---
created_at: '2012-01-15T03:06:40.000Z'
title: IBM Ad for SAGE, A Massive Cold War Air Defense System (1960)
url: http://laughingsquid.com/ibm-ad-for-sage-a-massive-cold-war-air-defense-system-1960/
author: bane
points: 49
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---
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# IBM Ad for SAGE, A Massive Cold War Air Defense System (1960)

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# IBM Ad for SAGE, A Massive Cold War Air Defense System (1960)

by [E.D.W. Lynch][10] at 10:43 AM on January 12, 2012

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![SAGE][17]

This [1960 IBM ad][18] touts the capabilities of [SAGE][19], a massive Cold War-era automated system for tracking and destroying incoming enemy bombers. The heart of the system was the [IBM AN/FSQ-7][20] computer, which at 275 tons is still the world’s largest computer. Each computer had 55,000 vacuum tubes, required a half acre of floor space, and operated on punch cards. There were 52 AN/FSQ-7 computers around the country. SAGE was retired in the early 1980s.

![Semi-Automatic Ground Environment \(SAGE\)][21]

![SAGE][22]

![SAGE Phone][23]

![SAGE][24]

Here are [photos Scott Beale shot in 2006][25] of the SAGE on display at [Computer History Museum][26] in Mountain View, CA.

via [Retronaut][27]

video via [chiklit][28], photo via [MITRE][29]

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