BTZ EXAM STUDY GUIDE LATEST
UPDATED
Tuskegee Airmen (AF Heritage) - ANSWER In 1941, FRD directed the Army Air
Corps to accept African Americans into aviation cadet training.
-On 27 Jan 1944, over Anzio, these pilots from the 99th Fighter Squadron flew
obsolete P-40s, and downed 9 superior Focke-Wulf 190s.
-The 332d Fighter Group shot down 111 enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat, losing
66 of their own aircraft to all causes, including 7 shot down.
Flying Tigers (Air War in the Pacific, AF Heritage) - ANSWER The US's 1st
combat experience before the declaration of war.
Claire Lee Chennault organized the US volunteer group, to aid Nationalist China
against Japanese Invaders.
-Famous for shark mouths painted on their Curtis P-40 Warhawks, they had an
impressive 286 confirmed victories, losing only 12 pilots, before disbanding in July
1942.
18 April 1942 (Air War in the Pacific, AF Heritage) - ANSWER -The Doolittle
Raid
Lt Col James "Jimmy" Doolittle led 16 North American B-25 Mitchell med
bombers, launching from the USS Hornet, in a bombing raid on various targets in
Tokyo, Kobe, and Nagoya.
-Inflicted little damage, but the gesture shocked Japanese military leaders.
-In May 1942, Doolittle received the Medal of Honor and promotion to Brigadier
General.
James Foley (Air War in the Pacific, AF Heritage) - ANSWER -He never received
aerial training, but volunteered as a gunner and was assigned to a B-26 Crew.
-On his 1st mission, he shot down at least 1 Japanese enemy aircraft.
,-Nicknamed "Johnny Zero", and subject of a popular song, "Johnny got a Zero."
-Decorated a total of 8 times for heroism.
6 August 1945 (Air War in the Pacific, AF Heritage) - ANSWER -The 1st Atomic
Bomb
Col Paul Tibbets piloted the Enola Gay which dropped a uranium bomb, known as
"Little Boy," over Hiroshima.
The bomb destroyed nearly 5 sq. miles of the city, killing 80,000 people.
9 August 1945 (Air War in the Pacific, AF Heritage) - ANSWER -The 2nd Atomic
Bomb
The B-29 Bockstar, commanded by Maj Charles Sweeney, released a plutonium
bomb called "Fat Man" on Nagasaki.
-The bomb devastated 1.5 sq. miles, killed 35,000, and injured 60,000 people.
National Security Act of 1947 (AF Independence & the Cold War, AF Heritage) -
ANSWER -On 26 July 1947, President Truman signed this act, which provided for
a separate Department of the Air Force.
Air Force Birthday (AF Heritage) - ANSWER 18 September 1947
1st Secretary of the Air Force (AF Heritage) - ANSWER Stuart Symington, he
officially established the USAF as an independent, coequal service.
General Carl Spaatz (AF Heritage) - ANSWER 1st AF Chief of Staff in 1947
-nicknamed "Tooey", was a WWII general. As commander of Strategic Air Forces
in Europe in 1944, he successfully pressed for the bombing of the enemy's oil
production facilities as a priority over other targets.
-Oversaw the final strategic bombing campaign against Japan (including the atomic
attacks)
-He and his successor, Gen. Hoyt Vandenburg clarified AF roles and missions and
organized to meet the challenges of the Cold War.
The Berlin Airlift (AF Independence & the Cold War, AF Heritage) - ANSWER
,-On 24 June 1948, the Soviets blockaded railroad and road corridors serving the 2.5
mil. residents of West Berlin.
-Commander Gen. Lemay organized a makeshift of food, medicine, and coal.
-On 15 April 1949, 1,398 aircraft delivered a 1-day record of 12,941 tons of
supplies.
-By 1949, the Soviets acknowledged the airlift's success and lifted the blockade.
-Operations VITTLES tallied 277,804 flights delivering 2.3 million tons of
supplies.
Chuck Yeager (AF Independence & the Cold War, AF Heritage) - ANSWER On
14 October 1947, he seized headlines as the 1st man to break the sound barrier.
-His Bell X-1 "Glamorous Glennis" reached Mach 1.06 at 43,000 ft after a launch
from a B-29 Mothership.
Cuban Missile Crisis (AF Heritage) - ANSWER In October 1962, the Kennedy
Administration faced its most serious foreign policy crisis.
-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev saw an opportunity to strengthen the
relationship between the Soviet Union and Fidel Castro's Cuba and make good its
promise to defend Cuba from the United States.
-This Crisis brought the US and the SU dangerously close to nuclear war.
Duane Hackney (AF Heritage) - ANSWER An AF Pararescueman, who was the
most decorated enlisted man in USAF history and earned more than 70 awards and
decorations in all.
-He served from 1965 to 1991, retiring as a Chief.
-With complete disregard for his own welfare, He removed his parachute and
placed it on the survivor.
-A recipient of the Air Force Cross, he was the 1st living enlisted man to receive
the medal, and at the time of its award he was its youngest recipient.
TSgt John Chapman (Current Events) - ANSWER -Posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor
, -The 1st airman to receive the nation's highest award for valor for actions since the
Vietnam War.
-The video of an MQ-1 Predator flying above the battlefield allowed a closer
analysis of hiscactions at Takur Ghar, and was a key piece of evidence in the Air
Force's effort to upgrade his Air Force Cross to a Medal of Honor.
-He was shot and lost consciousness, but despite his wounds, he woke up a few
minutes later and resumed fighting for about an hour.
General Hap Arnold (AF Exemplars) - ANSWER -Generally recognized as the
father of the modern AF, commanding the US Army Air Forces during WWII.
-On May 7 1949, Congress appointed him the 1st and only 5-Star General of the
AF.
A1C Levitow (AF Exemplars/Current Event) - ANSWER -The lowest ranking
Airman to ever receive the Medal of Honor for exceptional heroism during
wartime.
-Spooky 71 was patrolling Long Binh Army Base when it was jarred by a
tremendous explosion.
-He saw a loose 27-Lb magnesium flare and crawled to the flare and threw himself
upon it. -Hugging it to his body, he dragged himself back to the rear of the cabin
and pushed it through the open cargo door an instant before it ignited, saving the
aircraft and its crew
-His Honor Graduate Award is presented to the Top Airman in ALS.
Woman's Army Auxiliary Corps (WWII, Enlisted History) - ANSWER -Created in
May 1942, their top priority was to serve at aircraft warning service stations. In 43,
they became the Women's Army Corps.
-Many were assigned to clerical & admin duties, while others were topographers,
medical specs, chemists, and even aircraft mechs.