The Air Force versus Hollywood: Documentary on "SAC Command Post" Tried to Rebut "Dr. Strangelove" and "Fail Safe"

National Security Archive Update, January 15, 2010

The Air Force versus Hollywood: Documentary on "SAC Command Post" Tried to Rebut "Dr. Strangelove" and "Fail Safe" Cold War Documentaries Present the Air Force's Spin on Airborne Alert, the "Missile Gap," and Nuclear Command and Control; Films Premiered On-line in the National Security Archive's Nuclear Vault

For more information contact:
William Burr - 202/994-7032

http://www.nsarchive.org/nukevault

Washington, DC, January 5, 2010 - To refute early 1960s novels and Hollywood films like "Fail-Safe" and "Dr. Strangelove" which raised questions about U.S. control over nuclear weapons, the Air Force produced a documentary film--"SAC [Strategic Air Command] Command Post"--to demonstrate its responsiveness to presidential command and its tight control over nuclear weapons.

Never used publicly by the Air Force for reasons that remain puzzling, "SAC Command Post" is premiered online today on the National Security Archive Web site. Produced during 1963-1964, this unclassified film tried to undercut Dr. Strangelove's image of a psychotic general ordering nuclear strikes against the Soviet Union by showing that nuclear war could not be "triggered by unauthorized launch."

To reinforce an image of responsible control, "SAC Command Post" presents a detailed picture of the communications systems that the Strategic Air Command used to centralize direction of bomber bases and missile silos. With the film's emphasis on SAC's readiness for nuclear war, higher authorities may have finally decided that it was off-message in light of the Johnson administration's search for stable relations with Moscow.

"SAC Command Post" is one example of the Air Force's sizable documentary film output, which includes a number of documentaries on that service's role in researching, developing, deploying, and operating nuclear weapons systems, as well as in tracking the nuclear activities of adversaries.

The films inevitably embody some of the Air Force's spin, promoting views, policies, and programs that were then on its agenda. In this special collection for the "Nuclear Vault," the National Security Archive presents two other documentaries highlighting Air Force nuclear-related activities during the crisis years of the Cold War.

They are:
* "Project Headstart" (1959), original classification status unknown, which depicts SAC's first airborne alert test by bombers operating out of Loring Air Force Base (Maine) in the fall of 1959. Designed to keep nuclear-armed bombers in the air so they could head towards Soviet targets at a moment's notice, airborne alert was an accident waiting to happen. In 1966 and 1968 crashes of nuclear-armed B-52s in Spain and Greenland caused international incidents.

* "Development of the Soviet Ballistic Missile Threat" (1960), originally classified "secret," illustrates the role of Air Force intelligence in the "missile gap" debates in the years before the 1960 presidential election. Like other government intelligence organizations, the Air Force hyped up the Soviet ICBM threat, not recognizing how far ahead of the Soviet Union the United States already was.

These films are from DVD reproductions of the original footage stored in the collections maintained by the National Archives’ Motion Pictures Unit, College Park, MD. A number of Air Force films from the 1960s, including secret Strategic Air Command reports, remain classified. The National Security Archive's Nuclear Documentation Project has requested them for declassification release.

http://www.nsarchive.org/nukevault

________________________________________________________

THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and individuals.

Views: 56

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted a blog post

Following Blindly

When I was born the world seemed so tallPeople didn’t seem so threatening at allFast forward to my…See More
11 hours ago
Sandy posted videos
15 hours ago
Sandy posted a photo
16 hours ago
Sandy commented on Sandy's video
yesterday
Sandy posted a video
yesterday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Wednesday
Burbia posted a video

Strange Videos That Expose Something Massive

#disturbing #video #strange #scary #scaryvideos #strangevideos This is a compilation of the most disturbing videos on the internet, not only...
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Jul 29
Burbia commented on Burbia's video
Jul 29
Burbia posted a video

SUPEROLA & THE LOST BURGERS

This Game is RUBBISH !
Jul 29
pohonemas33 team commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

DejaVu

"nice very goodjob, i wish you can visit official situs pohonemas33"
Jul 26
Sandy posted a photo
Jul 26
Doc Vega posted a blog post
Jul 25
Saint Quinn favorited Burbia's video
Jul 24
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Jul 24
Burbia commented on tjdavis's blog post The Jewish Couple That Taught Bob Dylan Hebrew and Introduced Him to Zionism
"Haaretz put this story behind a pay wall. Sali Ariel and Terry Noble were the names of the couple…"
Jul 23
William Heckman is now a member of 12160 Social Network
Jul 23
cheeki kea commented on tjdavis's photo
Jul 23
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's video
Thumbnail

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future Forever

"It's a sad day on the highway. But I guess the show must go on. Watch out for the ruination of…"
Jul 23
cheeki kea posted a video

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future Forever

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future ForeverWelcome to Ride Radar – Your Frontline Source for Motorcycle Deals, Trends & Market Mayhem.Looking for t...
Jul 23

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted