Aerial Refueling
Lead: Almost from the beginning of powered flight, aviators recognized that one of the major problems they faced was having enough fuel to keep aircraft aloft for extended time and distance. They solved this with aerial refueling.
Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.
Content: On June 27, 1923 two U.S. Army Air Service planes accomplished the first mid-air refueling. Two months later, with two tankers attending, a DH-4B Army biplane set a world-wide endurance record remaining in the air for 37 hours. Experiments continued on both sides of the Atlantic with the United States desiring to enhance postal service to Europe and the British seeking to extend the range of their flying boats to the far reaches of the Empire.
The Lincoln and Grant Meeting
The climactic events leading to the collapse of the Confederacy began on April 1, 1865 when Union forces defeated the two divisions of General George Pickett at the Battle of Five Forks. Lee could no longer hold Petersburg or stop the Yankees from cutting the Southside railroad. It was time for a breakthrough and General Grant seized the moment in a series of coordinated attacks that broke the siege and put Union troops into Petersburg proper.
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