Capt. James G. Gallagher and a 13-man crew take off from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, in Lucky Lady II, a Strategic Air Command B-50A. They land 94 hours and one minute later, having completed the first nonstop flight around the world. The 23,452-mile flight requires four midair refuelings and demonstrates that distance and geographical barriers no longer offer sanctuary from airpower.
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.