Covering Air Force Magazine

In the beginning the US Army created the Aeronautical Information Branch’s Weekly News Letter. Our very first issue, for the week of Sept. 15-Sept. 21, 1918, began with a typo. The lead article’s headline read, “The WareDepartment Authorizes …” Things got better after that, and we reported on World War I, as it happened.

The first issue with our current (and final!) name, Air Force Magazine, left, arrived in December 1942. We reported on World War II, as it happened. June 1946, center, was the last issue published by the Army. The official service jo?urnal of the US Army Air Forces then transferred to the brand-new Air Force Association. July 1946, was the first issue published by AFA. Our association was five months old; the US Air Force did not yet exist.

Note: This collection of covers is best viewed in its original, printed form:

The Space Age was well-represented. 1958 was all about space and missiles, leading AFA to add Space Digest to the magazine’s branding that November. The co-branding lasted, in a variety of ways, until January 1971.

The Vietnam War, as it took place. Our coverage, beginning in 1969, of America’s forgotten prisoners of war helped focus national attention on the POWs and their plight.

August 1989. Logistics, for when you must have guns and butter. April 1991. The iconic image of the Gulf War, as it happened.