Air Force History

On September 17, 1998, the United States Air Force Celebrated it's 50th anniversary.

Happy Birthday Air Force

History of The United States Air Force

The first heavier-than-air flight took place in 1903 when man went aloft in hot air baloons which were used for airial observation in the American Civil War, Franco-Prussian War, and American campaigns in Cuba. Air baloons over the battlefield provided rapid, accurate reconnaissance of enemy forces. Steerable airships, or dirigibles, were the logical replacements for baloons, but air power developed from the epic, controlled-power flight of Wilbur and Orville Wright which occurred at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on 17 December 1903.

The Wright brothers always felt that the airplane would be a contribution to international communications, commerce, and good will. Ironically, they sold their first plane to the US War Department in 1909. Over the years, vast military expenditures on the airplane have not only made it a key element in US military power, but also created a revolution in transportation, business and economics.

The National Security Act of 1947

Almost from the beginning of military aviation in the U.S., some men such as Billy Mitchell had urged the creation of a separate air force. During WW II, the AAF was almost independent from the Army, but this was only a temporary wartime situation. However, experience gained during the war had shown that an air arm independent and co-equal with the Army and Navy could perform satisfactorily.

After months of inter-service and congressional negotiations and compromise, on July 26, 1947 President Harry S. Truman on board the presidental aircraft "Sacred Cow" signed the National Security Act of 1947. The measure established an independent Air Force for "offensive and defensive air operations" and placed the Army, Navy, and Air Force on an equal level under a civilian Secretary of Defense. The Department of the Air Force began operating as a separate entity on Sep. 18, 1947 at which time W. Stuart Symington was sworn in as the first Secretary of the Air Force. General Carl Spaatz, WW II commander of U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe and in the Pacific, was named the first USAF Chief of Staff.

This is THE PEN with which President Truman signed the N.S.A.

President Truman's signed statement indicating the Sacred Cow as the place where he created the United States Air Force.

President Harry S. Truman on board the presidental aircraft "Sacred Cow"

National Defense Act of 1947
Sections 207-209

Creation of the US Air Force

"DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE"

"Sec 207. (a) Within the National Military Establishment there is hereby established an executive department to be known as the Department of the Air Force, and a Secretary of the Air Force, who shall be the head thereof. The Secretary of the Air Force shall be appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

"(b) Section 158 of the Revised Statutes is amended to include the Department of the Air Force and the provisions of so much of title IV of the Revised Statutes as now or hereafter amended as is not inconsistent with this Act, shall be applicable to the Department of the Air Force.

" (c) The term 'Department of the Air Force' as used in this Act shall be construed to mean the Department of the Air Force at the seat of government and all field headquarters forces, reserve components, installations, activities, and functions under the control or supervision of the Department of the Air Force.

"(d) There shall be in the Department of Air Force an Under Secretary of the Air Force and two Assistant Secretaries of the Air Force, who shall be appointed from civilian life by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

"(e) The several officers of the Department of the Air Force shall perform such functions as the Secretary of the Air Force may prescribe .

"(f) So much of the functions of the Secretary of the Army and of the Department of the Army, including those of any officer of such Department, as are assigned to or under the control of the Commanding General, Army Air Forces or as are deemed by the Secretary of Defense to be necessary or desirable for the operations of the Department of the Air Force or the United States Air Force, shall be transferred to and vested in the Secretary of the Air Force and the Department of the Air Force: Provided, That the National Guard Bureau shall, in addition to the functions and duties performed by it for the Department of the Army, be charged with similar functions and duties for the Department of the Air Force, and shall be the channel of communication between the Department of the Air Force and the several States on all matters pertaining to the Air National Guard: And provided further, That, In order to permit an orderly transfer, the Secretary of Defense may, during the transfer period hereinafter prescribed, direct that the Department of the Army shall continue for appropriate periods to exercise any of such functions, insofar as they relate to the Department of the Air Force or the United States Air Force or their property and personnel. Such of the property, personnel, and records of the Department of the Army used in the exercise of functions transferred under this subsection as the Secretary of Defense shall determine shall be transferred or assigned to the Department of the Air Force.

"(g) The Secretary of the Air Force shall cause a seal of office to be made for the Department of the Air Force, of such device as the President shall approve, and judicial notice shall be taken thereof.

"UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

"SEC: 208. (a) The United States Air Force is hereby established under the Department of the Air Force. The Army: Air Forces. The Air Corps, United States Army, and the General Headquarters Air Force (Air Force Combat Command), shall be transferred to the United States Air Force.

"(b) There shard be a Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of four years from among the officers of general rank who are assigned to or commissioned in the United States Air Force. Under the direction of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, shall exercise command over the United States Air Force and shall be charged with the duty of carrying into execution all lawful orders and directions which may be transmitted to him. The functions of' the Commanding General, General Headquarters Air Force (Air Force Combat Command), and of the Chief of the Air Corps and of the Commanding General, Army Air Forces, shall be transferred to the Chief of Staff United States Air Force. When such transfer becomes effective, the offices of the Chief of the Air Corps, United States Army, and Assistants to the Chief of the Air Corps, United States Army, provided for by the Act of June 4, 1920, as amended (41 Stat. 768), and Commanding General, General Headquarters Air Force, provided for by section 5 of the Act of June 16, 1936 (49 Stat. 1525), shall cease to exist. While holding office as Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, the incumbent shall hold a grade and receive allowances equivalent to those prescribed by law for the Chief of Staff, United States Army. The Chief of Staff, United States Army, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, shall take rank among themselves according to their relative dates of appointment as such; and shall each take rank above all other officers on the active list of the Army, Navy, and Air Force: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall have the effect of changing the relative rank of the present Chief of Staff, United States Army, and the present Chief of Naval Operations.

"(c) All commissioned officers, warrant officers, and enlisted men, commissioned, holding warrants, or enlisted, in the Air Corps, United States Army, or the Army Air Forces, shall be transferred in branch to the United States Air Force. All other commissioned officers, warrant officers, and enlisted men, who are commissioned, hold warrants, or are enlisted, in any component of the Army of the United States, and who are under the authority or command of the Commanding General, Army Air Forces, shall be continued under the authority or command of the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, and under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Air Force. Personnel whose status is affected by this subsection shall retain their existing commissions, warrants, or enlisted status in existing components of the armed forces unless otherwise altered or terminated in accordance with existing law; and they shall not be deemed to have been appointed to a new or different office or grade, or to have vacated their permanent or temporary appointments In an existing components of the armed forces solely by virtue of any change in status under this subsection. No such change in status shall alter or prejudice the status of any individual so assigned, so as to deprive him of any right, benefit, or privilege to which he may be entitled under existing law.

"(d) Except as otherwise directed by the Secretary of the Air Force, all property, records, installations, agencies, activities, projects, and civilian personnel under the jurisdiction, control, authority, or command of the Commanding General, Army Air Forces, shall be continued to the same extent under the jurisdiction, control, authority, or command, respectively, of the Chief of Staff United States Air Force, in the Department of the Air Force.

"(e) For a period of two years from the date of enactment of this Act, personnel (both military and civilian), property, records, installations, agencies, activities, and projects may be transferred between the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force by direction of the Secretary of Defense.

"(f) In general the United States Air Force shall include aviation forces both combat and service not otherwise assigned. It shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The Air Force shall be responsible for the preparation of the air forces necessary for the effective prosecution of war except as otherwise assigned and, in accordance with integrated joint mobilization plans, for the expansion of the peacetime components of the Air Force to meet the needs of war.

"EFFECTIVE DATE OF TRANSFERS

"Sec. 209. Each transfer, assignment, or change in status under section 207 or section 208 shall take effect upon such date or dates as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.

"Air Force Medley"