Strategic Air Command
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2008-07-13T05:45:51Z
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/* SAC sayings */
{{Refimprove|date=February 2008}}
{{for2|the film|[[Strategic Air Command (film)]]}}
{{Infobox Military Unit
|unit_name=Strategic Air Command
|image=[[Image:Shield Strategic Air Command.png|200px]]
|caption=Strategic Air Command emblem
|dates= 1946-92
|country= [[United States|U.S.A.]]
|allegiance=
|branch= [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]]<BR>(1944-47)<BR>[[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]<BR>(1947-92)
|type= Major Command
|role=
|size=
|command_structure=
|current_commander=
|garrison= [[Offutt Air Force Base|Offutt AFB]], [[Nebraska]]
|ceremonial_chief=
|nickname=
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=
|anniversaries=
}}
The '''Strategic Air Command''' (SAC) was both a major command and a "specified command" in the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] and was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based [[bomber]] aircraft and land-based [[ICBM|ballistic missile]] strategic nuclear arsenal from 1946-92. SAC also controlled the infrastructure necessary to support the strategic bomber and ICBM operations, such as [[tanker aircraft]] to refuel the bombers in flight, strategic reconnaissance and command post aircraft, and, until 1957, [[fighter aircraft|fighter]] escorts. Following the fall of the [[Soviet Union]], SAC was succeeded in June 1992 by the [[United States Strategic Command|U.S. Strategic Command]].
==History==
[[Image:Original SAC patch.gif|thumb|225px|Original SAC patch]]
=== Lineage ===
* 1944 - established as "Continental Air Forces" on December 13th, activated on December 15th.
* 1946 - redesignated "Strategic Air Command" at [[Bolling Air Force Base|Bolling AFB]] on March 21st. Relocated to [[Andrews Air Force Base|Andrews AFB]] on October 20th.
* 1947 - [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] is established on September 18th.
* 1948 - Lt. Gen. [[Curtis Emerson LeMay|Curtis LeMay]] takes command on October 19th and relocates SAC to [[Offutt Air Force Base|Offutt AFB]] south of [[Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha]] on November 9th.
* 1992 - SAC inactivated on [[June 1]] - successor is [[United States Strategic Command|U.S. Strategic Command]].
=== Operational history ===
On March 21, 1946, the [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) was divided into three separate commands: [[Tactical Air Command]] (TAC), [[Air Defense Command]] (ADC), and Strategic Air Command (SAC). SAC's original headquarters was [[Bolling Air Force Base|Bolling Field]], the headquarters of the disbanded Continental Air Forces (First, Second, Third and Fourth) in [[Washington, DC]] Its first commander was General [[George C. Kenney]]. Seven months later SAC HQ moved to [[Andrews Air Force Base|Andrews AFB]], [[Maryland|MD]] on October 20, 1946.
SAC's original mission statement, expressed by General [[Carl Spaatz]], then commanding general of the USAAF, was:
<blockquote>The Strategic Air Command will be prepared to conduct long-range offensive operations in any part of the world, either independently or in co-operation with land and naval forces; to conduct maximum-range reconnaissance over land or sea, either independently or in co-operation with land and naval forces; to provide combat units capable of intense and sustained combat operations employing the latest and most advanced weapons; to train units and personnel of the maintenance of the Strategic Forces in all parts of the world; to perform such special missions as the Commanding General Army Air forces may direct.</blockquote>
That mission makes no specific reference to [[nuclear weapon]]s, which in any case SAC did not yet possess. In the wake of [[World War II]], the United States underwent a major drawdown of military forces, and the few USAAF units involved in the dropping of the atomic bombs were not spared.
SAC retained its organization and mission after the USAAF became the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] on September 18, 1947.
[[Image:SAC 1947 OC.gif|thumb|right|Organizational chart of the Strategic Air Command from 1947]]
On October 19, 1948, Lt. General [[Curtis Emerson LeMay|Curtis LeMay]] took over as commander of SAC and set about a dramatic rebuilding of the command's forces, as well as their mission. Subsequently promoted to the rank of full General, LeMay, who had masterminded the American attacks on the [[Japan]]ese mainland during the war (including the [[Bombing of Tokyo in World War II|firebombing of Tokyo]] and other cities), was a staunch believer in the power of [[strategic bombing]]: the destruction of an enemy's cities and industrial centers. LeMay believed that the existence of the atomic bomb made this type of warfare the only workable strategy, rendering battlefield conflicts essentially obsolete.
On November 9, 1948, SAC relocated its headquarters to the center of the nation at [[Offutt Air Force Base|Offutt AFB]], just south of [[Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha]], [[Nebraska]].
Under LeMay's command, SAC became the cornerstone of American national strategic policy during the [[Cold War]] with the [[Soviet Union]]. This policy was based primarily on [[nuclear deterrence]]. In 1962, there were 282,723 USAF personnel assigned to SAC (217,650 airmen, 28,531 civilians and 38,542 officers). SAC's motto became "Peace is Our Profession," symbolizing the intention to maintain peace through the threat of overwhelming force.
LeMay was ''not'' a great believer in [[mutually assured destruction]] (MAD): he felt strongly (particularly in SAC's early years, when Soviet nuclear capability was still in its formative stages) that SAC should be prepared to carry out a preemptive and overwhelming attack on the USSR before the Soviets had a chance to do the same to the United States.
From its initial handful of wartime [[B-29 Superfortress]] bombers, only a few of which were "Silverplate" aircraft capable of dropping a nuclear weapon, SAC transitioned to its first, truly intercontinental bomber, the [[Convair B-36]]. Though a major improvement over the under powered B-29, the B-36, with its six piston and four jet engines, was slow to get to its target.
SAC built up a substantial force of [[jet engine|jet-propelled]] bombers. At its peak, the SAC force included more than 1,500 bombers, most of them the swept-wing [[B-47 Stratojet|B-47]]. Airborne command post arrangements were also developed, resulting in the EC-135 [[Looking Glass (airplane)|Looking Glass]] program.
When the first operational [[intercontinental ballistic missile]]s (ICBMs) became available in the late 1950s, they were placed under SAC command. This led to a gradual decline in SAC's bomber strength.
Wartime experience in [[Europe]] had shown the inability of bombers to survive without fighter escort, so for a number of years SAC had a fighter force as well as bomber squadrons. Despite some USAF efforts to develop long-range escort fighters, the range of fighter aircraft was too limited for truly intercontinental range, and SAC philosophy held that [[interceptor aircraft|interception]] of bombers was of limited value in the atomic age. As a result, on [[July 1]], [[1957]], SAC's fighter squadrons were either disbanded or passed to [[Tactical Air Command|TAC]].
Curtis LeMay left SAC to become USAF Vice Chief of Staff in 1957, and was succeeded by General [[Thomas S. Power]], who served as SAC commander until December 1964. He was followed by General [[John Dale Ryan|John Ryan]] (1964-67) and General [[Bruce K. Holloway]] (1968-72).
The [[Looking Glass (airplane)|Looking Glass]] was the flying command post of SAC; one if its [[Boeing EC-135|EC-135]] planes was constantly airborne from 1961-90.
In 1992, following the [[History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)|collapse of the Soviet Union]], and the end of the [[Cold War]], SAC was eliminated in a major reorganization of USAF commands. The two U.S.-based war-fighting commands, SAC and [[Tactical Air Command]], were reorganized into a single organization, [[Air Combat Command]]. ACC was essentially given the combined missions that SAC and TAC held respectively, with the newly-designated [[Air Mobility Command]] inheriting SAC's tanker force. Its land-based ICBM force, initially part of ACC, became part of the new [[Air Force Space Command]] (AFSPC). The USAF's nuclear component was combined with the [[United States Navy|Navy's]] strategic nuclear component, ballistic missile submarines, to form [[United States Strategic Command|USSTRATCOM]], which is headquartered at SAC's former complex at [[Offutt Air Force Base|Offutt AFB]], Nebraska.
==Strategic Air Command insignia==
The insignia of SAC was designed in 1951 by Staff Sergeant R.T. Barnes, 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 A. W. 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 left and extending toward the upper part of the shield. The hand is grasping a green olive branch, and three red lightning bolts.
Azure, two clouds proper, one issuing from sinister chief and one issuing from dexter base, a cubit arm in armor in bend, issuing from the sinister, the hand grasping a branch of olive proper, and three lightning bolts gules.
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-camoflauged 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 running from the top to the bottom of the fuselage at an angle from 11:00 O'clock to 5:00 O'clock. The SAC crest was a bit wider than the stripe and was placed on over of the stripe. The stripe indicated that SAC was always ready to fulfill its mission.
==[[Numbered Air Force]]s within SAC==
*[[Second Air Force]]
*[[Eighth Air Force]]
*[[Fifteenth Air Force]]
*[[Sixteenth Air Force]]
*[[Twentieth Air Force]]
==Subordinate components==
===Air Divisions===
*See: [[Strategic Air Command divisions]]
*See: [[Strategic Air Command: Division emblems gallery]]
===Wings===
*See [[Strategic Air Command wings]]
===Groups===
==SAC Bases==
*See [[List of Strategic Air Command Bases]]
==Aircraft and Missiles==
[[Image:B52D 56-0687.JPG|thumb|right|300px|[[Boeing]] [[B-52 Stratofortress|B-52D]] bomber #56-0687 on display at B-52 Memorial Park, [[Orlando International Airport]], [[Florida]] (Former [[McCoy Air Force Base]]). Photo taken April 4, 2003.]]
===Aircraft - Primary Mission===
*[[B-1 Lancer]] from 1986-92. Includes [[Air National Guard]] (ANG) from 1989-92.
*[[B-17 Flying Fortress]] (RB-17G) from 1946-51.
*[[B-26 Invader]] (RB-26) from 1949-50
*[[B-29 Superfortress]] from 1946-53.
*[[B-36 Peacemaker]] from 1948-58.
*[[B-45 Tornado]] from 1950-53.
*[[B-47 Stratojet]] 1951-65.
*[[B-50 Superfortress]] from 1948-54.
*[[B-52 Stratofortress]] from 1955-92. Includes [[Air Force Reserve]] (AFRES) from 1989-92.
*[[B-57 Canberra]] from 1956-62.
*[[B-58 Hustler]] from 1960-69.
*[[C-119 Flying Boxcar]] from 1956-73.
*[[DC-130]] Hercules from 1966-76.
*[[E-4 Nightwatch]] from 1975-92.
*[[EC-135 Looking Glass]] from 1963-92.
*[[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 1946-47.
*[[F-51 Mustang]] (P-51) from 1946-49.
*[[F-82 Twin Mustang]] from 1947-50.
*[[F-80 Shooting Star]] from 1946-48.
*[[F-84 Thunderjet]] 1948-57.
*[[F-86 Sabre]] 1949-50.
*[[F-102 Delta Dagger]] 1960.
*[[F-111 Aardvark]] (FB-111) from 1969-90.
*[[H-3 Sea King]]
*[[KC-10 Extender]] from 1981-92.
*[[KB-29]] from 1949-56.
*[[KC-97 Stratotanker]] SAC from 1951-64. Includes ANG from 1973-77.
*[[KC-135 Stratotanker]] SAC from 1957-91. Includes ANG and AFRES from 1975-92.
*[[RC-45]] Expeditor
*[[Boeing RC-135|RC-135 Rivet Joint/Rivet Brass/Rivet Amber/Rivet Card/Rivet Ball/Cobra Ball/Cobra Eye/Combat Sent]]
*[[SR-71 Blackbird]] from 1966-91.
*[[U-2 Dragon Lady]] from 1962-91.
*[[TR-1 Dragon Lady]] from 1989-91.
*[[UC-45 Expeditor]]
===Aircraft - Support===
*[[AT-11 Kansan]]
*[[B-26 Invader]] from 1949-50.
*[[C-45 Expeditor]] from 1946-51.
*[[C-47 Skytrain]] from 1946-47.
*[[C-54 Skymaster]] from 1946-75.
*[[C-82 Packet]] from 1946 through 1947.
*[[C-97 Stratofreighter]] from 1949-78.
*[[C-118 Liftmaster]] from 1957-75.
*[[C-124 Globemaster II]] from 1959-62.
*[[C-131 Samaritan]]
*[[C-135 Stratolifter]]
*[[L-4 Grasshopper]] from 1949-50.
*[[L-5 Sentinel]] from 1949-50.
*[[L-13 Grasshopper]] from 1949-50.
*[[PBY Catalina]] (OA-10 Catalina) from 1946-47.
*[[T-38 Talon]] from 1981-91.
===Missiles fielded by the Strategic Air Command===
[[Image:Titan2 color silo.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Titan II]] missile launching from silo.]]
* [[ADM-20 Quail]]
* [[AGM-28 Hound Dog]]
* [[AGM-69 SRAM]]
* [[AGM-84 Harpoon]]
* [[AGM-86|AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile]]
* [[AGM-129 ACM|AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile]]
* [[Atlas (missile)|HGM-16 Atlas]]
* [[Titan II|LGM-25 Titan II]]
* [[LGM-30 Minuteman|LGM-30A/B Minuteman I]]
* [[LGM-30 Minuteman|LGM-30F Minuteman II]]
* [[LGM-30 Minuteman|LGM-30G Minuteman III]]
* [[LGM-118A Peacekeeper]]
* [[SM-62 Snark]]
* [[PGM-17A Thor]]
* [[Jupiter (missile)|PGM-19A Jupiter]]
== SAC sayings ==
*"To err is human. To forgive is not SAC policy" -- from a poster using SAC's gauntlet emblem. Instead of lightning, the gauntlet was redrawn to hold a pair of bloody testicles.
*"Peace Through Strength -- Victory Through Devastation"
*"Peace Is Our Profession"
*"The Cold War didn't just end, it was WON!" Motto of the Society of the Strategic Air Command
*"In God We Trust. Everybody else has to have the right (SAC security) badge and know the right (response) numbers."
*SAC's Motto was also: "PRIDE" or "Professional Results In Daily Effort." In 1969, the inside joke was that it was changed from "PRIDE" to "SHAME" or "Sustained Half-Assed Minimum Effort."{{Fact|date=March 2007}}
==See also==
*[[Single Integrated Operational Plan]]
*[[Strategic Air and Space Museum]]
*[[Strategic Air Command commanders]]
*[[Senior Enlisted Advisors]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
*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.
*Boyne, Walter, ''Boeing B-52. A Documentary History'', Jane Publishing Company, 1981.
*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 D.C. 1988.
*Knaack, Marcelle Size, ''Post-World War II Fighters 1945-1973'', Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington D.C. 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 1575100525.
*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.
*Moody, Walton S. Dr., ''Building a Strategic Air Force'', U.S. Government Printing Office, 1998.
*Polmar, Norman, ''Strategic Air Command'', 1st Edition, Nautical & Aviation Publishing Co., 1954
*Polmar, Norman, ''Strategic Air Command'', 2nd Edition, Nautical & Aviation Publishing Co., 1996.
*Ravenstein, Charles, A., ''Air Force Combat Wings 1947 - 1977'', Office of Air Force History, USAF, 1984.
*Russell, Ed., ''Air Division Histories'', USAF Historical Research Agency historical documents. SAC Society, Strategic Air Command, Turner Publishing Company, 1985.
*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==
*[http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/agency/sac.htm ''Strategic Air Command''] at GlobalSecurity.org
*Interview with SAC Lt. General [[James Edmundson]] (transcripts from the [[PBS]] program ''[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/ Race for the Superbomb]''):
**[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/filmmore/reference/interview/edmund06.html The Mission of the Strategic Air Command]
**[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/filmmore/reference/interview/edmund05.html Strategic Air Command Bomber Response Time]
**[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/filmmore/reference/interview/edmund11.html Strategic Air Command's War Plans]
**[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/filmmore/reference/interview/edmund13.html Strategic Air Command's Role in Ending the Cold War]
*[http://www.strategic-air-command.com/ Strategic-Air-Command.com].
*[http://www.sacmarc.org Strategic Air Command Memorial Amateur Radio Club]
*[http://www.saceliteguard.com SAC Elite Guard Association]
*[http://www.RC135.com ''A Tale of Two Airplanes''] by Ltc. Kingdon R. Hawes
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