DEVELOPMENT GUIDE (PDG) EXAM – COMPLETE
STUDY GUIDE & PRACTICE TEST QUESTIONS
General Henry "Hap" Arnold
First Commanding General of the Army Air Force?
Air War Planning Document
Doctrinal blueprint provided the conceptual framework for the American air effort in World War
2. Reflected 1930s Air Corp Tactical School doctrine of using massive force to destroy the
enemy's will and capability to fight through long-range strategic bombardment
Operation PointBlank
Combined American precision daylight bombing and British night area bombing. Formed by the
Casablanca Directive of January 1943.
General Spaatz and the Mighty Eighth
Conducted the first American Operational bombing mission on 17 August 1942 in Rouen,
France.
Black Thursday
Bombing of Schweinfurt ball bearing Factories that resulted in the lost of 60 Bombers on 14
October 1943. Ended unescorted bombing campaign
Carpetbaggers
5th Bombardment Wing, Twelfth Air Force group saved hundreds of downed aircrews trapped
behind enemy lines
Operation Argument
operation of winning air superiority by destroying German aircraft manufacturing plants
Combined Bomber Offensive
Longest and bloodiest air campaign in history
Sergeant Sandy Sanchez
,Flew 44 missions (19 more than required) as a gunner with the 95th Bomb Group. Died during
on last Nazi oil refinery on 15 March 1945. Only enlisted men with B17 named for him.
Paul Airey
First Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. First recipient of The Air Force POW medal
99th Fighter Squadron
First Members of the Tuskegee Airmen
Lieutenant Col. James Doolittle
Led 16 bombers on a raid against Tokyo, Kobe, and Nagoya.. Caused little damage but shocked
the Japanese and cheered the American public. Received the Medal of Honor and promotion to
brigadier general.
Corporal John D. Foley
Shot down several Japanese enemy aircraft
The Battle of Coral Sea
The first naval battle fought entirely by Air
The Battle of Midway
U.S Navy pilots sank four Japanese Carriers and turn tide of the war in the Pacific
Major General George C. Kenney
assumed command of the Fifth Air Force in July 1942
William H. Turner
Planned and Supervised the ferringf of 650,000 tons of supplies across the Himalayas to Chinese
and American forces in the China-Burma-India Theater.
Thursday
1st Air Commando Group provided assistance to British Chindit forces conducting long range
penetration missions against the Japanese. Also conducted the first helicopter combat rescue.
Operation Matterhorn
General Arnold Air operation against Japan
Post wartime strength
dwindled from 79,000 aircraft and 2.4 million people to 24,000 aircraft and 304,000
The National Security Act of 1947
, Established a separate and independent Department of the Air Force
Stuart Symington
The first Secretary of the Air Force
General Carl A. Spaatz
The first Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Air Force Rank Change of 1952
Removed Army rank system and replaced it with Airman Basic, Airman Third Class, Airman
Second Class, and Airman First Class
The Berlin Crisis
Awakened Americans to the Impact of the Cold War between the U.S and the Soviet Union.
Berlin Airlift- Maintenance
Critical to the success of the airlift
Lockheed P-80
The Air Force first operational jet Fighter
Charles "Chuck" Yeager
First man to break the sound Barrier
The Teapot Committee
Convened by Trevor Gardner to examine the field of long-range missile.
The National Reconnaissance Office
Created in 1960, Formed to take charged of highly classified reconnaissance satellites.
Corona
Classified satellite photo reconnaissance program, publically known as the discoverer research
program. Heralded the beginning of America's space-based photo reconnaissance capability
Operation Farmgate
covert deployment of the 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron (Jungle Jim) to train the South
Vietnamese Air Force
Operation Barrel Roll