1950's Cold War US Airforce Training Video - Nuclear Weapons

Video Title :	1950's Cold War US Airforce Training Video - Nuclear Weapons
Description :	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). 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 Japanese 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 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. 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 [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.
Views :	8913
Rating :	4.53
Keywords, Tags :	COLD WAR NUKES NUCLEAR WEAPONS ATOMIC BOMB TESTING SOVIET Missle history physical science social political
Video Length :	9 : 5

Comments :

Everyone was aware of the suck factor involved with Nuclear war. It was always considered a worst case scenario. The great fear was that some other country would fail to see it that way and proceed to nuke us. To say these people were risking the anihilation of the human race is a bit ignorant, if anything they were risking thier own lives in the hopes of preventing such a thing. And, private sector employment has always been more lucrative than military service or defence industry work.

The megatonnage of all air/sea/land atomic tests is equivalent to that of a world war in which most major western cities would have been obliterated;The amount of fallout from these tests over 3 decades undoubtedly caused many cancers mutations.

I used to borrow some strategic bombers go out and have a blast some times I or we would half to bomb just to burn fighters off our ass we bring the plane back all paint burn off scorch black several small fires on board total scrap case, land it take off and run and acted as if nothing had ever happen.

These fools were ready to risk killing off the entire human race so they could get promotions and later cushy jobs from the weapons makers! Oh, yeah in the process they caused lots of cancer among us in the USA and abroad testing their beloved H-bombs. So much for USAF "patriotism"... Pres. Ike was right about the evil of the military-industrial complex.

its still unknown how many died from nuclear fallout, I mean it must've spread across large areas of the U.S from the Nevada tests.

You are an idiot and obviously ignorant.

I always wondered were they made the new b-52's they use today?

man the computer in the 1950s is BIG ASS computer.

notice the big ass fire extinguisher in the background heh.

yeah I agree totally forgot that