United States Air Force Founding Centennial & 60th Anniversary 1907~1947~ 2007 is a special
commemorative hardback and semi-hardback publication consisting of 230 full colour pages in outsized A4 format,
produced to mark the founding of America’s Air Force a century ago and the 60th anniversary of its designation
as an independent armed service, with the Preface provided by US President George W. Bush.
On the 1st of August 1907, the Aeronautical Division was established within the Signal Corps of the US Army, and
it was this embryonic organisation that was the forerunner of today’s USAF, the single most powerful military force
the world has ever known. After several transformations, it was exactly 60 years ago that President Truman signed
the National Security Act on 26th July 1947 which eventually saw the creation of an independent Department of the
Air Force as a National Military Establishment under the Secretary of Defense (effective 18th September 1947), with
the then United States Army Air Force (USAAF) redesignated as the United States Air Force (USAF).
It recognises the immense contribution made by the men, women, aircraft and equipment in the Air Force’s past, and
above all the significant events and experiences that have helped shape the USAF we see today, that enable the USAF
and its partners to move forward and meet the diverse demands and challenges they face in the foreseeable future.