Local newspaper publisher Amon G. Carter and Army Air Corps Maj. Gen. Henry H. “Hap” Arnold break ground for the new Consolidated Aircraft plant in Fort Worth, Texas. The $50 million plant, which would produce B-24s and B-32s during World War II and later the B-36, B-58, F-111 and F-16 aircraft, is completed a year later, 100 days ahead of schedule.
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.