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The Air Force’s history and heritage is rooted in the creation of the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Signal Corps on Aug. 1, 1907. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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The dawn of the new century witnessed man take to the air for the first time in a heavier-than-air-powered aircraft conceived and flown by two Ohio bicycle salesmen. https://www.airforce.com/mission/history
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For centuries, war was reserved for the battlefields and the high seas. But when the war to end all wars broke out in Europe the once-peaceful skies would quickly know the ravages of manned conflict. Soon, fixed-wing aircraft would be conducting ground attacks and taking part in aerial dogfights. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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The 96th Aero Squadron conducts the first daylight bombing by an American unit when it attacks Dommary-Baroncourt, France. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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After shooting down 18 enemy balloons and airplanes in 17 days, Lt Luke was killed in aerial combat on September 29, 1918. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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The U.S. successfully tests a pilotless torpedo called the Kettering Bug which would become the forerunner to today’s cruise missile. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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Known as the “West Point of the Air,” Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas, officially opens for pilot training. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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Demonstrating U.S. humanitarian-airlift capabilities, Maj Caleb V. Haynes and his crew transports more than 3,000 pounds of medical supplies to Chile to help victims of a deadly 8.3-magnitude earthquake. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the National Defense Act of 1940, which authorizes the Air Corps to train African American pilots. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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2nd Lt Carter Harman of the 1st Air Commando Group leads the first combat rescue mission by helicopter when he saves a fellow commando and three British soldiers after their aircraft went down in the Burmese jungle. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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Piloting the Enola Gay, Col Paul W. Tibbets and his crew dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, a second one was dropped on Nagasaki forcing the Japanese to surrender. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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The U.S. Air Force officially becomes its own service branch, and W. Stuart Symington is sworn in as the first secretary of the Air Force. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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The Air Force launches the first communications satellite into orbit. The next day, a Christmas message from President Dwight D. Eisenhower is broadcasted marking the first time a human voice is heard from space. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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An all woman Minuteman missile crew serves on alert duty for the first time. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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More than 8,000 Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard personnel begin Hurricane Katrina relief operations including the evacuation of 26,943 displaced persons, aeromedical evacuations of 2,602 patients and the airlifting of 11,450 tons of relief supplies (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
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cyber defense becomes part of the Air Force’s domain when it activates the 24th Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas to oversee the service’s cyber mission. (https://www.airforce.com/mission/history)
