AFMC Command News

  • A Look Back…Peacemaker Personnel

    First flown in August 1946, just one year after the end of WWII, the XB-36 was the largest and heaviest air-craft ever flown at the time. The size, weight and complexity of the aircraft created many new problems to be overcome by the talented engineers and technicians working the program.

  • A look back: Early Air Force Uniforms

    The following is a look back at the origins of the distinctive USAF uniforms, what organizations oversaw the design and manufacturing and the early transition period of Air Force uniforms worn.

  • Looking Back: Winged Missiles, 1950-1975

    The latter part of WWII and beyond saw a significant development in weapons technology. Among them, long range missile development. The Germans proved to the world that they could use the V-1 and V-2 rockets to strike targets from a long distance. After the war, the United States put forth a great

  • Flashback: The 1924 International Air Races

    In Rheims, France, six years after the Wright Brothers’ first flight, the world’s first air meet took place where prizes were awarded for various events such as highest altitude reached, longest flight, most passengers carried, and the fastest one, two, and three laps over a set 10-kilometer course.

  • History in Two: Early Beginnings to Privatized Housing

    Prior to the Military Housing Privatization Initiative that took place in Fiscal Year 1996, several privatization efforts were undertaken by the DoD – Wherry and Capehart acts in the late 1940s through to the 1950s – to provide family housing for our military members. Following World War II,

  • Flashback: The Navaho Missile: Part 2

    Note:  This is part two of a series on the Navaho Missile. Part one can be viewed at The Navaho Missile: Part 1.As Phase 1 testing of the X-10 Program came to an end, the flight test portion for Phase 2 began to ramp up at the Air Force Missile Test Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. From the

  • 78th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid

    April 18 marks the 78th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, in which Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, U.S. Army Air Forces, and Vice Adm. William F. Halsey Jr., U.S. Navy, led a joint bombing operation on the Japanese mainland aimed to inflict both material and psychological damage upon the enemy

  • Flashback: The Navaho Missile: Part 1

    During the 1950’s and 60’s the United States pushed the limits of aerospace vehicle evolution attempting to go faster and higher while exploring the edge of the unknown.  As contractors hoped to clutch a big production contract, new designs jumped off the drawing boards at a rapid pace with many

  • Hundreds gather for Hill Air Force Base’s 80th Anniversary Celebration

    The inaugural event held to commemorate Hill Air Force Base’s 80th anniversary was held at the Hill Aerospace Museum Jan. 18. Hundreds attended throughout the day to admire the museum’s aircraft and exhibits, and to witness the first of a number of celebratory activities that will take place during

  • FLASHBACK: Triplesonic Interceptors: The F-103, F-108 & YF-12A

    "Speed is life," is a phrase used by fighter pilots and it was never more prevalent than in the late 1950’s when post-war technology was advancing at a rapid pace. The technological advancements in aviation allowed aircraft to go from piston driven fighters to rocket-powered vehicles capable of

  • FLASHBACK: Gliders...from Wright Field to the Netherlands

    “I’ll tell you straight out. If you’ve got to go into combat, don’t go by glider. Walk, crawl, parachute, swim, float – anything! But don’t go by glider.”[1]Walter Cronkite, American war correspondentGlider training had become a requisite for Luftwaffe flight training post-World War I and by 1935,