Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
The demand for information only grew as the Cold War went along. New capabilities in strategic reconnaissance were developed and the U-2 was modified with improved sensors and cameras. The most visible change to the U-2 was the introduction of the U-2R in 1967. Its 103-foot wingspan was 23 feet wider than earlier U-2s, and it had a more powerful engine. This significantly expanded the......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
While the United States was busy gathering intelligence on the Soviets and other communist nations through reconnaissance, spying and other measures, the country also had to guard against counterintelligence. Counterintelligence is the detection of espionage, sabotage, treason, sedition, subversion, disloyalty and disaffection. The Air Force’s Office of Special Investigation, or OSI, was......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
The United States needed to know what was going on behind the “Iron Curtain.” This was the term coined by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe the divide between Western Europe and Soviet territories and allies. Strategic reconnaissance was a way to find out about the communists’ air defense systems, nuclear-armed bomber force and the Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile program.......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
While the Strategic Air Command was taking its position as a force to be reckoned with during the early years of the Cold War, the Tactical Air Command formed new units and acquired new aircraft. In 1955 TAC developed a capability for rapidly moving its self-contained and self-sufficient units from the United States to any area of the world where a there was a potential conflict. The command......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
Since parasite aircraft, such as the RF-84K and XF-85 Goblin, did not prove as effective as originally hoped, aerial refueling became the means for SAC bombers to reach targets in Europe and Asia even if overseas bases were destroyed by an enemy attack. Tanker aircraft allowed other aircraft to be refueled during flight, extending their range to enable global missions to take place. This was a......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
After World War II, the U.S. Air Force’s Air Rescue Service needed different specialized aircraft types for all environmental conditions and locations. Look above to see such aircraft as the OA-12 or LC-126. Air Force amphibian OA-12s served in Alaska with the 10th Air Rescue Squadron. The LC-126 could be equipped with interchangeable floats and skis to permit operation from land, snow or......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
Because the USSR was such a secretive and closed society, the United States feared a rising threat from a nation they knew was developing long-range nuclear missiles and bombers. Did they have the bomb? The United States needed to know in order to be prepared. Under the guise of weather reconnaissance missions, some WB-50s were fitted with high-altitude atmospheric samplers. These samplers......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
Early in the Cold War, the United States needed aircraft that could fly over the Soviet Union and other potential adversary nations to take photos of military activities. This mission is known as reconnaissance. One reconnaissance concept was a modified F-84, called the RF-84K, to be carried toward a target as a “parasite” aircraft on a modified B-36. It would be let go to perform its......
