Opens shows a Strategic Air Command (SAC) B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber taxiing on an airfield. Views from the side and from above the taxiing aircraft. AGM-28 Hound Dog missiles seen under the wings. View of underside of wings. A gloved hand raises guards on switches and they are activated. From inside an aircraft, two Hound Dog missiles are seen as they drop from it. Scene shifts to a KC-135 aerial refueling tanker aircraft taking off. Views of a B-52 bomber hooking up to refuel from a KC-135 tanker aircraft. Refueling boom is seen slowly extending to connect with the refueling input of the B-52. View of the boom operator lying down in the tail of the KC-135 tanker, maneuvering the boom. View, from his perspective, of the B-52 and refueling boom as they connect and begin refueling. Aerial views of the the two aircraft hooked together and then disconnecting after refueling is complete. Animated world globe is shown depicting Soviet threat. An Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile is seen launching. Views of B-52 bombers in flight.
Film begins showing a U.S. Air Force Convair B-58 Delta wing Hustler bomber taking off. Views of the aircraft maneuvering in flight. An unmanned Snark turbojet missile is seen launching from an inclined position, and then discharging a bomb in flight. An Atlas missile on a launching pad. Closeup shows the Strategic Air Command Logo on its side. An Atlas missile launching. A Thor intermediate range ballistic missile being launched. A Jupiter intermediate range ballistic missile launching in a cloud of smoke. Scene shifts to Airmen of the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command performing duties around a parked B-52 bomber. Three crew members climb aboard a B-52 bomber.
Klaxon horns sound alert signals and U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) flight crews, on alert, stop what they are doing and rush from their quarters to jeeps, that take them to their aircraft. They are seen clambering aboard their bomber aircraft. Closeup of a B-47E-30-LM Stratojet bomber, tail number 52-264, taxiing. Closeup of its wheels. The B-47 taking off from a base in the continental United States. In Alaska, a B-52 bomber taxis on a plowed taxiway in a snowy airfield. Local people watch as two B-52 bombers take off from a SAC base in Africa. Formations of B-52 bomber in flight. View of Air Force personnel inside the SAC headquarters Command and Control Center at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. Scene shifts to a B-47 bomber flying directly overhead and an Atlas missile being launched. Glimpse of pilot and copilot inside the cockpit of a SAC bomber in flight. A nuclear bomb dropping from an open bomb bay viewed from inside the aircraft. An atomic explosion during one of the tests conducted by the United States, in the Pacific, from 1946 to 1958.
Ribbon cutting ceremonies which officially activate the IBM 7090 Electronic Data Processing System, SAC (Strategic Air Command) Headquarters, Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Department Director of Operations SAC Major General Keith K. Compton, Commander AWS (Air Weather Service), MATS (Military Air Transport Service) Brigadier General Norman L. Peterson and Chief of Swedish Military Weather Service Colonel Oscar Herrlin enter the computer area. They are briefed by Chief of Computer Programming Lieutenant Colonel Roland Rodgers at the center. Airmen in teletypewriter room
Ribbon cutting ceremonies which officially activate the IBM 7090 Electronic Data Processing System, SAC (Strategic Air Command) Headquarters, Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Department Director of Operations SAC Major General Keith K. Compton, Commander AWS (Air Weather Service), MATS (Military Air Transport Service) Brigadier General Norman L. Peterson, and Chief of Swedish Military Weather Service Colonel Oscar Herrlin being briefed by Chief of Computer Programming at the center Lieutenant Colonel Roland Rodgers. Brigadier General Peterson cuts the ribbon and presses the start button on IBM 7090 computer console. Major General Compton and Lieutenant Colonel Rodgers look at the computer components. A WAF (Women in the Air Force) woman in the teletypewriter room. Forecasters plot and examine weather maps.
Official activation of the IBM 7090 Electronic Data Processing System, SAC (Strategic Air Command) Headquarters, Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Views of computer room with EDP system in operation including magnetic tape drives, card reader, computer console. Airmen place reel of magnetic tape drive spindle.