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For the film of the same name, see The Strategic Air Command ('''SAC''') was the operational establishment of the United States Air Force in charge of America's Bomber-based and Ballistic Missile-based strategic nuclear arsenal from 1946 to 1992. SAC also controlled the infrastructure necessary to support their operations (such as Tanker Aircraft to fuel the bombers and, until 1959 , Fighter escorts). HISTORY On (TAC'''), ''' Air Defense Command ''' (ADC), and '''Strategic Air Command''' (SAC). SAC's original headquarters was 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 . SAC Headquarters moved to Andrews AFB, MD on Oct. 20, 1946. SAC's original mission statement, expressed by General Carl Spaatz , then commanding general of the USAAF, was: ''"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."'' 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 U.S. 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 on 18 September , 1947 . On 9 November , 1948 , SAC moved its headquarters to Offutt Air Force Base near Bellevue, Nebraska . On October 19, 1948 Lt. General Curtis Emerson LeMay took over as commander of SAC, and set about a dramatic rebuilding of the command's forces, as well as their mission. LeMay, who had masterminded the American attacks on the Japan ese mainland during the war (including the 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. Under LeMay's command, SAC became the cornerstone of American national strategic policy during the Cold War with the Soviet Union . This policy which was based primarily on Nuclear Deterrence . In 1962 there were 282,723 personnel assigned (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-propelled bombers. At its peak, the SAC force included more than 1,500 bombers, most of them the B-47 Stratojet . When the first operational Intercontinental Ballistic Missile s (ICBMs) became available in the late 1950s , they, too, 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 Interception of bombers was of limited value in the atomic age. As a result, on 1 July , 1957 SAC's fighter squadrons were either disbanded or passed to 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 (1964-1967) and General Bruce K. Holloway (1968-1972). In 1992 , following the Collapse Of The Soviet Union , and the end of the Cold War, SAC was eliminated in a reorganization of the major Air Force commands. SAC, TAC (Tactical Air Command), and MAC ( Military Airlift Command ) were reorganized into two commands, AMC ( Air Mobility Command ) and ACC ( Air Combat Command ). These two commands were essentially given the same missions that MAC and TAC held respectively, with AMC inheriting SAC's tanker force and ACC inheriting SAC's strategic bombers. The nuclear component was combined with the Navy's nuclear component to form USSTRATCOM (United States Strategic Command) which is headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base (SAC's former headquarters). STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND INSIGNIA The insignia of The Strategic Air Command was designed by Staff Sergeant R. T. Barnes, then assigned to the 92nd Bombardment Wing, in 1951. Submitted in a Command-wide contest, it was chosen as the winner by a three judge panel. The judges were: General Curtis E. LeMay, Commander-In-Chief, Strategic Air Command {Link without Title} ; 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. On a sky-blue shield over two clouds, one in the upper left and one in the lower right extending to the edges of the shield, white shaded blue-gray, a cubit arm in armor issuing from the lower left and extending toward the upper part of the shield, the hand grasping an olive branch green, and three lightning flashes red. 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 flashes gules. The blue sky is representative of the Air Force 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 lighting 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; bad weather was not a limiting factor. The mailed fist depicted force, symbolized by lightning bolts of destruction; the olive branch, of course, represents peace. In addition to the SAC Crest, SAC aircraft bore the SAC Stripe. The stripe consisted of a very dark blue background which was 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 roughly 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, night or day, to fulfill its mission.
NUMBERED AIR FORCES WITHIN SAC SUBORDINATE COMPONENTS Air Divisions
Wings Groups SAC BASES AIRCRAFT AND MISSILES Aircraft - Primary Mission B-52D bomber #56-0687 on display at B-52 Memorial Park, Orlando International Airport , Florida (Ex- McCoy Air Force Base ). Photo taken April 4, 2003.]]
Aircraft - Support
Missiles missile launching from silo.]] This is a list of missiles fielded by the Strategic Air Command.
RESOURCES
SAC SAYINGS
SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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