This photograph captures a Strategic Air Command airfield ramp during the 1950s, with a line of B-47 Stratojet bombers and a KC-97 Stratofreighter tanker visible on the flight line. Bases such as Lajes Field in the Azores served as critical mid-Atlantic staging and refueling points for SAC's global bomber force during the Cold War. The candid inclusion of a personal sports car crossing the ramp reflects the informal, everyday life of servicemen stationed at these strategically vital installations. Project: 218522