Strategic Frontier: American Bomber Bases Overseas, 1950-1960
Abstract
On the morning of 16 January 1991, the eve of the Gulf War, seven SAC bombers took off from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, laden with weapons for use against Iraq. After fifteen hours of flight, which included two hours of air refueling by each plane, they arrived at launch points in northern Saudi Arabia and released thirty-five cruise missiles at eight target complexes in the Mosul area, then returned to the United States. This flight lasted over thirty-five hours and covered fourteen thousand miles--the longest time and farthest distance of any combat mission in aviation history.' This was also the first wartime demonstration of an ideal sought by American leaders since before World War II and proclaimed by Air Force leaders since the late 1950s: the intercontinental reach of aerial platforms. Strategic weapons based in the United States attacked a distant enemy nation, seemingly without the many political, economic, social, and military encumbrances of overseas bases. But bases beyond North America were used for support of this mission; the bombers were refueled by a fleet of fifty-seven aerial tankers from bases in Spain and the Azores. Even today, at the end of aviation's first century, if aircraft are the intercontinental weapons of choice, bases beyond national borders are still required. This dissertation presents an analysis of a specific type of American military base used during the l950s, namely overseas bomber bases controlled by the Strategic Air Command (SAC). These facilities were unique, by mission and command lines, and were pivotal to the national security strategy of the United States during a crticial period of the Cold War.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA353633
Entities
People
- Kurt W. Schake
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology