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  • Rescue of Oyster 01 Bravo

    On May 10, 1972, the start of OPERATION LINEBACKER, a flight of four US Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom IIs from the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron took off from Udorn RTAFB, Thailand, to provide escort cover for strike flights heading into North Vietnam.Using the call sign Oyster, the

  • Refueling Innovation

    Previously considered impossible prior to 1964, a handful of US Air Force pilots and civilian engineers at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), Ohio, took the concept of helicopter aerial refueling and turned it into a reality.Conventional thought at the time was that a helicopter was too

  • Raven Forward Air Controllers

    Beginning in 1966, USAF pilots with a minimum of six months of combat experience in South Vietnam as forward air controllers were eligible to apply for the classified Steve Canyon Program.Using the call sign Raven, these pilots mostly flew unmarked armed Cessna O-1 Bird Dogs, wore civilian clothes,

  • Robins and Backseaters

    Flying with the Ravens at Long Tieng were Hmong “backseaters” using the call sign Robin. Selected by local commanders with the approval of Laotian Major General Vang Pao, these men played a crucial role in the air war over Laos.Mostly veteran guerilla soldiers, they translated radio calls between

  • Rescue Specialist Pararescue in Southeast Asia

    Pararescuemen or “PJs” (for Para Jumpers), served a unique mission in SEA. As highly trained medical technicians combined with advanced tactical skills, they proved invaluable during evacuation and rescue missions.Assigned to the ARS / ARRS detachments and later, squadrons assigned to the theater,

  • Regensburg/Schweinfurt, August 17, 1943

    On August 17, 1943, the USAAF suffered staggering losses in the two-pronged attack against the Messerschmitt fighter factory at Regensburg and the ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt, Germany.   To split the German defense, these raids were supposed to occur simultaneously, with the Regensburg force

  • Rocket Fuel Handlers Exhibit

    FUELING ROCKETSWorking with rocket propellants requires special protective gear. The two suits here are examples of rocket fuel handlers' outfits from the 1940s-1990s. Liquid fueled missiles such as the Titan I and Titan II in this gallery used dangerous fluids and toxic chemicals, and Airmen

  • Reaction Motors XLR99 Rocket

    The XLR99 powered the record-breaking X-15 on its fastest flights at nearly seven times the speed of sound. It was the first large, throttleable, restartable liquid propellant rocket engine to be used in a piloted vehicle. The engine was used only in the X-15 program, which rocketed humans to the

  • Reaction Motors XLR11 Rocket

    The XLR11 was the first liquid-fuel rocket engine developed in the United States for use on airplanes, and it had a long career powering important research aircraft. An XLR11 engine powered the first airplane to break the speed of sound, the Bell X-1, in 1947, and also powered other X-1 models.

  • Rocketdyne LR79

    The LR79 rocket engine was a reliable workhorse for U.S. Air Force space and missile launches between 1958 and 1980. Variants of this liquid-fueled engine powered Jupiter and Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs), Juno II satellite boosters, and Saturn I and IB rockets used in the