Hello friends and Hivers. I hope everyone is enjoying their Wenesday. Last Wenesday I took a walk towards a building that has housed a couple different entities on Offutt AFB, Nebraska(NE). This building was built in 1957 and was the headquarters for the Strategic Air Command (SAC) until it was dismantled in 1992.
The United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOMM) was created in place of SAC and remained in the building until 2019. Currently USSTRATCOMM is in a state of the art facility located kitty corner across the street (picture below). Today building 500 houses the 55th Wing Headquarters. This will be my submittal for #wenesdaywalk initiated by @tattoodjay.
Pictured above in the first three photos is the front of building 500, the the United States Air Force (USAF) Minuteman missile and the United States Navy (USN) Trident II missile. The Minuteman is a ground launched ballistic missile while the Trident II is submarine launched.The two make up 2/3 of the the strategic nuclear legs. The third is via air through the bombing fleet. (below photo is one of the few aircraft in the bombing fleet, B-52 bomber).
As I come to the end of the missile walk there is a small plaque honoring an individual on why this building is standing. This individual is The late General Curtis E. Lemay. He was the commander for SAC from 1948 to 1957.He also served as the Chief of Staff for the USAF from 1961 to 1965.This building is named after him. Today it is referred to as simply building 500. So 5 years ago the security to get in or close to this building was tight. On 9/11 President Bush came here to conduct business in this building. That event alone tells you the importance this building once had.
So the rest of my walk will include a small museum I visited inside the building that tells much of the history of Offutt AFB. Pictured above is LT Jarvis Offutt who the base is named after.
Lt Offutt lost his life during World War I in France (1918) while flying. He was the first Omaha native pilot to be a casualty of World War I.
A few years after is death the landing field at Fort Crook was named Offutt Field. In 1948, the base became part of the USAF and it was named Offutt AFB in his honor. He still has descendants that visit here every once in awhile.The last time I know of was in 2018 when the base did a 100th anniversary remeberance of LT. Offutt.
Some of Offutt AFB, NE earliest photos when it was known as Fort Crook. Pictured first is the parade field (1905) which is still used today for ceremonies and drill but now has a running track around it. Second photo is the rifle range taken in 1897.
I come to an area where there is a collection of 12 photos.The description of each photo is on a seperate plaque. Most of the photos in this museum were unmarked. I just have so much love and appreciation for older historical pictures. Seeing early aviation from aircraft to even blimps is fascinating to me. We also see the early stages of air mail as well. I have to say this was probably the area I had eyes on for the longest time.
Here we have some closed glass displays show casing different periods of wars, operations, and missions. A great show of different uniforms, equipment, patches,and things used during the different eras. A decent representation of some military memorabilia.
Pictured above is RC & WC 135 aircraft that are stationed currently here at Offutt AFB, NE. The aircraft platform is built on a modified C-135 airframe.These models in this museaum are very detailed and represent the real aircraft to a "T." There are many different mission sets among these aircraft and you can see the little differences by looking at either the noses, underside,and wings. I'm not going to go into what each is capable of for various reasons. I will say these are reconnaissance aircraft and they have some senses like we have.
There were no models of these two aircraft in the museum that are also stationed here at Offutt AFB,NE. The first one is the E-4B Night Hawk and it's platform is based on a military modified 747 airframe. Above is the E-4B taxing on the taxiway heading back to it's parking space. When in action it's designated for its mission "NAOC" National Airborne Operations Center
The second aircraft is the Navy E-6B Mercury but more known for its the mission "TACAMO" Take Charge and Move Out, it'platform is based off of a 707 airframe. Above picture is the E-6B parked in its parking space. The E-6B took over the EC-135 mission "Looking Glass" which was also stationed at Offutt AFB.
Both these aircraft are always on high alert. One has a high level of command and control functions. While the other has control and functions for Nuclear capabilities.
The first photo is that of B-26 that was built at the Martin Bomber building. This particular one was the last one built in this plant.Its really cool how this picture is embedded onto actual aircraft sheet metal
The second photo is a picture of a B-29 that was also built at this same plant. I find this one interesting because a lot of the aircraft of this time had some fine art work painting on them. These airman look pretty eager to show themselves off with a picture near this aircraft 😁
I could go on and on with all of the past aircraft that were once stationed here at Offutt AFB, NE. There's no bombers or fighters that are stationed here today. However many bombers, fighters, and other aircraft types pass through here still.
Thanks for taking this walk with me today and I hope you enjoyed it. Take care, be safe and have a great rest of your week.