In this article:
2 different types of USAF aircraft flying in a single formation
Taken above the coast of Florida overlooking the Gulf of Mexico by LIFE photographer J. R. Eyerman, the cool photo in this post shows the various types of aircraft operational in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) in 1956 flying in a single formation.
All the aircraft portrayed in this fantastic picture are listed below:
- 1. Lockheed F-94C Starfire
- 2. Northrop F-89H Scorpion
- 3. North American QF-80A
- 4. North American T-33
- 5. Republic F-84F Thunderstreak
- 6. North American F-86H Sabre
- 7. North American F-100A Super Sabre
- 8. Convair F-102A Delta Dagger
- 9. Republic RF-84F Thunderflash
- 10. Republic F-84G Thunderjet
- 11. North American F-86D Sabre Dog
- 12. Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
- 13. Convair C-131 Samaritan
- 14. Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
- 15. Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
- 16. Martin B-57 Canberra
- 17. Douglas B-66 Destroyer
- 18. North American B-45 Tornado
- 19. Lockheed RC-121C
- 20. Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker
- 21. Boeing B-47 Stratojet
- 22. Convair B-36 Peacemaker
What’s really incredible is that the B-52 is still in use today and not slated for retirement anytime soon.
An independent service
Noteworthy at the time this photo was taken USAF was less than 10 years old.
According to a fact sheet by Air Force Historical Research Agency, a War Department reorganization on Mar. 9, 1942, created three autonomous US Army Commands: Army Ground Forces, Services of Supply (later, in 1943, Army Service Forces), and Army Air Forces. This reorganization dissolved the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps and the Air Force Combat Command, and merged all elements of the air arm into the Army Air Forces. This administrative reorganization did not affect the status of the Air Corps as a combatant arm of the US Army.
All of these actions affecting the air forces and commands that comprised the AAF emphasized the surge towards an independent service and the expansion of combat forces that took place during World War II. Before 1939 the Army’s air arm was a fledgling organization; by the end of the war the Army Air Forces had become a major military organization comprised of many air forces, commands, divisions, wings, groups, and squadrons, plus an assortment of other organizations.
The birth of the US Air Force
Rapid demobilization of forces immediately after World War II, although sharply reducing the size of the Army Air Forces, left untouched the nucleus of the postwar United States Air Force (USAF). A War Department letter of Mar. 21, 1946, created two new commands and redesignated an existing one: Continental Air Forces was redesignated Strategic Air Command, and the resources of what had been Continental Air Forces were divided among Strategic Air Command and the two newcomers – Air Defense Command and Tactical Air Command. These three commands and the older Air Transport Command represented respectively the strategic, tactical, defense, and airlift missions that provided the foundation for building the postwar, independent Air Force.
The National Security Act of 1947 became law on Jul. 26, 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 Sep. 18, 1947, W. Stuart Symington became Secretary of the Air Force, and on Sep. 26, Gen. Carl A. Spaatz became the USAF’s first Chief of Staff.
Photo credit: J. R. Eyerman/LIFE
