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View the mighty SAC armada of Westover's yesteryear

The KC-97 tanker that touched
down on April 21, 1955, brought an
unparalleled chapter of Air Force
history to Westover Air Force Base.
With the enormous new Runway 5/23
not complete yet, the lumbering
tanker settled its landing gear onto
Runway 6/24, which has since
disappeared into history.
The KC-97 was the first of some 40 of
the tankers which became part of the
massive fleet of SAC tankers and
bombers assigned to the base. SAC
eyed Westover, Dow and Loring Air
Force Bases, Maine, as key strategic
"jump-off" points for its tankers and
bombers. Accordingly, the Northeast
Tanker Task Force made its home at
Westover and Dow.
The 4050th Air Refueling Wing, the
first SAC unit at Westover, and the
4060th ARW at Dow, stood up in 1955.
Not long after, plans were made to
house the Air Force's newest strategic
bomber, the B-52 Stratofortress, at
Westover and Loring. SAC moved
brand new BUFFs to Loring and
Westover in 1956.
Besides Castle AFB, Calif., where the
Air Force trained B-52 aircrews,
Westover and Loring were the first two
SAC bases to house this awesome
new aircraft.
Click on the thumbnails to the right to
get a closer look at these magnificent
aircraft that once roared on and above
Westover.

1955 KC-97 landing
was first of
thousands for SAC

B-52C/D Stratofortress 1956-1972

KC-135A Stratotanker: 1957-1973

KC-97 Stratofreighter
1955-1965

KC-97s are shown in
this 1956 Springfield
Republican photo of the
Westover flight line.
Note the old control
tower (pictured above
the KC-97's cockpit)
which was perched on
top of the Base Hangar
until 1962, when the
next tower was built
closer to the runways.

A KC-97, serial number
53-232 and flown by the
4050th Air Refueling
Wing, sits on the flight
line during one
Westover's annual
Armed Forces Day
displays. The bright
orange paint, called
Day-Glo, was part of an
Air Force-wide initiative
to increase the visibility
of military aircraft in the
late 1950s. In the
background behind the
nosedock are a KC-135
and another KC-97.
Note the size of this
airplane by the people
walking around it! The
4050th was the first SAC
organization at
Westover. It arrived in
April 1955 and took over
control of the base from
the Military Air Transport
Service (MATS). The
4050th ARW flew 40
KC-97s out of Westover.
Shortly after the final
Boeing KC-135 left the
assembly line to join the
Air Force, the last KC-97
left Westover Nov. 10,
1965 for the famous
"boneyard" at
Davis-Monthan AFB,
Ariz.
(photo by Tom
Hildreth)

C-124 Globemaster II
1950-1955 (MATS), 1966-1972 (AFRES)

SHAKE(Y)DOWN >> Thousands of visitors peek through a Douglas C-124A Globemaster at the Westover AFB
1959 Armed Forces Day. "Old Shakey" was assigned to Westover in three different roles: With the Military Air
Transport Service from 1950 to 1955; as a weapons transport for Stony Brook Air Force Station from 1957 to
1970, and as the first Air Force Reserve aircraft assigned to the base in 1966 with the 905th Military Airlift
Group. SAC's imprint is very evident in this photo: note the SAC "Milky Way" band around the C-124's rear
fuselage, the B-47 Stratojet parked next to the Globemaster, and in the left corner the tails of some 99th Bomb
Wing B-52s. (photo by Stan Lukasiewicz)