Photo taken at the front gate to the November-7 Set a distance record when they flew their B-52H aircraft 12,519 miles from However, in 1962 a crew commanded by Major Clyde Evely from Minot AFB Proven intercontinental range able to strike any target on the face of theĮarth. Speeds of 650 miles per hour cruising at altitudes up to 50,000 feet, whileĬarrying a heavy load of 43,000 pounds. Successful and long-lasting weapons systems. Stratofortress from Boeing, which has proven to be one of the Air Force’s most In June 1955 SAC took delivery of the first B-52B ![]() Fuel is pumped through the boom at a rate of 1000 U.S. Once in position, the operator extends the flying boom, inserting it into a receptacle on the receiving aircraft. To complete an aerial refueling, the tanker and receiver aircraft rendezvous, and the receiver aircraft moves to a position behind the tanker, aided by director lights or directions radioed by the boom operator. Under this strategy, the country’s nuclearĭefense was assured by the use of three distinct and versatile weapons deliveryĪ Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker air-refueling a B-52. Navy submarines with launch capabilities for ballistic missiles Minuteman missile program and the eventual third leg of the strategic nuclear Stratofortress strategic nuclear bomber force in the 1950s extending thatĬapability in the development of the ICBM, culminating in the 1960s with the Massive retaliation.” SAC implemented the long-range B-52 As a result, the SAC mission grew rapidly while defining the concept of deterrence as “instant Maintained and further expanded to meet the communist threat. Top-secret document made clear that America’s nuclear arsenal would be Eisenhowerįormally approved National Security Council Paper No. In Augustġ953, less than a month after the Korean War ended, the first test explosion ofĪ Soviet hydrogen bomb underscored the escalating nuclear threat, and the arms The leaders of the Soviet Union from even considering a first strike. ![]() Missiles (ICBMs), in such strength that the retaliatory power would discourage Threat could be countered was with our own system of Intercontinental Ballistic Quickly plummeting from years to a literal matter of minutes. Isolated from potential conflicts, since the warning time for crises was For the first time the United States would no longer be These Soviet plans precipitated a difficult period Strategic Air Command, Offutt AFB, Nebraska in June 1959 ( Photo: National Huge rockets, lending renewed urgency to the task of making the SAC’s retaliatoryĬapabilities so overpowering that it could counter any Soviet aggression.īilly Davis stands guard at the entrance to the Headquarters facilities of the By late 1951, however, these concerns were overshadowedīy covert reports from the Soviet Union revealing the planned development of In the early 1950s, many senior officials within theĪir Force were necessarily concerned about spending limited resources in theĭevelopment of long-range missiles, which ultimately may not prove to be Operational establishment of the USAF in charge of America’s bomber-based andīallistic missile-based strategic nuclear arsenal until the end of the Cold War ![]() Subordinate to Headquarters USAF, Strategic Air Command grew to become the Specified command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a major command (MAJCOM) ![]() Long-range air operations in any part of the world. March 1946, with a mandate to build an organization capable of conducting The Strategic Air Command was established on 21 BACKGROUND United States Air Force, Strategic Air Command (SAC)
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