The Big One

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Maine was probably going to sink. Colonel Robert Dedmon was quite confident of that. The number of heavy bombers based in the state was going to make it tip over and quietly disappear below the Atlantic. The massive program of base construction over the last three years had made Maine wealthy again but it was now a state well on the way to becoming a concrete sheet, state line to state line. Coming back from one of the long training and test flights over the Atlantic Colonel Dedmon had counted no less than six bomber fields visible at one time. Most were just single group bases, 75 bombers on each, but a few were much larger.

This base, Kozlowski AFB near Limehouse, was one of the largest with three bomb groups. 225 of the giant bombers lined the runways here. It was typical of the new bases, sturdy and well-built. The commander of SAC, General LeMay wanted the best for his bomber crews and got it. The tunnel Dedmon was walking through was an example. Limehouse was in the north of Maine and became seriously snowed up in winter, So, all the base buildings were connected by underground tunnels. It was just one example of the attention to detail that had made SAC what it was. Nobody had known LeMay before he took over SAC. Now, nobody doubted he was the right man in the right place.

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