Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom
An informal agreement to base SAC bombers in the UK was reached between US General Carl Spaatz, and Marshal of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Lord Tedder, in July 1946.The original bases in East Anglia were considered inadequate for the deployment of the forces called for in the Offtackle war plan, and there were concerns that they were exposed to a surprise attack from the North Sea.These temporary duty postings (TDY) typically involved an entire wing of 45 B-47s, along with 20 Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter aerial refuelling tankers, which were held at readiness at an English base for ninety days.These aircraft were kept on full alert status for two weeks, which meant bombers and tankers were on the runway, fuelled and armed with a Mark 39 nuclear bomb, and ready to take off at 15 minutes notice.[3] As early as May 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had calculated that the war would leave the Soviet Union as a leading global power, and an assessment of its post-war capabilities was made in October 1945.[9] In August 1946, Colonel Elmer E. Kirkpatrick, who had developed the base facilities on Tinian used for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, arrived in the UK to discuss the requirements.[11] After the war three B-29s were stationed at RAF Mildenhall from March to October 1946 as part of Project Ruby, an evaluation of whether the B-29 could be modified to use the British Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs.[22] The presence of B-29s in the prompted members of the House of Commons, notably John Platts-Mills, to ask the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Arthur Henderson to press for details regarding the nature and duration of their deployment.It soon became clear that the UK government felt that Britain's adverse financial situation did not permit more than the allocation of the land and a token contribution to the construction costs.In September 1953, the Secretary of State for Air, Lord De L'Isle, and the US Ambassador, Winthrop W. Aldrich, agreed that the US would pay all the costs of construction beyond the four original bases.[32] To make the bases capable of handling the larger Convair B-36 Peacemaker and Boeing B-47 Stratojet, then under development, the runways at Upper Heyford and Greenham Common were extended to 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) by building on the overshoot areas, thereby minimising the loss of agricultural land but eroding the safety margin.Personnel found the accommodation provided austere, with no hot water, only pot bellied stoves for heat, dim light bulbs, and few or no recreational facilities.[33] In June 1948 it had become the first group to equip with the Boeing B-50 Superfortress, a post-World War II revision of the B-29 with new, more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major engines, taller vertical stabiliser, hydraulic rudder boost, nose wheel steering, and other improvements.The commander of SAC, Lieutenant General Curtis Le May ordered that personnel be equipped with sidearms in case of sabotage or armed intervention by local Communists.Air Chief Marshal Sir George Pirie approached Johnson asking if the USAF could take over manning of the bases, thereby saving the RAF 1,000 personnel.[47] Johnson's deft touch in dealing with the British was perhaps exemplified by his order that the Royal Air Force Ensign be flown over the US bases in the UK alongside the flag of the United States.This was overcome by the capture of the Mariana Islands, and the project lost priority again, but it was revived after the war to fill the need for an intercontinental bomber for the atomic mission.On 7 February 1953, dense fog and inadequate GCA at RAF Fairford caused the crew of a B-36H from the 7th Bombardment Wing that was low on fuel and had failed at two landing attempts to bail out.[58] Rushing the B-47 into service entailed a series of costly and extensive modifications,[56] and the aircraft had a frightful safety record; over its lifetime there were 203 crashes, representing a loss rate of around 10 per cent,[59] resulting in 242 fatalities.These temporary duty postings (TDY) generally involved an entire wing of 45 B-47s, together with approximately 20 Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter tankers, being held at readiness at an English base for ninety days.[64][65] The first B-47s to visit the UK arrived on 7 April 1953, when the two aircraft of the 306th Bombardment Wing landed at RAF Fairford after flying non-stop from Limestone Air Force Base in Maine.[84] In July 1959, President Charles de Gaulle ordered all nuclear-capable US aircraft to leave France, and USAFE units based there had to relocate to West Germany or the UK.[85] Looking forward to 1965–1970, SAC planners believed that keeping the B-47 viable would require considerable amount of upgrades, including the installation of electronic countermeasures, air-to-surface missiles, and improved radar and terrain avoidance systems to permit operations at low level.In June 1956, RB-47Hs of the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing specially configured for ELINT arrived at RAF Mildenhall for the first of a series of deployments that continued for the next eleven years.[92] Planners from the United States, Britain and Canada met in Washington, DC, from 12 to 21 April 1948, and they drew up an outline emergency war plan called Halfmoon.The British were concerned to retain their independence in the event that the UK became involved in a nuclear war without the United States, and the Americans adopted a conciliatory tone.Two more tankers deployed to Cairo West Air Base on 22 April, and one from the 379th Bombardment Wing refuelled a second formation of C-130 transports bound for Egypt.[123] When hostilities erupted between the United States and Libya in March 1986, President Ronald Reagan authorised air strikes on Libyan military installations by the aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea and USAFE F-111s based in the UK.[124] The KC-10s were chosen as the primary refuelling agents for the mission as they had a larger fuel capacity than the KC-135s, but the short 2,700-metre (9,000 ft) runway at RAF Mildenhall did not permit them to take off fully loaded, so they were topped off by KC-135s en route.[127] SAC U-2s flew High Altitude Sampling Program (HASP) missions from RAF Upper Heyford from August to October 1962 in response to Soviet nuclear tests.
Cold WarRoyal Air ForceUnited States Air ForceStrategic Air Command7th Air DivisionGeneralCarl SpaatzMarshal of the Royal Air ForceLord TedderBoeing B-29 SuperfortressesRAF LakenheathRAF MarhamRAF SculthorpeWorld War IIBerlin BlockadegroupsSilverplateBoeing B-50 SuperfortressEast AngliaOfftackle war planNorth SeaRAF Brize NortonRAF Upper HeyfordRAF FairfordRAF Greenham CommonRoyal Air Force Ensignflag of the United StatesRAF Burtonwood3rd Air DivisionThird Air ForceBoeing B-47 StratojetBoeing KC-97 Stratofreighteraerial refuellingMark 39 nuclear bombBerlin Crisis of 1961Cuban Missile Crisisdual keyintercontinental ballistic missilesBoeing B-52 StratofortressLockheed U-2Lockheed SR-71 BlackbirdBoeing KC-135 StratotankerMcDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extenderhostage rescue attempt1986 United States bombing of LibyaOperation Desert StormUnited States Army Air ForcesAmerican isolationismSoviet UnionJoint Chiefs of Staffwar plansChief of the Air StaffPyreneesB-29 Superfortressatomic bombsPresidentHarry S. TrumanPrime Minister of the United KingdomClement AttleeForeign OfficeState DepartmentAir Chief MarshalArthur TedderMajor GeneralColonelElmer E. KirkpatrickTinianatomic bombing of Hiroshima and NagasakiFat ManArmed Forces Special Weapons ProjectSandia BaseConsolidated B-32 DominatorRAF MildenhallTallboyGrand SlamAir Vice-MarshalJohn Whitworth-JonesAir MinistryErnest HollowayhardstandsKirtland Army Air FieldYugoslavia43rd Bombardment GroupRhein-Main Air Base509th Bombardment GroupRoswell Army AirfieldNew MexicoNational Security Act of 1947340th Bombardment Squadron97th Bombardment GroupSmoky Hill Air Force BaseGiebelstadt Army AirfieldClayton Bissellattaché353d Bombardment Squadron301st Bombardment GroupFürstenfeldbruck Air BaseForeign SecretaryErnest Bevin28th Bombardment GroupRapid City Air Force BaseSouth DakotaRAF ScamptonLincolnshire307th Bombardment GroupMacDill Air Force BaseFloridaRAF WaddingtonJohn B. Henry Jr.Charles GuestNo. 1 Group RAFBell-Atlanta B-29 Superfortress718th Bombardment SquadronHouse of CommonsJohn Platts-MillsSecretary of State for AirSir Arthur Henderson2nd Bombardment GroupPaul W. TibbetsLeon W. JohnsonBushy ParkRAF South RuislipShell-Mex & BPBremenBritish Joint Staff MissionWashington, D.C.