On a Saturday morning, July 28, 1945 a U.S. Army Air Corps B-25 bomber was
being flown by Lt. Colonel William Smith through a steadily increasing fog. The  
plane was on its way to Newark airport at the time when it crashed in the 79th  
floor of New York City’s Empire State Building, killing 14 people (three crewmen
and eleven in the building) and injuring 26 others. The resulting fire was put out
in 40 minutes. The crash caused one million dollar’s in damage. The structural
integrity of the building was not compromised and was opened for business on
many floors the following Monday. In the aftermath of the crash, flight rules
over New York City were strengthened.    

B-25 Mitchell bomber, similar to one that hit the Empire State Building 

(Born July 24, 1897; missing July 2, 1937, declared legally dead January 5, 1939)

Amelia Earhart was a famous aviation pioneer and author who was the first woman 
to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross. It was awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation
of The Ninety-Nines, an organization of female pilots. During an attempt to make a circumnavigation flight of the globe in 1937 in a Lockheed Model 10 Electra, Amelia Earhart disappeared off the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. To this day,
no trace of the Electra or its occupants has ever been found.

Amelia Earhart just before fatal flight in 1937

Perhaps the last photo ever taken of Earhart’s Electra as it departed New Guinea

Original Boeing logo

In March 1910 William E. Boeing (above) bought Heath’s shipyard located on
the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington. This location later became his first
airplane factory. It was incorporated by Boeing on July 15, 1916, as “Pacific Aero Products”. On May 9, 1917, the company became the “Boeing Airplane Company”.

William Boeing originally worked in the timber industry, where he acquired his wealth
and knowledge about wooden structures which would prove invaluable in the design
and assembly of his airplanes.

The company stayed in Seattle, taking advantage of the local supply of Spruce  
wood. Many of Boeing’s early planes were seaplanes built and assembled in the 
lakeside hanger located in Seattle’s South Lake Union Neighborhood. 

Replica of Boeing’s first plane, the Boeing Model 1, at the Museum of Flight at King County international Airport/Boeing Field in Tukwila, Washington, south of Seattle.

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft developed to
replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in the U.S. Navy. The Hellcat first saw action
against the Japanese on September 1, 1943.

The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was a forerunner of todays
U.S. Air Force. Renamed from the  Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part
of the U.S. Army. The Air Corps was renamed the United States Army Air
Forces by Congress on June 20,1941 and was active till September
17, 1947.

U.S. Army Air Forces Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
("Hap Arnold Emblem")

The United States Air Force Symbol today