Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the U.S. Air Force

On the occasion of its 75th anniversary, we give an overview of the history of the USAF and its predecessors.

Friday, September 23, 2022 at 11:35 AM ET

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A B-17G Flying Fortress and a B-52H Stratofortress fly in a heritage flight formation on Saturday, May 13, 2006 during the Defenders of Liberty Airshow at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. [Courtesy: U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Air Force traces its origins to the U.S. Army Signal Corps Aeronautical Division, established in 1907 shortly after the first powered flight.
It evolved through World War I as the Army Air Service and expanded massively as the Army Air Forces during World War II, becoming a critical and virtually independent combat branch.
Following post-World War II demobilization and military reorganization, the independent United States Air Force was formally established on September 18, 1947, by the National Security Act.

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Millions across the nation and around the world celebrated the 75th anniversary of the United States Air Force on September 18, 2022. FLYING also celebrates this “birthday” and salutes the men and women who serve—and who have served—as members of the U.S. Air Force and its predecessors.

Origins

Orville Wright made the world’s first controlled, powered, and sustained heavier-than-air human flight on December 17, 1903. Less than four years later (August 1, 1907), the U.S. Army Signal Corps formed an Aeronautical Division. It was put in “charge of all matters pertaining to military ballooning, air machines and all kindred subjects,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The division was the first heavier-than-air military aviation organization in history and the beginning of what eventually became the U.S. Air Force.