On a hilltop, just off of
I-80 between Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska sits a building
dedicated to preserving a unique part of our aviation history.
The Strategic Air and Space Museum houses dozens of cold
war aircraft, mostly those operated by the Strategic Air
Command between the end of WWII and 1992, when SAC was
succeeded by the U.S. Strategic Command, following the
fall of the Soviet Union.
SAC is best remembered by many for its operation of the U.S. military fleet of
long range bombers. Who can forget Jimmy Stewart as a B-36 commander in the 1955
movie, Strategic Air Command? That film, viewed by some as cold war propaganda,
had some of the best air to air photography to come out of Hollywood. Stewart
held a reserve commission in the Air Force when he made the film.
The first museum aircraft was delivered to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska
in 1959. The name was changed from the Strategic Air Command Museum to the Strategic
Air and Space Museum in 2001 to better recognize the full range of SAC activities,
which included control of nuclear carrying ICBMs and other missiles.
Today the museum is housed in a 300,000 square foot facility which includes two
giant aircraft hangers, an entrance atrium large enough to house an SR-71 Blackbird,
a library, conference facilities, a gift shop, and a restaurant. The hangers
don't seem so large until you realize that one of the two hangers has on display,
not only the giant Convair B-36, but also a B-52 and at least a dozen other aircraft
on the floor, along with simulators, support equipment and related displays.
More classic warbirds hang from the rafters.
Dozens of books have been written about SAC's missions, aircraft and operations
but to really appreciate these giants of aviation history, go to the museum and
spend some time walking the now peaceful setting where these aircraft are preserved.
Take some time to think about the men and women who kept these aircraft in the
air 24 hours a day, everyday during the cold war.
If you can't visit the facility in person, take some time with these photos and
our humble attempt to do justice to these great war machines and the fliers who
piloted them around the world for more than four decades.
For additional information check the museum website: www.strategicairandspace.comThe museum is open daily from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m except for major holidays.
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