SAC was
founded by the men who fought in World War II, who knew the
importance of fighter escorts. In its early days, SAC
had fighter wings for the escorting its aircraft. However,
jet bombers and nuclear bombs changed all that. The weapons
were so powerful that only one plane was assigned to a target that
may have previously required bombing by several groups. The
new jets flew so high and so fast, there was little danger of them
being intercepted by fighters. By 1955, SAC no longer
needed its fighters.
The early fighter wing patches are rare. Some of the
patches shown below may have been used by the unit after it was
assigned to another command. |
