A member of the famed World War II Flying Tigers, John Richard Rossi died April 17 of complications from pneumonia at age 92, according to an April 28 report in the Los Angeles Times. Rossi joined the Navy in 1939, earning wings in 1940 and serving as a flight instructor. He resigned his commission and signed up for the American Volunteer Group in China, reportedly downing six Japanese aircraft.
B-52 Stratofortress bombers marked a new first in Operation Epic Fury when some of the BUFFs flew over Iran carrying JDAM-guided gravity bombs, according to people familiar with the matter. The development signals a weakening of Iranian air defenses and a new use for the venerable bomber in the nearly…