A week in history August 13 - 19 Published Aug. 17, 2017 By 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Aug. 15 - 20, 1929 On Aug. 15, 1929 the Spokane Sun God departed Felts Field and performed numerous mission firsts over the course of five days. Nick Mamer, also known as “Mr. Spokane Aviation,” and Art Walker, flew their Buhl CA-6 aircraft for approximately 120 hours. Their route took them from Spokane to San Francisco to New York and back to Spokane setting a world record for the longest non-stop flight of 7,200 lineal miles. Their flight included the first non-stop transcontinental round-trip flight and night air refueling mission. The first air refueling mission also occurred during this flight at roughly 8,000 feet above sea level. From headwinds over Wyoming to bad weather over Pennsylvania, engine issues to forest fires; the pilots faced many obstacles during the course of their flight. However, despite all the obstacles, they successfully landed back at Felts Field at about 6 p.m. on Aug. 20, 1929. Aug. 17, 1943 B-17 Flying Fortresses from the 8th Air Force attacked ball bearing plants on the first of two raids on Schweinfurt, Germany, during World War II. During the mission, the 8th AF lost approximately 36 B-17s, including two from the 92nd Bomb Group. All 20 BG aircrew members survived being shot down and would later become prisoners of war.
