During the tremendous U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC)
expansion of the early and mid-fifties, bases become overcrowded,
with some of them supporting as many as 90 B-47s and 40 KC-97s. The
first B-52 wings were also extremely large - composed of 45 bombers
and 15 or 20 KC-135s, all situated on one base. As the Soviet
missile threat became more pronounced and warning time became less,
SAC bases presented increasingly attractive targets. It was
necessary to break up these large concentrations of aircraft and
scatter them throughout more bases. Several KC-97 squadrons were
separated from their parent B-47 wings and relocated to northern
bases. The B-47 dispersal program was a long range one and would be
affected primarily through the phase out of wings in the late
fifties and early sixties.
With the B-52 force, which was still growing, dispersal became
an active program in 1958. Basically the B-52 dispersal program
called for larger B-52 wings already in existence to be broken up
into three equal-sized wings of 15 aircraft each, with two of them
being relocated, normally to bases of other commands. In essence,
each dispersed B-52 squadron became a strategic wing. This
principle would also be followed in organizing and equipping the
remained of the B-52 force. Headquarters USAF established the
entire force at 42 squadrons in 1958. Ideally, each B-52 wing would
have an air refueling squadron of 10 or 15 aircraft.
By the end of 1958, SAC had activated 14 strategic wings, but
only three had aircraft assigned. The others were in various stages
of development, with some having only a headquarters and one
officer and one airman authorized.”
Amarillo AFB was one of those three bases. When everything was
going at Amarillo AFB there were around 16,000 people assigned to
the base. Now it is a ghost town of what it was at that time.
In June of 2007 a cache was placed at the entrances to what was
a very busy AFB. This cache is a small container with room for
small trade items.