World History 1952Korean War continues to rage Queen Elizabeth II is crowned in England The Honeymooners debuts on television 1953 Joseph Stalin dies NY Yankees beat Brooklyn Dodgers in World Series Playboy first hits magazine stands 1954 Dien Bien Phu, a French stronghold in Vietnam, falls to the Viet Minh forces Brown vs. Board of Education court decision finds discrimination in schools illegal "Lord of the Flies" is published 1955 US population nearing 166 million people James Dean dies in car accident at age 26 Cost of a first-class stamp .03 cents 1956 Suez Crisis occurs, bringing world to higher tension Hungarian uprising crushed by Soviet forces "The Searchers" is produced 1957 Spunik, the worlds first artificial satellite, is launched by Soviet Union The "Little Rock Nine" successfully attempt to integrate into an Arkansas high school "West Side Story" begins on Broadway 1958 First successful U.S. satellite, Explorer I, is launched Elvis Presley inducted into US Army "Vertigo" is released in theatres 1959 Fidel Castro takes hold of power after coup in Cuba "Gigi" wins 1959 Academy Award for best picture Alaska and Hawaii become US states 1960 Francis Gary Powers incident occurs when his U-2 spy plane is shot down over Soviet Union Adolf Eichmann captured, tried in Israeli court for Nazi war crimes during World War II John F. Kennedy wins presidential election 1961 Berlin Wall erected to prevent East Berliners from escaping communist system to West Berlin. OPEC formally organized Alan Shepard becomes first American in space 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, arguably the peak of world nuclear tension during the cold war, occurs in October U.S. life expectancy: 70.1 years Johnny Carson begins hosting "The Tonight Show" 1963 President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas during November "Beatlemania" takes hold in US MLK's "I have a dream" speech given in Washington D.C. 1964 Massive earthquake rocks Anchorage, Alaska Gulf of Tonkin resolution is passed, officially beginning large-scale U.S. involvement in Vietnam "Dr. Strangelove" debuts in theatres 1965 The Beach Boys land a hit with "California Girls" Malcolm X is assassinated Worlds Fair opens in Queens, NY 1966 250,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam "Star Trek" debuts on television Walt Disney dies |
Strategic Air Command History 1952Janurary Official SAC insignia adapted after contest won by Staff Sgt. from Fairchild AFB submits winning design B-29s of 98th and 307th Bomb Wings continue to support UN operations in Korea Five total heavy bomb wings equipped with B-36s 1953 Hostilities cease in Korea, B-29s during war drop 167,000 tons of bombs First B-47 bomb wing deployment by 306th Bomb Wing from MacDill AFB, Florida to England First B-47 participation in SAC bombing competition, whose winner receives the Fairchild Trophy. B-47s fair badly against B-36s, B-50s and B-29s 1954 30 SAC bases exist at end of December within the United States 142,000 air-refueling hookups occur via KC-97 tanker support Last B-29s retired (by 307th Bomb Wing) 1955 SAC possesses 3,068 tactical aircraft at end of the year including 1,086 B-47s, 568 F-84 fighters and 18 B-52s First B-52s accepted by SAC Encouraging Snark missile tests paves the way for SAC deployment 1956 Last B-47 was delivered to Schilling AFB, Kansas Operations Power House and Road Block, 1,000 aircraft exercises, test SAC bomber combat mission effectiveness All 28 Medium bomb wings of SAC equipped or equipping with B-47s 217,279 personnel are assigned to SAC at end of the year 1957 SAC alert program initiated with 1/3rd of bomber forces set on high readyness 24 hours a day SAC relocates to new headquarters building (constructed with underground command post) at Offutt AFB First KC-135 delivered to command 1958 SAC reorganizes command in order to support 1/3rd bomber alert program, redesignating many squadrons and wings First Atlas and Titan missile wings activated "Peace is our profession" is formally adapted by command 1959 Numbered air forces are re-aligned meaning several bases and wings shift to either 8th, 2nd or 15th Air Force Strategic Air Command Last B-36 bomber is retired from active service First Atlas missile placed on alert at Vandenburg AFB, California 1960 Total SAC assets listed at $14,152,248,000 First B-58 delivered to SAC B-47 dispersal program tested 1961 50% ground alert program initiated meaning half of SAC bombers are ready for instant action First year of "Looking Glass", an airborne command post mission that would have an EC-135 aircraft in the air constantly until 1991 to guard against surprise attack Ballistic Missile Early Warning System becomes operational 1962 Last B-52 bomber delivered to SAC First Minuteman missiles become operational There are 880 B-47s, 639 B-52s and 76 B-58s in SAC service 1963 As SAC becomes more and more a mixture of bombers and missiles, wings reorganize to reflect changes Titan II missile force completely operational Blue Scout Jr. rocket program, the Emergency Rocket Communications System, declared operational at various sites in Nebraska 1964 ICBM alert force for the first time equals bomber alert force, for remainder of Cold War missiles outnumber bombers Secretary of Defense McNamara announces phase out of all B-47s and first generation missiles (Atlas, Titan-I) by 1966 Atlas-D missiles phased out 1965 Remaining Atlas and Titan-I missiles phase out of service First Arc Light B-52 bombing mission conducted over Vietnam 114 B-47s remain in service, there are 821 Minuteman missiles in service 1966 Last B-47 bombers phased out of service First SR-71 Blackbird delivered to command SAC assets consist of $18,477,079,000 Palomares incident occurs when a B-52 crashes inadvertently releasing four thermonuclear bombs, successful search occurs |
Lincoln AFB History 1952October 21st 1952 4120th Air Base Group activated to re-activate Lincoln AFB 1953 Construction begins on new hangars, other buildings at base. 1954 Feburary 1st 1954 Lincoln AFB formally activated, 98th Air Base Group in charge December 7th 1954 First B-47 arrives at Lincoln 1955 June 98th Bomb Wing declared combat ready 6950 Air Force personnel now residing in city of Lincoln 1956 April 307th Bomb Wing declared combat ready, one of last SAC wings to be provided B-47s 1957 Ground alert duty begins at Lincoln 1958 Two squadrons added to bomb wings, the 415th and 425th, to include alert duty 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 February Jet Scoop base paper publishes final edition June 25th 1966 Lincoln AFB officially closes |
