Archives: Today in History

19 July 1957 – Northrop F-89J Scorpion, Nuclear Weapon Test, Operation Plumbbob, W-25 Warhead (From thisdayinaviation.com) During 1957, a series of 29 nuclear weapons tests were carried out at the United States’ Nevada Test Site, 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, under Project Plumbbob. Shot John was the first and only firing of a live, nuclear-armed, […]

18 July 1967: For the first time, a U.S. Air Force Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant combat search and rescue helicopter refueled in flight from a Lockheed HC-130P Combat King command and control aircraft during an actual rescue mission in Southeast Asia.   © 2015, Bryan R. Swopes

17 July 1952 –  Fifty-eight Republic F-84 Thunderjets complete a trans-ocean flight of 10,895 miles, with seven stops, from Georgia in the USA to Yokota in Japan. The Thunderjet became the USAF’s primary strike aircraft during the Korean War, flying 86,408 sorties and destroying 60% of all ground targets in the war as well as eight