In Your Defense: The SAGE System

The SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) System, was designed and built in the 1950s to defend against the threat of Soviet bombers attacking the continental United States. The system was much influenced by the design of MIT's Whirlwind II computer system (which was never completed). IBM designed and built the AN/FSQ-7 computer, the heart of the SAGE program, with companies such as Western Electric (who produced In Your Defense), The Mitre Corporation and System Development Corporation were also major contractors on the project.
There were more than twenty SAGE installations located across North America linking hundreds of radar stations, Air Force fighter wings, and missle defense sites in the first large-scale computer communications network. The SAGE network was decentralized and would allow a unit to continue operation even if other sites were disabled. As the Soviet attack threat shifted from long-range bombers to nuclear missles in the 1960's, the SAGE system became less strategic. However, parts of the system continued operation into the early 1980's.
This film explains the national security threats of the 1950's and 60's that SAGE was built to defend against, shows the SAGE computer and network in operation and simulates how SAGE would react to an attack on the United States.
Catalog Number: 102651595

[@thomasjordan5483]

Trained on SAGE ANFSQ7 at Keesler AFB Mississippi in 1962 and finish education at NYADS by IBM in 1963 in the maintenance of the central computer (we were known as CC or Central Computer techs). Started to learn COBOL while at McGuire for 3 years and set me up for a great career as a programmer/systems analyst and project manager. I owe the Air force a lot. Some of the best years of my life.

[@MrJest2]

+Thomas Jordan My dad was a life-long IBMer. He at one point was involved with the NYADS group. He loved to tell this story about an inter-group competition within IBM, where cheering on your team was encouraged ("team-building" exorcizes were common at IBM in those days). So, obviously, their team cheer was: "Go NYADS!!!" :-)

[@johnhopkins6260]

wow, flashbacks from Keesler (never forgot the cockroaches) (1977)... moved on to 407L Mobile TACS

[@ratzabur]

Is there a way to compare the computing power of the SAGE system to todays devices?

[@donwat91]

@@johnhopkins6260 John , I too was sent to a 407L after tech school. I had been in Base Supply for 6 years and was cross trained. I was sent to Shaw AFB,SC , 507th TACCS , COMBAT OPERATION. Spend 2 years there and sent remote to Indian Mountain AFS ,AK and then back to Shaw AFB. 507th a year and moved to 9th AF , DOY as supervisor of TACS for all of the 407L equipment and enlisted personnel. I hated to be at a desk . So a slot opened at 7th ACCS , ABCCC flying EC-130E . So the last 10 year's I flew with them. Best job I ever had. Where did the 407L take you? Oh , for 14 years as a RADAR OPERATOR, I only sit at a RADAR SCOPE for one year.

[@johnhopkins6260]

@@donwat91 sent straight to USAFE TACS (TCF/TCS/TACP); filled the gap where the Brits were pulling out of northern FRG (2ATAF), and the Dutch were pulling out of their Hawk/Nike sites... never remote, little Stateside (except cross-training at Hurlburt and Pope...), babysat the Fahad line.

[@dbradley3]

Given the historic timeframe of this Air Force film, one would expect much more cigarette smoking. Cigarettes and bad coffee were dietary staples in SAC.

[@brucehorvat2339]

As they were at a SAGE.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

They should have been addicts of *sage* tea. ;-)

[@rumls4drinkin]

my grandfather said he smoked 3 packs a day when he worked there.

[@GaryCameron]

The SAGE terminals actually included an ashtray. One of the things I don't miss about the past.

[@SynchroScore]

And as a nice side-effect of this project, it was discovered that multiple computers scattered around the country could be connected together to share information. SAGE was basically the first iteration of the Internet.

[@markavant5046]

I wouldn't call it discovered. But yes, the TCP/IP was developed by DARPA to allow Command and Control communications without a single point of failure.

[@brucehorvat2339]

Those of us who served in the USAF in the '50s and '60s blazed the trail with the SAGE systems and computers. Those systems did move with less memory and speed than most of the stuff I see today. I served from 1961 to 1965 as an AN/FSQ-7 repairman at Truax AFS 4631st Support Sq. (30551 B1). We were ChADS, Chicago Air Defense Sector and we often tracked over 350 aircraft at any one time with less compute power and storage than found on my cell phone (it is not an Iphone). We blazed the trail which is still being followed today. Nothing I see today impresses me.

[@brianr987]

All of these old films are very cool. Too bad they don’t get into the lower level details of how these systems worked, from an engineering perspective. Most of these films are propaganda.

[@johneygd]

Yeah they should,ve atleast mention that those workers used a light pen to mark suspecting targets and other things.

[@markavant5046]

Well, that was all classified data at the time. There is a Book out called "AN/FSQ-7: the computer that shaped the Cold War" It is completely about the engineering and design.

[@jimbailey5031]

The AN/FSQ-7/8 SAGE computers were the most advanced computers in the world in their time. I am blessed to have been a part of this historic portal into digital computer technology. I was trained to install and maintain the system at the IBM Factory in Kingston, NY in 1961 and worked on the systems at Truax Field, Madison, WI until 1965. I owe my 50+ year career to SAGE computers. If you were not there you could never embrace the significance of what we were doing.

[@DaYeenQueen]

Jim Bailey Thats awesome!

[@jimbailey5031]

Thanks! It was an interesting experience! 56,000 vacuum tubes, 2500 miles of wire. The first modems and light guns and rotating magnetic drum memory. ☺

[@DaYeenQueen]

Jim Bailey wow! That's insane lol, I can't imagine even seeing that inperson let alone doing anything with it.

[@soviet9922]

Jim Bailey This pice of shit will be nuked to the ground by soviet ICBM

[@jimbailey5031]

Thanks, soviet9992!

[@Arabhacks]

The problem was, by the time SAGE was finished, ICBMs were out, and they were faster than SAGE could deal with. One thing that has returned from that era are radar that operate from 420 to 450 MHz, they can detect stealth aircraft.

[@pyro4002]

Just because nuclear weapons found a new means of delivery didn't make SAGE any less important as a system for monitoring and evaluating air traffic across the continent. It operated for 24 years and surely formed the basis for future developments in NORAD, it was a colossal success.

[@jefferysurratt5650]

Sage was not used to counter ICBMs, it was used to shoot Bombers out of the sky and automatically direct F-106 Delta Dart Interceptor Aircraft to Offset points to launch an attack.

[@markavant5046]

I was a Computer Maintenance Crew Chief for the Q-7 at Ft. Lee VA in 80. When we would watch the war games on the maintenance consoles, I would joke that if the balloon went up, we would not be around to intercept Bombers. I imagine we were targeted by at least a couple of Soviet missile warheads.

[@MaxKoschuh]

The building is still standing. Adair Village. Next to Hwy 99. Google Maps: 44.670955, -123.219812

[@scottgoodrich5825]

I was a Weapons Tech at the Hancock Field blockhouse. Also a Faker Monitor Tech. 1978-1981.

[@dcb1138]

The entire system has the computing power of a modern day cell phone. But cost 1/3 the GNP.

[@thomasjordan5483]

Each systen had 64k of 36 bit words of memory and another 256k was added. Not even as much as a digital watch much less a cell phone. GOD bless the designers of that system! At times I am ashamed at where personal compters are today and would give up my life to have them disappear!

[@Forensource]

The SAGE building at Beale AFB is humongous. Amazing to realize that all of the computing power in the building is about equal to an IPAD. The whole thing was connected with 300 baud modems and a zillion phone lines.

[@Zoomer30]

Forensource An IPad probably exceeds it in power by a large margin. You could create apps to do all of this.

[@Caseytify]

An iPad hardly has the capability to handle the mass of incoming data. It's not just about the MIPS. ... On the other hand, they _were_ using vacuum tubes.

[@activelow9297]

An ipad has nowhere near the IO capacity of a typical 60's mainframe, let alone the entire SAGE nework.

[@Forensource]

@@activelow9297 The SAGE in that building was two AN/FSQ-7 in tandem. How fast was an AN/FSQ-7 in 1960 compared to an IPAD in 2022? Humf.

[@activelow9297]

@@Forensource Read my comment.. an iPad has nowhere near the I/O capacity of a 60's mainframe. Speed is less important than getting data in and out of the machine quickly and to the right task. Comparing a mainframe to a modern PC/tablet is apples and oranges.

[@21Laser]

From what I know, until 1983, SAGE was operational until a more modern follow on system was put into place. Amazing that vacuum tubes saved our lives until then.

[@garyodle5663]

I was a SAGE Intercept Director in the 70's. Odd thing is that by then we bought a lot of our tubes from eastern Europe because they were no longer made in the United States.

[@nancyfew]

How little you know. SAGE was active from 1950, 62 years ago, up to sometime in the 1980's. Tracks came up as Friendly or Unknown, then the ID section determined whether they were Friendly and not squawking the right code, or Hostile. It was quite an advancement at the time, and was the driving force for todays' laptops and iPhones. The Military systems are often the basis for new development which benefits the public.

[@davidshepard3708]

I trained at Keesler in 1981-82 and was at the 25 ADS for two years. What an amazing education that was, indescribable.

[@j.p.wagner6461]

Me too: Keesler, '82-'83 .. EW school .. 328X3 .. Allie Hall .. Hewes Hall .. tubes, transistors, ICs, klystrons, magnetrons, twts, chaff, TXs, RXs, TRXs, .. remember ?

[@basilbcf]

Keesler 72-73 - Ended up at 24th ADS.

[@MrShobar]

The Army Nike missile system had its own mini-SAGE system known variously as Missile Master, Missile Mentor, or BIRDIE.

[@davidca96]

Its amazing what they were able to do with such weak computing power. It still amazes me in the form of space equipment now. We use cpu's in space that are from the 90's, yet they use them so efficiently that they can go to Mars and drive around, etc.

[@Neojhun]

One of the few good things to come out of Cold War fearmongers. The SAGE Display system would influece the inventors of the GUI for computers.

[@bcyaden]

We went to the moon with a DSKY computer with hard wired memory and total of 74 KB. There is one at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville Oregon

[@jwaustinmunguy]

The FSQ-7 had 500,000 words of memory. Each word was made up of 36 bits.

[@retdetsgt]

Baloney. What's your source of expertise? I repaired the SAGE system and it wasn't obsolete against ICBM's at all. Missiles were not too fast at all for the system to track. Your remark is pure ignorance. The reason it became obsolete was that a better and faster system was developed at Cheyenee Mountain.

[@rotaryphoton137]

Did anyone notice the alarm sound is a kid beating broken swing set pipe on the ground @16:33?

[@miguelnogueira2719]

You have all that because of SAGE and Whirlwind development, things like smart phones didnt just magically appear

[@jdcrunchman999]

I was in the USAF 64-68. I was trained on repairing radar and GATR (Ground, air, transmitters, receivers). All were using tube technology. There was no satellite communication then, and most communication involved "troposcatter", a medium range (500 - 1500 miles) communication system. Was all hooked into NORAD and SAGE. A lot of these systems are replaced by newer systems I would suspect. As this document describes, the "scope dope" places a cursor on a target, sends a signal (azimuth and other info) to a height finder radar, then they press a button, and the elevation is stored in the computers. All were using a data connection which is slow by todays standards. I was also in Tech School at Keesler AFB, the main USAF electronic school. At that time, there was a lot of VietNamese Air force students being trained as well.

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

IBM 🇺🇸

[@panaflex]

The Almaden air force base on Mt Umunhum in the Santa Cruz Mountians near San Jose, CA was a SAGE installation. The "cube" building that housed the radar and SAGE system still exists and sits vacant overlooking the valley.

[@ToumalRakesh]

THERE IS ANOTHER SYSTEM - THERE IS ANOTHER SYSTEM - THERE IS ANOTHER SYSTEM

[@hckyplyr9285]

Really insightful comment. Brilliant in its abject ignorance. Lots of that here. SAGE and the FSQ-7 computer programmed pioneered numerous technologies you rely on today. Like the phone another commenter is so proud of. The computer was the first mass produced computer ever. The first touch screen displays were pioneered in SAGE. In fact, IBM took the work they did for SAGE and produced the IBM 360, the first widely used business computer. In fact, defense has led to many commercial spinoffs.

[@thomasjordan5483]

Actually they weren't touch screens as w know them now. You had to use a light gun whick used the screen display by timing the display.

[@SpecialEdAllstar]

@selahia The outright usefulness of this system never had a chance to be proven out as the cold war never went hot. However, the advances in technology this project wrought out have been wildly successful. Often times it takes a large and wealthy nation to innovate in a totally unknown field. In the beginning there was no market for these machines. It took the military to prove just how useful computers could be. What advances in technology has your nation driven forward?

[@jeroen79]

Notice the 'guns' the operators are holding to the screen? When the part of the screen under it lights up these will send a signal to the computer. the computer knows what it was drawing at that moment so it will know where the gun is on the screen. In this way the operator can 'click' on something.

[@atpcfi]

Everything you see in the movie was true. As I was stationed at the Washington Air Defense Sector (WADS) 1961 to 1962. Long after SAGE was disbanded I saw some of the displays being used in Hollywood sifi movies.

[@scar9264]

I heard "High speed anime bombers'

[@artmaknev3738]

Its amazing, without radars we would not have transistors, without transistors would not have computers. The massive room computer in this video is still using vacuum tubes I think.

[@thomasjordan5483]

There was a seperate room for the actual computers and a common room for both maintenance consoles. I'll never forget the speaker squacking as the processor worked. We got so we tuned it out of our hearing but when it stopped we new instantly the active computer stoppes working. Great experience and gave me great headstart on learning to programin COBOL from the civiian contractors! The claxton horn that went off wnetever they syitched generators cost me my hearing but it was worth it. (darned thing was about 10 foot behind ne while I was working at one of the consoles.

[@ironchef3500]

Man, I love this shit

[@Neojhun]

@persevere67 Actualy your GSM phone would beat it, but that isnt the point. These are the father of the very ideas of computing. Before there we're even specs tht you now compare.

[@jeroen79]

In a way, yes. These were cathode ray tubes and the picture was drawn by sweeping an electronbeam over the screen. When a point on the screen is struck it will light up and then slowly fade. On todays PC CRT screens you often see a brighter or dimmer horizontal bar moving over the screen. This is because the camera will rapidly take individul pictures and on these the lighting and fading can be seen. Also, the rate of the diplay and the camera may not be synchronised.

[@laurarey9036]

Trained at Keesler in 1962 and was assigned to the Los Angeles ADS in 1963-66. Worked the ID section after the basic track monitor duties and a stint in the radio room listening to Russian trawler chatter trying to mess with our B-52s. I think I could still operate one of those consoles after about a week of retraining. Tom REY, A1C

[@sherrigittings-gurkin8542]

My Dad was with IBM from 1958-1994 and worked on the SAGE System.

[@thomasjordan5483]

Where was he stationed? 63-66I was at NYADS at Mcguire AFB covering the NY secror. The way things are going now thats not much to brage about.

[@basilbcf]

I was a maintenance man on the SAGE computer system at 24th NORAD Region, Malmstrom AFB, MT in the early 70s. It was an amazing piece of equipment for its day.

[@KaliszAd]

Did you ever write about that time? I mean, the story from your point of view? It could be an interesting article. Btw. today, those vacuum tubes would be most likely invaluable for audio enthusiasts. They were of very high quality and a computer like that would have thousands of spare parts. (For an amplifier, you just need a few VTs).

[@nicholasfazzolari3647]

***** At the time did you imagine that computers would be consumer devices with widespread usages? What kind of education did you have to complete to work on these systems. I have some many questions for you... I'm in Oregon - where was this happening. I want to see the buildings!

[@stephenjeffrey5974]

I was the last radio repair tech at the 24th when we shut it down in 1983. I maintained the TDDL equipment, and worked in the computer repair lab as well. It was quite the place. :)

[@basilbcf]

I recently visited with a former coworker who was a Maintenance Superintendent when I was there. He now lives in Alamogordo, NM. He and another fellow I know where still in Great Falls when they shut down the system and they were asked to come and "flip the switch" that shut down the computer. One of the guys there was able to snag a few souvenirs and he send me a piece of the core memory that was in that system. I still have that core memory in my office.

[@basilbcf]

Are you talking about the "Pluggable Unit Lab" on the second floor, where they repaired the Pluggable Units that were pulled by the Computer Maintenance folks? That's where I worked when I first arrived at 24th but then after a year, I moved down to the main computer and eventually became qualified in every area (Displays, I/O, Central Computer, Memory, CEP, etc). I was there for almost 7 years and left min-1979.

[@0MoTheG]

What I liked the most is the GUI. The screens could draw fine lines as well as letters and one could point at things.

[@thomasjordan5483]

And the remote communications led the way to remote computing and the internet.

[@michaelb9529]

Sad the RCAF used to provide about 1/3 of the interceptor for NORAD with day, night and all weather jets. Also had Bomarc Missiles some nuclear tipped and some interceptors were armed with nuclear tipped Genie air to air missiles. Today we are lucky if the ancient CF-18 makes it off the runway without breaking down. Best pilots oldest dwindling fighters

[@tempetiger]

Look at the map at 5:25 and afterward. Notice the largef white dot over Arizona. Is that at the Ft. Hauchuca Army base? Just curious.

[@jefferysurratt5650]

Luke AFB has a major Fighter Wing and SAGE center is close to Phoenix, AZ, it being a major metropolitan area needed the many jobs that these systems required both military and civilian jobs still drive DoD spending today

[@argha2091]

Onece you work for IBM you always a IBM'r I have great respect for the company I use to work for.

[@thomasjordan5483]

Too bad you don't even hear about them any more. Once so powerful and one stupid mistake allowing MicroSoft to copy the operating system cost them so much!

[@davidwise1302]

When I went through tech school at Keesler in 1977, all we got were stories about the SAGE, including the dire consequences should the air conditioning ever go out (heat from the vacuum tubes would kill everybody in the building and start to melt the racks, etc). We did train on the BUIC (Back-Up Interceptor Control), a Burroughs transistor system, which had been intended to supplement and replace the SAGE. The BUIC just could not process as much data as the SAGE and was itself phased out. I ended up working on the SACCS data communication system, AKA "the two-ton telephone".

[@markavant5046]

I was told the Entire blockhouse was never heated only cooled. All of the consoles used also put out a ton of heat also. I worked on both the Q-7 at Ft. Lee and the BUIC at Tyndall AFB. In 80 I went to training at Hughes Defense in Fullerton CA on the Joint Surveillance system that was finally going to replace the Q-7. We were the first group to be trained on the JSS. The first site was going to be located at Tyndall. The project was behind schedule so when I got to Tyndall I was assigned to the BUIC system until the JSS facility was ready. I never got to work on the JSS since I had to get a humanitarian reassignment back to England in my Primary AFSC of Fire Protection.

[@kenschnable428]

I worked in the Air Force at the SAGE DC in Topsham, Maine 62-66. If you look at an satellite view now it is all gone.

[@jazz4asahel]

I saw the SAGE building at Topsham in 1974. It was out of use at that time, of course. I was a Navy Radioman Second Class and amateur radio operator totally enthralled by the blockhouse the USAF had left behind at Topsham. I lived in a Barrack at Topsham and worked at the Navy communication center at NAS Brunswick, now closed. I would love to know more about the vacuum tubes used in the SAGE computer system. You were fortunate to have worked with that equipment, yes?

[@thomasjordan5483]

Maybe you can call it fortunate but didn't feel that way to us at the time! We at CC (Central Computer changed out more plugable units that either the display or I/O people so we kept them busy in the repair lab. Some idiot even suggested we wear roller skates to get the plug-in modules but turned out to be too dangerous because a low of guys couldn't skate very well. @@jazz4asahel

[@neur0sum]

The birth of the internet people. Remember: however cool your cellphone may be, your government has bigger, better, more terrifying stuff. Computers and atomic war, both products of WW2, advanced together.

[@nancyfew]

They weren't nuclear bombs in reality, although they did have the option. If an interceptor couldn't drive the intruder out of our airspace, they had conventional weapons with which to shoot down an enemy aircraft. Fortunately, this never happened, as the Russians were just testing our defenses,and we always responded. That's why that era was known as the 'Cold War.'

[@Datan0de]

@ironbear Nothing would've been different. The current ATC system in the US is descended from the SAGE system. The 9/11 attacks used civilian aircraft. 9/11 wasn't a failure in ability to track aircraft. Your comment is meaningless unless it's your assertion that any civilian aircraft that deviates from its registered flight plan for any reason should be blown out of the sky. If that IS what you're claiming, then I hope you don't work for the FAA or the Air Force.

[@badbobbyhughes]

if i was to enter a room with so many lights and dials and buttons, i'd have to be restrained and sedated

[@harryohrt5255]

I'm guessing this was originally in color. If so, this film is badly degraded. Surprising, as one would expect quality film stock and storage from the DoD. The detailed descriptions here are not kept secret from the enemy. Interesting attitude towards the perceived enemy. "We know you can't duplicate this. Look on and despair."

[@fmanh]

the film where likely not for public consumption. likely information intended for the airforce peopem

[@jmalmsten]

this has more a feel of an internal educational film than anything supposed to be viewed by an international public audience. And while scientists and technicians were maybe in the habit of recording their experiments on high quality film stocks to accommodate detailed analysis, these educational reels were most likely considered to have a fairly short life-span. Existing only for a short while during its educational value. Therefore a cheaper medium was likely chosen. Also. What we are watching now is probably a cheap 16mm distribution copy. Not exactly meant to stand the test of time. Even hollywood productions of the era have had problems preserving full color archival prints. Most degrading into single-tone browns. The ones that survive the best are those that got a 3 strip monochrome technicolor separation archival treatment. So on the contrary I am not exactly surprised that this copy is in this poor shape.

[@marcose.5723]

+Harry Ohrt Actually the idea was to make the soviets think that a first attack on the US was unfeasible. So, while I think that this video was training material, there was a certain amount of public advertising about the system, as a deterrent against the soviets having funny ideas. And basically, considering there was not a III World War, it looks like it worked.

[@stevedunch581]

Harry Ohrt the quality of the film is exactly why it's so awesome

[@tri5ford]

Harry, The quality of this film is the same as I viewed it in 1965. These were not high buck films. Just used for training and informal information.

[@Lumotaku]

dear lady you are unfortunatlety wrong the japanese were prepared to fight to the bitter end. There are movies you can watch of them training with things such as spears and yes old women. The bombing of horishima was the right thing to do to destroy a countrys ability to fight you also have to destroy its will to fight.

[@rick3514]

It took 15 seconds for that system to process all the data. with aircraft moving at high speed including Mach the location of aircraft were behind where they actually were. During training missions with a lot of aircraft involved, frame time could get as high as 30 seconds and higher. So the aircraft display on the radar scope would be way off from where they actually were. I was at the 26th Air Division/NORAD Region-Luke AFB. from 1976 thru 1980, worked in weapons control. The whole system was done away with in the early 1980's and replaced with new off the shelf computers and the old systems SAGE were scraped out around 1983.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

Did the computer screens really flash that slow (tube computers were clocked in kHz, not MHz), or is this a filming artefact? I know that CRT vector monitors (also arcade videogames etc.) are definitely the hardest task to film flickerfree because they had no constant frame rate. This film reel deserves to be re-digitized in modern resolution.

[@klbird]

I wonder what they did with all that old hardware/ sell it on the surplus market or just scrap them? Or they could be sitting in a governent warehouse someplace with Indiana Jones Ark.

[@Flipperhome]

A lot of it ended up as movie props, and some real impressive ones at that. From Lost In Space. Get Smart. Fantastic Voyage. In Like Flint. The Towering Inferno and The Six Million Dollar Man to Independence Day (plus a whole raft more).

[@klbird]

That was some creative recycling!

[@jeffreycoulter4095]

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo acquired one, and was still using it when I left in 1989. The vacuum tube, gylcol cooled room heater was reliable, easy to repair on the fly, a good machine for teaching students to program computers. However, the electrical costs to operate, the diminishing available parts and the introduction of pc's to student, reduced the desire by university administration to keep it. The CDC tech told me that other like computers were being sold to foreign governments and institutions in third world. But, I suspect by the mid 1990's, even those would be scrapped. I once saw a computer graveyard at Midway Atoll and another in Alaska, where the computers were piled. The federal agency that I worked for , came up with a cradle to grave policy, when they wanted to kill your project, but bought new computers every year, whether you needed it or not.

[@Ye4rZero]

Great vid. "Here's your multi billion dollar nuclear and conventional weapons system. But the really HARD part is to know out what it's doing. For that we'll need a compUTer."

[@Datan0de]

@blueblob4 In all likelihood, a solar powered calculator that you can buy in a blister pack at the drug store for $.99 has faster numerical computing power than an AN/FSQ-7. As far as actual capability, it's probably not quite as powerful as a Commodore 64. The computer you're reading this comment on almost certainly has an order of magnitude more computing power than the entire SAGE network combined, and more than every computer on the planet combined when this video was made.

[@evanpapp93]

sage radar was supposed to be this big thing but in reality they had many many problems with sage radar

[@frankfahrenheit9537]

Isn't it boring to watch plane trajectories on these flashing screens, year by year, and nothing happens?

[@thomasjordan5483]

Maybe because we were watching the blips is the reason nothing happened?

[@matthiasbohm2593]

To put this into perspective ... Year Producer/Product Calculating power Price 1953 MIT Whirlwind II 0.00015 MIPS for 1,063,197 US$ 2014 Intel Core i7 5960X 336,000.00000 MIPS for 1,049 US$ that's 2.24 billions times the calculating power at 0,0987 percent of the costs. (Not inflation costs adjusted / jcmit.net/cpu-performance.htm)

[@sid32231]

I imagine so many resources simply wasted because of some fools creating war ....if they used fruitfully can eleviate some poverty in world....

[@gadan2]

how do you even reply to such a stupid comment?

[@joseftrumpeldor6240]

sid32231 Poverty is eliminated by allowing people the freedom to do what they see fit, not what the (corrupt) government wants them to do.

[@gadan2]

Your right. It's called the animal kingdom where only the fittest survive. I would hope someone is there to protect the deserving weak.Would not care to live in your world.

[@n9brb]

The SAGE bldg at Richards-Gebauer still stands, though is used for manufacturing now.

[@irish89055]

True, my father was FAA liaison to NORAD from 64-94,he worked in several SAGE facilities before NORAD HQ. I have a framed photo of a Russian Bear being escorted by F-15's out of Langley. They would fly up from Cuba along the east coast to Russia...

[@Wok_Agenda]

Nah I prefer the sugar system

[@johnhopkins6260]

wow... blast from the past I was a 276, worked the 485L system (can still write backwards)

[@SoapinTrucker]

A good Dell with an an i9 could run all the computing needs of one warship of yesteryear!

[@southwestxnorthwest]

"One of the most dangerous threats to our nation's security is the possibility of attack by enemy bombers..." _(shows clip of a squadron of B-52 bombers)_

[@Cassia-Aurea]

@Datan0de And yet -- it was multitasking, multiuser and networked...with GUI...

[@alroybarrow]

Those fighter interceptors were f100 super sabres.

[@Cactijellyfish]

Those on the ground were F-104's, both my favorite planes.

[@tonyman1106]

it can fit in a chip smaller then u can c

[@evalsoftserver]

He look like William Shatner Cap.Kirk

[@tiger2338]

One of them is in Canada and was until three years ago completely underground. It is at CFB North Bay. I believe you can tour the new building.

[@willb169]

SAGE = War Games' WOPR?

[@GREENTAMBOURINE]

Reminds me of the 1960s Ken Russell film "The Billion Dollar Brain" (Len Deighton). also, in the early 1980s cards and reel-to-reel were still in use to regulate machinery in a steel mill where I worked.

[@mightycoldham7897]

stop with the trump add already!

[@anthonydelco5729]

Impressive technology for the time. The United States had such an advance on the rest of the world.

[@bob4analog]

+Anthony Delco - The computer technology we have now was because of what we did back then.

[@Bvic3]

Anthony Delco Why ? France and UK also had computer assisted radar. The only more advanced stuff that the US had were fancy prototypes of not very useful technologies. For example the B2 is a fancy bomber that is nearly useless, by the time it was operational there were smart bombs making carpet bombing useless. Standard fighter jets with advanced bombs did the job just as well.

[@choppergirl]

rubbish, its a well known fact one of the incompetencies of the japanese army was their preoccupation with volks type weapons, particularly bamboo spears. even their rifles were primitive and outdated with iron sights. hilter had hitler youth training to fight 'to the bitter end' -- they did not. no tmuch 15 year old boys can do, or old women. i'm sure many civilians in those cities were opposed to the war, as there were many people opposed to the Iraq war here in the US.

[@Zoomer30]

Something tells me the guys that had to stand near that machine dont have to worry about having kids.

[@judmcc]

This is a great film but it needs color correction.

[@stevedunch581]

Buddy Cox no way. The crappy quality is what gives it the charm!

[@ufoengines]

Ran across this old patent 3190554 on a digital computer that ran on air. Wonder if anything was done with the idea.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

I'd love to build a music synthesizer with fluidics. These circuits scream for becoming 3D printed. In 1960th fluidics was thought to replace electronics for making cheap mass produced computers! Apparently it got mainly used by soviets. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZmLMmo17hNyDp68 It was too slow and big to compete with microchips, despite this cheap cybernetic technology could control household devices like washing machines by water (or air) pushed through a simple moulded piece of plastic. The only household item with success were Tomy water games. Nowadays fluidics is only used in chemical testing machines to mix and move small substance droplets around.

[@ufoengines]

@@cyberyogicowindler2448 Was thinking if Babbage had this tech the Pipe Organ folks could have built his computer and Lady Ada could have invented COBOL . Cool huh? If you have an address I could sent what I have on this idea.

[@ufoengines]

@@cyberyogicowindler2448 This nice lady Fran talked up my info. pack on the FLODAC. you can see it at 8:15 kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6LKqaaApZ2AkM0 . 3D printing up a FLODAC to calculate log tables would be kinda hip.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

@@ufoengines In an alternate universe orchestrion makers and not war industry could have invented the computer.

[@fredericktaylor2891]

I was an ECCM tech, we were a small group charged with frontline data analysis and control at long range radar sites since extraneous data could overload the memory cores of the Q-7. We were also responsible for overseeing that the systems were functioning within established parameters such as alignment with a permanent echo, power output, system noise levels and frequency drift on klystron-based systems just to mention a few. We were also responsible for data transfers to BUIC sites when level 2 operation was ordered by the direction center.

[@Zoomer30]

The capacitor drum they showed was a copy of the one used on the ABC (Atanasoff Berry Computer).

[@TheUglyGnome]

I highly doubt they used capacitor drums in SAGE. More likely they were magnetic drums.

[@j.sebring6136]

@@TheUglyGnome They were magnetic drums. Some were used to buffer the data rates between the CPU and the slower display systems. Read one word, skip 5, etc.

[@SpecialEdAllstar]

@selahia Without this paranoia and defense spending you would not be able to comment on this video. It was military budgets that provided the funding needed to drive forward this technology. The internet is a result of this spending. The early advances in computing cost tens of millions of dollars to produce any results at all. The computer itself was a product of war. US defense budgets drove innovation and created the technological foundation for the world we enjoy today.

[@jwaustinmunguy]

@selahia Your wrong. SAGE worked and NATO built a version the the 1970's. Read some history about the Soviets. They occupied Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, etc. etc. The US rarely occupy the countries they have 'liberated'. You can observe your likely enemies abilities by doing what they do and that is what electronic surveillance is all about.

[@toasteee252]

haha.. do you think all these people that were working in the computer room feeding it cards and changing reels and basically making it run. Could have fathomed that just forty years later a massively smaller offspring of this computer would be replacing them for their jobs and making the humans obsolete.

[@bestamerica]

' in america have the best computer than ussr russia,,, amerca can make the better computer without ussr russia,,, ussr russia cannot make computer without america,,, ussr russia always depend on america design computer

[@lifeforce3451]

these old videos are amazing and full of details !

[@thomasjordan5483]

Not while I was stationed at McGuire NYADS. I think they closed it down right after I left . I left in May 1966 (a month early to attend college).

[@ufoengines]

Did a many gererations later SAGE system take over that lost airliner's flight controls and land it, or crash it someware, ... maybe?

[@DarkEmperor009]

wow this is so cool! I didn't realize this project ever existed!

[@johnpro2847]

shame our biggest enemy is out fellow human being..what a sad planet we live on

[@DoktorStrangelove]

SAGE was like Skynet's extra-chromosome ancestor.

[@DavidG2P]

How many Gigaflops does the main SAGE computer have?

[@barriewright2857]

So what does sage look like know fifty years later ? "SKY NET" !.

[@brianrichard8310]

The SAGE complex at Duluth Minn was where my Father worked for 4 years (64-68 , RCAF on detatched service to USAF). Now i understand the whole base was closed way back, and the town is barely clawing it's way back. Too bad. Had some good friends there as a kid. He was a "radar operator".

[@DavidGalich77]

In all that complicity there was technology. We as humans are resourceful.

[@camdengallup8671]

2019 squad

[@Kg277]

23:02 star-wars-like growl!

[@PatcoGeorge]

I was a scope dope at the 4634th Sage Support Squadron, READS, Reno Air Defense Sector from 1963-1966 when sage was closed down at Stead AFB just north of Reno, NV. I wish I could attach a KMZ file I made that shows all the Sage Direction Centers using Google Earth. Was on A crew and worked tracking, OT, and manual inputs. Those were the days.

[@DataWaveTaGo]

At 1:58 model of BOMARC in background. Canada bought 'em with nuke warheads stored on the American side of the border!

[@jbelden36]

This is um like really groovy and far out to go back in time about 50 years. People seemed like um really nerdy and square back then.

[@charlesinglin]

I grew up in the 50's and 60's. You have no idea how nerdy and square it was.

[@Bvic3]

LuckyLucy Today, we worship everything that is perverse, low, ugly and criminal.

[@cnmnnaturalist]

If you drive by the airport on Highway 53 in Duluth, Minnesota you'll see a large mostly windowless building housing the Natural Resources Research Institute. It used to be a SAGE center.

[@badcompany-w6s]

I believe my place of employment uses that computer to process payroll. 😆

[@Zoomer30]

9 years later and still here!