 This is another in our series of films tracing the heritage of 15th Air Force. It's been said that those who fail to learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. And thus it is important to study the past thereby to avoid similar failures. Perhaps so. But I prefer to believe that we who seek progress can learn even more from the success of those who have gone before. I should like therefore to give you a closer look at one of the military arts greatest success stories and an essential element of our combat force today. The bomber and tanker team. It was around the man fighting element that 15th Air Force was originally built and it continues to be a vital partner in the accomplishment of today's mission. To better understand the way we employ today's long-range striking force and appreciate its dramatic evolution. It is important to cite in on the early days when flight itself was young. Before one airplanes were initially used for artillery spotting and observation but it wasn't long before the pilots were carrying handguns shooting at enemy planes and dropping grenades on the ground troops. The advent of airplane mounted machine guns and improved bombs quickly changed the airplane's role in combat for all time. In 1917 the United States had entered the conflict without serviceable combat planes but enthusiastic Americans volunteered for the air service nonetheless and soon the first units arrived in France. With French and British aircraft furnished to the American Air Service a bomber force was quickly organized. June 1918 marked the first American air raid as five planes dropped 80 bombs on a rail junction near Metz France. By September American air crews were flying a thousand bombing raids a week on a variety of targets. Bombing ranges increased and by war's end raids were conducted up to 160 miles behind enemy lines. The first bombs weighing 15 to 18 pounds were aimed by eyeballing the target. In November 1918 600 pound bombs and reasonably accurate bomb sites were in use. While the bomber was still limited in range and bomb load early aviation visionaries such as General Billy Mitchell for solid possibilities. In the years immediately following World War I Mitchell and other air power supporters attempted to awaken America's leaders to the potential of the bomber as a vital weapon of the future. In a milestone test of the new concept of heavy bombing Mitchell demonstrated the ability of contemporary bombers. Mitchell's Martin bombers sank several ships including the retired battleship Virginia and the Ostphryland. Despite the success critics of air power remained unconvinced even the secretary of the Navy had commented it is unlikely that an airplane or a fleet of them could ever successfully sink a fleet of Navy vessels under battle conditions. General Pershing head of the joint Army Navy board evaluating the test declared the battleship is still the backbone of the fleet. The bomber concept would move forward quietly in the years following General Mitchell's dramatic test. Funds were scarce. New airplane construction limited. Undaunted the Air Corps continued to advocate the bomber as a major weapon. By the mid 1930s the low-wing all-metal multi-engine bomber had become a reality. The new Martin B-10s blazed the way in the development of long range all-weather missions and instrument flying techniques. Lieutenant Colonel Happ Arnold led a flight of B-10s on a mission to Alaska and cold weather tests were conducted in a series of winter operations in New England. In 1935 General headquarters Air Force was established but while the bomber concept grew opponents as late as 1939 still sought to limit bombers to a 300 mile range. That same year Major General Frank Andrews commander of General headquarters Air Force was reduced to Colonel sent to Texas for his strong advocacy of air power. General headquarters was dissolved a devastating setback to strategic air power. Frontline bombers consisted of 19 B-7 teams first produced three years earlier. In September 1939 Hitler's march into Poland awoke the nation and within months President Roosevelt called for a force of 50,000 combat planes. The air war in Europe brought the bomber to the forefront. The American Air Corps developed high altitude daytime precision bombing techniques. With B-17 flying fortresses and B-24 liberators leading the way the world's first broad-scale long-range air war was underway. With its aircraft designed and its concepts of operation based on those earlier lessons 15th Air Force was activated in North Africa in November 1943. Its first commander was Major General James H. Doolittle hero of the dramatic B-25 raid on Tokyo. Created as a strategic air arm to bomb targets in southern Europe 15th equipped with medium and heavy bombers began combat operations throughout the Mediterranean. Flying first from North Africa and later from Italy 15 hammered enemy targets in France, Germany, Italy and the Balkans. A shuttle bombing system was developed to land B-17s in Russia following strikes into Eastern Europe. Thousand ton raids were launched against enemy rail yards and industrial areas and other strategic targets throughout Nazi occupied Europe. During its 18 months of operation 15th dropped over 300,000 tons of bombs while logging nearly 150,000 sorties. The transportation system of Hitler's war machine was crippled throughout much of occupied Europe. By then existing standards, accuracy was considered exceptional 8 out of every 10 bombs striking within 2,000 feet of target centers. By war's end, the contribution of 15th Air Force to the Allied victory substantially advanced the concept of strategic bombardment. Following World War II, 15th Air Force became the cornerstone of the newly established Strategic Air Command. The B-29 Superfortress, wartime mainstay of Air Force operations in the Pacific, took over as our dominant weapon. Then projecting the global scope of American air power became a primary objective. Long range missions and goodwill flights overseas demonstrated our global capability. By 1948, overseas rotation became a fact of life with some air crews and support personnel on rotation at all times. In 1951, the last piston engine bomber, the giant B-36, joined 15th Air Force. Among its 10 engines were four jet power plants, a sign of transition. Meanwhile, another aspect of American air power was to become an indispensable element in the conduct of strategic bombing. Airmen had been experimenting with air refueling since the early days of aviation. As early as 1923, two Air Service DH-4s completed a 37-hour endurance flight. Using a 50-foot hose, they refueled every 6 hours. In 1929, five Air Corps crewmen in the Fokker Trimotor question mark logged an 11,000-mile nonstop flight. They remained aloft 151 hours, sustained by 43 air refuelings from the tanker aircraft, Asterisk. But aerial refueling remained dormant during World War II, not to emerge as an operational reality until 1948. 15th Air Force received its first tanker authorizations in 1949. B-29 bombers converted to KB-29 tankers. On March 2, 1949, the lucky lady II of B-50A from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, completed the first nonstop around-the-world flight, covering 23,452 miles in 94 hours one minute. The flight featured four air refuelings by KB-29M tankers using the British-developed Gravity Hose System. Later models adopted the now-familiar boom as the standard technique, and tankers were assured a permanent role co-equal with their bomber partners. While tankers made possible global operations by 15th Air Force, strategic bombing was again called forth with the advent of war in Korea in June 1950. 15th Air Force B-29s flew to the Far East within the first month of the North Korean invasion. The bomber soon destroyed the few suitable targets in North Korea. For the remainder of the war, bombardment's role was one of the interdiction and destruction of related tactical targets. As the action in Korea wound down, SAC started its conversion to an all-jet bomber force. KC-97 tankers, fast enough to refuel the new six-jet B-47 bombers, replaced the older KB-29s and KB-50s. In 1955, the first 15th Air Force B-52s arrived at Castle Air Force Base, joining their B-47 cousins. The KC-135 tanker followed soon after, introducing the ability to refuel jet bombers at normal operating speed and altitude. In 1957, three B-52s led by 15th Air Force Commander Major General Archie J. Old Jr. flew non-stop around the world in 45 hours and 19 minutes. They were air refueled five times during the mission. The global commitment now intensified with deployment of combined bomber tanker units at bases in Europe, North Africa and the Far East. Around the world, around the clock alert became a way of life. The task of standing alert on a global basis required ground alert for up to 50% of the crews at all times. The sudden demands of exacting operational readiness inspections further enhanced combat preparedness. However, years of rigorous practice were to be foreclosed by real-world demands. In October 1962 came confrontation over Russian nuclear missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy's declaration of national emergency placed sack on expanded alert and the Soviets backed down, withdrawing their missiles. The mid-60s saw the bomber tanker team convert to all B-52s in KC-135s with new assignments for both aircraft. The Hound Dog wing-mounted air-to-ground missile gave the Stratofortress a standoff range of 500 miles. Survivability was enhanced by arming the B-52 with the Quail, a defensive missile designed to confuse enemy radar. Meanwhile, adoption in 1961 of the single-manager concept for aerial refueling gave the KC-135 the larger task of servicing aircraft of other Air Force commands worldwide. The mounting war in Southeast Asia involved 15th Air Force for nearly a decade. In February 1965, the 320th bomb wing deployed bombers to Guam, tankers to Okinawa. In June, airstrikes began. Operation Young Tiger established a tanker task force for Southeast Asia to service all types of aircraft. At its peak, the task force carried out more than 100,000 refuelings per year. 15th Air Force provided a third of Young Tiger's aircraft and crews. By war's climax, 15th had its entire complement of B-52Ds committed to Western Pacific and Thailand bases. Virtually every bomber crew member from 15th served one or more tours in the combat zone. Pinpoint strikes from 30,000 feet were made on targets only a half mile from the besieged American troops at Keisan. In the final stages of the war, long-range strikes were launched against Hanoi and Haifong, a key factor in driving the North Vietnamese to a final peace agreement. But the B-52s faced heavy concentrations of Soviet surface-to-air missiles, and 15th Air Force suffered the loss of five aircraft. By August 1973, the air war was over. Combat veteran crews rejoined their compatriots carrying out the critical alert mission of the strategic deterrent force. A number of Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units received KC-135s in the late 70s and joined the regular tanker force on strategic alert. By now, the air-refueling mission had expanded with support of long-range transport aircraft like the C-5 and the C-141. The established tactical support role of the tankers continued to expand. So, too, the role of the battle-tested B-52 viewed as a versatile weapons system for operations unspecified in its original strategic concept, such as photographic surveillance of ship movements which became a standard mission and aerial denial and precision strikes in support of tactical forces. The mid-70s saw a refurbishment program for 80 B-52Ds extending the life of this proven conventional warfare asset. Earlier, 281 B-52Gs and Hs had been modified to carry up to 20 SRAMs, short-range attack missiles designed to neutralize terminal defenses. SRAM-mounted stratofortresses were equipped with electro-optical viewing systems, using forward-looking infrared and low-light-level TV sensors to improve their low-level capability. 1974 saw the onset of Rivet Ace, a program to progressively update 270 G and H models in electronic countermeasures. By 1981, their ECM capability will include smart noise operation equipment and an offensive avionics system will be installed, which will significantly improve navigation and weapon delivery performance. By 1982, each aircraft will be able to communicate worldwide via satellite. And by 1984, the Gs and Hs will have an updated transmitter and power management system designed to reduce effectiveness of enemy radar. Preparation to adapt the B-52G to the role of a cruise missile carrier began in 1978. 15th Air Force G models armed with air-launched cruise missiles, Alcams, are scheduled to be mission-capable in 1983. A revitalized and renewed force of more than 300 B-52s is expected to continue in the inventory, perhaps for the remainder of the century, notwithstanding the likely production of a successor long-range combat aircraft for the years beyond 2000. Meanwhile, the KC-10 introduces a new generation of tankers capable of greater speed, range, and fuel load. These commitments to a manned aircraft's strategic strike force ensure continuance of the bomber tanker component as a vital arm of 15th Air Force and ensure that thanks to this high-strategy team, the air-breathing leg of the triad can stretch to any point on the globe to preserve the peace and defend our nation's vital interests.