Strategic Air Command

The US Air Force's Strategic Air Command has at its disposal the most awesome array of weaponry in the Western world. It carries the responsibility for two of the three elements that make up the US nuclear 'triad' - the land-based strategic missile force and the manned bomber force - and as such has the capability to end civilization within a matter of minutes. However, as the author shows in this new, profusely illustrated study, SAC's primary objective is the preservation of peace between the two 'superpowers', helping to ensure that the potential enemy is kept very well aware that the initiation of a nuclear conflict is an unthinkable proposition.
The Command came into being within a few months of the close of the Second World War, charged with the conduct of long-range offensive operations anywhere in the world and of strategic reconnaissance wherever required. The early years - a period during which the United States had a monopoly of nuclear devices - were characterized by the establishment of terms of reference for 'the fledgeling organization, by the planning out of the operational units that would make up the Command's 'muscle', and by the building up of the stockpile of nuclear warheads, which at first was extremely small Two other, pioneering aspects of SAC's early operations, air refuelling and the policy of forward-basing, are fully described by the author, as is I the I increasing emphasis, through the 1950s and 1960s, placed on strategic missile forces.
SAC has since its inception always flown some of the largest and most impressive aircraft in the world, from the famed B-29 and B-36 of its formative years, through the all-jet B-47 and B-52 and the record-breaking B-58, to today's FB-111 and B-1B. The introduction to service of these types and their missions are discussed here, as are the many epic flights they made. The enigmatic U-2 and the Mach-3 SR-71 'Blackbird', flown by SAC reconnaissance units on highly classified missions, also take their place in the story, and all the squadrons and bases under the Command's authority are carefully tabulated.
While SAC has succeeded in its primary purpose of deterring nuclear aggression, it has been involved 'for real' in a number of postwar conflicts, most notably in Korea and South-East Asia, and the author gives a concise account of the part played by SAC in these hostilities - reconnaissance activities, bombing operations and, in the case of the Vietnam War, RPV (Remotely Piloted Vehicle) missions. The changing nature of the threats faced by the Command and the latter's swift and positive responses are also discussed, together with such comparatively recent innovations as the US Airborne Command Post system. The story is brought right up to date with the Command's supporting role in the Libyan bombing raids, the deployment of the B-1B bomber and the Peacekeeper ICBM, and the advent of the Advanced Technology Bomber.
Some 100 illustrations portray the evolution of SAC over its forty years of existence, and six complete orders of battle at selected dates give a fascinating insight into the Command's development. Aircraft, missiles, squadrons, organization, exploits — all the essential information has been expertly compiled for presentation in this unique volume.



by Lindsay Peacock
Published by Arms and Armour Press 1988 1st edition. 128pp profusely illustrated, index, very good, d/j front panel slightly torn and tape repaired.



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Note:
"Long" descriptions, where shown, may have been taken from the book's dust jacket notes, and as such are relevant to the date of publication (e.g. any references to "new edition" "previously unpublished photographs" etc.) and not the present.