It was under the leadership of LeMay that SAC developed the technical capability, strategic planning, and operational readiness to carry out its strategic mission anywhere in the world.

When LeMay assumed command of SAC, his vision was to create a force of nuclear-armed long-range bombers with the capability to devastate the Soviet Union within a few days of the advent of war.

But the reality when LeMay assumed command was that SAC had only sixty nuclear capable aircraft, none of which had the long-range capabilities he desired.

A key factor enabling the B-47 to become the mainstay of SAC ( and to fulfill LeMay ’ s desire for a long range bomber ) was the development of in-flight refueling.

During LeMay ’ s command, SAC was able to effect great changes in American nuclear strategy.

It was this uncertainty that LeMay entered into upon assuming command of SAC which emboldened him and SAC planners to attempt to unilaterally form American nuclear strategy.

This was done by LeMay in a 1951 meeting with high level Air Force staff, when he convinced them that unreasonable operational demands were being placed on SAC and, in order to alleviate the issue, SAC should be allowed to approve target selections before they were finalized.

As a result, LeMay was relieved when the Korean War ended in 1953 and he was able to go back to building SAC ’ s arsenal and gaining control over nuclear strategy.

Submitted in a command-wide contest, it was chosen as the winner by a three judge panel: General Curtis E. LeMay, Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Air Command ; General Thomas S. Power, Vice Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Air Command ; and Brigadier General AW Kissner, Chief of Staff, Strategic Air Command.

In 1949 Curtis LeMay was placed in command of the Strategic Air Command and instituted a program to update the bomber fleet to one that was all-jet.

Curtis Emerson LeMay ( November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990 ) was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party presidential candidate George Wallace in 1968.

Curtis Emerson LeMay was born in Columbus, Ohio, on November 15, 1906.

His father, Erving LeMay, was at times an ironworker and general handyman, but he never held a job longer than a few months.

LeMay was widely and fondly known among his troops as " Old Iron Pants " throughout his career.

When the U. S. entered World War II in December 1941, LeMay was a major in the United States Army Air Forces ( he had been a 1st lieutenant as recently as 1940 ), and the commander of a newly created B-17 Flying Fortress unit, the 305th Bomb Group.

In January 1945 LeMay was transferred from China to relieve Brig.

LeMay was quite aware of the Japanese opinion of him: he once remarked that had the U. S. lost the war, he fully expected to be tried for war crimes, especially in view of Japanese executions of uniformed American flight crews during the 1942 Doolittle raid.

As a Lieutenant Colonel who served under LeMay, Robert McNamara was in charge of evaluating the effectiveness of American bombing missions.

The order was ostensibly given because of borderline weather conditions in Washington, but according to First Lieutenant Ivan J. Potts who was on board, the order came because LeMay had one fewer general's stars and should not be seen to outperform his superior.

After World War II, LeMay was briefly transferred to The Pentagon as deputy chief of Air Staff for Research & Development.

Though LeMay is sometimes publicly credited with the success of the Berlin Airlift, it was, in fact, instigated by General Lucius D. Clay when General Clay called LeMay about the problem.

General LeMay disclaimed the comment, saying in a later interview: “ I never said we should bomb them back to the Stone Age.

The two countries began coordinating their plans for a Soviet attack in Europe after the Czechoslovak coup d ' état of 1948, and later that year General Curtis LeMay, head of Strategic Air Command ( SAC ), asked Tedder to allow the basing of American atomic weapons in Britain.

A day later, Air Force Chief of Staff General Curtis E. LeMay awarded White his new rating as a Command Pilot Astronaut.

Some later titles were mastered by John LeMay and Paul Stubblebine, with a few uncredited releases.

In 1956 and 1957 LeMay implemented tests of 24-hour bomber and tanker alerts, keeping some bomber forces ready at all times.

LeMay insisted on rigorous training and very high standards of performance for all SAC personnel, be they officers, enlisted men, aircrews, mechanics, or administrative staff, and reportedly commented, " I have neither the time nor the inclination to differentiate between the incompetent and the merely unfortunate.

He shut down operations from China, consolidated all the B-29s in the Marianas, and replaced Hansell with LeMay in January 1945 as commander of XXI Bomber Command.

Harold LeMay amassed the largest privately owned collection of automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, all manner of other vehicles and related memorabilia in the world.

But SAC did more than just provide a nuclear option during the Korean War, It also deployed four B-29 bomber wings that were used in tactical operations against enemy forces and logistics All of this led LeMay to express concern that “ too many splinters were being whittled off the stick ”, preventing him from being able to carry out his primary mission of strategic deterrence.

Upon inspecting a SAC hangar full of US nuclear strategic bombers, LeMay found a single Air Force sentry on duty, armed only with a ham sandwich.

After ordering a mock bombing exercise on Dayton, Ohio, LeMay was shocked to learn that most of the strategic bombers assigned to the mission missed their targets by one mile or more.

General LeMay was instrumental in SAC's acquisition of a large fleet of new strategic bombers, establishment of a vast aerial refueling system, the formation of many new units and bases, development of a strategic ballistic missile force, and establishment of a strict command and control system with an unprecedented readiness capability.

The memorandum from LeMay, Chief of Staff, USAF, to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, January 4, 1964, illustrates LeMay's reasons for keeping bomber forces alongside ballistic missiles: " It is important to recognize, however, that ballistic missile forces represent both the U. S. and Soviet potential for strategic nuclear warfare at the highest, most indiscriminate level, and at a level least susceptible to control.

LeMay advocated a sustained strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnamese cities, harbors, ports, shipping, and other strategic targets.

Many early SCCA events were held on disused air force bases, organized with the help of Air Force General Curtis LeMay, a renowned enthusiast of sports car racing.

Because Japanese air defenses made daytime bombing below jet stream-affected altitudes too perilous, LeMay finally switched to low-altitude nighttime incendiary attacks on Japanese targets, a tactic senior commanders had been advocating for some time.

At the same time, Kennedy got into arguments with proponents of the air strikes, such as Air Force General Curtis LeMay.

LeMay commanded subsequent B-29 Superfortress combat operations against Japan, including massive incendiary attacks on 64 Japanese cities.

With characteristic impatience, Arnold quickly relieved Wolfe, the B-29 commander in China, after less than a month of operations, and replaced him with LeMay.

He was assigned initially in September 1954 as an operations planner in the bomber mission branch and remained there until January 1955, when Gen. Curtis LeMay selected him as his aide.