Yesterday's Air Force

An Air Force history feature on the ongoing restoration of the iconic WWII aircraft, the Memphis Belle.

An Air Force history and heritage video about the Air Force's very first plane, the 1909 Wright Military Flyer, on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Interview with museum historian Dr. Jeff Underwood.

In honor of Women's History Month, "Yesterday's Air Force" celebrates Betty Tackaberry Blake, an Air Force original and one of the greatest sources of inspiration for women in the military.

Near the end of WWII, America was planning a full-scale invasion on mainland Japan. The Allies expected casualties on both sides to number in the millions as a result. In a last-ditch effort to hasten the end of the war, President Harry Truman authorized the use of a terrifying new weapon. The atom bomb has only ever been used twice in combat, and The Last Bomb was dropped by the infamous B-29 Superfortress “Bockscar.”

In the 1960's, the Air Force developed a plane that could travel more than 3 times as fast as the sound produced by its own enormous engines.

The SR-71 Blackbird's incredible speed enabled it to gather intelligence in a matter of seconds while streaking across unfriendly skies. And in the off chance an enemy tried to shoot it down with a missile, all the Blackbird had to do was speed up and outrun it. Incredible!

"Most people, when they hear 'Air Force One,' they think of the President. But for me... I think 'AIR FORCE One.' It's one of the major Air Force missions. This is Air Power."

We've got a TON of history for you, all packed into one airplane... SAM 26000.

Eddie Rickenbacker. Race car Driver. WWI Ace of Aces. Aviation Pioneer. Medal of Honor recipient. Learn about one of the Air Force’s early legends, and the airplane that carried him to numerous victories in the skies over Europe in WWI.

The B-29 is known for dropping the bomb that ended WWII, but these workhorses did more than those last two missions. Today we introduce you to the last flying B-29 Superfortress, FIFI.

Operation Senior Surprise, known by those who took part as Operation Secret Squirrel, was a secret mission that began Operation Desert Storm, January 16, 1991.

The Cold War sparked the evolution of America's most powerful nuclear deterrent, intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxnvSi2OZTI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTH-7nRKI7k

https://www.defense.gov/News/Special-Reports/21st-Century-Nuclear-Deterrence-and-Missile-Defense/

http://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104466/lgm-30g-minuteman-iii/

http://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/104877/general-bernard-adolph-schriever/