10 June 1969: The U.S. Air Force donated the first North American Aviation X-15, serial number 56-6670, to the Smithsonian Institution for display at the National Air and Space Museum. The first of three X-15A hypersonic research rocketplanes built by North American for the Air Force and the National Advisory Committee (NACA, the predecessor of NASA), 56-6670 made the first glide flight and
Elwin Roy Shain was born on August 27, 1931, in Iowa City, IA. Elwin had enlisted in the Air Force and entered via Regular Military. He began his Vietnam tour on August 30, 1967, as a Major with the 7th Air Force, 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing, 510th Tactical Fighter Squadron. out of Bien Hoa AB. […]
27 July 1960 A North American F-100C Super Sabre, assigned to the USAF Thunderbirds on 28 March 1960, is destroyed during a solo proficiency flight when it crashes fifty miles from Nellis AFB, Nevada, killing Capt. John R. Crane. John was flying F-100C # 53-1740.
Today in History – July 27, 1960 – F-100C Thunderbird Pilot Capt John R. Crane is killed Read More »
25 July 1962 – The Operation Fishbowl nuclear tests were originally planned to be completed during the first half of 1962 with three tests named Bluegill, Starfish and Urraca from Johnson Island. “If a test were to fail, the next attempt of the same test would be of the same name plus the word “prime.”(1)
Today in History – July 25, 1962 – Operation Fishbowl suffers “Bluegill Prime” failure. Read More »