Quote:
Originally Posted by flybigjet
Tangentially to the F-101, here's a bit of trivia that a lot of people don't know about.
Google SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment)-- and it cost more than the Manhattan Project.
This was a system in the '50's - 80's that provided semi-real-time radar coverage over the entire US and parts of Canada that essentially watched for the Soviet's coming over the horizon using nuclear-armed bombers. It was extremely high-tech for the day and provided the ability to give Ground to Air guidance to interceptors (including the F-101).
The buildings were MASSIVE-- they called them blockhouses and they were hardened against NuDet. I don't know if they would have survived a nuclear strike in the '60's, but I wouldn't bet against them.
The one at McChord AFB (near Tacoma) is still there. The concrete was so thick that they couldn't afford to destroy it..... so they turned part of it into the base library. The concrete where they (eventually) cut windows in is *really* thick (measured in feet, not inches). Since my father was the Base Commander there at one time, I got to wander around inside a bit when they were doing the conversion-- that building is HUGE, and is a part of history that's mostly forgotten.
R.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-A...nd_Environment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAGE_radar_stations
https://military-history.fandom.com/...nd_Environment |
I was assigned to Hanscom for about a year and that's where SAGE started.
https://www.ll.mit.edu/about/history...defense-system