Tag: Strategic Air Command
SR-71… or RS-71? How the legendary Blackbird got her designation
The tale said that President Johnson was supposed to name the Blackbird the "RS-71" and that he confused the letters, reversed them, and said...
Goodbye U-Tapao! Former B-52 pilot remembers the end of Operation Arc...
"The three B-52s sat behind the runway hold line awaiting permission for the final B-52 takeoff from U-Tapao. Then tower cleared us for takeoff....
The incredible story of the B-52 that landed with two engines...
"'Ah, IP, copilot!' Oh, great, I thought, what problem could this rookie have now? I told him to go ahead. 'Ah, are there supposed...
Former B-52 driver explains what it’s like performing a Minimum Interval...
"One of the most insane maneuvers we practiced in SAC was the MITO, where we would take off fifteen seconds behind the preceding B-52...
The story of Bud Holland, the rogue pilot that crashed his...
"Apparently Bud Holland fancied himself the best B-52 pilot who ever lived and took pride in displaying his prowess in inappropriate, irresponsible ways," Jay Lacklen,...
Descending into Armageddon: SAC Go Codes
If instructed, the orbiting crews would open their top-secret decoders and validate the "Go Codes" sent by radio from SAC headquarters in Omaha, NE....
‘The Blackbird can’t fire a gun and doesn’t carry a bomb,...
"The termination of the SR-71 Blackbird was a grave mistake and could place our nation at a serious disadvantage in the event of a...
BUFF driver explains how it was flying the B-52 on a...
In 1980s, with the enhancement of the Russian air defense systems, the only way to perform an effective B-52 strike against Soviets was penetrating...
Operation Arc Light: when the iconic B-52 Stratofortress earned the nickname...
Flying too high to be seen or heard B-52 bombers became one of the weapons most feared by the Viet CongEven if the B-52...
B-52 SAFELY RTBs AFTER BEING STRUCK BY LIGHTNING THAT LEAVES MAN-SIZED...
“We see a handful of strikes every year, but out of all the maintainers we have, no one had seen lightning damage that bad,”...
