Boeing B-47E Stratojet Ciudad de Madrid FLAG BACKGROUND
by Arthur Eggers
Title
Boeing B-47E Stratojet Ciudad de Madrid FLAG BACKGROUND
Artist
Arthur Eggers
Medium
Digital Art - Color Print
Description
On October 1st, 1957, the Strategic Air Command commenced an overseas alert operation, called Reflex Action, with twenty B-47 nuclear-capable bombers deployed to Sidi Slimane Air Base in Morocco. This number would greatly expand over the course of the operation and include many more bases, including Torrejon, Moron and Zaragoza in Spain. Reflex operations would rotate bomber and refueling aircraft and crews to overseas bases where they would be disbursed away from CONUS and be within striking distance of their targets. The Reflex mission ended on March 31st, 1965. "Reflex" missions proved the long-endurance (eighteen hours) and long-range capability of the B-47 and aircrews. These were "simulated strike missions against the then Soviet enemy". The B-47 was the first line of America's strategic nuclear deterrent, often operating from forward bases in the UK, Morocco, Spain, B-47s were often set up on "one-third" alert, with a third of operational aircraft available sitting on hardstands or an alert ramp adjacent to the runway, loaded with fuel and nuclear weapons, crews on standby, ready to attack the USSR at short notice. Crews were trained to perform "Minimum Interval Take Offs (MITO)", one bomber following another into the air at intervals of as little as 15 seconds to launch as fast as possible.
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March 22nd, 2021
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