Category: U.S. Air Force

Spotlight on 342-C: Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force Activities, Facilities, and Personnel, Domestic and Foreign, ca. 1940–ca. 1980

by Kaitlyn Crain Enriquez, posted in Military, Photographs, Still Pictures, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army Air Corps

342-C is a series of photographs comprised of color transparencies, slides, and negatives that document the activities of the U.S. Air Force and predecessor agencies, including the Army Air Forces (AAF). The images in 342-C heavily cover periods of war from World War II, through Korea, to the Vietnam war. However, there is also documentation of … Continue reading Spotlight on 342-C: Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force Activities, Facilities, and Personnel, Domestic and Foreign, ca. 1940–ca. 1980

How To Locate D-Day Footage in NARA’s Moving Image Holdings

by chucik, posted in African American History, Archives, Combat Cameramen, Military, Motion Pictures, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, World War II

D-Day and the Combat CameramanThis week marks the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day Operation. Starting on June 6, 1944, about 175,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, supported by 5,000 naval craft and more than 11,500 aircraft. By June 30, over 850,000 men, 148,000 vehicles, and 570,000 tons of supplies had landed … Continue reading How To Locate D-Day Footage in NARA’s Moving Image Holdings

Wings for This Man: Celebrating the Tuskegee Airmen

by chucik, posted in African American History, Archives, Films, Military, Motion Pictures, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Army Air Corps, World War II

Please Note: Primary source documents used in this post may contain harmful language. See NARA’s Statement on Potentially Harmful Language. The First Motion Picture Unit When America entered the war in Europe in 1941, the country's greatest challenge was finding enough manpower to wage a two-front war. The country needed to quickly increase the number … Continue reading Wings for This Man: Celebrating the Tuskegee Airmen

X-15A Flight No. 3-7-14: To the Edge of Space

by Ashley S Behringer, posted in Motion Pictures, NASA, U.S. Air Force, Uncategorized

Separation from B-52. 342-USAF-30182, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/68330 The X-15 did not take off. It must have stuck out its thumb, because it hitched a ride into flight. On July 17, 1962, Air Force Maj. Robert White took to the air with his X-15 mounted under the wing of a modified B-52. After separating from the mothership, he … Continue reading X-15A Flight No. 3-7-14: To the Edge of Space

Mapping the Moon

by Frankie Witzenburg, posted in Archives, Cartographic Records, Maps, Motion Pictures, NASA, Space, U.S. Air Force, Uncategorized

RG 77: Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Lunar Maps, 1961–1962 (NAID 1077479) On April 3, 2023, NASA announced that humans are soaring back to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, since the return of Apollo 17 in 1972. Four astronauts, Americans, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, … Continue reading Mapping the Moon

Operation Homecoming Activities at Sheppard Air Force Base

by Heather Sulier, posted in Photographs, Prisoners of War, Still Pictures, U.S. Air Force, Vietnam War

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Operation Homecoming and the return of nearly 600 American prisoners of war from Vietnam. In 1973, Sheppard Air Force Base had the honor of serving as a reception point for Operation Homecoming, helping to welcome home Vietnam POWs after years of captivity.

The Art of War

by chucik, posted in Archives, Films, Korean War, Military, Motion Pictures, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, Vietnam War, World War I, World War II

Still from US ARMY ARTISTS, 111-LC-55581 ABOUT THE FILM Working in the Special Media Division at the National Archives, we are used to seeing images of war captured by moving images and still photos. However, the US military also uses more traditional forms of artwork to document their operations and daily lives. All military branches … Continue reading The Art of War

60th Anniversary: The Cuban Missile Crisis

by Sarah Bseirani, posted in Photographs, Still Pictures, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, United States Information Agency (USIA)

Local Identifier: 342-B-ND-018A-167731USAF; Original Caption: MRBM Field Launch Site, San Cristobal #1, October 14 1962. (This photo provided the first photographic evidence of Soviet offensive missile deployment in Cuba.) The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in October 1962. The international crisis escalated when American missiles were … Continue reading 60th Anniversary: The Cuban Missile Crisis

Throw a Nickel on the Grass and Have a Doughnut

by Jake A Miller, posted in Cold War, Military, Motion Pictures, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Vietnam War

Unfortunately, the subject of the film in the title has nothing to do with actual donuts and a whole lot to do with the kind pictured below, the circular aiming sight of a jet fighter, referred to as a "doughnut" in pilot vernacular. Specifically, the film documents the United States Air Force and Navy findings … Continue reading Throw a Nickel on the Grass and Have a Doughnut

Captain Chuck Yeager: Breaking the Sound Barrier

by Kaitlyn Crain Enriquez, posted in Military, Photographs, Still Pictures, U.S. Air Force

On October 14, 1947, USAF Captain Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. Yeager flew a Bell XS-1, nicknamed "Glamorous Glennis" (a tribute to his wife), over Rogers Dry Lake located at Edward's Air Force Base (formerly named Muroc Air Force Base). The X-1 reached a speed … Continue reading Captain Chuck Yeager: Breaking the Sound Barrier