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F-15 Driver describes what it was like sitting Hot Alert during the Cold War

by Till Daisd April 27, 2023

written by Till Daisd

“For 15 years (1977-92) sitting 24-hour air defense – codenamed Zulu – alert was a fact of life for an Eagle Driver at Bitburg,” Doug Dildy, former F-15 Driver

“For 15 years (1977-92) sitting 24-hour air defense – codenamed Zulu – alert was a fact of life for an F-15 Driver at Bitburg.”

According to what Steve Davies and Doug Dildy describe in their book F-15 Eagle Engaged, “when scheduled for Zulu the pair of pilots would show up at their squadron, frequently before any other members, and using the 36th TFW Zulu Briefing Guide discuss how they would conduct the launch, intercept, and 1 recovery. Gathering their Hight gear from the Squadron Life Support section, they would drive over to the Zulu barn and check in with the element they were replacing. There would be a quick brief by the outgoing Zulu Commander on the status of the jets and any intelligence regarding Warsaw Pact air activity. The oncoming pilots would then order breakfast (provided by the 36th TFW support group) and walk out to their jets, inspect, start, and cock them.

The sad story of the Blue on Blue incident which resulted in the destruction of two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters by two USAF F-15s — A U.S. Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle from the 53rd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Wing, based at Bitburg Air Base

“Cocking the jet consisted of starting the aircraft, testing all the functions that would be needed on a QRA(I) scramble and intercept, and setting the switches so that the systems would come to life in the mode needed. These included firing up the radar and doing all of the BIT checks, tuning the AIM-7s to the radar’s frequency, and checking that the AIM-9Ls each slaved to the radar and had a good tone. The INS was given a complete GC (for gyrocompass) alignment, usually about a nine-minute process, and the data in its memory was checked for accuracy. Once the amber “ALN” (alignment complete) light was flashing, the control knob was rotated to OFF to save, or “store,” the Alignment. All aircraft checklist items were accomplished through Before Taxiing Checks — including lowering the flaps to the take-off setting – to be sure the jet was ready to launch. The radios were set on the frequencies for Bitburg tower in the “main” (No. 1 radio) and Bitburg command post (CP or BARON) in the “aux” (No. 2 radio). After shutdown, the INS knob was rotated to “STOR” so that when the engines started and the generators kicked in the system would immediately access the saved or stored alignment (a three-minute process and usually the limiting factor in a timely launch).

“Once the jets were cocked and the pilots and ground crew were back in the “shack,” breakfast would be served and everyone would sit down for a relaxed meal. With everyone together the Zulu Commander would announce he was doing a “horn and lights check” (to keep from interrupting breakfast with a dash to the jets), and call the CP to get a test on the klaxon and lights. To back up any contingency of lost comms with the CP, a set of three lights was mounted to the wall of the Zulu hangar bay: green for “Go,” yellow for “start engines and wait for instructions” (known as “Slingshot” status) and red for “Don’t Go” (which of course would have to be authenticated). With all checks done, the Zulu Commander would report four jets “on status” and the Zulu crew would settle into the dullness of another 24 hours in the barn.

“The barn’s living accommodations consisted of a kitchen, small dining area, and relaxation/ready room containing sofas, books, magazines, and television on the ground floor. Upstairs was the sleeping area with the four pilots’ beds in line abreast near the brass fireman’s pole and the “battle cab” at the forward end of the upper floor. The “battle cab” was wired into 4ATAF’s AD and Bitburg’s CP communications network and frequently, if something was up, the Zulu Commander would “hang out” there monitoring the discussions on the net and get (or give to his crew) a head’s up that a launch might be imminent. (If the words “Three Six, COPPER RING…” were ever heard coming in over the net, we knew a scramble was imminent and immediately began stumbling over each other to get to our jets.)

“Regardless of any notification, when the klaxon blared the pilots and Zulu ground crew would scramble. If it occurred during sleep, the pilots would literally jump out of bed and into their flight suits and boots (left properly positioned for the jump when retiring), tighten their boots, zip up their suits, and head for the pole. Adrenalin would be pumping but we had to pause long enough to allow the preceding pilot to clear the bottom of the pole (lest a collision at the base of the pole knocks out 50 percent of the alert force). On the ground, we would dash out to our respective jets. Our g-suits would be hanging from the ladder and zipping them on — while the ground crews opened the hangar doors, pulled on their headsets, and moved into position for engine start — we’d clamber up the ladder and drop into the seat, pulling the JFS start handle as we did so. As the JFS wound up to an ear-splitting scream one of the maintainers would buckle us into our harness and exit, remove the ladder and move to be ready to pull the chocks.

“As this blur of motion was progressing, as soon as the rising sound of the JFS cranking leveled off, we would raise the finger lift (on the front of the throttles) to start the first engine. As soon as the first generator was online we’d turn the radar on and the INS would start “cooking” in its alert alignment and the radios would click on. Raising the finger lift to start the second motor, now only two to three minutes into this well-practiced drill, the four-ship flight lead would pull out his pencil and, getting a nod from his wingman alongside him, would press the mike button to the rear to check in and contact Bitburg CP.

“LIMA ALPHA ZERO. ONE, check.”
“Twoop.”
“Three.”
“Fourp.”
“BARON, LIMA ALPHA ZERO ONE with four, ready to copy words.”
“LIMA ALPHA ZERO-ONE, Tango Scramble Two to Low Fly Seven. Contact STRAW BASKET GCI center on TAD 631 [tactical air defense frequency 631], back-up 635. Time now 03:00Zulu, Authentication Sierra Hotel.”
“LIMA ALPHA ZERO ONE copies.”
“Twoop.”
“Three.”
“Fourp.”

F-15s of the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing at Bitburg Air Base, Germany

“Checking to be sure the engines were running in limits at idle, the radar had timed in, the ALN light was flashing, and his wingman was ready (helmet nod), the flight lead would give the pull-chocks signal. Getting a thumb’s up from the crew chief that they were clear, and a salute, he would push the throttles forward and press the mic button forward as well. After a quick check-in, he would call, “Bitburg tower, LIMA ALPHA ZERO-ONE, Tango Scramble Two.”
“LIMA ALPHA ZERO-ONE, cleared for take-off, runway 24.”

“Swinging onto the runway, we’d push the throttles into afterburner, wait for the first punch in the ass signaling a light off, then shove them all the way forward into “full blower.” The sidelines would become a streaking blur and the airspeed needle started winding rapidly around the dial. A quick pulse on the stick to get the nose up, airborne, get the gear up, flaps up, accelerating the jet to match our rushing heartbeats. At the end of the runway, we’d give a strong pull on the “pole,” condensation streamers wafting from the wingtips as the jet rotated skyward, blasting like a space rocket into the air. Behind the lead, the wingman would complete the same process, tipping his jet back on its tail to put LA01 into the large green SuperSearch circle on the HUD, get a lock, and call “Tied.”

“Approaching 7,000 feet, at the top of the near-vertical climb, the leader would roll off to the east and send his wingman to the TAD frequency. As he saw the wingman roll out of his climb in tactical formation alongside him, the leader would check in, “STRAW BASKET, LIMA ALPHA ZERO-ONE, check.”
“Twoop.”
A distinctly German accent would then respond, “LIMA ALPHA ZERO-ONE, vector one-one-zero, climb angels two-five [25,000ft].”

“With that call, we were headed for the low altitude training area called “Low Fly Seven,” probably to meet Neuburg’s (Luftwaffe) F-4F Phantoms over “Hasselback Ridge” for 2 v 2 low altitude intercepts. By the time we’d get there, our heart rates would back off to inflight normal and our brains would catch up with the jet and begin doing what we’d been drilled to do, working the radar, comms, and weapons parameters (master arm switch stayed in “SAFE”) to intercept any potential “bad guy.” We did so knowing that with their own radars, the real “bad guys” were sitting on the other side of the fence watching and listening to us. We did all this to convince them that they would be met with the same fast and lethal response should they put so much as a toe over the line.”

The following video, taken at Bitburg at the height of the Cold War, shows a typical F-15 Zulu Alert Scramble.

F-15 Eagle Engaged is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Airman 1st Class Javier Alvarez and Sgt. Janel Schroeder / U.S. Air Force

April 27, 2023 0 comment

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Luftwaffe Dornier Do 217 bombers sank the Italian battleship Roma using the Fritz X

by Till Daisd April 26, 2023

written by Till Daisd

When the Dornier Do 217 used the radio-guided, free-fall “Fritz X” weapon to sink the Italian battleship Roma, it made aviation history by being the first military aircraft to use a precision-guided bomb in combat

The Dornier Do 217, which took over for the Do 17 in frontline service from the middle to the end of 1941, had a significantly greater bomb load capacity and range. Although the Do 217 was first only deployed as a bomber, later modifications allowed it to perform the duty of a precision maritime strike. The Do 217 was modified to launch glide bombs in order to carry out the latter objective; units using these innovative weapons saw considerable success in the Mediterranean starting in the autumn of 1943.

When the Do 217 used the radio-guided, free-fall “Fritz X” weapon to sink the Italian battleship Roma shortly after Italy’s capitulation in September 1943, it made aviation history as the first military aircraft to use a precision-guided bomb in combat.

Following the Operation Avalanche landings in Salerno, on the southwest coast of Italy, which began on September 3, 1943, things were busy for Luftwaffe Dornier Do 217 crews, as described by Chris Goss in his book Dornier Do 217 Units of World War 2. The Allies were fortunate that the Italians surrendered five days later because the Regia Marina’s main warships were supposed to be assaulting the landings. Instead, a 17-ship fleet, including the battleships Roma, Vittoria Veneto, and Italia, sailed from La Spezia on September 9 in an effort to keep the ships out of German hands. When the Luftwaffe learned about the Italian plans, they sent III./KG 100 to attack them with ‘Fritz X’ guided bombs.

III./KG 100 Do 217s followed the fleet until it reached the Strait of Bonifacio between Sardinia and Corsica, where 11 aircraft launched an attack at 15:37 local time.

It is believed that the first strike was led by Major Bernhard Jope, whose observer, Unteroffizier Lori Klapproth, achieved a near miss that temporarily jammed Roma’s rudder. A second attack wave, led by Oberleutnant Heinrich Schmetz, saw Unteroffizier Heinrich Penz, observer to Leutnant Klaus Deumling of 7./KG 100 who was on his first mission, hit Roma on the starboard side. Photographic evidence exists of the attack by Unteroffizier Eugen Degan, the observer in Oberfeldwebel Kurt Steinborn’s Do 217K-1 of 7./KG 100, who also reported hitting Roma on the starboard side. At the same time, Roma’s sister ship Italia was attacked.

The ship was damaged by the second glide bomb that struck Roma, which detonated beneath the keel. The boiler and engine rooms were submerged in water, and the entire ship was engulfed in electrical flames. When Roma slowed down, another “Fritz X” from a second wave of seven Do 217s exploded in the forward engine room at 1602 hours. Then there were more flames, flooding, and an explosion in the magazine of the No. 2 main turret. Further flooding ensued, at which point Roma started to sink bow first until it broke in half and capsized. At least 1253 crew members perished along with the ship, and 593 men were rescued.

Italy had more luck because the “Fritz X” that struck it forward of the No. 1 main turret pierced the ship, made its way out of the hull, and then detonated in the water below the ship. The battleship limped into Malta port in spite of the latter’s hole, which allowed 1060 tons of water to enter.

Dornier Do 217 Units of World War 2 is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Laststandonzombieisland.com and unknown via Wikipedia

Luftwaffe Dornier Do 217 bombers sank the Italian battleship Roma by means of the Fritz X, the first ever precision-guided bomb deployed in combat — Italian battleship Roma

April 26, 2023 0 comment

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The T-12 Cloudmaker, the bomb carried by the B-36 Peacemaker

by Till Daisd April 25, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The T-12 Cloudmaker was twice as big and weighed 44,000 lb overall. It was based on the British-designed 22,000lb (10,000kg) Grand Slam created by British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis during World War II (20,000kg)

The T-12 Cloudmaker earthquake bomb, a sizable demolition bomb produced by the US from 1944 to 1948.

The T-12 belonged to a small class of bombs made to assault structures like bunkers and viaducts that are impervious to typical “soft” bombs. It accomplished this by having a very thick, hardened nose portion that was made to pierce deeply into structures made of hardened concrete before detonating within the target after a brief delay.

According to r/Warthunder Reddit Community, Barnes Wallis, a British aeronautical engineer, based the T-12 Cloudmaker on the British-designed Grand Slam 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) he created during World War II. The T-12 Cloudmaker was also twice as big as the Grand Slam 44,000 lb (20,000 kg). A hardened, extremely aerodynamic bomb of the biggest weight intended to be dropped from the highest altitude and was the concept for both the Grand Slam and the Cloudmaker.

The ensuing shock wave delivers through the earth into targets after the explosion penetrates deeply into the earth. Structures may be undermined by the ensuing underground void and ground motion. The bomb could also be employed on targets with greater resistance. These kinds of bombs have tail fins that spin the bomb for increased precision and can travel at supersonic speeds.

The story of the T-12 Cloudmaker, the 44,000 lb earthquake bomb carried by the B-36 Peacemaker — A Convair crew loads a 44,000 lb T-12 “Grand Slam” type bomb shape into the front bomb bay of a B-36

It was intended to reach a target weight of 42,000 lb (19,000 kg), which is half of the Convair B-36 “Peacemaker” bomber’s maximum payload. Its hardened case was slightly less than 43,000 lb (19,500 kg). The final T-12 weighed 44,000 lb (19,800 kg). This was twice the size of the United States’ previous largest bomb, the 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) M110 (T-14), the American-built version of the British Grand Slam. The T-12 had improvements based on testing and calculations rather than being a straightforward scaling up of the M110.

The T-12 Cloudmaker was dropped from a Boeing B-29 Superfortess that had been modified when testing of this new weapon started. Once officially entering service with the USAF, the T-12 Cloudmaker was mainly deployed from the Convair B-36 Peacemaker. Not one, but two of these enormous demolition bombs could be carried by the B-36 Peacemaker. Until 1958, when the B-36 Peacemakers were starting to be deactivated, the T-12 Cloudmaker was still in use.

Additional source: Wikipedia

Photo by Greg Goebel via Wikipedia and Our World

April 25, 2023 0 comment

The Memphis Belle pilot remembers the B-17 Flying Fortress raid on the Bremen Focke-Wulf plant

by Till Daisd April 24, 2023

written by Till Daisd

‘German fighters could be seen coming up from the ground and I have never seen so many at one time,’ Captain Robert K. Morgan, pilot of B-17 Flying Fortress Memphis Belle

A record 115 bombers were constructed for a raid on the Focke-Wulf plant in Bremen on April 17, 1943, after 8th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress crews in eastern England received a warning for another strike. The 91st and 306th comprised the first large-scale combat wing, and the 303rd and 305th Bomb Groups made up the second. This was the first time that two such wings had been dispatched. Each wing had three group boxes of 18–21 aircraft flying in formation for mutual firepower and defense.

In Martin W. Bowman’s book On the Highways of the Skies: The 8th Air Force in World War II, Captain Robert K. Morgan, the 91st Bomb Group pilot of the Memphis Belle, which would go on to become one of the most renowned B-17s of the war, if not the most famous, explains:

“The Germans had got pretty hot on the B-17s. They started coming in from the nose of the ships and we had only two .50 caliber guns, which wouldn’t go straight forward. We were working on the problem but hadn’t solved it and hadn’t put any more guns in. We found that by flying all four groups very close together we could get good fighter protection. This worked fine for a while. We would set one group at 22,000, one at 23.000, one at 24,000, and one at 25,000, always about a 1000ft difference, on the same line with each other or behind each other. If the enemy attacked the middle Group the firepower of all the other Groups would be concentrated on the fighters. Trouble was, the Germans thought about things too. They worked out the best method of attacking our planes. They picked on the low front Group while all the back three Groups couldn’t help out. We solved that by moving the second group up in front, the first Group behind them. In other words, the lead Group was higher than the second was.

B-17F Memphis Belle — B-17 Memphis Belle

“The Bremen raid was about the most effective and successful raid we made from the standpoint of planning, efficiency, damage done, and losses. We were briefed as well or better than for any other. The Germans had 178 flak guns to be turned on us. We went in from the southwest to the northeast on a heading so they could never get more than 72 guns on us. We found the plant and turned off to the right and made a complete turn and came out. That is the long and short way around but if we had come out the other way we would have had to run through the other 106 guns. We assembled over England below 5000ft and went out below 5000 until we got ready to turn and come in. We began to turn and climb and when we reached the German coast we had our altitude. We tried to make them think we were going to Wilhelmshaven and it seemed to work.”

A German reconnaissance plane spotted the group of aircraft soon after they had left the English coast, and the Americans’ approach was radioed to fighter controllers along the enemy coastline. Although the Luftwaffe fighters were pointed in their direction just as the B-17s passed the Friesian Islands, the German defenses had no idea where the bombers were going. Once more, Captain Robert K. Morgan:

“The weather was pretty overcast below. It looked as though Wilhelmshaven was open and Bremen would be overcast, so I thought we might go back after Wilhelmshaven instead. But a few seconds later I found the target by flak. I looked over to the left and there was one black cloud sitting there and it was flak. I figured that must be Bremen. Sure enough, we could see Bremen when I turned. We went in from the southwest to the northeast. German fighters could be seen coming up from the ground and I have never seen so many at one time. I had to forget about the fighters because we started the run. We were the high Group. We made the run. The flak was pretty bad, bursting all around us. The boys in the low Group really caught hell from it. The Germans had set up the barrage and it worked well. When we turned off the target the fighters began to hit us. They had 109s, 110s, 190s and Ju 88s. But we found out that if you keep your Groups weaving, when the attacks come, you can nose down and turn into the attack and they won’t hit you.”

Waist gunner S/Sgt Casimer A. Nastal, who joined the Memphis Belle crew at the age of 19 and had previously worked mending washing machines, continues:

Memphis Belle Crew — The crew of the “Memphis Belle”® after their 25th mission: (l to r) TSgt. Harold Loch (top turret gunner/engineer), SSgt. Cecil Scott (ball turret gunner), TSgt. Robert Hanson (radio operator), Capt. James Verinis (copilot), Capt. Robert Morgan (pilot), Capt. Charles Leighton (navigator), SSgt. John Quinlan (tail gunner), SSgt. Casimer Nastal (waist gunner), Capt. Vincent Evans (bombardier), and SSgt. Clarence Winchell (waist gunner).

“At the target, the flak started. It was bursting outside the waist windows. I could have reached out and grabbed it. I kept thinking: ‘Let’s get the hell out of here.’ The fighters came in hunches of 20 or 30. I saw two or three fighters hit by their own flak. It was so thick you could hardly see the ground. The Focke Wulfs were even bursting through our formation.”

Finally, Captain Robert K. Morgan says;

“We lost 16 bombers, all in the low Group. That was the greatest loss we had sustained to date. But the bombing was successful. There were three factories and two were completely destroyed and a third about 60% destroyed.”

Six months prior, German armaments minister Albert Speer had already issued directives for dispersed fighter production. General Hansell, who was in charge of First Wing Headquarters, was certain as to what caused the large number of casualties during the Bremen raid. In his Operation Report, he noted on April 23, 1943: “Most of our losses were the result of poor formation flying, which resulted in aircraft becoming separated and easy prey to the fighters.”

Notably, in the 1990 movie Memphis Belle starring Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, and Harry Connick Jr., Memphis Belle, along with the rest of the squadron, is tasked with attacking a Focke-Wulf 190 manufacturing plant in Bremen to complete 25 missions, a requirement for the crew to finish their tour of duty.

On the Highways of the Skies, The 8th Air Force in World War II is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

April 24, 2023 0 comment

Fokker-G.1A-311-shooting-down-Bf-109D

The dogfight showing the Dutch Fokker G.1 was a threat for Messerschmitt Bf 109

by Till Daisd April 23, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The Bf 109 that initially attacked him was swerving to catch up to the G.1, but 1e Lt. Gerben Sonderman employed the Fokker’s superior maneuverability to turn into a firing position on the German

German forces invaded the Netherlands in what was intended to be a swift surgical strike to fortify the right flank of the assault on France and Belgium. A Dutch surrender was anticipated within 24 hours thanks to a daring plan that heavily relied on the Luftwaffe air power, air-landing troops, and the largest airborne assault ever.

Nonetheless, the Netherlands had the first completely integrated anti-aircraft network in Europe as well as modern and effective aircraft, as described by Ryan K. Noppen in his book Holland 1940 The Luftwaffe’s First Setback in the West.

1e Luitenant Gerben Sonderman boarded his Fokker G.1, 311 that was stationed on the northwest corner of the tarmac at 0430 hours on May 10, 1940, just as the Heinkel He 111s of II./KG 4 started their attack against Waalhaven Airfield. While his gunner removed the wheel chocks after his mechanics started the aircraft’s engines, Sonderman proceeded to taxi. His gunner was still boarding the cockpit when Sonderman applied full power and lifted off. Within the 3e JaVA, Sonderman was likely the best pilot.

He was experienced in doing aerobatic performances in most of the Fokker planes used by the ML and knew the limits to which he could push his G.1. He served as the chief test pilot for the Fokker company from 1938 until he was enlisted in the military in early 1940.

Sonderman could see a Ju 52 flying above him as he climbed. As the G.1 zoomed past the slow transport, Sonderman fired a burst with his eight machine guns, forcing the Ju 52 to immediately dive for cover. Sonderman promptly re-entered pursuit of the transport after executing a tight turn with his G.1. A second gun burst sent the lumbering transport down. After being forced to land on the Oude Maas south of Rotterdam, this Ju 52, no. 6404 from 9./KGzbV.l, and 15 Fallschirmjäger from III./IR16 were captured as prisoners.

As Sonderman watched the Ju 52 go down, bullets tore through the G.1A’s radio set as a Bf 109 flew past from above. Sonderman took evasive action and observed several Bf 109s to his rear; he had been bounced by the Bf 109Ds of 10. (N)/JG 2.

The fighter who initially attacked him was turning to catch up to the G.1, but Sonderman exploited the G.1’s greater maneuverability to turn himself into a firing position on the German. The Bf 109 fell after being hit by machine gun fire (the identity and fate of the aircraft are unknown). As more German planes surrounded him, Sonderman kept flying evasively and using aerobatic maneuvers to move around the faster single-engine fighters. One of the Bf 109s attempted a head-on attack against the G.1 but missed after making a wide turn.

After dodging the incoming fire, Sonderman fired back before turning to avoid a collision. His marksmanship was excellent because the Bf 109 was struck and last seen diving toward the ground.

Feldwebel Peter Keller of 10.(N)/JG 2, who was flying this Bf 109D, was captured after a forced landing south of Rotterdam. Keller was later sent to a Prisoner camp in Canada. As soon as Sonderman recognized his supply of ammo was running short, he separated from the surviving Bf 109s and started moving westward toward the sea. Yet the chase had not yet come to an end. Sonderman noticed a He 111 heading east at a low altitude as he got closer to the coast. Sonderman approached the bomber from behind and fired the last of his rounds into it.

Sonderman’s final kill happened to be He 111 5J+DA, Oberst Martin Fiebig’s aircraft. Fiebig and three other members of his crew were captured when the bomber belly-landed in a farm field and held captive for the duration of the Meidagen. Sonderman, who had run out of ammo, decided it was vital to land and noticed a flat area of the beach below him that would make a good landing area. After Sonderman landed G.1A 311 on a beach close to Oostvoorne, he was soon joined by two of his 3e JaVA comrades.

The German attack on May 10 was only partially successful, and the Dutch continued to fight for a further four days. The Luftwaffe turned to terror bombing Rotterdam on the fifth day to force a surrender after its initial plan had mainly fallen short.

Holland 1940 The Luftwaffe’s first setback in the West is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Adam Tooby via Osprey Publishing

April 23, 2023 0 comment

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F-15C Eagles protected the air assets from the MiG-31s

by Till Daisd April 22, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Even though KAL 007’s wreckage had fallen in the Sea of Japan’s international waters, Kadena’s F-15C Eagles had to defend P-3 aircraft from Soviet fighters on the prowl while they searched for the airliner’s black box data and voice recorders

The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, nimble tactical fighter created to give the United States Air Force (USAF) air supremacy over the battlefield. Beginning in 1979, the single-seat F-15C, an upgraded version of the F-15A, was added to the USAF’s inventory.

The brand-new F-15Cs of the 12th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) / 18th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) were stationed at Kadena Air Base (AB), on the Japanese island of Okinawa, when Korean Airlines Boeing 747 flight KAL 007 vanished en route from the Alaskan capital of Anchorage to Seoul, South Korea, on September 1, 1983.

U.S. intelligence agencies already knew what had happened to the airliner while the world prepared for the worst-case scenario. After veering off course and flying over Sakhalin Island, it was brought down by a Soviet Su-15 interceptor. The airliner’s 269 passengers and crew all perished.

HOW KADENA'S F-15Cs PROTECTED THE AIR ASSETS THAT WERE TRYING TO FIND KAL 007 WRECKAGE FROM SOVIET MiG-31s — Korean Air Lines HL7442 parked among other aircraft at Honolulu International Airport. This aircraft was shot down by a Soviet Su-15 near Sakhalin Island when it left its assigned flight track.

According to Steve Davies’ description in his book F-15C Eagle Units in Combat, highly-classified intercepts showed a Soviet ground controller ordering a fighter to intercept the 747 after it unintentionally entered Soviet airspace. The pilot had been directed to get quite near to KAL 007. This was because he thought it might be a USAF RC-135 Rivet Joint. No warnings were given to the crew, unlike what the Soviets later claimed; he had radioed back that the contact was not a reconnaissance aircraft but a civil airliner. He was then ordered to shoot it down.

There was a race to be the first to recover the voice- and data-recording black boxes from the crash site. At this early stage, the United States considered these as being essential to trying to disprove Soviet assertions that they had believed the aircraft to be a reconnaissance platform flying without lights on and that the fighter that eventually brought it down had fired warning shots passed the cockpit windows. The classified radio intercepts could not be publicly disclosed until much later due to the covert manner in which they had been gathered, therefore recovering data from the black box was crucial. The only reliable way to prove what happened that night was through the data recorders.

Unarmed U.S. Navy P-3C Orion patrol aircraft from Patrol Squadron Four (VP-4) and from Patrol Squadron Forty (VP-40) took part in the U.S. effort to locate the recorders. Even if the wreckage of KAL 007 had fallen in the Sea of Japan’s international seas, the P-3s needed defense against roving Soviet fighters. Selected 12th TFS pilots with their F-15Cs were sent to Misawa AB, located at the tip of Honshu Island. Indeed, the distance between Sakhalin Island, which was under Soviet control, and Misawa, where the plane was believed to have been engaged, was just 200 miles.

HOW KADENA'S F-15Cs PROTECTED THE AIR ASSETS THAT WERE TRYING TO FIND KAL 007 WRECKAGE FROM SOVIET MiG-31s — This is the Task Force 71 After Action Report map for the Joint U.S.-South Korea-Japanese Search operations in international waters for KAL 007, The report, authored by Commander Walter T. Piotti, and map are now unclassified, released, and have been distributed to various public bodies, including the American Association for Families of the Victims of KAL 007. The printed legend is original to the map and explanatory arrows (clearly distinguishable) are provided by Bert Schlossberg.

One of those chosen to operate the alert F-15s at Misawa was Lt Rob Graeter. He recalled: “We had a south CAP (Combat Air Patrol) and a north CAP. The southern CAP was abeam and to the west of Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido. The north CAP was about 80 miles from the search area and was closer to the tip of Hokkaido. We were flying with three ‘bags’ (fuel tanks) and eight missiles (four AIM-9Ls and four AIM-7Fs), so we were not going to go any faster than Mach 1.1. What that meant was that we were about 20 minutes flying time away from the northern CAP – maybe a little less if we really pushed it.”

There were plenty of F-15 and aerial tanker resources nearby to enable the Eagles to maintain a constant airborne presence closer to the crash site (3 fully equipped Eagle squadrons were located in Kadena). However, as Davies explained, political tensions were so high that such a move would have been viewed as provocative. Instead, the six Eagles and the pilots waited for the signal to launch in response to any hostile or threatening Soviet behavior while they were on 24-hour alert.

HOW KADENA'S F-15Cs PROTECTED THE AIR ASSETS THAT WERE TRYING TO FIND KAL 007 WRECKAGE FROM SOVIET MiG-31s

It is noteworthy that the Soviets quickly deployed their own resources to find the recorders, with the search focused southeast of Sakhalin. Smirynkh, Dolinsk-Sokol, and Yuznho-Sakhalinsk were three Soviet fighter sites on the island that housed MiG-21, MiG-23, and long-range MiG-31 ‘Foxhound’ aircraft (the latter was a variant of the MiG-25 ‘Foxbat’). The ‘Foxhound’ represented the biggest threat, and the USAF was once again unclear about how to handle it, just as it had been with the ‘Foxbat’ years previously. In reality, the MiG-31 had only recently entered service and was still mainly mysterious.

Since Graeter was a junior lieutenant and on his first F-15 mission, he recalls: “The MiG-31s had just deployed to Yuznho-Sakhalinsk, and we had intelligence reports telling us that one had made a run from Vladivostok to Sakhalin at 70,000 ft and Mach 2.3. They told us that his load out was two radar missiles and four infrared (IR) missiles. It was pretty eye-opening to know that he had enough gas to make that run and carry his missiles.”

Russian MiG-23s harassed American Navy Orions as they combed the ocean for any evidence of the 747’s black boxes. In fact, one of the pilots was so hostile that he bumped the wings against the unarmed aircraft. The last straw was this along with reports that the airliner’s bodies were starting to wash up on the shores of nearby Japanese islands. A MiG was seen launching on the third day of the hunt as the P-3s were flying into the debris area.

HOW KADENA'S F-15Cs PROTECTED THE AIR ASSETS THAT WERE TRYING TO FIND KAL 007 WRECKAGE FROM SOVIET MiG-31s — MiG-31 ‘Foxhound

In response, Graeter and his CO, Roger Taylor, were scrambled. “We started talking to AWACS and quickly detected a MiG-31 heading away from us and running northeast to southwest – Sakhalin to Vladivostok – probably 90 miles away. We climbed up in altitude in order to prepare to do something about him should he turn around and head towards the AWACS, which was northwest of Misawa.”

Nonetheless, the Foxhound passed without incident to the east. In order to effectively tackle the high-altitude, high-speed danger posed by the MiG-25 and MiG-31, unique tactics had to be used. Graeter explained: “We had trained for the high-fast-flyer threat (MiG-25) and knew that to handle that guy we’d have to dump all of our fuel tanks. We would fly a profile that involved getting to 40,000 ft, then unload the jet (pushing forward on the stick to induce 0g) in full afterburner to get it to accelerate. Once up to Mach 1.7 or so, we’d gingerly pull the nose back up to 20-30 degrees, center up the dot on the AIM-7 (align the nose with the computer-generated steering dot), and salvo all four missiles.”

But it never came to that. The P-3s would roll back away from the MiGs, the F-15s would launch, the MiGs would be informed that Eagles were airborne, and they would immediately turn 180 degrees and head for home, according to Davies, who claims that Graeter and his colleagues launched a total of 12 sorties in the days that followed. The “Floggers,” “Fishbeds,” and “Foxhounds” were often less than 80 miles away when the USAF pilots saw them on radar, but AWACS never gave them clearance to engage. The Soviets ceased pressuring the recovery force after a week, and the Eagles were home in six weeks.

HOW KADENA'S F-15Cs PROTECTED THE AIR ASSETS THAT WERE TRYING TO FIND KAL 007 WRECKAGE FROM SOVIET MiG-31s

The F-15 had frightened the Soviet fighter into submission while not firing a single shot. America’s Eagles had succeeded in their initial trial.

Photo by Ken H, Hansueli Krapf and Konstantin Tyurpeko (http://russianplanes.net/id161326) via Wikimedia Commons, Senior Airman Maeson L. Elleman and Airman John Linzmeier / U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy

April 22, 2023 0 comment

B 52 SAC Go Codes

Descending into Armageddon

by Till Daisd April 21, 2023

written by Till Daisd

If requested, the orbiting crews would open their top-secret decoders and confirm the “Go Codes” radio-transmitted from SAC’s Omaha headquarters. Crews were given the go-ahead to complete their dreaded missions if the Go Codes were validated

Jay Lacklen is a former B-52 pilot with 12,500 flying hours and the author of two books, Flying the Line: An Air Force Pilot’s Journey and Flying the Line: An Air Force Pilot’s Journey Volume Two: Military Airlift Command.

SAC Go Code

My new assignment to Loring AFB, ME, as I returned from Vietnam transitioned me from a hot war in the jungle to the Cold War with the Soviet Union where the stakes could be the survival of civilization itself. Strategic Air Command (SAC) had no sense of humor; it was as sober as a nuclear bomb, the delivery of which was its prepared-for mission as outlined in the Emergency War Order (EWO).

This war order used codes that were transmitted to the crews of bombers and air refueling tankers, possibly in tactical orbits over the Arctic. The “Go Codes” transmitted by radio from SAC headquarters in Omaha, NE, would be verified by the orbiting crews if told to do so by opening their top-secret decoders. Crews were given the go-ahead to finish their dreaded missions if the Go Codes were validated.

Things would presumably be quick and simple for the tankers. The tankers would have just enough fuel to travel out to the Arctic Ocean and ditch if they had to supply almost all of their fuel to their mated bombers (down to the “standpipe”).

I always thought they might do something else. Since the Go Order would mean a worldwide nuclear war had erupted and presuming their home base would probably already be incinerated along with their families, they might have favored flying up to 35,000 feet, depressurizing the cabin, and having everyone remove their oxygen masks. The time of useful consciousness at this hypoxia-inducing altitude is about fifteen seconds, just long enough to think of your incinerated loved ones before you joined them.

The ordeal would linger a little longer for the bomber crew. If they could clear their first target by twenty-five miles, they had to proceed with their mission. They could then parachute to the countryside and introduce themselves as the US crew who just nuked a nearby city.

My navigation team assured me, only half-jokingly, that they had the charts to fly us to Rio de Janeiro to “establish the reconstitution force,” if I wanted. From one viewpoint, the nuclear weapon threat standoff (mutually assured destruction) would demonstrably have failed, so why continue with it? Completing our assigned mission would only “make the rubble bounce” after our missiles from continental silos had hit their Russian targets, so why bother?

If we had proceeded, I imagine I’d preferred to drop the first bomb and then circle slowly above it until it went off. Or, to climb up well into defense radar coverage, squawk “emergency,’ and hope a Soviet fighter got us before we reached the target if there were any Soviet fighters left.

This provides an opportunity to ponder the end of mankind, to be the generation that turned out the lights on our hallowed fifty-thousand-year human experience.

At least the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs was not self-inflicted. We would be the first creature to attain self-awareness who, nonetheless, snuffed itself out. With the quantum leap in mental ability came the quantum reap in self-destructive capability. I suppose this mental capability, coupled inextricably with a reptilian brain stem, may have doomed us from the beginning.

Descending into Armageddon: SAC Go Codes

It might even be extraordinary that we have lasted as long as we have. So perhaps we could cheer ourselves, ruefully, in the bomber, in the end, for perseverance in the face of a preordained losing hand, for reaching such a high level of accomplishment before our fatal contradiction finished us.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

April 21, 2023 0 comment

B-52 Vs F-14

by Till Daisd April 20, 2023

written by Till Daisd

“The F-14, however, flown by “nasal radiators,” kicked our ass. Most incredibly, the Tomcat got immediately on our ‘six’ despite coming at us head-on and having to turn 180 degrees for his initial approach, while the Air Force interceptors had arrived from behind, to begin with, a great advantage,” Jay Lacklen, former B-52 pilot

Jay Lacklen is a former B-52 pilot with 12,500 flying hours and the author of two books, Flying the Line: An Air Force Pilot’s Journey and Flying the Line: An Air Force Pilot’s Journey Volume Two: Military Airlift Command.

Dancing with Interceptors, 1975

One of the few times we got to maneuver forcefully at high altitudes was during intercepts by Air Defense Command interceptor fighters, which included the F-102 and F-106 from the USAF, and the F-14 from the U.S. Navy.

Later, in the C-5, I had intercepts run on me, without maneuvering, by NATO fighters that were usually F-16s or British Tornadoes as we flew across Europe. I enjoyed the American intercepts in the B-52 because we got to “dance” with the fighter boys. As the interceptor checked in on frequency, I would tell him we were ready and “had our dancing shoes on.”

Former BUFF driver tells the story of the most unusual dogfight: B-52 Vs F-14

As the intercept began, the EW would call the range and clock position of the fighter, such as “eight o’clock, ten miles,” so I would know where he was and when to maneuver. The F-102s and F-106s proved the easiest to shake. They would come smoking in on us at high speed, but below Mach 1, and line up directly behind us at our six o’clock position, which is the missile launch or cannon firing position.

I would push our speed up to three hundred knots or so to keep him at high speed as he approached. When the EW called his position about three miles at a high rate of closure, I would roll into forty-five degrees of bank, pull the throttles to idle, and raise the speed brakes. Then I would pull hard, putting the bomber into a tight decelerating turn. This would invariably cause the F-102 or F-106 to badly overshoot, since, with swept wings, designed for high speed, they had greatly degraded turning capability. The long B-52 wings and airbrake deployment allowed a far tighter turn than the F-100 series fighters could manage, and we invariably “lost” them with this maneuver.

F-14 Tomcat Vs F-15 Eagle: the pilots' perspective

The Navy F-14, however, flown by “nasal radiators,” kicked our ass. The Tomcat could sweep its wings forward to nearly seventy degrees from its swept-wing, high-speed configuration and match my best turn, which infuriated me. Most incredibly, the Tomcat, of the movie Top Gun and “Maverick” fame, got immediately on our “six” despite coming at us head-on and having to turn 180 degrees for his initial approach, while the Air Force interceptors had arrived from behind, to begin with a great advantage. As the F-14 swung behind us and approached, my EW, Buddy, called his position “six o’clock, three miles.” Going into my maneuver, I racked the B-52 into a steep turn, groaning at the g-forces I put on the plane.

The EW, however, made the maddening call, “Target six o’clock, one mile,” repeatedly from the time I broke into the turn until I rolled out, defeated. The Tomcat stayed in perfect formation with me one mile behind in perfect shooting position. At this point, had I been in a B-1 perhaps, I could have gone to the afterburner and left the F-14 far behind. The standard complaint about the F-14 was poor acceleration from low speed, as the wings were swept back for high speed from the extended position. The ratio of relatively low power to relatively high aircraft weight made acceleration an all-day thing in a dogfight. The added weight was necessary to provide beefed-up landing gear structures for punishing carrier landings, but it hampered acceleration from low speed.

B-52 Vs F-14: former BUFF driver tells the story of an unusual bomber V fighter dogfight

But for purposes of this combat exercise, the F-14 would have shot us down easily, had our gunner not shot him down first. If he used a missile from ten miles or so behind us, he’d have nailed us; if he had to come into cannon range, however, our fifty-caliber rear cannon might have nailed him first. This is another reason why we knew we would fly our nuke mission low level, so the fighters would have a difficult time even finding us against the ground clutter.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy

April 20, 2023 0 comment

“VAQ-130 Zappers Cruise 2016”, the best Growler video ever

by Till Daisd April 19, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The oldest U.S. Navy electronic attack squadron, VAQ-130 Zappers, flies the EA-18G Growler

Called “VAQ-130 Zappers Cruise 2016,” the following cool video is probably the best EA-18G Growler footage you have ever seen so far.

The clip contains six chapters and was recorded during the unit’s most recent deployment as a component of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR).

– Intro/History of the Zappers
– OIR/Welcome to Ready One
– Rocky
– Continuous Thunder
– Holidays/Coming Home
– End Credits

The United States Navy’s Electronic Attack Squadron 130 (VAQ-130), popularly referred to as the “Zappers,” is an EA-18G Growler squadron stationed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island. The oldest electronic attack squadron in the US Navy is VAQ-130.

The combat-tested F/A-18F Super Hornet is available in an airborne electronic attack derivative called the EA-18G Growler, as we’ve already mentioned.

The aircraft can carry out a variety of tasks thanks to its cutting-edge sensors and weapons, such as Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD), Stand-off and Escort Jamming (where the Growler not only flies the conventional stand-off jamming mission but also provides the escort for other air assets thanks to the speed and agility inherited from the Super Hornet), and Non-Traditional Electronic Attack (the EA-18G can carry out this task where thanks to its Advanced Electronically Scanned Array [AESA] radar, digital data links, and air-to-air missiles, the EA-18G has self-protection capability and is also highly effective for target identification and prosecution).

Source: U.S. Navy; Photo from video screenshot

April 19, 2023 0 comment

Boeing KC 135Q refueling SR 71

An ex-SR-71 pilot explains the purpose of the Blackbird’s post-takeoff refueling

by Till Daisd April 18, 2023

written by Till Daisd

“We had to refuel right after takeoff for only one reason, and it wasn’t because we leaked JP-7 fuel on the ground…” Col. Richard H. Graham, former SR-71 Blackbird pilot

If it weren’t for the SR-71’s ability to refuel in the air, its range would only be about 2,000 NM. The aircraft’s range was increased through numerous air refuelings to the limit of the crew’s endurance. Several missions have exceeded more than 12,000 NM. The SR-71 and KC-135Q tankers’ forward basing enabled them to respond more quickly, conduct missions with shorter ranges and shorter durations, require fewer air refuelings, and operate more efficiently overall.

There were various ways in which KC-135Q crews and their aircraft were different from the rest of the Air Force. Their boom operators were the only ones qualified to refuel the SR-71, and their aircrews were the only ones certified in Blackbird’s special radio-silent rendezvous procedures. The JP-4 and JP-7 fuel could be moved between different tanks thanks to the Q-model tankers’ unique plumbing between fuel tanks. Their engine could burn transfer JP-4 or JP-7 fuel.

If the SR-71 landed somewhere where JP-7 fuel was not accessible, the Q-model tankers flew in with the fuel and were able to refill the SR-71 using transfer hoses on the ground. One of the best advantages of flying the Q-model tankers is that their crews did not have to be on twenty-four-hour alert status as the rest of the SAC’s tankers’ crew members.

The development of the iconic SR-71 Blackbird: how the world's fastest plane was conceived

The importance of the KC-135Q tankers and their crews to the effective and secure completion of every mission cannot be underestimated in any story of the SR-71. Indeed, after takeoff, the majority of SR-71 operational flights began with refueling.

“Many people believe we refueled after takeoff because the aircraft leaked fuel so profusely that we needed to fuel up quickly,” says Col. Richard H. Graham, a former Blackbird pilot, in his book SR-71 The Complete Illustrated History of THE BLACKBIRD The World’s Highest, Fastest Plane. “We had to refuel right after takeoff for only one reason, and it wasn’t because we leaked JP-7 fuel on the ground. Yes, the plane does leak fuel, but not enough to require refueling after takeoff.

“The JP-7 fuel reaches temperatures well over 300 degrees F. during Mach 3 cruise, making the fumes in each of the six fuel tanks very volatile and potentially explosive. The metal skin of the aircraft approaches 400 degrees F., adding to the volatility of the fuel inside the tanks. One of our aircraft limitations was a maximum speed of Mach 2.6 without an inert atmosphere inside the fuel tanks.

“The aircraft had three liquid nitrogen Dewar flasks containing 260 liters of liquid nitrogen, located in the nose wheel well. The only way to ensure a 100 percent inert atmosphere in each fuel tank was to refuel the plane inflight completely full of JP-7, allowing ambient air in each fuel tank to vent overboard. Once full of fuel, gaseous nitrogen would now dominate each fuel tank’s empty space above as it burned off JP-7. The nitrogen gas pressurized each fuel tank to 1.5 psi above ambient pressure and inerts the space above the heated fuel to prevent autogenous ignition. This is why we refueled after takeoff. Then we could safely accelerate beyond Mach 2.6.”

Graham says in his conclusion:

“There was one other way of achieving tank inerting, called a “Yo-Yo,” but this was a maintenance nightmare. A few of our missions required the SR-71 to accelerate to Mach 3+ right after takeoff with a 65,000-pound fuel load. The Yo-Yo procedure had the crew chief completely refuel the plane to full tanks of 80,000 pounds of fuel. Then, with the nitrogen pressurization system working, they de-fueled 15,000 pounds of JP-7, ending up with a 65,000-pound fuel load and a plane that was capable of going immediately to Mach 3+.”

Photo by U.S. Air Force

April 18, 2023 0 comment

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