In 1980s, with the enhancement of the Russian air defense systems, the only way to perform an effective B-52 strike against…
Strategic Air Command
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Cold War EraMilitary Aviation
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Cold War EraMilitary Aviation
Remembering Operation Chrome Dome, the 1960’s airborne alert missions flown by B-52 strategic bombers armed with thermonuclear weapons
by Dario LeoneBy 1961 General Power openly announced SAC conducted airborne alert missions, codenamed Chrome Dome, with nuclear-armed B-52s or BUFFs, meaning Big…
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Cold War EraMilitary Aviation
Former KC-135 Pilot Explains how a Typical Tanker/FB-111 Minimum Interval Takeoff (MITO) Took Place
by Dario Leone“These aircraft of Armageddon go from sitting asleep to airborne in minutes, cold starting engines with explosive cartridges belching thick black…
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Aviation HistoryCold War EraMilitary Aviation
[Video] The B-52 Strategic Bomber that Landed at Duxford and Performed the Shortest Runway Landing Ever Done by a BUFF
by Dario LeoneThe impressive video in this post shows a retired B-52D Stratofortress strategic bomber landing at the IWM Duxford airfield before being…
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Aviation HistoryMilitary Aviation
The Incredible Story of the KC-135 Flight that Flew Close to Iraq to Refuel F-4G Wild Weasels the First Night of Operation Desert Storm
by Dario Leone‘It took courage to continue well past our refueling end point and fly closer to Iraq with CHOCTAW calling bandits airborne…
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Cold War EraWeapons
Remembering the AGM-69 SRAM, SAC Bombers’ Short Range Attack Missile
by Dario LeoneAGM-69 SRAM entered service in 1972 and was carried by the B-52, FB-111A, and B-1B. The interesting video in this post…
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Cold War EraMilitary Aviation
The story Behind this Photo of a Boeing 747 Refuelling an SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3 Spy Plane
by Dario LeoneOn Jul. 6, 1972, Mery Evenson and Coz Mallozzi flew SR-71 Blackbird test airframe ‘955 on a 3-hour sortie, checking out…
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Cold War EraMilitary Aviation
Project E and the cooperation between USAF’s SAC and RAF’s Bomber Command during the Cold War
by Dario LeoneAlthough SAC had 380 B-52s and 1,367 B-47s by the end of 1958, compared with Britain’s three V-Bombers, it is worth…
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Cold War EraLosses and Aviation SafetyMilitary Aviation
The sad story of the KC-10 Extender that exploded on the ramp at Barksdale AFB
by Dario LeoneKC-10 tanker tail number 82-0190 exploded on the Barksdale ramp while undergoing routine maintenance after a mission. Taken on Sep. 17,…
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Aviation HistoryCold War EraMilitary Aviation
Remembering the B-58A Hustler speed records and the 1962 Bendix Trophy
by Dario LeoneOn Mar. 5, 1962, Capts. Robert G. Sowers (pilot), Robert MacDonald (navigator) and John T. Walton (defensive systems operator) flew from…