Basic Encyclopedia
US Air Force list of potential targets
The Basic Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia of the US Air Force that lists places that are targets for bombing. It was begun in 1946 during the Cold War as the Bombing Encyclopedia and included over 80,000 potential targets around the world during the Cold War. It included their B.E. number (which consisted of an eight digit identifier), a brief description, longitude and latitude, elevation, and category (military, industrial, or an airfield). The title was changed to Basic Encyclopedia in the 1960s or 1970s before its publication ended in 1973. The encyclopedia was computerized and used in the Defense Intelligence Agency's Automated Installation File.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Basic Encyclopedia”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- CTIF Bombing Encylopedia Example 1959.jpg by Outten J. Clinard, "Developments in Air Targeting: Data Handling Techniques," Studies in Intelligence 3, no. 2 (Spring 1959), 95-104, on 101. NOTE: Studies in Intelligence is a product of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)., Public domain
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