When an AH-64 went down near the Iraqi city of Najaf, 12 Army paratroopers unleashed hell on an enormous enemy force. On Jan. 28, 2007, a 12-man Military Transition Team, or MiTT, composed of paratroopers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division was called upon to assist an Iraqi army unit that…
Category: Military Aviation History
World War Two History: The Man Who Fell 22,000 Feet and Lived to Tell The Tale
Paratroopers make a big deal about jumping out of planes from 800 feet, but U.S. Army Air Force Staff Sgt. Alan Magee fell out of a plane at 22,000 feet without a parachute while the plane was on fire. And he lived. Magee was a ball turret gunner in a B-17 named “Snap! Crackle! Pop!”…
On this Day in History: “No Survivors” The 22nd Anniversary of Eagle Flight
On this day, 22 Years Ago, in Northern Iraq, One of the WORST “Blue-on-Blue” or “Friendly Fire” Accidents in U.S. Military History Occurred. (USAF Photo: U.S. Military personnel inspect the wreckage of a Black Hawk helicopter (Eagle 2) in the Northern Iraq No Fly Zone during Operation Provide Comfort, April 16, 1994.) “They came to…
Profiles in Courage: True Heroism Summed Up in a Snapshot
On November 10, 1943, when Lt. Walter L. Chewning Jr., the catapult officer of the USS Enterprise, saw a 9,000-pound F6F Hellcat crash-land on the flight deck and erupt in a ball of flames as it barreled toward the gun gallery, he did not run away. Instead, Chewning deliberately ran toward the wreck, stepped on the burning external…
Military History: The USS Akron, One of the Worse Air Ship Disasters in U.S. History
On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg airship caught fire as it was trying to dock at Naval Station Lakehurst in Manchester Township, New Jersey. Thirty-six of the 97 people onboard were killed, in addition to one crewman on the ground. The disaster is often called the most devastating loss of life during the zeppelin era,…
Brush-Up On Your History: Eight Classic American Propaganda Campaigns
Many groups have historically used propaganda to generate support for various campaigns — America is no exception. Even as far back as the Revolutionary War, the U.S. government, military, and private groups have used varying forms of propaganda to drum up support for certain political causes. Some of these methods — including posters, comics, and…
Military Defense News: US Army to Retire OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Scout Helicopter by 2017
With tensions at a recent high, the U.S. Army is sending the last of its OH-58D Kiowa Warrior scout helicopters to the Korean Peninsula for one more mission. After decades of service in war zones including Afghanistan and Iraq, the venerable copters should leave service by 2017. On March 19, the Army announced that 400…