JohnB wrote:
A lot of SAC bases were closed around that time...in LBJ's time as well as the Post-Vietnam era. SAC was downsized a great deal in the late 60s at places like Wright-Patt.
Not all ex-SAC bases have B-52 gate guards....in fact most don't. It takes a lot of space to display one...and a willing CC to make it happen. Does Westover have the space? I spent some time ther about 10 years ago doing a story, the non-runway side of the base is surrounded by residential areas...
Most gate guard 52s are D models, and most of those were not released until the early 80s...I know Fairchild didn't get their until 83-84 from Guam.
Did Westover ever have camo D's? If not, that could be the reason. By the time the G's were retired, maybe the base never asked for one.
Westover definitely had the space, and then some. It's the largest air reserve base in the United States and opened in 1939. The 99th Bombardment Wing moved from Fairchild AFB, Washington to Westover AFB in late 1956, and began operation of the B-52 Stratofortress. The 99th Bomb Wing kept bombers and tankers on ground alert at all times, and SAC crews lived on 24-hour alert for two weeks at a time. The 348th Bombardment Squadron operated the B-52 from December 1956 through April 1972 while assigned to the 99th Bombardment Wing at Westover AFB.
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