Heads Up - "Strategic Air Command" on TV

[Warmtoast]

I see the 1955 film "Strategic Air Command" starring James Stewart and June Allyson, in being broadcast on TV this Friday 30th June (11.00 to 13.15) on Film 4. (Virgin Channel 428).
Visually stunning with air-to-air shots of B-36s, B-47s and B-52s - one of my favourite aviation films and very well worth watching if only for its the sheer visual impact; the colour, clouds, and air-to-air photography is stunning. I was blown away by the shots of the B-36's contrailing into the sunset with all ten engines running.

As a bonus it’s something to see a flight deck that has no computer, digital display, or high tech flight control system.

Air-to-air sequences later in the film after “Dutch” Holland (James Stewart) converts to B-47’s are equally spectacular.

The dreamy music / love theme used to accompany the aerial sequences is “The World is Mine” by long established Hollywood composer Victor Young (one of his last compositions – he died in 1956, a year after the film’s release).
WT


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Strategic%20Air%20Command%20Film/SAC.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Strategic%20Air%20Command%20Film/StrategicAirComand19.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Strategic%20Air%20Command%20Film/StrategicAirComand9.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Strategic%20Air%20Command%20Film/B-36FlightEngineer2.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Strategic%20Air%20Command%20Film/B-36EngineStart.jpg

[Asturias56]

I can remember it when I was a kid - the horror of replacing B-36's with the B-47 & that short lived monstrosity the B-52 has lived with me ever since

[Sepp]

*goes off to set it to record*

:ok:

[BEagle]

One of the first films I recorded to VHS from BSB's 'The Movie Channel' back in 1990, then transferred to DVD 14 years later!

I see that there's a widescreen NTSC Region 1 DVD version available on Amazon....but quite pricey!

[Herod]

I believe there is a Freudian slip in the film. Stewart is supposedly a B-17 pilot who has been recalled to duty. Having seen the B-36, he comments to his wife "I thought the B-24 was big, but this.." I suspect he was meant to say B-17, but in the generated excitement he slips into reality; he was a B-24 driver in WWII. I guess no-one picked it up. If I'm wrong, blame many years since I last saw it. Also off to set the recorder.

[ORAC]

I can remember it when I was a kid - the horror of replacing B-36's with the B-47 & that short lived monstrosity the B-52 has lived with me ever since
I presume you meant to say the B-58….

[Brewster Buffalo]

Fantastic film
The B-36 had a fairly short service life .e.g Jimmy Stewart's B-36 '5734' (51-5734) was accepted by USAF in November 1952 but sent for scrapping in 1958.
Convair flew a swept wing solely jet powered version - the B-60 - but its thick wing and low powered engines meant it was no competition to the B-52.
There was also a cargo/passenger developed the XC-99 designed to carry 100,000lb of cargo or 400 equipped troops. The USAF ordered just one,

The B-36 was deployed to the UK where one came to grief running out of fuel in transit to Fairford. The crew abandoned the aircraft which crashed in Wiltshire.
Thankfully all of the crew survived and there were no injuries on the ground.

An excellent book on the plane is Magnesium Overcast by Dennis R Jenkins - published over here by Midland Publishing..

[tdracer]

I presume you meant to say the B-58….
There are many things I'd say about or call the B-58, but monstrosity wouldn't be one of them ("deathtrap" would be appropriate - the accident rate was horrid). In fact I always thought the B-58 was a rather good looking aircraft.
If he indeed meant the B-52, I suspect he was being sarcastic.

Somewhat off topic, I saw a program on the B-1 a few days ago (interestingly they never mentioned it's "Bone" nickname). I always thought that - for a big bomber - the B-1 just looks right. Sort of a 'form follows function' beauty, while also looking suitably intimidating.

[SLXOwft]

Much prefer it to a A Gathering of Eagles which I was exposed to as a command behaviours training file. I think it was clear SAC benefited from having an AFRes Colonel and qualified B-47 pilot as the lead actor. Allegedly it led to a 25% uplift in Airforce recruitment.

Herod, at one point Jimmy Stewart was a B-17 instructor at Kirtland before coming to the UK to fly the B-24. I think 'Dutch Holland' was supposed to be an ex B-29 pilot.

[kms901]

My wonderful Mother was an aviation lover who hated flying. Every time she saw contrails she said three words- Strategic Air Command.

[DaveReidUK]

I see the 1955 film "Strategic Air Command" starring James Stewart and June Allyson, in being broadcast on TV this Friday 30th June (11.00 to 13.15) on Film 4. (Virgin Channel 428).

Channel 300 or 301 (+1) on Freesat.

[Warmtoast]

Dave
Thanks for the tip.
WT

[mikeoneflying]

For those old enough to remember —- Bombers B-52 (released in the UK as No Sleep till Dawn) .The film stars Natalie Wood (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Wood) and Karl Malden (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Malden), and co-stars Marsha Hunt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsha_Hunt_(actress,_born_1917)) and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efrem_Zimbalist_Jr.)See trailer on youtube…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l37rcmFdXdI

[DroneDog]

Those B52's, are there any air worthy examples still flying or maybe a good museum example anywhere?

[Expatrick]

Those B52's, are there any air worthy examples still flying or maybe a good museum example anywhere?

A few undergoing restoration, I believe

[BEagle]

It was hard to find a DVD copy of 'A Gathering of Eagles', but I eventually found a Region 4 NTSC version....

Strategic Air Command was the better movie!

[chevvron]

A few undergoing restoration, I believe
Plus about 75 still in active service and about to have new (Rolls Royce) engines to extend their lives.

[chevvron]

'that short lived monstrosity the B-52'
I wouldn't call a bomber which has been in service for over 50 years as being 'short lived'.

[chevvron]

The B-36 was deployed to the UK where one came to grief running out of fuel in transit to Fairford. The crew abandoned the aircraft which crashed in Wiltshire.
Thankfully all of the crew survived and there were no injuries on the ground.
.
As I recall it landed short of the runway at Boscombe Down.
I saw one near Bovingdon in about 1954 although I doubt if it landed there.

[Herod]

SLXOwft; thanks for that about Stewart and the B17. Learn something every day.

[JEM60]

A B.36 also made a very successful landing in a snowstorm short of Boscombe Down, with very little damage, merely ripping off the nose gear doors on a barbed wire fence. A road was built into Boscombe, where it subsequently departed. In 1997, I sat in the B.47 cockpit mock-up for the film at March Air |Force Base in California.

[ORAC]

https://youtu.be/3-6AWA4ggdM

[Finningley Boy]

I believe there is a Freudian slip in the film. Stewart is supposedly a B-17 pilot who has been recalled to duty. Having seen the B-36, he comments to his wife "I thought the B-24 was big, but this.." I suspect he was meant to say B-17, but in the generated excitement he slips into reality; he was a B-24 driver in WWII. I guess no-one picked it up. If I'm wrong, blame many years since I last saw it. Also off to set the recorder.
I understand B-24s were what Col Stewart actually flew when serving with 8th Air Force back in the dark days of WW2. Apologies if it already been noted but Harry Morgan, alias Col Sherman Potter of M*A*S*H fame. Harry Morgan also starred alongside James Stewart in the similar vintage Glenn Miller Story.

FB:ok:

[DuncanDoenitz]

I wouldn't call a bomber which has been in service for over 50 years as being 'short lived'.
I think there was a good serving of irony in the original post. Not only generically "in service", but the current active fleet includes actual airframes procured in 1960. This is similar to its KC-135 stablemate (the original Boeing 717 by the way), and its long standing equivalent, the Tu-95.

By way of comparison, the Royal Air Force's Lancaster PA474 was a sprighty 28 years old when it embarked on its second career as a heritage demonstrator with the BBMF.

[mikeoneflying]

To make the connection back to Strategic Air Command….a film narrated by James Stewart…..X-15 is a 1961 American aviation drama film that presents a fictionalized account of the X-15researchrocket aircraft program, the test pilots who flew the aircraft, and the associated NASA community that supported the program. X-15 starred David McLean, Charles Bronson, James Gregory and Mary Tyler Moore (in her first feature film role).

See the film for free on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhrv1EFbQIw

Not a SAC film but a film showing the ‘hot’ new USAF planes circa 1956……..Toward the Unknown, originally called Flight Test Center and titled Brink of Hell in its UK release, is a 1956 American war film about the dawn of supersonic flight filmed on location at Edwards Air Force Base. Starring William Holden, Lloyd Nolan and Virginia Leith, the film features the screen debut of James Garner.
If you google this film can be watched but it is from a Russian video website -- so I have not entered the details.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYDRzuPGNz8

[Asturias56]

I presume you meant to say the B-58….

Irony is clearly lost on some on here ;)

............................. IIRC they couldn't believe the "new" bombers would be anything like as good as the old ones , and, as a child, I felt for them............. :(

[JEM60]

Chevron. As well as the Boscombe down forced landing, there was a crash in Wiltshire. I also saw one whilst spectating at Farnborough, away to the west, climbing very slowly but with a very distinctive noise.

[Cornish Jack]

Chevron. As well as the Boscombe down forced landing, there was a crash in Wiltshire. I also saw one whilst spectating at Farnborough, away to the west, climbing very slowly but with a very distinctive noise.
Indeed so - my brother was called out as crash guard for the remnants . The 'arrival point' was very close to, if not on , the borders of three counties. The crew had all baled out, with no casualties, as I recall.

[treadigraph]

Chevron. As well as the Boscombe down forced landing, there was a crash in Wiltshire. I also saw one whilst spectating at Farnborough, away to the west, climbing very slowly but with a very distinctive noise.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/152762

[911slf]

I pity the guys who had to change the spark plugs on that. If I have this right, 6 engines each with 28 cylinders each with 2 spark plugs = 336. Up a ladder, in Alaska!

[chevvron]

Indeed so - my brother was called out as crash guard for the remnants . The 'arrival point' was very close to, if not on , the borders of three counties. The crew had all baled out, with no casualties, as I recall.
Whilst I knew about the Boscombe Down undershoot, I've never heard of the Fairford bailout before.

[chevvron]

I also saw one whilst spectating at Farnborough, away to the west, climbing very slowly but with a very distinctive noise.
Must've been out of Greenham Common.

[tdracer]

I just went to that South American rainforest site to check out what the DVD goes for. It says that "Strategic Air Command" is currently available on Prime - no charge! :ok:
I'll have to check it out tonight...

[SLXOwft]

Sadly not free on the UK distributary of said river. Rental SD £2.49 HD £3.49 purchase £5.99.

The B-47 seems to have been a handful to take off and land, of 9 destroyed in the UK all but two were in close proximity to the runway. For example 1 May 55 at Fairford one crashed on take-off due to pilot error (all crew safe). The ASN page has an embeded 'U tube' video of a training film based on the incident from 2.10ish there is a short clip of the wing and no1 engine striking the runway

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/60607

6 Aug 54 Fairford - crashed on take off
2 Aug 55 Upper Heyford - damaged on landing - written off due to further damage on recovery
16 May 56 Off Lands End - abandoned due to engine fire
28 Jul 56 Lakenheath - landing accident (the nuclear incident)
28 Feb 58 Greenham Common - parked a/c written off after a drop tank, one of a pair jettisoned by another B-47 in difficulty on take off, struck the ground close by
5 Feb 63 Greenham Common - crashed landing in snow due to asymmetric thrust when one engine failed to spool up
26 May 64 Upper Heyford - crashed on landing (also destroying another parked B-47)

[BEagle]

As I heard it:

The B-36 which landed short of Boscombe was flown by Col Jim Connor on his first trip to the UK. Confused by the lighting he could see through a snowstorm, he was rather surprised to be told that he was 2 miles from touchdown after he'd landed....

When he finally made it to ops, he was told that there was a phone call for a Lieutenant Connor. "Hello, this is Colonel Connor", he answered. "Nope - I'm General Curtis LeMay - and you are now a Lieutenant!".

A couple of days later Lieutenant Connor flew back to the US as a passenger....

[JEM60]

Chevron. I knew about the Boscombe down incident, but was unaware of the Wiltshire crash until I read this thread. Climbing out of Fairford makes sense. Many thanks.

[albatross]

I actually heard and then saw A B-36 Northbound at high altitude over my hometown in Quebec when I was quite young…
There is a good biography of Gen. Stewart’s Military service.
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-home-_-Results&tn=Jimmy%20Stewart%20Bomber%20Pilot

[longer ron]

Re the B36 at Boscombe Down
They actually touched down on the old High Post Airfield and then trundled down the hill to end up just across the A345 at the Boscombe D perimeter fence,the area where they landed is quite undulating.
From memory...they had flown in from the states...the pilot was not familiar with british approach lights and in bad weather - mistook the 'funnel' lights for the peri track.
I think the ensuing conversation with ATC went something like ... ''your airfield is rough'' with the reply being ''you are not here yet'' !! :)
Boscombe radar was very rudimentary then and only gave range (no height info).
I know that area very well and am astounded they 'got away with it' ...light damage and no injuries.
I would not however have liked to be in the aircraft commanders shoes at the ensuing interview/enquiry!! :)

The famous picture of the B36 just across the A345 with the local bus company double decker in the background.
https://i.imgur.com/M0NE8cg.png

[Brewster Buffalo]

"2042" (44-92042) was repaired and served on until 1956.

Some facts about the B-36 -

Wing span of 230 feet was greater than first flight of the Wright Bros.
Contained 27 miles of wiring.
Could carry 84,000lb weight of bombs - a greater weight than a fully loaded B-24.
A car could circle the globe 18 times on the 30,000+ gallons of fuel in the B-36 wing tanks..

[Asturias56]

But a bit of a sitting duck in contested air space by the arrival of jet fighters - a cruise speed of 230 mph wasn't much help

[tdracer]

Started to watch on Prime last night - but streaming wasn't working right for whatever reason (sound dropouts, pauses in the video) that a simple system boot didn't solve. I'll try again tonight.
I did watch long enough to see Jimmy Stewart stare up at a B-36 making a low pass - what a SOUND!

[treadigraph]

I got it on DVD and watch it every now and then. I seem to recall reading (on PPRuNe?) that Jimmy Stewart wasn't happy about it being released on VHS/DVD for some reason, glad it was.

Never seen a B-36... how I wish I could hear one fly!

[albatross]

Interesting read:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2968/060006008

[chevvron]

As I said, I saw one over Chesham (Bucks) heading towards Bovingdon in about 1954. It must have been that date because I was only 5 years old, didn't know much about 'aeroplanes' and we moved house next year. As Bovingdon was only about 4,800ft, I'm pretty sure it didn't land there; I don't remember the noise but I rushed indoors and told my older brother (who was keen on joining the ATC) about it and he hit me saying I was lying!

[longer ron]

I think Strategic Air Command is an ok - ish sort of film for us aviation saddos,I always liked James Stewart anyway :)
One of the things I dislike about the film is June Allyson as the wife - that whiney gratey voice just annoys me LOL :)

[Alan Baker]

June Allyson pretty much made a career playing whiney gratey voiced wives, often opposite James Stewart but also with Alan Ladd in another aviation saga, The McConnell Story.

[Timelord]

The scene that made me laugh was where Jimmy Stewart was explaining to his wife that she shouldn’t be there but then said “ when I see you in that nightgown I change my mind”. The nightgown was loose, ankle length, buttoned up to the neck and with long sleeves. Enough to turn any man’s head.

[antisthenes]

"There are many things I'd say about or call the B-58, but monstrosity wouldn't be one of them ("deathtrap" would be appropriate - the accident rate was horrid)." Common misconception about the B-58, if you take away the accidents in development (not unsurprising for such a quantum leap in technology), the accident rate was perfectly acceptable.
The aircraft could and should have continued service well into the 1970s.

[longer ron]

The scene that made me laugh was where Jimmy Stewart was explaining to his wife that she shouldn’t be there but then said “ when I see you in that nightgown I change my mind”. The nightgown was loose, ankle length, buttoned up to the neck and with long sleeves. Enough to turn any man’s head.

Indeed TL - I laughed at that scene myself :)

[longer ron]

June Allyson pretty much made a career playing whiney gratey voiced wives, often opposite James Stewart but also with Alan Ladd in another aviation saga, The McConnell Story.

Yep I had forgotten she was in that one as well Alan,have not seen that for many years.

[Haraka]

"]The McConnell Story."
a.k.a "Tiger in the Sky" in the .U.K. .

[Asturias56]

"There are many things I'd say about or call the B-58, but monstrosity wouldn't be one of them ("deathtrap" would be appropriate - the accident rate was horrid)." Common misconception about the B-58, if you take away the accidents in development (not unsurprising for such a quantum leap in technology), the accident rate was perfectly acceptable.
The aircraft could and should have continued service well into the 1970s.


It could have (in fact it lasted to 1970) but it was horribly dependent on refuelling support and apparently was extremely expensive in maintenance. And high speed at altitude wasn't much use by then.

[bobward]

I read years ago that a B58 cost more than it's weight in gold, at 'then' prices.

I stood alongside a B36 at Castle Air Museum a few years ago. It really was an 'aloominum' overcast. They also had an inert nuke alongside it.
Looking at it's size, you would need a B36 to carry it!

Didn't June Allyson play wife to Jimmy S in the Glenn Miller Story too?

[albatross]

And just to make life even better. “Winchester 73” was on TV last evening.
IMHO the best “Western” Jimmy ever made.
Read somewhere he wore the same “Cowboy Hat” in every western he ever made.

[longer ron]

I stood alongside a B36 at Castle Air Museum a few years ago. It really was an 'aloominum' overcast. They also had an inert nuke alongside it.
Looking at it's size, you would need a B36 to carry it!

Yes indeed Bob - we visited there approx 6 years ago and had a good shufti around and under the B36 :eek:

Didn't June Allyson play wife to Jimmy S in the Glenn Miller Story too?

Aaaargh - yes she did,havent seen that film for many many years LOL

[longer ron]

Read somewhere he wore the same “Cowboy Hat” in every western he ever made.

He also rode the same Horse in 17 movies - here is a short extract from an article in npr.org (Hollywood Hoofbeats)


James Stewart rode a horse called Pie in 17 westerns, and he tried very, very hard to buy him from his owner, a woman named Stevie Meyers. And she wouldn't sell him, but she did let Stewart ride him in 17 films. And they just became so attuned to each other that in one film, "The Far Country," Stewart had developed such a rapport with him that he was able to get the horse to do something at liberty all by himself when the trainer was not around. They were on this location. The trainer wasn't on the set. And the horse needed to walk from one end of a street to another with no ropes on him or anything, and Stewart just went up to him, he said he whispered in his ear and told him what he needed him to do. And the horse did it. And everyone on the set was absolutely amazed, and Stewart just said, that was Pie. That's what he did. So he absolutely had an incredible bond with the horse.

[megan]

One of the things I dislike about the film is June Allyson as the wife - that whiney gratey voice just annoys meFunny how we come up with our perceptions, saw the film when it first hit the screens as a very youthful teenager, fell in love with the lady as I found her voice had a husky sensual quality.

[reynoldsno1]

I'm with you Megan!

[Flugplatz]

SAC is also available on the Channel 4 app, in the film category

[longer ron]

SAC is also available on the Channel 4 app, in the film category

Thanks for that info Fp - we watched it last night on the Ch4 website via Amazon Fire - and a lovely crisp copy it is too (blu ray I guess).
Have not seen it for some years and great to watch it in HD for the aircraft scenes,laughed again at the nightdress scene as mentioned above :)

regards LR

[LTCTerry]

This thread prompted me to watch the movie. On "that" streaming site no one seems to name. My wife had never seen it.

I've been having problems with my Sony television that I didn't know if I could attribute to my cable service or the TV. After the TV froze up the fifth time I just pulled up the movie on the laptop. The laptop on the lap top fills a bigger angle and looks like a bigger screen.

My wife asked why I was a bit teary eyed. The movie is 1955. This is the era my dad got his wings. WWII officers were the leadership. They formed the leadership that formed me as a young officer long ago. I was commissioned in 1985 and was pretty sure the Cold War was going to last forever. My dad was stationed in Germany in the late 70s. I remember posters for the Soviet Military Liaison Mission cars. Etc. I'm very much a product of a Cold War military upbringing.

SAC in 1955 was the only piece of what became the nuclear triad. Nukes/plans from that era are pretty fascinating.

Turns out I bought the TV in 2015 for $500. Its tube predecessor lasted well into the high def era but wasn't missed when it was gone. I can now get the same size TV off brand for $120. Not sure if Sony is still worth the splurge, it's $300. It's hard to find 32" TVs these days. They were once a size people dreamed of. Now I'm constrained by an awkwardly located piece of built in furniture that constrains me to 32" - just half the size of a typical TV now.

The B-36 is amazing. The B-47 is gorgeous. The B-52 was already flying in small numbers when the movie was made and is obviously still around. I was age "minus five" then; my parents hadn't met. My dad was not yet even at the base where he eventually met my mother.

The B-36 had large multi-tire trucks for landing gear. The prototype used huge single wheels for the main gear. One is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH. Need to go back for a visit!

So much for rambling - time to go drop off a shoe for repair and buy a new TV while I wait.

[Shaft109]

It's been a while since I saw this but the definition and colours appeared to be almost modern 4k.

Was there something special about the cameras / film or simply home TVs have caught up to the quality it was filmed in?

[longer ron]

Movie/film makers had great quality cameras/equipment by the late 1930's - so I guess it is a combination of the movie/film being available/remastered in (say) blu ray quality (as opposed to VHS :) ) and - as you say - having a TV which is capable of utilising that blu ray/HD quality.
We rewatch many older films if we think they have been remastered/transferred to blu ray - so nice to be able to pick out details (except perhaps the aforementioned June Allyson night attire :) )

[Argonautical]

Pedant mode on

Dutch bought back from Greenland a toy penguin for his new baby daughter. Unlikely because Greenland is in the arctic and penguins only live in the Antarctic.

Pedant mode off.

I also enjoyed seeing the film again but still found Dutch's wife very annoying!

[Ninthace]

Doesn't stop the BX selling stuffed penguins though. Geography is not a strong point in the US :)

[GlobalNav]

Pedant mode on

Dutch bought back from Greenland a toy penguin for his new baby daughter. Unlikely because Greenland is in the arctic and penguins only live in the Antarctic.

Pedant mode off.

I also enjoyed seeing the film again but still found Dutch's wife very annoying!

Loved watching the movie again. Culturally the 1950’s. Loved the shots of B-47 formations. They dramatized the SAC culture but there was truth in it. There were no alternatives to the SAC way. Not much grace either. But they had a job to do.

[albatross]

Doesn't stop the BX selling stuffed penguins though. Geography is not a strong point in the US :)
Having traveled “up north” a lot stuffed penguins are regularly seen in stores…much more cute and cuddly than a stuffed walrus. “give the tourists what they want”.

Funny story: There was a native Hawaiian / US Vietnam vet flying helicopters in Northern Quebec mid 70s. He had just arrived from far up North and was walking down the street in CYVO Val Dor Qc wearing his Jet-B parka and carrying his packsack.
He was accosted by a US family “Look Honey, an Eskimo, get the kids over here we will take a photo!” He then said to Tim “Me give 5$ - we take picture OK?”
Tim nodded smiled, said some very inappropriate remarks in his native Hawaiian concerning a shocking plan involving himself, a polar bear rug and the wife and teen age daughter, smiled and posed with the family!
Only afterwards did he open fire in American english at them. He kept the 5$.
Great guy
RIP Tim Tagaden -AKA “The flying Hawaiian”. He passed in a tragic S-58T accident back in the states.

[jeallen01]

Evening All

Just watched the film (but skipped the luvey-dovey and baseball stuff!) and thought it moderately good for its time and definite "SAC propaganda" value (at least to the American "cousins") .

BTW: Can anyone tell me if B36's were ever stationed at Brize Norton because we moved to nearby Alvescot in 1953/4 but I can't ever remember (I was only 5 or 6 at the time!) seeing them there - although I certainly saw B52's and, I think, B47 's, there through the Black Bourton gate when I rode my bike down there in the slightly later 1950's/early 1960's?

Was later scared almost witless by the sound of a 52 flying overhead at around 100-200ft when riding along the Alvescot to Carterton road at the South Western end of the main runway. - and the later Concorde & VC10 take-offs were nearly as noisy during the period of Concorde tests from Brize!

[pr00ne]

Evening All

Just watched the film (but skipped the luvey-dovey and baseball stuff!) and thought it moderately good for its time and definite "SAC propaganda" value (at least to the American "cousins") .

BTW: Can anyone tell me if B36's were ever stationed at Brize Norton because we moved to nearby Alvescot in 1953/4 but I can't ever remember (I was only 5 or 6 at the time!) seeing them there - although I certainly saw B52's and, I think, B47 's, there through the Black Bourton gate when I rode my bike down there in the slightly later 1950's/early 1960's?

Was later scared almost witless by the sound of a 52 flying overhead at around 100-200ft when riding along the Alvescot to Carterton road at the South Western end of the main runway. - and the later Concorde & VC10 take-offs were nearly as noisy during the period of Concorde tests from Brize!

No B-36’s were ever stationed anywhere in the UK, there was just the occasional visitor to most of the UK SAC bases.
In fact, no SAC bombers of any kind were stationed in the UK at all. B-47 Squadrons were deployed to the UK (and Spain and North Africa) on Temporary Duty deployments (TDY) where they held nuclear alert and did not fly whilst deployed. They were rotated every 30 days, initially as whole Bomb Wings, and later as squadrons. They were on Reflex Alert in the UK and even up to the mid 70’s there were vehicle parking spaces marked as “Reflex Alert Only” visible at Brize Norton.
B-52’s and B-58’s also visited but never held alert.

[West Coast]

Funny how we come up with our perceptions, saw the film when it first hit the screens as a very youthful teenager, fell in love with the lady as I found her voice had a husky sensual quality.

I have one from each era, she was it from hers.

[West Coast]

https://californiadiver.com/san-diego-diver-rediscovers-the-b-36-peacemaker-bomber-wreck-off-mission-beach-931/

One sits just offshore San Diego for anyone with the skills to visit her.

[Herod]

I've just watched the trailer of "Bombers B52". I remember seeing it in the late fifties, and didn't think it was a patch on "Strategic Air Command". Having seen the trailer I confirm my original opinion was correct.