 17th, with Symington and his counterparts following on the 18th, thus moving up the official Air Force “birthday” by almost a week. The new Air Force Secretary and Army Secretary Kenneth Royal subsequently signed a prepared separation agreement detailing how exactly the two services would split over the coming months. Disagreements still remained, particularly in regards to support functions like hospitals, but the separation timeline provided for two years to figure these out. 

W. Stuart Symington was a Missouri native, World War I veteran and Yale grad. He earned a name for himself in business between the wars, with a particular knack for reviving manufacturing businesses during the Great Depression. Over the course of World War II, he led the company that became the world’s largest airplane armament plant. Prior to his selection as the first SECAF. Symington was the Assistant Secretary of War for Air. His tenure was remembered for his able structuring of the nascent Air Force and his unparalleled authority compared to his successors, but also for his bitter fights over meager resources, roles, and missions with his Army and Navy counterparts, and the SECDEF. He resigned in 1950, but went on to serve Missouri as a four-term senator.