Strategic Air Command

For the film, see Strategic Air Command (film). For history of this organization after 1992, see Air Force Global Strike Command.

Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command emblem
Active	US Army Air Forces (15 December 1944 – 18 September 1947) US Air Force (18 September 1947 – 1 June 1992)
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Major Command
Garrison/HQ	Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska
Motto	"Peace is our Profession"
Commanders
Notable commanders	Curtis LeMay

Strategic Air Command (SAC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. Established in 1946 under the United States Army Air Forces, its mission was the command and control of the United States' land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) strategic nuclear arsenal.

SAC also controlled the infrastructure necessary to support the strategic bomber and ICBM operations, such as aerial refueling tanker aircraft to refuel the bombers in flight, strategic reconnaissance aircraft, command post aircraft, and, until 1957, fighter escorts.

It was inactivated on 1 June 1992 and its personnel and equipment were absorbed by Air Combat Command and Air Mobility Command. Its direct successor, Air Force Global Strike Command was activated on 7 August 2009 to meet the needs of the Air Force to develop and provide combat-ready forces for nuclear deterrence and global strike operation.

Overview

Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the Air Force instituted a comprehensive reorganization of its major commands. As part of this reorganization, SAC was disestablished on 1 June 1992. As part of the reorganization, SAC's bomber aircraft, ICBMs, strategic reconnaissance aircraft, and command post aircraft were merged with USAF fighter and other tactical aircraft assets and reassigned to the newly established Air Combat Command (ACC). This included B-52 and B-1 bomber aircraft assigned to the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, respectively.

At the same time, most of SAC's aerial refueling tanker aircraft, including those in the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, were reassigned to the new Air Mobility Command (AMC). Tankers based in Europe were reassigned to United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), while regular air force tankers in the Pacific, as well as Alaska Air National Guard tankers, were reassigned to Pacific Air Forces (PACAF).

The ICBM force was later transferred from ACC to the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) on 1 July 1993. Another change in late 2009 and early 2010 resulted in the transfer of the ICBM force from AFSPC and the B-52 and B-2 strategic bomber force from ACC to the newly established Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), which is a direct descendant of SAC.

History

Formation

Original SAC patch

SAC organisation 1947. Source: Ron Mixer, “The Genealogy of the Strategic Air Command”, Battermix.

During the interwar period between World War I and World War II, a group of U.S. Army Air Corps officers colloquially referred to as the Bomber Mafia, convinced of the potential of strategic bombing, paved the way both for the massive strategic air campaigns in Europe and the Pacific in World War II and the later creation of SAC. SAC's United States Army Air Forces predecessor, the Continental Air Forces, was established on 13 December 1944 and activated on 15 December 1944. After 8 May 1945, CAF coordinated the training activities of the numbered air forces within the United States (1st Air Force, 2nd Air Force, 3rd Air Force and 4th Air Force) and those of the I Troop Carrier Command.

On 21 March 1946, Continental AIr Forces (CAF) was disestablished as part of a major reorganization of the USAAF. Within the United States, the USAAF was divided into three separate commands: Tactical Air Command (TAC), Air Defense Command (ADC), and Strategic Air Command (SAC). Airfields formerly assigned to CAF were reassigned to one of these three major commands.

SAC's original headquarters was located at Bolling Field in Washington, DC, the headquarters of the disestablished Continental Air Forces, with the headquarters organization of CAF being redesignated as Strategic Air Command. Its first commander was General George C. Kenney. Ten days later, Fifteenth Air Force was assigned to the command as its first Numbered Air Force. There were thirteen bombardment groups assigned to Continental Air Forces just before its redesignation as SAC. These included the 40th (effectively became 43rd), 44th, the 93rd, 444th, 448th (became 92nd), 449th, 467th (effectively became 301st), 485th, and 498th (became 307th). There was also the 58th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, which supervised the Silverplate atomic-capable 509th Composite Group. Also active was the 73rd Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, transferred from Third Air Force. However several of these units were quickly disbanded, or renumbered to preserve the heritage of other units. In June 1946 Eighth Air Force was also assigned. SAC HQ then moved to Andrews AFB, MD on 20 October 1946.

Strategic Air Command was created with the stated mission of providing long range bombing capabilities anywhere in the world. But due to the massive post-World War II demobilization of the U.S. armed forces, Kenney's position at the UN Military Staff Committee in New York, and Kenney's unhappiness with being assigned to SAC, for the first two years of its existence, there was some lack of urgency. Kenney's deputy, Maj. Gen. St. Clair Streett, wrote in July 1946: "No major strategic threat or requirement now exists, in the opinion of our country’s best strategists nor will such a requirement exist for the next three to five years."

Cold War

The situation began to change on 19 October 1948, when Lieutenant General Curtis LeMay assumed leadership of the Strategic Air Command, a position he held until June 1957, the longest tenure for any United States armed forces commander since Winfield Scott. Soon after taking command, on 9 November, LeMay relocated SAC to Offutt AFB south of Omaha. It was under the leadership of LeMay that SAC developed the technical capability, strategic planning, and operational readiness to carry out its strategic mission anywhere in the world. Among the technological developments that made this possible were the widescale use of in-flight refueling, jet engines, and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

However, when LeMay assumed command of SAC in 1948, his vision was to create a force of nuclear-armed long-range bombers with the capability to devastate the Soviet Union within a few days of the advent of war. But the reality when LeMay assumed command was that SAC had only sixty nuclear capable aircraft, none of which had the long-range capabilities he desired.

Strategic bombing

6th Bombardment Wing B-29 Superfortress 44-62234, Walker AFB, New Mexico, 1951

At the end of World War II, SAC's strategic bombing capability consisted primarily of 20th Air Force's B-29 Superfortress fleet, which was largely demobilized and returned from duty in the Western Pacific during 1945 and 1946. The Continental United States was administratively divided by SAC roughly along the Mississippi River, with 8th Air Force wings being equipped with B-29s east of the Mississippi River, and a reactivated 15th Air Force wings west of the Mississippi equipped with B-29s Later, a third Numbered Air Force, the 2d Air Force, was formed and equipped with B-29s. Reduced postwar funding, however, limited the number of B-29 wings that could be manned and equipped, and many of the new B-29 aircraft manufactured but not deployed were sent to storage in Texas and the desert southwest, along with low-hour combat aircraft that were not classified as "War Weary". The B-17 Flying Fortresses that returned from duty in Europe and B-24 Liberators were declared to be obsolete, and almost all were sent directly to the smelters upon their return to the United States.

The Convair B-36 Peacemaker, developed during World War II and delayed as unnecessary to the war effort, was a subject of extreme controversy in the postwar years. With the decision reached to put it into production in 1947 after much ranker between the Army and Navy, the first aircraft entered SAC service in 1948. The last new B-36 being received (a B-36H) in 1953. Also, an improved version of the B-29, initially designated the B-29D, and later re-designated the B-50 Superfortress, began being delivered to SAC in June 1948.

11th Bombardment Wing Convair B-36J-5-CF Peacemaker 52-2225 1955 showing "Six turnin', four burnin".

The leaders of SAC in the postwar era were experienced bomber commanders and knew from their experiences both in Europe and over Japan the value of escort fighters. Along with the formation of the B-29 bomber wings, from the beginning SAC also incorporated its own dedicated fighter escort wings (later called strategic fighter wings). Intended to escort groups of bombers to their targets in a continuation of the World War II practice, they were initially equipped with F-51Ds and later F-82E Twin Mustangs. By 1949, the propeller-driven Mustangs were replaced by the straight-winged Republic F-84G Thunderjet and later in the 1950s, the swept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak. There were a total of ten fighter-escort wings in SAC. Eighth Air Force was assigned the 12th, 27th, and 33d Wings, and Fifteenth Air Force the 56th, 71st, 82d, 407th Wings. They were transferred to Tactical Air Command (TAC) during 1957–58 by which time strategic bombing had become a one-plane, one target affair with the introduction of the B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress.

During the Korean War, 15th Air Force was ordered to deploy four of its non nuclear-capable B-29 groups to Far East Air Force to perform strategic bombardment missions over North Korea. To support the strategic bombing mission, many stored B-29 aircraft were retrieved from storage at Pyote AFB in West Texas and refurbished. After initial successes in day bombardment missions over North Korea in the summer of 1950, The introduction by the communists of the swept-wing Soviet MiG-15 interceptor simply outclassed the propeller-driven B-29 and also the straight-wing F-84G Thunderjet escort fighters. The groups suffered severe losses and the United States was forced to change tactics to night bombardment missions by smaller groups or attacks by individual bombers. As many as 48 B-29s were lost in crash landings or written off because of heavy damage after returning to base. When the Korean War ended on 27 July 1953, the B-29s had flown over 21,000 sorties, nearly 167,000 tons of bombs had been dropped, and 34 B-29s had been lost in combat.

The Korean War experience by the United States signaled the end of the line for SAC's fleet of B-29, B-50 and B-36 propeller-driven strategic bombers as front-line combat aircraft. A new generation of jet bombers was needed, with swept-wing technology.

Boeing B-47B Stratojet rocket-assisted take off (RATO) on April 15, 1954

Introduced into active service in 1951, the B-47 Stratojet was the first jet strategic bomber employed by SAC. Designed to replace the B-29/B-50 Superfortress as a medium bomber, and despite having a limited range, by the end of LeMay’s command in 1957, the B-47 had become the backbone of SAC, comprising over half of its total aircraft and eighty percent of its bomber capacity. A key factor enabling the B-47 to become the mainstay of SAC (and to fulfill LeMay’s desire for a long range bomber) was the development of in-flight refueling. Overseas "Reflex" bases located in forward countries such as Morocco, Spain and Turkey provided infra-structure for temporary duty (TDY) assignment of US-based B-47 bomb wings, which rotationally deployed to them. From these forward bases, the B-47 could reach targets inside the Soviet Union in case of war. Sixteenth Air Force managed SAC operations in Morocco and Spain from 1957 to 1966.

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress became SAC's primary heavy bomber in June 1955, with the first operational aircraft being delivered to the 93d Bombardment Wing at Castle AFB, California. By 1958 it had replaced the B-36 and it represented the most important component of America's strategic deterrent. At peak strength in 1963, SAC operated 650 B-52s, divided up among 42 squadrons at 38 different air bases.

The late 1950s and early 1960s heralded the arrival of a second generation of jet bombers, the supersonic B-58 Hustler medium and B-70 Valkyrie heavy bomber. Both were intended to use a high-speed, high-altitude bombing approach that followed a trend of bombers flying progressively faster and higher since the start of manned bomber use. However, the 1960 shootdown of a CIA U-2 by an SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile (SAM) while on a clandestine reconnaissance mission over the Soviet Union suddenly complicated the introduction of these new aircraft. SAC now found itself in an uncomfortable position; new bombers which had been tuned for efficiency at high speeds and altitudes, performance that had been purchased at great cost.

93d Bombardment Wing B-52Bs at Castle AFB, California, after their record-setting round-the-world flight in 1957

The North American XB-70A Valkyrie was intended to eventually replace the B-52 in the long-range role Unfortunately, in the early 1960s, the XB-70 was being developed just at a time when military requirements were changing and the manned bomber was being de-emphasized in favor of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Consequently, only two examples were built.

Also during the 1960s, SAC received the Convair B-58 Hustler to replace the B-47 in the medium range role. However, the B-58 was expensive to develop and purchase, required enormous amounts of fuel and maintenance in comparison to the B-47, and was estimated to cost three times as much to operate than the much larger and longer-ranged B-52. Flying at lower altitudes, where the air density is much higher, drag on the B-58 was significantly higher and limited its range and speed. At low altitudes, the B-58 ended up with performance that was only a small improvement over the B-47 it was meant to replace. The net result was that the B-70 never entered operational service with SAC and the B-58 only served for 10 years until its withdrawal from service in 1970, replacing the obsolete B-47 in the early 1960s. The B-58 itself was replaced by the General Dynamics FB-111A in 1970. Modified to carry nuclear weapons, the FB-111A served with the 509th and 380th Bomb Wings until the late 1980s as a low-level, supersonic nuclear bomber.

7th Bombardment Wing B-52D Stratofortress 56-0687 on display at B-52 Memorial Park, Orlando International Airport, Florida (formerly McCoy Air Force Base, Florida) Painted in Vietnam-era Black motif, used in combat over Southeast Asia during ArcLight missions

During the Vietnam War, the requirement for a strategic bombardment campaign (Operation Arc Light) in 1965 led to the modification of the B-52D to carry out bombardment raids over Indochina. The B-52D was selected for modifications to perform this mission. The B-52D, introduced in 1956 was the first Stratofortress equipped to counter the growing capability of Soviet air defenses. The B-52D was optimized to fly low-altitude operations, where the B-52 would be much harder to detect and where Soviet defenses were known to be far less reliable. These low altitude B-52Ds were to be fitted with the ability to carry AGM-28 Hound Dog cruise missiles and ADM-20 Quail decoys. As part of their modification for Vietnam duty, the external cruise missile racks were replaced by external conventional bomb racks and its internal bomb bay was expanded (Project Big Belly) to increase bomb capacity for carpet bombings. The Big Belly modification created enough capacity for a total of 60,000 pounds (27,215 kg) in 108 bombs. The modified B-52Ds entered combat over the skies of Indochina in April 1966.

Soviet-built S-75 Dvina (NATO designation SA-2) Surface-to-air missiles were sent to North Vietnam in the late 1960s to counter the PACAF Rolling Thunder attacks by F-4 Phantom II and F-105 Thunderchief tactical fighter-bombers. The Soviets sent large numbers of SA-2s to protect vital cities and military areas and created formidable air defenses. During Operation Linebacker II in December 1972, B-52Ds (and some B-52Gs without ECM jammers) flying in formation over the heavily defended skies of Hanoi and Haiphong were shown to be vulnerable to the SA-2. Over 12 days, B-52s flew 729 sorties and dropped 15,237 tons of bombs on Hanoi, Haiphong, and other targets. 15 B-52s were shot down, five B-52s were heavily damaged (one crashed in Laos), and five B-52s suffered medium damage. A total of 25 crewmen were killed in these losses.

SAC FB-111A Strike aircraft in formation

With the end of the war in Vietnam, SAC refocused its efforts back to deterrence of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. The deployment of ICBMs in the early 1960s led to the decision by Secretary of Defense McNamara to reduce the number of B-52s in favor of the Titan II and Minuteman missiles beginning in 1966 Concurrently many SAC bases were either deactivated, transferred to other Air Force MAJCOMs, or transferred to other U.S. military services as part of cost-cutting moves imposed by McNamara. Beginning in 1973 with the draw-down of US military forces after Vietnam, older B-52B, B-52C, B-52E and B-52F aircraft were retired and their wings inactivated. The B-58 had been retired in 1970, and by 1975, SAC had a reduced strategic offensive bomber force of several hundred B-52D, B-52G, B-52H and FB-111A nuclear strike aircraft.

After the cancellation of the XB-70 in 1964, the Air Force commissioned several studies to explore possible roles for manned bombers to replace the B-52. The ability to fly through enemy airspace at extremely low altitudes was was though to be the key for survival in the face of sophisticated air defenses. In the early 1970s, the Rockwell B-1A was reaching final development as the planned replacement for the B-52. The B-1A project was delayed by design difficulties and large cost overruns in the early 1970s and in 1977, President Carter decided to cancel the project. Carter genuinely wanted to reduce the arms race, and he also believed that the B-1A would be unable to penetrate Soviet air defenses, as was demonstrated over the skies of North Vietnam during the Linebacker II raids. Carter, however, was also aware of highly classified projects that would ultimately lead to the F-117A stealth attack aircraft and the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. The B-1 project was revived in 1982 by President Reagan, and after extensive upgrading and modifications of the B-1A, SAC took delivery of its first Rockwell B-1B Lancer in 1987. The B-1B, however, initially was only capable of carrying nuclear weapons, and a period of modifications ensued in the late 1980s to give it a conventional bombing capability.

Prototype Rockwell B-1A in 1977 showing SAC livery. The B-1B Lancer would be SAC's last new bomber, entering service in 1987.

In 1978, the Carter administration secretly authorized the start of a stealth bomber program, termed the Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB). A bomber was sought which could replace the recently-cancelled B-1A in Air Force future plans and, in addition, also replace the B-52, which was by that time nearly a quarter-century old. The requirements were set by the needs of the Cold War. The aircraft would use low-observable technology to make it possible to penetrate unobserved for hundreds of miles into Soviet airspace with a full load of nuclear weapons. After a decade of development, the Northrup B-2 Spirit stealth bomber was first revealed to the public in November 1988. The B-2 made its first flight in July 1989, but was not operationally delivered to the 509th Bomb Wing until 1993, after SAC was inactivated.

The 1991 Gulf War saw the B-1B remain in the United States due to its nuclear-only capability, and with the B-2 still in operational testing, the B-52D was used heavily to attack targets in Kuwait and Iraq. SAC's bombing attacks on Iraqi forces were both devastating and effective. The B-52H, remained on nuclear alert and did not participate in the war. On 27 September 1991, as the Soviet Union was dissolving after the August 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, President George H. W. Bush began taking SAC bomber and associated aerial refuelling aircraft off continuous nuclear alert.

In-flight refueling

B-52D Stratofortress being refuled by a KC-135 Stratotanker, 1965

In-flight refueling, long a dream of airmen, became a reality with SAC in July 1952 when the 31st Fighter-Escort Wing took off from Turner AFB, Georgia with 60 F-84G Thunderjets and flew the 1,800 nautical miles to Travis AFB, California non-stop. Refueled en route by 24 KB-29P Superfortresses modified into aireal tankers over Texas, this was the first large-scale aireal refueling exercise. This was followed-up by exercise Fox Peter One. At 1,860 nautical miles and with no alternate landing sites or divert fields, the flight from Travis AFB to Hickam AFB (Territory of Hawaii), was the longest of the trans-Pacific flight. All of the 31st FEW fighters made it and then island-hopped the rest of the way to Yokota Air Base, Japan, via Midway Island, Wake Island, Eniwetok, Guam, and Iwo Jima. The arrival of the last aircraft in Japan on July 16, less than two weeks after leaving Georgia, marked Fox Peter One as a resounding success.

The second-generation aerial tanker, KC-97 Stratotanker came into active service shortly afterwards. The KC-97 became essential to SAC as it was capable of enhancing the limited range of about 2000 miles of the new B-47 Stratojet medium jet bomber. In-flight fueling gave the B-47 unlimited range and the ability to fly for extended periods of time. This new ability was openly demonstrated to the USSR with several well publicized non-stop flights around the world. The development meant that SAC was no longer dependent on stationing nuclear capable bombers in foreign countries like Spain and Britain, which proved to be politically sensitive in the late 1940s/early 1950s. In the 1960s, KC-97s began to be assigned to SAC-gained Air National Guard wings.

The Boeing Company's model 367-80 was the basic design for the commercial 707 jet airliner as well as the KC-135A Stratotanker. In 1954, the Air Force purchased the first 29 of its future 732-plane fleet. The first aircraft flew in August 1956 and the initial production Stratotanker was delivered to SAC at Castle Air Force Base, California, in June 1957. Assigned primarily to B-52 Stratofortress Heavy bomber wings, the KC-135 gave the B-52 an unlimited range for carring out its global mission. The last KC-135 was delivered to SAC in 1965. Like its predecessor, the KC-97, in the 1970s KC-135s began to be assigned to SAC Air National Guard units.

A modified McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) DC-10 airliner, the KC-10A Extender entered service with SAC in 1981. Although it retained 88 percent of systems commonality with the DC-10, it was equipped with additional systems and equipment necessary for its Air Force mission as an aerial tanker. These additions include military avionics; aerial refueling boom and aerial refueling hose and drogue; seated aerial refueling operator station; and aerial refueling receptacle and satellite communications.

Strategic reconnaissance

One of the SAC's primary missions was to plan and acquire strategic reconnaissance on a global scale. Indeed, one of the most important and dangerous missions during the Cold War era was electronic and photographic reconnaissance. SAC crews often flew perilously close to a border over land or just outside the twelve mile limit defining international waters. Until the 1960 U-2 incident when the Soviet Union shot down a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, the general public was unaware of this mission.

When SAC was created in 1946, its initial reconnaissance forces consisted mostly of F-2 reconnaissance aircraft (which were the photo variant of Beech C-45 Expeditor light transports). By 1947 SAC had acquired one F-9C squadron (12 photo-reconnaissance configured B-17G Flying Fortress bomber) and one F-13 squadron (photo-reconnaissance configured B-29 Superfortress bombers). The F-13’s were later re-designated as RB-29’s and would be configured as ELINT and COMINT (SIGINT) platforms as well. During the late 1940s the United States grew increasingly apprehensive concerning the Soviet Union's development of advanced weapons including aircraft, air defense radar & missile systems, and atomic bombs. The 1948 Berlin Crisis and Airlift increased the level of mistrust on both sides; however, the closed Soviet society made gathering intelligence about the development of new weapons very difficult and greatly concerned the US and its allies.

"Kee Bird" was a SAC B-29 Superfortress, 45-21768, of the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron, that became marooned after making an emergency landing in northwest Greenland during a secret Cold War spying mission on 21 February 1947.

In an effort to obtain information about weapons development and deployment, SAC conducted regular routine reconnaissance missions near the Soviet land borders or just outside the 12-mile limit defining international waters. In most cases, the planes were forbidden to fly into Soviet airspace, but in a few cases the need for information outweighed the risk of over flight and a plane was sent into the Soviet Union. The best platform was the F-13/RB-29 with a combat radius of about 2,000 miles. At altitudes above 30,000 feet and traveling up to 350 miles per hour, the RB-29 was difficult for a Soviet fighter to intercept. These early reconnaissance aircraft would be relatively safe from any Soviet interception until the jet-powered MiG-15 interceptor entered service in late 1948.

The first RB-29 missions were flown to conduct photo intelligence (PHOTINT) mapping and charting and visual reconnaissance in the Arctic and along the Northern Soviet Coast. This effort, named Project NANOOK, was the Cold War’s first Top Secret reconnaissance effort. SAC needed to know about Soviet defenses in the region for war-planning. A series of PHOTINT missions along Chukchi Peninsula under Project LEOPARD. This unit later expanded to other missions code-named RICKRACK, STONEWORK, and COVERALLS. By October 1949, over 1,800 pictures had been produced. Other missions were configured to begin ELINT collection along the Soviet coast. These early ELINT missions were ordered as the PHOTINT mission verified increased Soviet activity and construction in the Soviet Far East and Siberian areas. SAC ordered specially-configured ELINT RB-29 aircraft which could sample the area for signs of improved Soviet radar defenses.

In addition to PHOTINT and SIGINT missions, the third important task of early Cold War reconnaissance units involved monitoring the progress of Soviet atomic weapons testing. The island of Novaya Zemlya, north of the Soviet Union landmass was an area used by the USSR for atomic testing. Not only did SAC reconnaissance aircraft photograph the island but they were also fitted with special air collection scoops. These scoops collected air samples and ran them through filters that could detect particles of radioactive fallout.

During the Korean War, Communist China captured 15 US Air Force pilots and crewmen on charges of violating their air space. The first became a prisoner when his F-86 was shot down. Next the pilot of an F-84 was captured. The next incident was when a B-29 was attacked and 11 of the crew made it to the ground. Three others in the plane weren't so lucky. Then a F-86 was shot down by MiGs. The last pilot to be captured was also from an F-86.

On 15 March 1953, a B-50 reconnaissance plane of the 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was attacked by a pair of Soviet MiG-15s. The plane, nicknamed "The Laboring Lady", was flying in international airspace, approximately 25 miles off the Kamchatka Peninsula on the Soviet Pacific coast when two MiGs. intercepted the USAF plane. After escorting the B-50 for a short time, one Soviet pilot opened fire on the B-50. The B-50's central fire control gunner, Technical Sergeant Jesse Prim immediately returned fire after the aircraft commander, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Rich, gave the OK to protect the plane. Although Prim did not hit the attacking plane, his quick action surprised the MiG pilot who quickly broke off his attack and returned to his base.

Two days after the armistice was signed ending the Korean War, a Boeing RB-50 reconnaissance plane assigned to the 343rd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS), 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, temporarily attached to the 91st SRS based at Yokota Air Base, Japan, was shot down over the Sea of Japan in international waters in an area about 100 miles southeast of Vladivostok, a city just north of North Korea on the east coast of the Soviet Union.

Lockheed U-2 in flight

On 7 November 1954, a US Air Force RB-29 reconnaissance aircraft was shot down near Hokkaido Island in northern Japan. The plane carrying a crew of eleven was conducting routine photographic reconnaissance near Hokkaido and the southernmost of the disputed Kuril islands. The plane was attacked by Soviet fighters and seriously damaged, forcing the crew to bail out. Ten crewmen were successfully rescued after landing in the sea; however, the eleventh man drowned when he became entangled in his parachute lines after landing.

On 21 July 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed the "Open Skies" Treaty at a summit conference held in Geneva, Switzerland. Since the early 1950s the United States had tried to gain as much reconnaissance information as possible about the Soviet development of offensive weapons systems. Although most surveillance flights were carried out in international airspace off the coasts of Russia, a few flights were flown over Soviet territory in violation of international law.

After the Korean War ended, SAC received the Martin RB-57D Canberra, built strictly by Martin as a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. The RB-57D was unique and set the stage for high-altitude reconnaissance operations in the rarefied air of the stratosphere. The project was carried out in high secrecy. It was known as Weapon System MX-2147, and the code name was Bald Eagle. The first deliveries were in April 1956 to the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Turner AFB, Georgia. They were deployed in 1957 to Rhein-Main AB, West Germany. All RB-57D operations were under heavy security and very little information ever leaked out about their operations. They presumably carried out ELINT/SIGINT missions along the East German border and over the Baltic Sea. Since the missions were carried out under an atmosphere of high secrecy, RB-57s returning from missions over the Baltic were often intercepted by RAF Hawker Hunter interceptors just to make sure that they were not Soviet aircraft.

Gathering reliable intelligence information was very difficult. President Eisenhower believed that getting permission to over fly Soviet military facilities while granting permission for the Soviets to over fly US military installations would greatly ease tensions between the two superpowers.

Unfortunately, the Soviets immediately rejected the "Open Skies" Treaty proposal fearing the US intended to trick the USSR into a disadvantageous position. As a result, the US was very apprehensive about Soviet development of long range bombers and more advanced nuclear weapons. The supposed "Bomber Gap" led president Eisenhower to authorize the continued reconnaissance flights (including the over flights) because the Soviet threat was judged to be more important than the international incident that would result if a US plane was shot down over Soviet territory. In June 1957 SAC received its first U-2 strategic reconnaissance aircraft (4080th SRW). Prior to this, all U-2 flying was performed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

On 1 May 1960, the international incident the United States dreaded happened when a CIA U-2 piloted by Frances Gary Powers was shot down over Soviet Territory near Sverdlovsk. Just two months later, a USAF RB-47 was shot down in international airspace resulting in the deaths of four crewmen and the capture of two more. These two men were held in Lubyanka Prison, Moscow for seven months before being released.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

On 1 July 1960, a Soviet MiG fighter north of Murmansk in the Barents Sea shot down a six-man RB-47 crew . Probably at no time in this nation's history has the importance of aerial reconnaissance been demonstrated more dramatically than during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. In September and October of that year, Soviet officials had persistently denied their intent to install offensive weapons in Cuba, only 90 miles from U.S. shores, despite intelligence reports to the contrary. On 14 Oct, two USAF high-flying U-2 reconnaissance aircraft photographed portions of Cuba and analysis of these photos confirmed that bases were being constructed for intermediate-range missiles within striking distance of the United States. On 27 October 1962, a U-2A (S/N 56-7611) flown by USAF Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr. was shot down while flying high over Cuba conducting a reconnaissance mission during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The SR-71 Blackbird was the successor to the U-2 and was widely used during the 1960s, although the U-2 remained in service carrying out both strategic as well as tactical reconnaissance missions during the Vietnam War. U-2s and SR-71s, deployed to Kadena AB, Okinawa, began operations to gather intelligence on North Vietnam – initially known as "Lucky Dragon" this project was renamed ‘Trojan Horse’, then 'Olympic Torch', 'Senior Book' and finally 'Giant Dragon'. The sorties involved flying along North Vietnam and Chinese borders, generally gathering SIGINT, The U-2 flights also monitored the roads and trails from North Vietnam that were being used to send both weapons and personnel into South Vietnam and the surrounding states of Laos and Cambodia. As the war progressed the U-2's had to move to operating at higher altitudes as first the Mig-17 and then MiG-21s were introduced making flights at medium altitude a risky business. Also the introduction of SAM-2 missiles by the North Vietnamese necessitated the careful planning of flight routes to bypass these hot spots.

SAC continued operations of both the SR-71 and U-2 until its inactivation in 1992, the mission being transferred to Air Combat Command.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles

SAC Minuteman ICBM missile combat crew on alert. Typically, a two-person missile combat crew is on alert in an underground launch control center for 24 hours at a time monitoring their ICBMs, ready to launch them if directed

Along with in-flight refueling, another important element in the growth of SAC was the development of ballistic missiles. The rapid development of ballistic missiles in the 1950s provided SAC with another means of carrying out its mission of being able to strike anywhere in the world. While the U.S. Air Force had started a missile development program in 1946, it was not seriously pursued until reports surfaced about the progress of Soviet Union rocket technology and the threat it posed to the US.

The perceived threat motivated the Eisenhower administration to make ballistic missiles a top priority and tasked Air Force Brigadier General Bernard Schriever with leading the development program. By 1958, roughly four years after Schriever had initiated his ballistic missile program, SAC activated the 704th Strategic Missile Wing to operate first the intermediate range Thor missile and then a year later the first true ICBM, the SM-65 Atlas missile. The HGM-25A Titan I was brought into active service in June 1960. By October 1961, SAC had activated 13 Atlas and six Titan squadrons. Both of these weapons systems were put on high alert during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Beginning in 1963, the next generation LGM-25C Titan II reached operational service.

Liquid oxygen and kerosene fuel propulsion posed several problems. The fuel was dangerous and corrosive, and the missile silos were difficult and expensive to maintain. To overcome these obstacles, development was begun in the late 1950s on a missile powered by solid fuel. The result was the LGM-30A Minuteman I. This was first deployed in 1962. The LGM-30F Minuteman II replaced the earlier Minuteman I beginning in 1965. With these advancements in technology, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered the standown of the Atlas and Titan I sites in 1965. 1970 saw the deployment of the LGM-30G Minuteman III, that introduced Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technology. The Minuteman III missile was then able to target 3 separate locations. This was an improvement from the earlier Titan II, Minuteman I and II models, which were only able to carry one large warhead. At its peak, 1000 Minuteman II and III ICBMs were on active status.

The final generation of SAC ICBM was the LGM-118A Peacekeeper, also known as the MX missile. The Peacekeeper reached SAC missile silos starting in 1986. The Peacekeeper was a MIRV missile; it could carry up to 10 re-entry vehicles, each armed with a 300-kiloton W87 warhead. The total combined firepower for all 114 Peacekeepers was rated at around 342 megatons, or 342 million tons of TNT.

Nuclear strategy

During LeMay’s command, SAC was able to effect great changes in American nuclear strategy. At the beginning of the Cold War, SAC was effectively powerless in shaping the American nuclear strategy it was tasked with carrying out. The four main issues instrumental in forming the nuclear strategy were technical limitations, nuclear weapon availability, lack of strategic thinking and politics. The first of the two factors of technical limitations and availability went hand in hand, as from 1946 to 1948, the US had only 12 atomic bombs and between five and 27 B-29s capable of delivering the bombs. Had the president ordered an atomic attack in 1947 or 1948, the 509th Composite Bomb Group would have needed five or six days to obtain the bombs from the Atomic Energy Commission and arrive at the base it would attack from. The lack of strategic thinking was largely a result of the unfamiliarity of the atomic bomb and the high level of secrecy with which it had been developed. That began to change in 1948 when reports of Bikini Atoll tests were circulated among the Air Force, which made information about the bomb more available to planners and helped to convince them of its strategic capabilities. The new strategic thinking found its place in the proposed Joint Emergency War Plan codenamed “Halfmoon”, which called for the dropping of fifty atomic bombs on twenty cities in the Soviet Union. At this point, politics entered into the formation of nuclear strategy in the form of president Harry S. Truman. The president initially rejected “Halfmoon” and ordered the development of a non-nuclear alternative plan, only to later change his mind during the Berlin Blockade. These four factors combined to create a high level of uncertainty and prevented the development of an effective nuclear strategy.

Titan II missile launching from silo.

It was this uncertainty that LeMay entered into upon assuming command of SAC which emboldened him and SAC planners to attempt to unilaterally form American nuclear strategy. LeMay started shortly after his arrival at SAC, by having SAC planners draw up Emergency War Plan 1–49, which involved striking seventy Soviet cities with 133 atomic bombs over a thirty day period in an effort to destroy Soviet industrial capacity. But with the Soviet Union gaining possession of atomic weapons in 1949, SAC was forced to rethink its nuclear strategy. Under orders from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, SAC was told its primary objective was bombing targets in order to damage or destroy Soviet ability to deliver nuclear weapons, its secondary objective was stopping Soviet advances into Western Europe, and its tertiary objective was the same as before, destroying Soviet industrial capacity. The redefinition and expansion of its mission would help SAC to formalize and consolidate its control over nuclear planning and strategy. This was done by LeMay in a 1951 meeting with high level Air Force staff, when he convinced them that unreasonable operational demands were being placed on SAC and, in order to alleviate the issue, SAC should be allowed to approve target selections before they were finalized.

SAC’s assumption of control over nuclear strategy led to the adoption of a strategy based on the idea of counterforce. SAC planners understood that as the Soviet Union increased their nuclear capacity, destroying or “countering” those forces (bombers, missiles, etc.) became of greater strategic importance than destroying industrial capacity. In 1954, the Eisenhower administration concurred with the new focus, with the President expressing a preference for military over civilian targets. While the Eisenhower administration approved of the strategy in general, LeMay continued to increase SAC’s independence by refusing to submit SAC war plans for review, believing that operational plans should be closely guarded, a view the Joint Chiefs of Staff eventually came to accept. By the end of the 1950s, SAC had identified 20,000 potential Soviet target sites and had officially designated 3,560 of those sites as bombing targets, with the significant percentage being counterforce targets of Soviet air defense, airfields and suspected missile sites. LeMay and SAC’s continuing efforts to assume greater control over nuclear strategy were vindicated on 11 August 1960, when Eisenhower approved a plan to create the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff (dominated by SAC) to prepare the National Strategic Target List and the Single Integrated Operation Plan (SIOP) for nuclear war.

Besides developing and implementing new technology and strategies, SAC was actively involved in the Korean War. Shortly after beginning of the war in July 1950, SAC dispatched ten nuclear-capable bombers to Andersen AFB on Guam under orders from the Joint Chiefs. But SAC did more than just provide a nuclear option during the Korean War, It also deployed four B-29 bomber wings that were used in tactical operations against enemy forces and logistics All of this led LeMay to express concern that “too many splinters were being whittled off the stick”, preventing him from being able to carry out his primary mission of strategic deterrence. As a result, LeMay was relieved when the Korean War ended in 1953 and he was able to go back to building SAC’s arsenal and gaining control over nuclear strategy.

Command and control

SAC EC-135H "Looking Glass" Airborne Command Post

Despite SAC's establishment of "hardened" underground command and control facilities at its headquarters at Offutt AFB, LeMay and his planners knew that a direct nuclear strike by Soviet forces employing hydrogen weapons would likely destroy the facility. As a backup to this potentiality, the concept of a SAC airborne command post was developed. As envisioned, the airborne command post would be carried on a long range/long endurance aircraft, manned by a battle staff headed by a SAC general officer of at least brigadier general rank. The aircraft would be equipped with the latest in electronics and communications equipment so that it would be able to assume control of all of SAC's bomber, aerial refueling and reconnaissance aircraft, as well as SAC's land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force and the U.S. Navy's Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarine force in the event SAC headquarters was destroyed. Like the B-52, the airborne command post would also be hardened against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) radiation, making it capable of operating during a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. A fleet of these aircraft would also enable SAC to keep one such aircraft continuously airborne, 24 hours a day every day of the year. The aircraft selected for this duty was a derivative of SAC's KC-135 Stratotanker. Named the EC-135 Looking Glass, it realized the SAC vision of a flying command post. As a result, one of SAC's EC-135 Looking Glass aircraft was constantly airborne from 1961 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the de facto end of the Cold War in 1990.

In an effort to augment the Looking Glass mission, a 1973 initiative resulted in the establishment of the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP), also known as "knee cap," resulting in the procurement of four Boeing E-4 aircraft derived from the Boeing 747. The E-4 aircraft were originally stationed at Andrews AFB, Maryland so they could be easily accessed by the President and the Secretary of Defense, with SAC also establishing three dispersed support squadrons for the E-4 at Westover AFB, Massachusetts, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana and March AFB, California. Basing for the E-4 aircraft was later moved to Offutt AFB, with one E-4 continuously stationed at Andrews AFB in order to be available to the National Command Authority.

Overseas components

Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom was among the command's largest overseas concentrations of forces, with additional forces at bases in North Africa during the 1950s and 1960s in addition to SAC bomber, tanker, and/or reconnaissance aircraft assets at the former Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and at Andersen AFB, Guam, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom and the former NAS Keflavik, Iceland through the 1990s. SAC "Provisional" wings were also located in Okinawa and Thailand during the Vietnam War and at Diego Garcia and in the United Kingdom during the first Gulf War.

Post Cold War and inactivation

SAC's final major operational engagement occurred during the 1990–1991 time frame during the First Gulf War. SAC bomber, tanker and reconnaissance aircraft flew numerous conventional bombing, aerial refueling and reconnaissance missions over and near Iraq from RAF Fairford and other bases in Great Britain, Turkey, Akrotiri, Cyprus, Diego Garcia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

On 31 May 1992, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War, SAC was eliminated in a major reorganization of USAF commands. Two of the air force's U.S.-based war-fighting commands, SAC and Tactical Air Command (TAC), were reorganized into a single organization, Air Combat Command (ACC). ACC was essentially given the combined missions that SAC and TAC held respectively, with the newly designated Air Mobility Command (AMC) inheriting most of SAC's KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-10 Extender aerial refueling tanker force, while a small portion of KC-135 aircraft were reassigned to United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), the latter to include PACAF-gained KC-135 aircraft of the Alaska Air National Guard. SAC's former land-based ICBM force, initially part of ACC, eventually became part of the new Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). The USAF nuclear component was then officially combined with the United States Navy's strategic nuclear component, its Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarines, to form United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), which is headquartered at SAC's former complex at Offutt AFB, Nebraska.

In late 2009, the ICBM force was transferred yet again, this time from AFSPC to the newly established Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). In early 2010, the B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress bomber force was also reassigned to AFGSC, while the B-1 Lancer bomber force remained in ACC due to the B-1's removal from the nuclear strike mission and reassignment to conventional roles only.

The Strategic Air and Space Museum, formerly the SAC Museum, was located adjacent to Offutt AFB till moved to its site off of I-80 between Omaha and Lincoln, preserves SAC's heritage in a fashion open to public view.

Lineage

• Established as Continental Air Forces on 13 December 1944

Activated on 15 December 1944

Re-designated: Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946

Inactivated on 1 Jun 1992

• Re-designated as Air Force Global Strike Command, and activated, on 7 August 2009.

Assignments

• United States Army Air Forces, 15 December 1944
• United States Air Force, 26 September 1947 – 1 June 1992; 7 August 2009 – present.

Stations

• Washington, District of Columbia, 15 December 1944
• Bolling Field, District of Columbia, by 1946
• Andrews Field (later, AFB), Maryland, 21 October 1946
• Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 9 Nov 1948 – 1 Jun 1992
• Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, 7 Aug 2009 – present

Components

SAC included a large number of subordinate components. At the highest level, five Numbered Air Forces served within the command at various times, the Second Air Force, Eighth Air Force, Fifteenth Air Force, Sixteenth Air Force, and briefly, in 1991–92, the Twentieth Air Force. Large numbers of USAF Air Divisions served with the command and were typically responsible for an average of three or four geographically separated wings. At lower levels, there were a large number of Strategic Air Command wings, groups such as the 1st Combat Evaluation Group, and large numbers of bases (see List of Strategic Air Command Bases).

Myriad smaller subunits included test, evaluation and acquisition activities serving as tenants with former Air Force Systems Command and Air Force Logistics Command entities, as well as ceremonial guard formations such as the SAC Elite Guard.

Air Forces

• First Air Force: 16 Apr 1945 – 21 Mar 1946
• Second Air Force: 16 Apr 1945 – 30 Mar 1946; 1 Nov 1949 – 1 Jan 1975
• Third Air Force: 16 Apr 1945 – 21 Mar 1946
• Fourth Air Force: 16 Apr 1945 – 21 Mar 1946
• Eighth Air Force: 7 Jun 1946 – 1 Jun 1992
• Fifteenth Air Force: 31 Mar 1946 – 1 Jun 1992
• Sixteenth Air Force: 1 Jul 1957 – 15 Apr 1966

Commands

• I Troop Carrier Command: 16 Apr-4 Nov 1945
• IX Troop Carrier Command: c. 5 Sep 1945 – 31 Mar 1946

Air Divisions

• 1st (later, 1st Missile Division; 1 Strategic Aerospace Division): 15 Apr 1955 – 20 May 1956; 1 Jan 1958 – 1 Sep 1988
• 3d Air Division: 18 Jun 1954 – 1 Apr 1970; 1 Jan 1975 – 31 Jan 1982
• 5th Air Division: 14 Jan 1951 – 1 Jul 1957
• 7th Air Division: 20 Mar 1951 – 30 Jun 1965; 1 Jul 1978 – 31 Jan 1982
• 21st Air Division: 16 Feb 1951 – 8 Apr 1952; 8 Apr-16 Jul 1952
• 58th Air Division: 1 Mar-16 Oct 1948
• 73d Air Division: 21–31 Mar 1946
• 311th Air Division: 31 Mar 1947 – 1 Nov 1949.

Wings

Refer to the following articles which encompass the wings of SAC in detail:

• List of USAF Bomb Wings and Wings assigned to Strategic Air Command
• List of USAF Fighter Wings assigned to Strategic Air Command
• List of USAF Provisional Wings assigned to Strategic Air Command
• List of USAF Reconnaissance wings assigned to Strategic Air Command
• List of USAF Strategic Wings assigned to the Strategic Air Command
• List of Air National Guard wings assigned to Strategic Air Command

Aircraft

Combat aircraft

• B-1 Lancer from 1986 to 1992; includes Air National Guard (ANG) from 1989 to 1992
• B-17 Flying Fortress (RB-17G) from 1946 to 1951
• B-26 Invader (RB-26) from 1949 to 1950
• B-29 Superfortress from 1946 to 1953
• B-36 Peacemaker from 1948 to 1958
• B-45 Tornado from 1950 to 1953
• B-47 Stratojet 1951–65
• B-50 Superfortress from 1948 to 1954
• B-52 Stratofortress from 1955 to 1992; includes Air Force Reserve (AFRES) from 1989 to 1992
• B-57 Canberra from 1956 to 1962
• B-58 Hustler from 1960 to 1969
• C-119 Flying Boxcar from 1956 to 1973
• DC-130 Hercules from 1966 to 1976
• E-4 Nightwatch from 1975 to 1992
• EC-135 Looking Glass from 1963 to 1992
• F-2 Expeditor (F=Fotorecon; C-45)
• F-6 Mustang (F=Fotorecon; P-51)
• F-9 Flying Fortress (F=Fotorecon; B-17F/G)
• F-13 Superfortress (F=Fotorecon; B-29A)

• F-47 Thunderbolt (P-47) from 1946 to 1947
• F-51 Mustang (P-51) from 1946 to 1949
• F-82 Twin Mustang from 1947 to 1950
• F-80 Shooting Star from 1946 to 1948
• F-84 Thunderjet 1948–57
• F-86 Sabre 1949–50
• F-102 Delta Dagger 1960
• FB-111 Aardvark from 1969 to 1990
• KC-10 Extender from 1981 to 1992
• KB-29 from 1949 to 1956
• KC-97 Stratotanker SAC from 1951 to 1964 and SAC-gained ANG from 1973 to 1977
• KC-135 Stratotanker SAC from 1957 to 1991; includes ANG and AFRES from 1975 to 1992
• RC-45 Expeditor
• RC-135 Rivet Joint/Rivet Brass/Rivet Amber/Rivet Card/Rivet Ball/Cobra Ball/Cobra Eye/Combat Sent
• SR-71 Blackbird from 1966 to 1991
• U-2 Dragon Lady from 1962 to 1991
• TR-1 Dragon Lady from 1989 to 1991

Support aircraft

• UC-45 Expeditor
• AT-11 Kansan
• B-26 Invader from 1949 to 1950
• C-45 Expeditor from 1946 to 1951
• C-47 Skytrain from 1946 to 1947
• C-54 Skymaster from 1946 to 1975
• C-82 Packet from 1946 through 1947
• C-97 Stratofreighter from 1949 to 1978
• C-118 Liftmaster from 1957 to 1975
• C-124 Globemaster II from 1959 to 1962

• C-131 Samaritan
• C-135 Stratolifter
• CH-3 Sea King SAC c. 1960s
• HU-16 Albatross SAC c. 1950s/1960s
• L-4 Grasshopper from 1949 to 1950
• L-5 Sentinel from 1949 to 1950
• L-13 Grasshopper from 1949 to 1950
• PBY Catalina (AAF designation OA-10 Catalina) from 1946 to 1947
• T-38 Talon from 1981 to 1991
• UH-1 Huey from 1966 to 1992

Missiles

• ADM-20 Quail
• AGM-28 Hound Dog
• AGM-69 SRAM
• AGM-84 Harpoon
• AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile
• AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile
• HGM-16 Atlas
• HGM-25A Titan I
• LGM-25 Titan II

• LGM-30A/B Minuteman I
• LGM-30F Minuteman II
• LGM-30G Minuteman III
• LGM-118A Peacekeeper
• SM-62 Snark
• PGM-17A Thor
• PGM-19A Jupiter

Strategic Air Command insignia

The insignia of SAC was designed in 1951 by A2C Robert T. Barnes (his statement and test question as a CMSgt and Assistant Commandant of the ADC NCO Academy 1970), then assigned to the 92nd Bombardment Wing. Submitted in a command-wide contest, it was chosen as the winner by a three judge panel: General Curtis E. LeMay, Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Air Command [CINCSAC]; General Thomas S. Power, Vice Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Air Command; and Brigadier General AW Kissner, Chief of Staff, Strategic Air Command. Staff Sergeant Barnes' winning design netted him a $100 United States Savings Bond.

It has a sky-blue field with two white shaded blue-gray clouds, one in the upper left and one in the lower right extending to the edges of the shield. Upon this is a cubit arm in armor issuing from the lower right and extending toward the upper left part of the shield. The hand is grasping a green olive branch, and three red lightning bolts.

The blue sky is representative of USAF operations. The arm and armor are a symbol of strength, power and loyalty and represents the science and art of employing far-reaching advantages in securing the objectives of war. The olive branch, a symbol of peace, and the lightning flashes, symbolic of speed and power are qualities underlying the mission of the Strategic Air Command.

The blue background of the SAC crest meant that SAC's reach was through the sky and that it was global in scope. The clouds meant that SAC was all-weather capable. The mailed fist depicted force, symbolized by lightning bolts of destruction. The olive branch represents peace.

In addition to the SAC crest, non-camouflaged SAC aircraft bore the SAC Stripe. The stripe consisted of a very dark blue background speckled with stars. The stripe appeared on the sides of SAC aircraft in the area of the cockpit on bomber aircraft and mid-fuselage on tanker and command post aircraft running from the top to the bottom of the fuselage at an angle from 11 o'clock to 5 o'clock. The stripe also appeared on ICBMs in the strategic missile force. The SAC crest was a bit wider than the stripe and was placed over the stripe. The stripe indicated that SAC was always ready to fulfill its mission.

See also

• List of commanders-in-chief of the Strategic Air Command

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

Bibliography

• Boyne, Walter, Beyond The Wild Blue: A History of the United States Air Force 1947–1997, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.
• Moody, Walton S. Dr., Building a Strategic Air Force, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1998.
• Rosenberg, David A (June 1979), "American Atomic Strategy and the Hydrogen Bomb Decision", The Journal of American History, pp. 62–87
• Tillman, Barrett, LeMay, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Further reading

• Adams, Chris, Inside The Cold War; A Cold Warrior's Reflections, Air University Press, 1999; 2nd printing 2004; 3rd printing 2005.
• Adams, Chris, "Ideologies in Conflict; A Cold War Docu-Story,Writers' Showcase, New York, 2001.
• Clark, Rita F. Major, From Snark to Peacekeeper, Office of the Historian, HQ. SAC, Offutt AFB. NE. 1990.
• Clark, Rita F. Major, SAC Missile Chronology 1939–1988, Office of the Historian, HQ. SAC, Offutt AFB. NE. 1988.
• Clark, Rita F. Major, Strategic Air Command, U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Goldberg, Sheldon A., The Development of the Strategic Air Command, Office of the Historian, HQ. SAC, Offutt AFB. NE. 1986.
• Knaack, Marcelle Size, Post-World War II Bombers 1945–1973, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington DC 1988.
• Knaack, Marcelle Size, Post-World War II Fighters 1945–1973, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington DC 1986.
• Lloyd, Alwyn T., B-47 Stratojet in detail & scale, TAB Books, 1988.
• Lloyd, Alwyn T. A Cold War Legacy: A Tribute to Strategic Air Command, 1946–1992. Missoula, Mont: Pictorial Histories Pub, 2000. ISBN 1-57510-052-5.
• Mixer, Ronald E., Genealogy of the Strategic Air Command, Battermix Publishing Company, 1999
• Mixer, Ronald E., Strategic Air Command, An Organizational History, Battermix Publishing Company, 2006.
• Narducci, Henry M (1 April 1988). Strategic Air Command and the Alert Program: A Brief History (Report). Offutt Air Force Base: Office of the Historian, Headquarters Strategic Air Command. http://www.siloworld.net/DOWNLOADS/SAC%20Brief%20History%20Reduced.pdf. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
• Polmar, Norman, Strategic Air Command, 1st Edition, Nautical & Aviation Publishing, 1954
• Polmar, Norman, Strategic Air Command, 2nd Edition, Nautical & Aviation Publishing, 1996.
• Ravenstein, Charles, A., Air Force Combat Wings 1947–1977, Office of Air Force History, USAF, 1984.

• Yenne, Bill, History of the U.S. Air Force, Exeter Books, 1990.
• Yenne, Bill, SAC, A Primer of Modern Strategic Airpower, Presido Press, 1992.

External links

• Interview with SAC Lt. General James Edmundson (transcripts from the PBS program Race for the Superbomb):
  • The Mission of the Strategic Air Command
  • Strategic Air Command Bomber Response Time
  • Strategic Air Command's War Plans
  • Strategic Air Command's Role in Ending the Cold War
• Air Force History Part Three: Countering the Communist Threat During the Cold War
• Strategic-Air-Command.com.
• Strategic Air Command Memorial Amateur Radio Club
• SAC Elite Guard Association

Media

• Modern Marvels: Strategic Air Command
• The short film 15 AF HERITAGE – HIGH STRATEGY – BOMBER AND TANKERS TEAM (1980) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• The 1958 Air Force Special Film Project 416,"Power of Decision" is available at the Internet Archive
• The short film STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND SEMIANNUAL FILM REPORT (1968) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• The short film Air Force Special Film Project 1236, "SAC Command Post" is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• The short film THE STRENGTH OF SAC (1966) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• The short film SAC – THE GLOBAL SHIELD (1980) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• The short film AIR FORCE STORY, VOL 2, CHAPTER 5 – OUR WORLDWIDE AIR FORCE, 1953–1959 (1959) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]