Happy Birthday, Air Force

The history of the Air Force dates back to the Signal Corps when it began testing its first airplane at Fort Myer, Virginia, on August 20, 1908, and on September 9, Lt Thomas E. Selfridge, flying with Orville Wright, was killed when the plane crashed. Subsequently, after more testing with a second, improved Wright Flyer, the Army formally accepted this airplane, identified as “Airplane No. 1,” on August 2, 1909. From the Air Service to the Army Air Corps, the Air Force as it is now known was officially created under the National Security Act of 1947. It created the Department of the Air Force, headed by a Secretary of the Air Force. Under the Department of the Air Force, the act established the United States Air Force, headed by the Chief of Staff, USAF. On September 18, 1947, W. Stuart Symington became Secretary of the Air Force, and on September 26, Gen. Carl A. Spaatz became the USAF’s first Chief of Staff.

Source: US Air Force – The Birth of the United States Air Force