1942: Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort and his Station HYPO cryptanalysts have broken the Japanese Navy’s main radio code, named JN-25b. When they discover Japan’s planned assault at a facility codenamed “AF,” they suspect the target is the U.S. base at Midway, and secretly instruct the radio operators to announce over radio that they suffered a breakdown of their water purification system, which Japanese intelligence intercepts. Japan falls for the trick and reports over JN-25b that AF is short on water.
The U.S. Navy now knows the location, date, and strength of the attack and sets a trap for the Japanese. On this day, two companies of Marine Raiders land on the remote island to reinforce the garrison while warplanes are deployed and submarines take up their patrol positions. The aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, damaged during the Battle of the Coral Sea and thought by the Japanese to be taken out of action, is undergoing frantic repairs as she sails for Midway.
1945: The Joint Chiefs of Staff meet in Washington and approve plans for Operation DOWNFALL – the invasion of Japan, which is set for November 1. Casualty estimates for the American-led invasion are in the millions. Meanwhile, 464 B-29 “Superfortress” heavy bombers target Tokyo, burning 16 square miles of the city.
B-29 Superfortress
1953: The North American F-100 “Super Sabre” makes its first flight, with test pilot George Welch pushing the jet to Mach 1.03. The sleek new warplane is the first Air Force fighter capable of reaching supersonic speeds at level flight. An Army Air Corps pilot with 16 victories during World War II, Welch is one of two pilots able to get airborne and engage Japanese aircraft during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor for his actions on December 7th, but having taken off without orders, he only receives the Distinguished Flying Cross. While serving as an instructor and test pilot for North American during the Korean War, he reportedly shot down several MiG-15 aircraft, but again did so against orders, so he did not receive credit for the kills. Welch will perish in a crash while performing tests on the F-100 in 1954.
That same day, the specially built 11-inch gun nicknamed “Atomic Annie” fires a nuclear warhead 10,000 yards downrange as 3,200 soldiers and civilians are on hand to witness the United States’ only nuclear artillery test. The projectile is similar in design and yield (15 kilotons) to the “Little Boy” dropped on Hiroshima.
Atomic Annie, Fort Sill
1961: (Featured Image) Less than a month after the first American blasts off into space, President John F. Kennedy declares his intention to put a man on the moon in less than ten years and asks Congress to make the space program a high priority. Although Kennedy does not live to see it, his dream comes true when Apollo 11 lifts off from the space center named in his honor on July 16, 1969.
1971: Maj. William E. Adams (U.S. Army) volunteers to fly his medevac helicopter to a beseiged fire base in Kontum Province to rescue three wounded soldiers. Adams flies through heavy anti-aircraft fire and lands so the casualties could be loaded. When he takes off, his helicopter is hammered by enemy fire and explodes, killing all aboard. Adams is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Adams’ crew chief, Specialist 4 John W. Littleton was rescued by Adams the day before after being shot down in a crash that killed the pilot and a crewmember.
1973: Capt. Charles Conrad, Jr., Cmdr. Paul J. Weitz and Cmdr. Joseph P. Kerwin blast off aboard a Saturn IB rocket. The all-Navy crew are the first to visit the Skylab space station, already in orbit. The astronauts spend a record 28 days in space, making repairs and conducting science experiments until their successful recovery by USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) near San Diego.
Skylab
