Air Force Historical Foundation on LinkedIn: 1949: The YF-94 Starfire first flew. Later, during May 1950, the F-94A… (2024)

1972: Apollo 16 carried John W. Young, Charles M. Duke, Jr., and Thomas K. Mattingly II from the Kennedy Space Center on the fifth lunar landing mission. The lunar module “Orion” touched down in the moon’s Descartes region on 20 April, lifted off on 24 April, rejoined the “Casper” command module, and landed in the Pacific on 27 April after an 11-day, 2-hour mission. Apollo 16 experienced several minor glitches en route to the Moon. These culminated with a problem with the spacecraft's main engine that resulted in a six-hour delay in the Moon landing as NASA managers contemplated having the astronauts abort the mission and return to Earth, before deciding the problem could be overcome. Although they permitted the lunar landing, NASA had the astronauts return from the mission one day earlier than planned. (John Young saluting the United States flag while jumping up on the Moon, with the Apollo Lunar Module Orion and Lunar Roving Vehicle in the background. Young later piloted STS-1 in 1981).

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1949: BERLIN AIRLIFT’S BIGGEST DAY. Military aircraft delivered a record 12,940 tons of supplies to Berlin in 1,398 flights within 24 hours. The image shows the final tally of tonnage.

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1960: The USAF launched the Discoverer 11 into polar orbit from the Pacific Missile Range. Discoverer 11, also known as Corona 9008, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite. The eighth of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series, it successfully employed the first space-worthy camera film; however, Discoverer's film return capsule was lost during reentry on 16 Apr when the satellite's spin motors exploded.

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1952: Boeing pilot A. M. “Tex” Johnston flew the YB-52 prototype for the first time at Seattle. Beginning with the successful contract bid in June 1946, the B-52 design evolved from a straight wing aircraft powered by six turboprop engines to the final prototype YB-52 with eight turbojet engines and swept wings. The B-52 took its maiden flight in April 1952. The B-52 has been in service with the USAF since 1955, and NASA from 1959 to 2007. Built to carry nuclear weapons for Cold War–era deterrence missions, the B-52 Stratofortress replaced the Convair B-36 Peacemaker. The BUFF remains the “heavy lifter” for the USAF bomber force carrying a wide range of weapons—from nuclear to conventional cruise missiles.

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1981: SPACE SHUTTLE’S MAIDEN VOYAGE--The Space Shuttle Columbia with Robert Crippen (USN) and John Young (USN) on board launched on the first flight of a reusable spacecraft. On 14 April, they returned from space and landed at Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB for the first time. USAF space tracking and communications systems under ADC’s and the Air Force Communications Command’s operational control supported this mission.

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1970: APOLLO 13--James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise, Jr., and John L. Swigert were launched into space on this unlucky mission. First, Thomas Mattingly came down with German measles two days before the flight. Second, the Saturn V’s five first stage engines shut down early after launch. Third, after 56 hours in space a service module oxygen tank ruptured and forced an early return to the earth. Nevertheless, the men returned safely in the Odyssey and splashed down in mid-Pacific southeast of American Samoa on 17 April.

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1944: MEDAL OF HONORLt Edward Michael received his medal after cannon shells riddled his B-17 Flying Fortress, wounding himself, the copilot, and most crewmen. As the crew left the plane, he noticed that the bombardier's parachute was badly damaged. Thus, he decided to try a crash landing. For 45 minutes, he evaded German fighters before taking the crippled plane down to 100 feet above the ground over France. Amazingly, the B-17 flew across the English Channel to a RAF base. With the wheels and flaps inoperable, and the bomb bay doors jammed open, the seriously wounded Michael still had enough strength left to skillfully bring the bomber in on its belly.

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1959: Northrop’s YT-38 Talon prototype, a replacement for the T-33 training jet, flew its first flight at Edwards AFB. Note the single seat co*ckpit and extended pitot tube used in testing. (Prototype Northrop YT-38-5-NO Talon 58-1191 at Edwards AFB, 10 April 1959. USAF Photo)

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1997: Lockheed-Martin and Boeing rolled out the F-22 air superiority fighter at its Marietta plant.“This is not a business where you want to be second-best or equal,” Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, Air Force Chief of Staff, told reporters at the rollout. “You’ve got to dominate” in the air-toair arena to ensure the safety of US fighting men and women on the surface. The F-22 contributes to overall military power by making the job of the other military services “possible . . . with fewer losses, fewer casualties, less ground given up to an enemy,” Fogleman asserted.

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