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1
Q

In June 1907, what event began the story of today’sAir Force? (35)

A

Cpl Edward Ward and Pvt Joseph Barrett of the US Army Signal Corps were directed to learn to inflate and repair balloons at Fort Wood on Bedloes Island (now called Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.

2
Q

Describe how the US military’s air arm developedfrom the Aeronautical Division, US Army Signal Corps (1907-1914), to today’s US Air Force. (35-Fig)

A

1) Aviation Section, US Army Signal Corps (1914-1918); 2) Division of Military Aeronautics, Secretary of War (1918);3) Army Air Service (1918-1926); 4) Army Air Corps (1926-1947) - General HQ (GHQ) Air Force (1935-1939); 5) US Army Air Forces (1941-1947), and 6) US Air Force (1947- Present)

3
Q

When did the US Army first use balloon detachments? (35)

A

During the Civil War.

4
Q

Name the freelance civilian who made the first useful balloon reconnaissance mission for the Army in 1861. (35)

A

John La Mountain.

5
Q

What did Thaddeus Lowe demonstrate that a balloon could do? (35)

A

Effectively direct artillery fire by telegraph.

6
Q

Whose balloon, Santiago, was used by the SignalCorps during the Spanish-American War? (35)

A

William Ivy Baldwin. (His wife helped build the 14,000 cubic foot balloon.)

7
Q

Where and when did the Wright brothers first flytheir heavier-than-air craft? (36)

A

At Kitty Hawk, NC in 1903. (This stimulated public enthusiasm for aeronautics.)

8
Q

Where did the War Department send Ward andBarrett, the first two enlisted men assigned to the Signal Corps’ small Aeronautical Division, on 2July1907? (36)

A

They reported to the Leo Stevens balloon factory in New York City to be schooled in fabric handling, manufacturing buoyant gases, and the inflation and control of balloons.

9
Q

Who headed the new three-person-strong Aeronautical Division of the US Army Signal Corps in 1907? (36)

A

Capt Charles Chandler (assisted by Cpl Edward Ward and Pvt Joseph Barrett).

10
Q

Who became the Army’s first enlisted pilot in 1912?(36)

A

PFC Vernon Burge.

11
Q

In August 1908, the Wright brothers arrived at FortMyers with the US Army’s first airplane, Aeroplane No. 1. Why was this more than four years after the Wright brothers’ first successful flight? (36)

A

Because the government refused to accept that man had flown in a heavier-than-air machine.

12
Q

What was the name of the Army’s first dirigible?(36)

A

Dirigible No. 1.

13
Q

Who died while testing Aeroplane No. 1 at Fort Myers in September 1908? (36)

A

Lt Thomas E. Selfridge. (Further testing was suspended until the summer of 1909. The Signal Corps formally accepted Aeroplane No. 1 on 2 August 1909.)

14
Q

Who was in charge of Aeroplane No. 1 when part ofthe Aeronautical Division of the US Army Signal Corps arrived at Ft Sam Houston, TX in 1910? (36)

A

Lt Benjamin D. Foulois. (He taught himself to fly.)

15
Q

At Ft Sam Houston, what did Pvts Glenn Madoleand Vernon Burge, along with a civilian mechanic, build to improve the first fragile aircraft? (36)

A

A wheeled landing system.

16
Q

By October 1912, the Aeronautical Division had 11aircraft, 14 flying officers and 39 enlisted mechanics. Name the mechanic who was the first enlisted person to die in a military aircraft accident. (36-37)

A

Cpl Frank Scott. (Scott AFB, IL is named in his honor.)

17
Q

Name the Air Force squadron activated on 5 March 1913. (36-37)

A

The 1st Aero Squadron (Provisional).

18
Q

When Congress authorized the aviation section ofthe Signal Corps on 18 July 1914, how many officers and enlisted men were authorized? (37)

A

60 officers and 260 enlisted men.

19
Q

What military rating did Congress create when itauthorized the aviation section of the Signal Corps? (37)

A

“Aviation mechanician.” (It gave a 50% pay increase for enlisted men “instructed in the art of flying” while on flying status, limited such personnel to 40 and specified that no more than 12 enlisted men could train as aviators.)

20
Q

In March 1916, what did President Woodrow Wilsonorder the 1st Aero Squadron to do? (37)

A

Help protect the border with Mexico and apprehend the rebel Pancho Villa.

21
Q

What type of missions did the 1st Aero Squadron fly their eight Curtiss JN-3 “Jennies” on while protecting the border with Mexico? (37)

A

They flew reconnaissance flights and delivered mail and dispatches.

22
Q

The fruitless Punitive Expedition against PanchoVilla was recalled after 11 months. How was this first demonstration of US air power impressive? (37)

A

It wasn’t impressive, but instead was deeply disappointing.

23
Q

The hunt for Pancho Villa was unsuccessful; however, what valuable aviation lessons were learned? (37)

A

Lessons about aviation under field conditions, including the need for adequate maintenance and plenty of backup aircraft to rotate into service.

24
Q

Which two countries did Americans fly with as earlyas 1915 in the European war? (37)

A

Great Britain and France.

25
Q

The American-manned Lafayette Escadrille ofFrance included one of the very few enlisted Americans, and the only African American man of any nationality, to serve as a pilot. Who was he? (38)

A

Cpl Eugene Bullard. (He was the son of a former slave from Georgia.)

26
Q
  1. Despite his record of daring and dedication, Bullard was denied the officer’s commission accorded other escadrille aviators when they were incorporated into theAmerican ____ . (38)
A

American Expeditionary Force (AEF).

27
Q

Sgt Fred C. Graveline served as an observer for both V the aircraft and balloon corps during WWI. How was he honored? (38)

A

An observer and aerial gunner, he was one of only four enlisted personnel to receive the Distinguished Service Cross.

28
Q

Gen Mitchell successfully proved that airplanescould sink battleships beginning in 1921. Name the bombardier who distinguished himself in 1923 with innovative tactics to score direct hits. (39)

A

Sgt Ulysses “Sam” Nero.

29
Q

What did the relatively limited air activities focus onthrough the mid-1920s? (39)

A

Establishing records, testing equipment and garnering headlines.

30
Q

Between World Wars, enlisted men participated in a range of experimental work. What was Sgt RalphBottriell the first person to test? (39)

A

The first backpack-style freefall parachute in 1919. (He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1933 for service as an experimental parachute tester.)

31
Q

Who became a popular hero as a gunner in both thePacific and Europe during WWII and was decoratedeight times for heroism, including personal recognition by Generals MacArthur, Eisenhower and Doolittle? (39-40)

A

Cpl John D. Foley, nicknamed “Johnny Zero.”

32
Q

Sgt Sandy Sanchez was one of the enlisted force’smost decorated Airmen of WWII. What was his position? (41)

A

Gunner. (Killed during a raid against the last operational Nazi oil refinery on 15 March 1945 after flying 44 missions, his honors included the Silver Star, Soldier’s Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross.)

33
Q

The 25th Liaison Squadron was one of the more celebrated liaison units. Which of its members earned the Air Medal and Silver Star for separate Pacific rescue exploits in early 1944? (41)

A

SSgt James Nichols.

34
Q

Name the TSgt who was liberated as a POW in Germany during WWII and later became the first CMSAF in 1967. (40)

A

TSgt Paul Airey. (He received the first Air Force POW medal in 1988.)

35
Q

When did the air wing of the Army accept blacks inthe service? (40)

A
  1. (They only accepted blacks when forced by Congress and wartime emergency, admitting them on a strictly segregated basis.)
36
Q

Training and service for black enlisted Airmen andofficers were mostly confined to a single, separate base at __ ,AL.(40)

A

Tuskegee, AL. (All-black combat fighter units formed the famous “Tuskegee Airmen.”)

37
Q

Name the “first woman in the Air Force.” (41)

A

Esther Blake. (She enlisted on the first minute of the first hour of the first day regular Air Force duty was authorized for women on 8 July 1948.)

38
Q

The rank system for the new Air Force changed in1950 when corporal was removed from NCO status. How did the lower four ranks change in 1952? (41)

A

They changed from Pvt, PFC, Cpl and Sgt to AB, A3C, A2Cand Al C, respectively.

39
Q

The separate Air Force, with its sophisticated hardware, emphasized __ rated as SSgts or TSgts. (41)

A

Specialists.

40
Q

In 1956, Strategic Air Command (SAC) assigned 75enlisted radio and electronic countermeasures operators to fill a shortage of __ slots in new B-52 wings. (42)

A

Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO). (They served until commissioned replacements were available in 1964.)

41
Q

Gunners flew aboard gunships, B-57s and B-52s.Name the B-52 tail gunner who shot down an enemy MiG, the first of only two confirmed shoot downs by enlisted Airmen during the Vietnam War. (42)

A

SSgt Samuel Turner. (The fifth overall MiG-21 kill during Linebacker II went to AlC Albert E. Moore.)

42
Q

How did SSgt Parnell Fisher, a loadmaster, earn the Silver Star during the Vietnam War in 1966? (43)

A

He saved the crew and AC-47 gunship when a flare exploded prematurely, deploying its parachute in the aircraft. Fisher threw the flare out and, when the parachute caught under the cargo door, cut the lines while leaning outside the aircraft.

43
Q

SSgt William Piazza of the 3d Security Police Squadron earned a Silver Star for defending Bien Hoa Air Base in Vietnam during what 1968 offensive? (43, 43-Fig)

A

The North Vietnamese Tet Offensive.

44
Q

Who was the last US serviceman to engage Communist forces in ground combat in Southeast Asia as he helped rescue the crew of the USS Mayaguez (captured in May 1975) in the famed Son Tay POW camp raid? (42)

A

CMSgt Wayne Fisk.

45
Q

Who was the first Airman killed in Operation IraqiFreedom? (43)

A

SSgt Scott Sather, a combat controller. (He earned seven medals, including the Bronze Star, during his career.)

46
Q

Who became both the first Security Forces Airman(and the first female Airman killed in the line of duty) to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom when her vehicle contacted an IED while providing convoy security? (43)

A

AlC Elizabeth Jacobson.

47
Q

How many enlisted Airmen received the Medal ofHonor during the Vietnam War? (44)

A

Three.

48
Q

How many enlisted members have been awarded the Medal of Honor, America’s highest military decoration? (44, 44-Fig)

A

Seven.

49
Q

Name the four enlisted members who received theMedal of Honor during WWII. (44-Fig)

A

Maynard “Snuffy” Harrison Smith (1943); Forrest Lee Vosler (1943); Archibald Mathies (1944); and Henry “Red” Eugene Erwin (1945).

50
Q

Name the three enlisted members who received theMedal of Honor during the Vietnam Conflict. (44-Fig)

A

William H. Pitsenbarger (1966), Richard L. Etchberger (1968) and John Levitow (1969).

51
Q

Who earned the first Medal of Honor awarded to anenlisted man for actions on his very first mission, when his aircraft was attacked over France? (44-45)

A

Sgt Maynard “Snuffy” H. Smith. (He put out intense flames, administered first aid and manned guns to ward off enemy fighter attacks.)

52
Q

Who earned a Medal of Honor as a radio operatorwhen, despite multiple wounds, he took over as tail gunner and repaired a radio by touch to send a distress signal over Germany? (45)

A

TS gt Forrest L. V osler.

53
Q

Which engineer and ball turret gunner earned a Medal of Honor posthumously for helping fly a severely damaged aircraft from Germany back to England after the pilot was wounded and the copilot killed? (45)

A

SSgt Archibald Mathies. (He was killed trying to land the plane rather than parachuting to safety and abandoning the injured pilot.)

54
Q

Who earned the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) enlisted corps’ final Medal of Honor as a radio operator aboard a B-29 attacking Koriyama, Japan? (46)

A

SSgt Henry E. Erwin. (He cradled an ignited flare and hurled it through the copilot’s window, badly burning himself, to save the plane.)

55
Q

What loadmaster earned the Medal of Honor when,after suffering 40 shrapnel wounds, he fell on an armed flare, dragged it to the cargo door and heaved it out after his plane was hit over Vietnam in 1969? (46)

A

A IC John Levi tow.

56
Q

Name the pararescue crewmember who distinguished himself with extreme valor while responding to a call for evacuation of casualties in an ongoing firefight in Vietnam, posthumously earning an Air Force Cross that was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 2001. (46)

A

AIC William Pitsenbarger.

57
Q

Name the CMSgt whose fierce defense of a radar site in Laos in 1968 earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor (awarded in 2010). (47)

A

CMSgt Richard L. Etchberger.

58
Q

Pararescue personnel were among the most decorated individuals in the Vietnam conflict. T/F (47)

A

True. (Of the 20 Air Force Cross recipients in the Vietnam War, 10 were pararescuemen.)

59
Q

Name the sergeant who was credited with 51 combat rescues - the most in Air Force history. (47)

A

Sgt Steve Northern. (He earned two Silver Stars and a Purple Heart.)

60
Q

In October 1993, a US UH-60 helicopter was downed in the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia. Name the TSgt who earned the Air Force Cross for treating and evacuating casualties. (48)

A

TSgt Timothy A. Wilkinson.

61
Q

To date, how many enlisted members have beenawarded the Air Force Cross? (47)

A

26.

62
Q

Who were the first two enlisted members to beawarded the Air Force Cross? (47-Fig)

A

William A. Robinson and Arthur N. Black in 1965.

63
Q

What medic was awarded the Air Force Cross (presented posthumously) after he lost his life while saving 10 lives during a battle on Takur Ghar mountain in Afghanistan? (48)

A

SrA Jason D. Cunningham. (He made it possible for seven others who were killed to come home, despite being mortally wounded himself)

64
Q

Why was TSgt John A. Chapman awarded the AirForce Cross (posthumously) for actions during a 17-hour battle atop Takur Ghar mountain in Afghanistan? (49)

A

For saving the lives of his entire rescue team by engaging and destroying the first enemy position and advancing to the second.

65
Q

Who earned the Air Force Cross for extraordinaryheroism during an ambush in Afghanistan in 2008, protecting wounded soldiers while directing close air support strikes, despite his own wounds? (49)

A

SrA Zachary J. Rhyner.

66
Q

Who is the most recent Air Force Cross recipient?(47-Fig, 50)

A

SSgt Robert Gutierrez, Jr.

67
Q

Why did SSgt Robert Gutierrez, Jr. receive the AirForce Cross for extraordinary heroism during a firefight in Afghanistan on 5 October 2009? (50)

A

Despite being seriously wounded in the chest, he controlled precision A- I 0 strafing runs, which succeeded in decimating the enemy and allowed his team to escape without additional casualties.

68
Q

Who was Corporal Vernon Burge? (50)

A

The first enlisted man in US aviation history to train as a pilot.

69
Q

Most enlisted pilots received commissions after theUS formally declared war on the Central Powers. T/F (50)

A

True. (Including Sgt Vernon Burge.)

70
Q

Name the sergeant known as the “Father of BlindFlight” who was commissioned as a pilot, commanded a flight school and selected the site that became Bolling Field, Washington, DC. (51)

A

Sgt William C. Ocker.

71
Q

Some 3,000 enlisted personnel flew between the wars and into the early months of WWII without official flying status, until Congress enacted what law in 1941? (50)

A

Public Law 99. (It provided for training enlisted “aviation students” who were “awarded the rating of pilot and warranted as a staff sergeant.”)

72
Q

Between the World Wars, most enlisted pilots wereNCOs holding commissions in the __ . (51)

A

Reserves. (Some couldn’t qualify for Regular Army commissions because they lacked the required education; others took enlisted status to fly because there were few officer slots in the peacetime air service.)

73
Q

Why did Air Corps commanders halt enlisted pilottraining in 1933? (51)

A

They thought it was too expensive and blamed a shortage of funds during the Great Depression.

74
Q

Name the aerobatics team that predated today’s AirForce Thunderbirds and consisted of sergeant pilots William C. McDonald and John H. Williamson, as well as Lt Haywood S. Hansell. (51)

A

“Three Men on a Flying Trapeze.” (Captain Claire Chennault chose the team.)

75
Q

Why did the Army Air Forces revitalize the flyingsergeants and launch a massive program of enlisted pilot training? (51)

A

Because the threat of WWII made General HQ (GHQ) Air Force view enlisted pilots more positively.

76
Q

Who was the last enlisted pilot to serve (retiring in1957)? (52)

A

MSgt George Holmes.

77
Q

Late in 1942, the Flight Officer Act (Public Law 658)replaced Public Law 99. What did Public Law 658 do? (52)

A

It promoted staff sergeant pilots to flight officers (with rare exceptions).