Today in Air Force History

March 21, 1911 Lt. Frank P. Lahm flew a Wright B airplane, Signal Corps No. 7, at Fort William McKinley, Philippines and completed the first flight of an American airplane overseas.

March 21, 1939 Col. Hugo E. Pitz, Lt. Col. Joseph T. McNarney, Maj. Karl S. Axtator and Maj. George C. Kenney selected sites for permanent air base and auxiliary landing fields in Puerto Rico.

March 21, 1946 The Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command and the Air Defense Command are created.

March 21, 1962 A black bear named "Yogi" became the first living creature ejected from a supersonic aircraft when the U.S. Air Force tested the B-58's escape capsule. Ejected at 35,000 feet from a B-58 flying at 870 mph, the bear landed unharmed seven minutes 49 seconds later.

March 21, 1973 Two Libyan Mirage aircraft intercepted and fired upon an unarmed C-130 Hercules from Rhein-Main AB, Germany. The C-130, reportedly on a reconnaissance mission over the Mediterranean, successfully evaded its attackers and recovered safely at Athenai Aiport, Greece.

March 21, 1975 Following the crash of a C-141 into Mt. Constance in the Olympic Mountains near Seattle, Wash., air rescue and recovery service personnel assisted in the recovery of 10 crewmen and six passengers and equipment from the wreckage through June.

March 21, 1989 NASA ended the Mission Adaptive Wing test program and retired the special F-111 to the Flight Test Center Museum at Edwards AFB, Calif. In its 144.9 test hours and 59 sorties, the F-111 showed a 25 percent increase in range, an 18 percent increase in G-loading and a 71 percent increase in its ability to pull up and clear an obstacle.

March 21, 1997 Lt. Col. Marcelyn A. Atwood became the first woman to command a flying training squadron and the first U.S. Air Force officer to command a Navy squadron at Pensacola, Fla. Her unit trained Air Force and Navy pilots. --Air Force