Film about Strategic Air Command

[Music] [Applause] la l [Music] the city is awake and headed for work most of the occupants of these cars know that when 5:00 rolls around they can head for home most of them but a few like the man in this car will have to work a little longer maybe by noon tomorrow his job will be done maybe but no one especially him will lay bets on that and he wouldn't have it any any other [Music] way this is Major Paul Dobbins US Air Force his title is easy to remember commander of a b-52g missile bomber codenamed buz saww 48 his job is to keep the peace that's all just keep the peace he and the other 260,000 men of the Strategic Air Command along with other members of the US Armed Forces but they don't think of it as just a job to them peace is their profession their b52s represent a shield behind which a nation may work pray and sleep undisturbed to ensure peace sack keeps in fighting trim making sure it remains too tough to tackle airplanes get their pre-flight checks now the crew of buz saww 48 joins other Crews for this Mission at a pre- takeoff briefing last minute changes in weather air rots and even World politics could affect their flight plans each crewman has known all other details concerning the mission since crew briefings yesterday these men are preparing for a mission unique in military history the bombers they man will be an Airborne force that will Patrol the skies for 24 hours in their bomb bay and under their wings will be more potential destructive power than that expended in all wars fought since time began a force poised and alert ready to LEAP into action at the first warning that an enemy's missiles or bombers are on the way from here on everything goes by the book The Airborne alert Crews know to the minute when Wheels must clear the runway and almost to the second when each change in route and speed will occur there's no room for guesswork one slip could spell disaster the men guarding the waiting bombers can't afford slips either each alert crew is checked and double checked before getting near the airplanes the last hurdle could be a rough one unless the right password or signal is given these are the men and weapons that will help Shield the Free World for many more years along with sack's Mighty missile Force but man is the vital element man has judgment something a missile Lacks once fired missiles cannot be shifted to other targets or called back but no deadlier combination can now be found than the manned bomber married with the [Music] missile T this is Busa 48 for taxi Roger 48 you are cleared for Runway 35 the men of buz saww 48 and the Airborne alert Mission they fly could be compared to the club carried by the prehistoric caveman that club represented what is known today as the deterrent concept preventing an enemy from attacking because he knows that an attack would mean instant and devastating retaliation [Music] car this is buz saww 48 we're ready for takeoff Roger 48 you are cleared for takeoff [Music] [Applause] but this retaliatory force is not a wooden Club it is an instrument of senu and steel the senu of dedicated men and the steel of weapons the like of which the world has never before known [Music] [Applause] [Music] each man on buz saww is vital and they work together like a team of proven Champions all stations this is AC Comm at your weapons checks let's meet these men individually major Dobbins boss of buz saww his wife is baking a cake for him tomorrow he'll be 38 Captain Peter Scott co-pilot he's been flying bombers since the Korean conflict Captain Jack Evans Navigator he plotted his first mission more than 10 years ago Lieutenant Ralph coocher defensive systems operator youngest of the crew but a veteran of many missions senior master sergeant Jeff Peppers he is plenty tough and so are the deadly tail guns he operates major Al Johnson Bombadier he can drop a bomb with deadly accuracy from 10 mil in the sky croses this is buar 48 this is Crow Nest proceed 48 we're commencing operation Skywatch Roger 48 Crow nest out now the mission begins operation Skywatch a 24-hour hack any minute of which the order to attack might be [Music] given early in the jet age our defense planners recognized a chilling fact enemy jet bombers coming in over the Arctic wastelands would be able to attack the great industrial centers of the Midwest and East without detection until it was too late a super warning system was quickly established over the roof of the North American continent topping it off was the DU line an invisible net of electronic Sentinels which no plane could Pierce [Music] undetected completing this system were radar installations along each Coast including prowling airplanes and and offshore Texas towers until recently this gave America that one precious commodity time time in which to launch our retaliatory Force but this warning cushion evaporated in the Searing blast of the first test icbms work was started immediately on a ballistic missile early warning system even when finished however it will give only 15 minutes warning that enemy missiles are on the way in the meantime sack must operate on the theory that no warning would be received and that if the missiles reached their targets before our retaliatory Force could be launched that force would die on the ground so sack took additional steps to ensure that it could survive such an attack and still destroy the enemy first base dispersal fewer planes on more bases ensuring that a small number of direct missile hits could not destroy all our bombers on the ground second a ground alert that could put onethird of that Fleet in the air within 15 minutes and third A New Concept the Airborne alert was tested proven and placed on standby until needed this plan provided for a bomber force in the air constantly during periods of international tension these bombers ready to go on an instance notice would be under Direct Control of sack headquarters in Omaha Nebraska here positions of the Airborne alert planes would be recorded throughout their 24-hour missions from here any Counterattack would be ordered following approval by The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the president of the United States however if an enemy attack appeared probable the commander of sack could order the Airborne alert planes to stand by for a go code the order to attack he would then launch the ground alert aircraft sending them toward targets under positive control that is each would fly to predetermined positions if additional orders were not then received every bomber would automatically turn back but if reports showed the Free World to be under actual attack the go code would be issued by Presidential authorization and the Airborne alert bombers and those under positive control would attack simultaneously saxs icbms would be launched Roger buzo 48 your last position check is recorded Blackjack Ace this is buzo 48 preparing for refueling rendo tanker and radar contact 48 out Roger 48 Blackjack Ace out [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] with 14 hours of its Mission completed buz saww 48 is winding up refueling and preparing for 10 more hours in the air there is no practice on these missions the Airborne alert planes have but one purpose retaliation if War begins but let's go back to the time before these men were assigned to Airborne alert a training period in which they underwent long grueling hours of practice to qualify as combat crews in those days one goal stood out above all hit the targets every time AC this is Navigator go ahead Jack the heading to the IP is 110° the IP Air Force jargon for initial point the point where the bomb run begins major Dobbins bomber will hit its IP shortly after Dawn but before that it will theoretically wipe out two widely separate ated targets with its missiles before making a simulated bomb run on a third target Delta practice targets chosen for the training missions are based on the similarity of radar pattern Reflections given off by actual targets that would be hit in case of aggression [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is Navigator AC go ahead Navigator decoy firing time in 10 minutes initial launch of assault missiles in 18 minutes okay Jack coordinate all firings on schedule the call missiles if the missile bombers ever Thunder into enemy territory all weapons will be trained on them in defense a number of small decoys will be released by the bomber each will give off the same radar impulses as the B-52 result instead of one B52 streaking to Target ground radar screens will show several the enemy must then decide which is the real bomber by the time he decided the targets would be in Ruins [Music] AC this is bombarder we have Target on school the practice missile firings against targets coko and Bravo are only minutes away while the hound dog missiles will be fired only in America's defense they are nonetheless ready now on this simulated attack switches are thrown but the missiles are not launched instead electronic impulses recorded on the ground tell the crew where each missile would have struck but here is what the two nuclear armed missiles and later the new Air launched ballistic missiles could do if the firing switches are ever thrown in retaliation two strategic targets many hundreds of miles apart would be leveled while buz saw sped on to drop its bomb load on a third target [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] now the bomber is ready for Target Delta this is Bomer estimate arrival at the IP at 27 are we ready for the bomb run everything's set out you're cleared for the Run Delta bomb plot we are departing the IP electronic plotters are ready to measure the accuracy of the simulated bomb drop 50 mi from drop point the missile bomber reports and again from 25 miles Del bomb plot we're at 25 out acknowledge transmission good luck on your Rod AC this is bombarder give me second station she's on all yours Al with second station the Bombadier is in charge and will control the giant bomber until the practice bomb run is completed Bombadier this is AC we're 1 minute out and closing we're 30 seconds out Al stand by on the tone 20 seconds out tone on now the long wait begins 20 seconds to zero if for real it could be 20 seconds from [Music] eternity bombs away that the training paid off is shown in the professionalism of buz saww 48's crew now nearing completion of its alert Mission Pete I'm about ready to call it a day let's see if crows Ness will let us come home I won't argue with that commence final lag of mission 48 Crow nest out thank you Crow Nest 48 out take over for a while Pete I'm going to try for a little shed [Music] ey attention skywat attention skywat this is Blackjack Ace this is Blackjack Ace all standby for go code until 1038 Zulu all aircraft standby for go code until 1038 Zulu all stations this is AC we're on a go code standby on 1038 Zulu only one thing matters now the radio any call during the next 46 minutes could send all of the Airborne alert bombers speeding to top priority targets at sack headquarters a different call is received from the commander of sack launch the ground alert Force Under positive control when this red phone is picked up direct lines to sack bases on four continents are seized this is Blackjack King this is Blackjack King commence operation rockcrusher commence operation rockcrusher this Force has never been launched in anger or by accident only in practice but when the CL and sounds even in training it Screech means but one thing when it goes everything is for Real until the alert is cancelled [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] B 47s and B5 2s taking off from bases throughout the Free World Morocco Spain England Guang from throughout the United States wherever free men stand ready they are now galvanized into immediate but carefully pre-planned action [Applause] [Music] each crew and bomber has specific targets to strike those targets must be taken out the force will not go in as a massive Fleet each bomber will go in alone jabbing into the enemy's vitals from every direction and altitude some will drop their deadly loads from 10 mies in the sky others will bore in at rooftop level screaming along scant feet from the ground to slip under the enemy defensive radar Nets and to elude missile and fighter plane interception the die is cast the planes on Airborne alert are standing by ready to go the ground alert force is headed toward [Applause] [Applause] targets a third part of sack's knockout punch the ballistic missile Force must wait out the attack the reason is simple once launched the ICBM cannot be recalled each missile is Reed but will not be fired until attack is a certainty the mix of bombers and icbms however must be preserved giving sack weapons with retaliatory power plus the versatility and will to win provided by man thus bombers and icbms represent sack's recipe for peace new Target headings from the navig Ator are relayed to Major Dobbins throughout the alert now the order is given to start up the missile engines start switches are thrown and the hound dogs bark to life they will remain on until the alert is cancel or until they slam into their targets time is the only Factor now for buz saww 48 and others like her time that is speeding by in the sky and in sack's underground command post now a hub of activity continuous check is kept on the Airborne bombers while defensive Force Headquarters check and evaluate reports to determine if the Free World is actually under attack television cameras monitor the path and position of each of the Airborne alert aircraft this information is fed to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the president who must decide if the bombers and missiles will be ordered to attack that decision will then be relayed to the commander-in-chief of sack who will order the force to targets by a coded voice message over sack special radio network if the aircraft radios remain silent the planes will turn back automatically buz saww 48 and other Airborne alert bombers are in Prime position for the dash to targets if the go code is given here comes a position change on buz saww 48 another 5 minutes will decide the issue home or and this then a missile bomber called 48 is prepared for the worst it and the other Airborne bombers poised in the murky air of our time like guardian angels prepared to go the limit for [Applause] Freedom AC to co pilot Run final check on assault missile operation the final check the missiles are ready they have no qualms about what might have to be done but the men the men are ready also if they must make the dreaded run however they will have anxieties it will not be from Fear fear is a reflex they mastered long ago it will be from the knowledge of the Havoc they will inflict upon the enemy in the dawn of the atomic age a strangely shaped object was dropped on a city in Japan that weapon had the same explosive power as 20,000 tons of TNT these men may have to drop a bomb many times more powerful than the one which destroyed Hiroshima and the enemy's will to continue World War II [Music] this is why major Dobbins and other men like him dedicate their lives to peace without peace no life will exist silence is the sweetest of sounds now silence unmarred by the crackling radio and the coded voice message ordering the bombers to attack less than a minute remains [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the zero hour has passed it wasn't the real thing this time it was another test to keep crw razor sharp and ready buz saww 48 can go home but other B-52s like her are even now thundering into the air from farflung bases taking to the air to man the ramparts of Freedom forming a fist in the clouds a fist that is clad in steel gripping lightning and an olive branch Pete let's head for home so long as the freedom of man and his right to live in peace is threatened sack must maintain its posture of power a mighty Force casting a shadow of Peace buying time to perfect a world in which man may work and pray and sleep without fear [Applause] [Applause] day [Applause]

Channel: AP Archive

Views: 1,012

Keywords: AP Archive, G04704, Sky Watch, f291645b1f6f8b03c54285ad425a7a50

Id: n2m9Wcm5ww8

Length: 28min 20sec (1700 seconds)

Published: Sat May 04 2024