United States Air Force

The United States Air Force (USAF) is a branch of the US Military reponsible for aerial combat. The Air Force split from the US Army in 1947.

History

The Roots of the United States Air Force start, as with the air wings of most western nations, with World War I. During the war itself US forces used mainly British and French built aircraft. One of the first major US built aircraft was the very popular The Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny." The Army Air Corps first well known Ace Pilot was Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 27, 1973) with 26 aerial victories. Early well known Army Air Corps pilots also include Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Doolittle, and Lt. Quentin Roosevelt(son of Teddy Roosevelt.)

In the period between World War I and the lead up to World War II, The size and aircraft types of the Army Air Corp was expanded and updated to keep pace with other Western nations. Before the outbreak of the War, American pilots served in both the Pacific and European Theaters in "volunteer" squadrons the most notable being the RAF Eagle Squadrons and Chinese Flying Tigers.

During the War, the Army Air Corps was heavily involved with fighting in all theaters of the was and was most notable as taking part in the daylight raids as part of the Allied strategic air campaign against Nazi Germany. One of the well known leaders of the corps during the war was Curtis LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) who was in command of the US bomber campaign in the Pacific against the Empire of Japan. One famous mission from the early part of the war was The Doolittle Raid.

On September 26, 1947, the Air Force was created as a separate Branch from the US Army. The United States Air Force has 3 main commands, Bomber Command, Fighter Command and Airlift Command. Bomber Command it in charge of the Air Forces' Strategic and Atomic attack assets, while Fighter Command is over the operation of interception and close support operations and Airlift Command maintains the supply and logistics wings. They maintain bases all over the world and as part of NATO has a major strategic presence in Europe.

Notable Aircraft

Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny."

Bombers

• B-17 Flying Fortress
• B-24 Liberator
• B-25 Mitchell
• B-29 Super Fortress
• B-36 Peacemaker
• B-47 Stratojet
• B-52 Stratofortress
• FB-111 Aardvark
• F-117 Nighthawk
• B-1B Lancer
• B-2A Spirit

Patrol

• PBY Catalina
• SR-71 Blackbird

Airborne Radar

• E-11 (Unnamed)

Cargo

• C-47 Skytrain
• C-130 Hercules
• C-5 Galaxy
• KC-10 Extender
• C-17 Globemaster III
• KC-46 (Unnamed)
• KC-135 Stratotanker

Pursuit

• P-38 Lightning
• P-40 Warhawk
• P-47 Thunderbolt
• P-51 Mustang

Fighter

• F-86 Sabre
• F-100 Super Sabre
• F-4 Phantom II
• F-5 Tiger II
• F-15 Eagle
  • F-15E Strike Eagle
  • F-15SE Silent Eagle
• F-16 Fighting Falcon
• F-22 Raptor
• F-35 Lightning II

Attack

• A-7E Corsair II
• A-10A/C/OA-10A Thunderbolt II
• AV-8B Harrier II
• AC-47 Spooky
• AC-130H/U Spectre/Spooky II

The USAF in Science Fiction

• In the Stargate universe Stargate Command is (for the most part) under the Administration of the United States Airforce.