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1 History

Prior to the start of World War II, the USAAF was known as the U.S. Army Air Corps, or USAAC. The USAAC was a corps-level, subsidiary organization within the U.S. Army, and had little autonomy. Due to the efforts of several key USAAC officers and the changing political times, the Air Corps obtained greater organizational independence in 1941. Renamed the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) and considered a separate arm of the Army, the new USAAF had an equal "voice" with the Army and Navy.

Following the immense buildup in aviation infrastructure and personnel during the war, and in recognition of the tremendous new importance and strength of airpower, then- President Harry S. Truman created the United States Department of the Air Force in 1947. This legislation renamed the aviation military group again to the United States Air Force, elevating it to a truly separate branch of the U.S. military.

2 Notable people who served in the USAAF

• Carl Albert, U.S. representative from Oklahoma and Speaker of the House from 19711971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). Events January January 1 British divorce Reform Act comes into force January 2 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match, Glasgow, Scotland. See Ibrox disaster. Janua to 1977For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). Events January 1 First woman Episcopal priest ordained January 6 EMI sacks the Sex Pistols January 18 Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious " legionnaire's disease" Januar
• Henry H. ArnoldHenry Harley Arnold ( June 25, 1886 January 15, 1950), often referred to by the nickname 'Hap', was an American pilot, commander of the US Army Air Corps from 1938, commander of the US Army Air Forces from 1941 until 1945 and the first General of the Air, commanding general of the USAAF
• Clyde CowanClyde Lorrain Cowan Jr ( 1919 1974) was a captain in the United States Army Air Force. In 1956, along with Fred Reines, he detected the existence of the neutrino in the neutrino experiment. Frederick Reines received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1995 in b, discovered existence of the neutrinoThe neutrino is an elementary particle. It has spin 1/2 and so it is a fermion. Its mass is very small, although recent experiments (see Super-Kamiokande) have shown it to be above zero. It feels neither the strong nor the electromagnetic force, so it onl
• Nathan Bedford Forrest IIINathan Bedford Forrest III ( April 7, 1905 June 13, 1943) was a Brigadier General of the United States Army Air Force, and a great-grandson of Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Nathan Bedford Fo, brigadier generalA Brigadier General or one-star general is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and some other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. The rank is equivalent to the US Navy rank Rear Admiral (lower half), for in the USAAF and grandson of ConfederateThe Confederate States of America CSA also known as the Confederacy was the confederacy formed by the southern states that seceded from the United States during the period of the American Civil War. The 11 states of the Confederacy were Alabama, Arkansas, general Nathan Bedford Forrest.
• Clark Gable, film actor
• Charlton Heston, film actor and president of the National Rifle Association.
• John Hope, television meteorologist and hurricane forecaster
• George McGovern, U.S. Senator and 1972 Democratic Presidential candidate
• Walter Miller, science fiction author
• William Rehnquist, jurist and Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Carl Spaatz, commanding general of the USAAF and later first chief of staff of the Air Force
• Aaron Spelling, film and television producer
• Jimmy Stewart, film actor
• Joseph A. Walker, military test pilot