Tac: A Pictorial History Of The Usaf Tactical Air Forces 1970-1977 (squadron Signal 6012)
Tags: Lou Drendel

The sub-title on the cover reads: "A Pictorial History of the USAF Tactical Air Forces 1970-1977." It could just as well read: "A Pictorial Survey of the aircraft of USAF Tactical Air Forces 1970-1977." or, "TAC's transition from yesterday to tommorrow." Both would be true. In fact, it was for the latter reason that I chose to portray TAC in the 70's. At the beginning of this decade, only three new aircraft types had been added to TAC's inventory in the previous ten years. (A-7D, F-111, and OV-10) Of the dozens of types that were operated by TAC, many dated back as far as World War II. The Air War in Vietnam had thrust tactical air into the future, with new tactics and technology, and it was obvious that new aircraft were needed to accomodate the resultant changes. Some of the "new" aircraft are merely modifications of existing types. Others are all new, and have performance margins built into them that will more than likely assure their continued role in TAC to the end of this century. They are all here, and they provide a panoramic view of TAC's diversity and flexibility, past, present, and future.