Two Air Force crews flying Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giants make the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic by helicopter. The 4,271-mile flight takes 30 hours and 46 minutes, and requires nine inflight refuelings. Maj. Herb Zehnder, one of the pilots on this flight, would fly the exact same HH-3E three years later as part of the daring attempt to rescue American servicemen from the Son Tay prisoner of war camp in North Vietnam.
The Air Force conducted its first successful test of the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, on May 14, snapping a streak of three consecutive failed tests and giving the beleaguered hypersonics program a much needed boost. Off the coast of Southern California, the AGM-183A ARRW separated from the wing…