On the first day of the Battle of the Coral Sea, Navy Lt. John Powers, flying a Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bomber from the USS Yorktown scores a hit on the Japanese carrier Shoho. The next day, a burst of Japanese gunfire injures both Powers and his radioman/gunner and holes one of the SBD’s fuel tanks. Streaming fire, Powers holds his drop to point-blank range on the Japanese carrier Shokaku. The 1,000 pound bomb sets off a secondary explosion that damages the ship so severely that it later sinks. He crashes in flames just beyond the carrier. Powers is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
The Air Force is targeting August 2027 for its new T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet to reach its initial operational capability. To get there, the head of Air and Education Training has three milestones he needs to see the program hit.
