JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
The 900th Air Base Squadron, which would be later be renamed the 89th Air Lift Wing, operated the presidential aircraft known as the "
Sacred Cow," a modified Douglass C-47 when President Harry S. Truman signed the
National Security Act of 1947, which made the Air Force an independent service on July 26, 1947.
On the same day he signed the National Security Act, President Truman signed Executive Order 9877 assigning the primary functions and responsibilities of the armed forces. The United States Air Force was charged to organize, train and equip air forces for air operations including joint operations; to gain and maintain general air superiority; to establish local air superiority where and as required; to develop a strategic air force and conduct strategic air reconnaissance operations; to provide airlift and support for airborne operations; to furnish air support to land and naval forces including support of occupation forces; and to provide air transport for the armed forces except as provided by the Navy for its own use.
Stuart Symington was sworn in as the first Secretary of the Air Force by Chief Justice Fred Vinson on Sept. 18, 1947, establishing the United States Air Force as truly an independent arm of the U.S. military.
For more Air Force History, visit the
National Museum of the Air Force's website.