Word: sacmen
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...guard against accidental triggering of H-bomb war, the SACmen are schooled in a complicated, checks-and-balances, fail-safe system that is not only foolproof but "damnfool-proof." Before an alert plane would start toward its target, the coded string of electronic signals from the command post must be authenticated by two crewmen as well as by the pilot. When that is done, the crew begins the arduous process of arming the bombs. No one crew member can do it alone; for each man who arms the bomb, regulations require that another must be in attendance and watching closely...
Within months, Vandenberg will add new sets of pads to handle the increasing supply of production-line missiles. Vandenberg-trained SACmen will eventually form nine SAC Atlas squadrons, stationed at seven ICBM bases now under construction in Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska and Washington. Meanwhile, the men in helmets-green for safety, white for command, orange for fuel and brown for the contractors' personnel-are ready to fire their first Atlases from the pads of Complex...
Slipping Pig. Navigator Bruce Kulka unbuckled his seat and shoulder harnesses, scooted up from his seat in the nose to the crawlway, opened a hatch and squeezed into the floodlighted bomb bay. There the big bomb-SACmen call it a "pig"-hung from its single shackle. Cautiously, Kulka tried to slide a big steel pin through the shackle to hold the pig in case the electrical lock let go. The bomb began to wobble. Desperately, Kulka worked...
...early days it was grounded so frequently by "bugs" in the 30 miles of wiring, tubing and cables that the crews dubbed it "the ramp rooster." But after long, slow shakedown, it is now admiringly known as "the magnesium monster," and the SACmen are ready to battle anyone who says it isn't the best bomber in the world. When the Navy insisted a year ago that the B-36 could be shot down, Curt LeMay shot back a blunt answer...
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