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planes

The pilot of an SR-71 with his RSO remembers performing a Blackbird super low pass at 152 knots

by Till Daisd April 25, 2024

The SR-71 Blackbird

One of the most sophisticated Blackbirds, the SR-71 (along with the A-12 and YF-12) was created by a group of Lockheed personnel under the direction of Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, who was vice president of Lockheed’s Advanced Development Company Projects at the time. Known as the “Skunk Works,” this unit is now called Lockheed Martin.

Beginning in the late 1950s, the A-12 reconnaissance aircraft—which made its first flight in April 1962 and remained classified until 1976—served as the model for the Blackbird. The YF-12A interceptor variant was first made public by President Lyndon Johnson on February 29, 1964, which was more than six months after it made its first flight. On December 22, 1964, the SR-71’s maiden flight was completed.

The Blackbird was built to reach altitudes of up to 85,000 feet and cruise at “Mach 3+,” which is more than three times the speed of sound, or more than 2,200 miles per hour.

The SR-71 Blackbird’s slowest speed

‘How high and how fast does it really fly?’ is arguably the most commonly asked question regarding the “Blackbird family”.

What about the slowest speed a Blackbird has ever been known to fly at? The following anecdote from SR-71 pilot Brian Shul’s book Sled Driver may help to clarify this question.

‘I was flying the SR-71 out of RAF Mildenhall, England, with my back-seater, Walt Watson; we were returning from a mission over Europe and the Iron Curtain when we received a radio transmission from home base. As we scooted across Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a small RAF base in the English countryside had requested an SR-71 fly-past. The air cadet commander there was a former Blackbird pilot, and thought it would be a motivating moment for the young lads to see the mighty SR-71 perform a low approach. No problem, we were happy to do it. After a quick aerial refueling over the North Sea, we proceeded to find the small airfield.

Uncomfortable speed

‘Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment in the back seat and began to vector me toward the field. Descending to subsonic speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight haze. Like most former WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for had a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure. Walter told me we were close and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw nothing. Nothing but trees, as far as I could see in the haze. We got a little lower, and I pulled the throttles back from 325 knots we were at. With the gear up, anything under 275 was just uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically over the field-yet; there was nothing in my windscreen. I banked the jet and started a gentle circling maneuver in hopes of picking up anything that looked like a field.’

Airspeed indicator sliding below 160 knots

Shul continues;

‘Meanwhile, below, the cadet commander had taken the cadets up on the catwalk of the tower in order to get a prime view of the fly-past. It was a quiet, still day with no wind and partial gray overcast. Walter continued to give me indications that the field should be below us but in the overcast and haze, I couldn’t see it. The longer we continued to peer out the window and circle, the slower we got. With our power back, the awaiting cadets heard nothing. I must have had good instructors in my flying career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges. As I noticed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped and my adrenalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward.

‘At this point, we weren’t really flying but were falling in a slight bank. Just at the moment that both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame (and what a joyous feeling that was) the aircraft fell into full view of the shocked observers on the tower. Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now had 107 feet of fire-breathing titanium in their face as the plane leveled and accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sort of ultimate knife-edge pass.

The greatest SR-71 Blackbird fly-past

‘Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proceeded back to Mildenhall without incident. We didn’t say a word for those next 14 minutes. After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was reaching for our wings. Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said the commander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, especially how we had surprised them with such a precise maneuver that could only be described as breathtaking. He said that some of the cadet’s hats were blown off and the sight of the plan form of the plane in full afterburner dropping right in front of them was unbelievable. Walt and I both understood the concept of “breathtaking” very well that morning and sheepishly replied that they were just excited to see our low approach.

‘As we retired to the equipment room to change from space suits to flight suits, we just sat there-we hadn’t spoken a word since “the pass.” Finally, Walter looked at me and said, “One hundred fifty-six knots. What did you see?” Trying to find my voice, I stammered, “One hundred fifty-two.” We sat in silence for a moment. Then Walt said, “Don’t ever do that to me again!” And I never did.

Just a routine low approach

Shul concludes;

‘A year later, Walter and I were having lunch in the Mildenhall Officer’s club and overheard an officer talking to some cadets about an SR-71 fly-past that he had seen one day. Of course, by now the story included kids falling off the tower and screaming as the heat of the jet singed their eyebrows. Noticing our HABU patches, as we stood there with lunch trays in our hands, he asked us to verify to the cadets that such a thing had occurred. Walt just shook his head and said, “It was probably just a routine low approach; they’re pretty impressive in that plane.”’

Check out Habubrats SR-71’s Twitter profile and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder’s Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Top image: courtesy of Robin Harbour

April 25, 2024 0 comment

Cold War

RAF Lightning pilot set an (unofficial) world altitude record by reaching 87,800 feet at Mach 2.2

by Till Daisd April 24, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The RAF Lighting Interceptor

Designed as a Mach 2 interceptor with an unrivaled rate of climb, the English Electric Lightning was frequently referred to as “a pilot sitting on two rockets” and was intended to defend the V-Force airfields during the Cold War.

According to Lightning pilot David Roome’s story in the book Lightning Boys, the official ceiling of the Lightning was reportedly over 60,000 feet, but he was able to achieve higher limits.

He recalls;

‘The RB-57F’s primary task on that visit Involved high altitude turbulence trials. However, the United States Air Force had consented to an additional mission (to use favored American terminology), which would exercise Singapore’s new, computerized air defense radar system. That was where I came in. The RB-57F would conduct a series of high-altitude target runs while two Lightnings, one of which would be flown by me, attempted to intercept it. By that stage, all of those concerned understood only too well that this would be no easy matter.

‘Further briefings took place before, at length, the time of trial arrived.

Intercepting a USAF RB-57F flying at 80,000 feet

‘The RB-57F took off just ahead of the Lightnings and set up for its first run at 50,000 feet. I carried out a successful intercept, then overtook the target from above; I just wanted to make the point that we Lightning pilots could operate in the upper atmosphere without difficulty. The target now turned through 180 degrees to set up for a second run. During this short turn, the pilot climbed up to 65,000 feet. This caused us some consternation when we realized that the RB-57F could climb to such an altitude in such a brief period of time.

However, determined not to be daunted, the other Lightning carried out a further successful interception then, as before, overtook the target from above. The target now announced that he would perform one orbit before he commenced his subsequent run. This time, he would be at 80,000 feet. It was my turn to carry out the interception.

RAF Lightning pilot recalls when he accelerated to the fighter max speed of Mach 2.2 and zoomed to 87,800 feet establishing the (unofficial) world altitude record of the Lightning

Handling the Lightning with finesse

‘At these high altitudes, I had to handle my aircraft with particular finesse. The requisite technique was to accelerate the Lightning to supersonic air speeds at tropopause altitude (the boundary between troposphere and stratosphere, and the most efficient altitude for the Lightning’s Rolls-Royce Avon 302 engines), then zoom up to the target’s height for the interception. The tropopause, typically around 36,000 feet at European latitudes, was at its highest near the equator – regularly 55,000 feet or so. I would employ this to my advantage.

‘The use of supersonic flight meant, in turn, the use of reheat. However, with the aircraft’s attendant high fuel consumption in reheat, I had to use the facility as sparingly and as effectively as possible. When in supersonic flight, delicate use of the flight controls was essential; the temptation to overcontrol could lead to wildly inaccurate flying. Beyond Mach 1 (the speed of the sound barrier), the aerodynamic effect of supersonic flight masked the airframe buffet, but when at subsonic speeds, the least bit of rough handling at high altitudes would induce airframe buffet and loss of performance.

The highest possible altitude attainable by the Lightning

‘Despite these hazards, I accomplished a successful intercept of the target at 80,000 feet and I just managed to fly past the RB-57F at this altitude. Now came the final test… the big one.

‘The RB-57F crew stated that they would need a little more time to prepare for their last run which would beat an unstated (i.e. confidential) altitude in excess of 100.000 feet. This was well beyond our capability and we had to admit defeat. Nonetheless, I had an urge to find the highest possible altitude attainable by the Lightning Mark 6. For this, I would have to accelerate the Lightning to its maximum airspeed of Mach 2.2 before commencing the zoom climb. To achieve that would require full fuel tanks and mine were far from full after the earlier supersonic runs.

‘It was at this point that Lady Luck played a crucial to card. A Victor in-flight refueling tanker en route from Hong Kong to Singapore suddenly piped-up on the radio. “I’ve got some spare fuel,” announced the captain of the Victor. “Any takers?”

‘”Sure,” I replied at once. This was an incredible break; I wanted to stake my claim before anyone else got in ahead of me.

Lightning accelerating to Mach 2.2

‘The rendezvous with the tanker worked out well and, as arranged, I refueled my Lighting to full tanks. When I broke away from the Victor tanker, I selected the throttles to the full cold-power position and initiated a climb to 50,000 feet – the Lightning’s subsonic service ceiling. At that height, I rocked the twin throttles outboard and pushed them fully forward to select maximum reheat on both engines. As the Lightning accelerated through the sound barrier, I had to watch the Machmeter carefully: at these heights, there was nothing outside the cockpit to offer an impression of relative speed. Mach 1.1…, Mach 1.2…, Mach 1.3…, before long the indicator was edging up towards Mach 2.0.

‘Now I smoothly, and rather gingerly, pulled back the stick. My eyes narrowed with anxiety as I monitored the attitude indicator: I aimed for a nose-up attitude of exactly sixteen degrees, the best climb angle (so we had been told) for that height and speed. By 65,000 feet I was beginning to lose performance. I therefore levelled off to allow the aircraft to accelerate once more. Amazed by the rapidity at which this occurred, I decided to let the Lightning have its head. The aircraft accelerated to its maximum permitted speed of Mach 2.2 at which I eased back the stick again. At 70,000 feet, with no loss of airspeed, I pulled back the stick to resume a sixteen-degree angle of climb.

200 feet shy of 88,000 feet

‘Now I was entering new territory — for me, at least. As the Lightning climbed up, unfamiliar symptoms, some of them subtle, some not so subtle, began to make me feel a little ill at ease. For one thing, in order to hold sixteen degrees of climb, I had to bring the stick further and further back. I put this down to a lack of downwash over the tailplane at such exceptional altitudes. Gradually, as the Lightning, at last, appeared to run out of steam, the nose began to drop, and I was forced to level off. A quick s-check of my altimeter showed that I was just 200 feet shy of 88,000 feet.

‘I glanced outside the cockpit. The scene before me seemed surreal. Above, the sky was pitch black. To either side, the earth’s curvature was clearly perceptible. This was an uncommon sight in those days (Neil Armstrong’s moon landing was still a year or so away) and I felt awed, even humbled, by such solitary opportunity.

One fearful moment

‘I took stock of my situation. The stick was now firmly on the backstops. I had no further elevator control other than to lower the nose. The ailerons, interestingly, were still very responsive. Both reheats had remained alight until I touched the throttles. When I rolled the aircraft and looked down vertically, I suffered a strange, disconcerting sensation – a bit like being balanced on the ferrule of an infinitely long umbrella. Suddenly, I had the feeling that I did not belong up there. Musicians sometimes talk of how the music plays through them – is somehow separate from them, like an out-of-body experience.

‘That day, up there, I could empathize. I wanted to get down, I needed to initiate a descent. I therefore eased the Lightning’s throttles back to the idle/idle position. This, however, triggered the warning bell in my headset, which, in turn, gave me the one really fearful moment of the whole episode. The cockpit pressurization warning had been set off.

Ill-equipped for safe flight at extreme altitudes

‘Quickly, I tried to work out what was happening. I figured that a reduction in air output from the engine bleed had occurred when I closed the throttles. This had affected the cockpit pressurization, which, consequently, had placed the aircraft outside limits. With my pressure jerkin and anti-G suit, I had some protection, but the Taylor helmet initially issued to the Lightning force for high-level work had been taken out of service. There was some oxygen overpressure fed to my face mask, though not very much.

‘I realized that I was ill-equipped for safe flight at these extreme altitudes. Nonetheless, when I had worked out the cause of the cockpit warning, I began to reason with myself that the situation was not as serious as first assumed. I decided, therefore, to adopt a very long, slow glide back to Tengah. As a secondary benefit, this would allow me to continue to enjoy the remarkable view.

World altitude record of the Lightning

‘A last bit of fun came when I spoke with Singapore Radar, a unit manned by RAF personnel. I was asked my height, to which I replied ‘above flight level 450’ (which meant above 45,000 feet). In those days, almost all controlled airspace ended above that height and I was not required, therefore, to divulge my actual altitude. The controller, however, became persistent as I was approaching an airway. Eventually, when I revealed that I was passing flight level 720, his reaction caused me considerable amusement. On reflection, I realized that that call provided the only independent evidence of my claim to fame.

‘Despite this, I now officially lay claim to the world altitude record of the Lightning—87,800 feet. If anyone wishes to challenge this, let them speak now or forever hold their peace. As a serving member of 74(F) Squadron, I listened to a number of tiger tales (the squadron emblem was a tiger)—some of them authentic enough, some less so. My tiger tale may not be verifiable, and may not appear in the Guinness Book of World Records, nonetheless, this claim, to the best of my belief, is no mere paper tiger.’

Lightning Boys is published by Mortons Books and is available to order here.

Photo by Crown Copyright, Steve Fitzgerald, Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK and Mark Harkin via Wikipedia

April 24, 2024 0 comment

History

B-52 crews penetrated NORAD’s massive surveillance system at low-level without losses for three years in a row during an exercise

by Till Daisd April 23, 2024

written by Till Daisd

B-52 modified for low-level flight

America’s first heavy bomber with swept wings and a long-range was the B-52 Stratofortress. It started as a high-altitude, intercontinental nuclear bomber, and its operating capabilities were modified to satisfy evolving defense requirements.

The B-52 aircraft has undergone modifications that allow it to do low-level operations, carry out conventional bombing missions, travel longer distances, and carry more advanced defensive and offensive weapons, such as ballistic and cruise missiles that can be launched hundreds of miles from their intended target.

Known by its crews as the Big Ugly Fat F****R, or BUFF, once it entered service in 1955 the B-52 remained the primary long-range heavy bomber of the US Air Force during the Cold War.

Electronic Warfare Officer

However, how were B-52s supposed to breach Soviet air defenses and reach their targets?

Keith Parker, former B-52 Electronic Warfare Officer, recalls on Quora;

‘I was an EWO (Electronic Warfare Officer) on B-52Gs at Loring AFB at Limestone (close to Caribou), Maine, from late 1960 through early 1963 when I left for pilot training.

‘In 1961 we did an exercise/test where all commercial, private, and military flying in the United States was grounded for one day while SAC (Stra t egic Air Command) attacked the US while NORAD (North American Defense Command) did all it could to “shoot down” (simulated with real fighters, Nike-Ajax or Nike-Hercules Ground to Air Missile “lock ons”) that would score against the attacking bombers.

B-52 at low-level

‘We used the attack tactic of “low level” (500 to 1000 feet off of the ground) and our on-board jamming electronics to make all the NORAD radar scopes white with noise so that they could not see any of us. Without any radar returns NORAD was “blind” and could not launch any fighters or missiles.

‘The result was that NONE of the bombers were shot down and we all (100%) bombed every one of our targets. My crew’s target was Loring AFB.

Repeating the exercise with the same results

‘SAC and NORAD repeated the exercise/test in 1962 and again in 1963 with the same results. My guess was that the boys in the head shed found it hard to believe the totality of the first two tests so they had to try the third. There was no point in trying a fourth one. Also, the B-52s did not use the basket weave tactic to further confuse the radar. Nor did we launch any of the 4 quail we carried in the aft bomb bay that could fly at varying altitudes and varying headings while giving a radar return just like a B-52. This alone would increase the B-52s’ survival by 80%.’

Parker concludes;

‘The good news was that, in an all-out thermonuclear war, all of our bombers would reach all of the Russian and Chinese and other communist targets. The bad news was that all of their bombers would reach their targets here in the United States. It is interesting to note that our sequencing on the enemy targets was in excess of 25 nuclear weapons on each target. That would make each target nothing but melted glass.’

Photo by U.S. Air Force

April 23, 2024 0 comment

Cold War

How to light the Blackbird’s afterburners when TEB (Triethylborane) wasn’t available

by Till Daisd April 22, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The SR-71 Blackbird

The US Air Force (USAF) created the SR-71 Blackbird in the 1960s; it was a plane that could move at a speed that was more than three times the sound of its own engines.

The SR-71 spy plane held the record for being the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft in the world for about 24 years. At a speed of Mach 3+, it could cover 80,000 square miles of Earth’s surface per hour while flying above 80,000 feet. Furthermore, on the off chance, an enemy tried to shoot it down with a missile, all the Blackbird had to do was speed up and outrun it.

JP-7

The engineering of the SR-71 was so advanced that new tools had to be created in order to build it.

In fact, standard jet fuel could not be employed in the Blackbird because of its Mach 3.2 cruise speed, which caused it to get extremely hot. According to former SR-71 pilot Richard H. Graham’s story in his book SR-71 Revealed: The Inside Story, Shell created a unique fuel blend known as JP-7. This fuel used an additive that raised its flash point, preventing the fuel from breaking down at extremely high temperatures.

SR-71 Blackbird needed TEB (Triethylborane) to light its engines and afterburners

Graham explains;

‘The high flashpoint brings up another problem. Most jet engines use igniter plugs—nothing more than a very hot spark plug if you will. Using these igniter plugs they used with the JP-7 and just drowns it out, it won’t ignite. Kelly [Johnson] put his engineers to work, and he said, ‘OK, gentlemen, how are we going to start this?’ They came up with a very unique way. Triethylborane (TEB for short).

Impressive video shows SR-71 Blackbird J58 Engine tested at Max Afterburner Power — TEB (Triethylborane) was needed to light both the J58 and the engine’s afterburners. The J58 powered the SR-71 Blackbird.

‘Each engine has a one-and-a-quarter pint. If I had it in a squirt gun and I squirted it into the atmosphere, it would go Kaboom!—it explodes with contact with the atmosphere. And that’s how we started the engines. As the engines rotate, at the right time, it sprays this amount of TEB into the turbine section, which goes kaboom, which in turn lights the engine. When you take the throttles up into the afterburner, it puts this metered amount of TEB in that lights up the JP-7. You get 16 shots for each engine.’

TEB was the most dangerous material after fissionable nuclear material

A sealed tank that had been inerted with nitrogen gas and filled with 600cc of TEB by maintenance before each flight was mounted on each engine.

Former SR-71 Blackbird pilot David Peters adds: ‘An interesting note to this is the transport of it. If we landed away, servicing had to be hauled to our location. The NTSB lists TEB as the following most dangerous material, one step below fissionable nuclear material. The folks that handled this stuff were highly trained and good.’

How to light SR-71 Blackbird afterburners without Triethylborane

If TEB wasn’t available, one may now wonder if there was a way to light the Blackbird’s afterburners. Although Peters claims that during the 24 years the SR 71 was in flight, its TEB never ran out—there was a backup plan, just in case. John Olp, an SR-71 mechanic at Beale AFB from 1975 to 1985, explains;

‘The J58 engine had a unique way of lighting the afterburners if TEB wasn’t available for whatever reason.

‘Inserted into three rings of the flame holders were six catalytic ignitors. If TEB wasn’t available, the engines could be manually over-trimmed to increase the exhaust temperature and superheat the ignitors. When the throttles were advanced into afterburner, the glowing catalytic ignitors would light off the fuel, albeit somewhat harshly!

SR-71 Mechanic explains how you could light the Blackbird’s afterburners if TEB (Triethylborane) wasn’t available

‘The catalytic ignitors were in place as a backup if TEB wasn’t available. There was a manual up-trim switch in the cockpit to control engine EGT. It was a hard light off if used, but was an option!’

Olp concludes;

‘Overtemping the engine would only be momentary to allow the afterburner light, probably not enough to cause any damage to the engines. That’s why the manual up-trim switches were available.’

Check out Habubrats SR-71’s Twitter profile and the Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by TSgt. Jose Lopez / U.S. Air Force

April 22, 2024 0 comment

History

There was only one SR-71C produced, and it was known as “The Bastard”

by Till Daisd April 21, 2024

written by Till Daisd

SR-71C The Bastard

The amazing video included in this post was recorded in June 2016 at Hill Air Force Base (AFB) and shows “The Bastard,” SR-71C S/N 61-7981, the last SR-71 produced and the only C model Blackbird ever built. The aircraft was dubbed “The Bastard” because it was a hybrid made up of the rear fuselage of the first YF-12A (S/N 60-6934) and a functional engineering mockup of an SR-71A forward fuselage manufactured for static testing.

After the second of the two B model trainers crashed on January 11, 1968, the new aircraft was built to replace it. On March 14, 1969, the C model took off from the Lockheed plant in Palmdale, California, piloted by Lockheed test pilot Steve Belgeau in the role of reconnaissance systems officer and Blackbird Chief Project Pilot Robert J. Gilliland at the controls. On September 3, 1970, following flight testing, it was handed over to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, California.

SR-71C last flight

The aircraft, which had just 556.4 flight hours—excluding the 180.9 hours it accumulated when flying as YF-12A S/N 60-6934—made its final flight on April 11, 1976, and was taken out of service on June 24, 1976. After that, it was prepared for long-term storage at the Palmdale, California, Lockheed plant. After Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah intervened, the Air Force assigned the aircraft to the Hill Aerospace Museum in April 1990, and the museum promptly started arranging for its transfer from Beale AFB to Hill AFB.

In July 1990, representatives from the museum, the 405th Combat Logistics Support Squadron (CLSS), the 67th Aerial Port Squadron, and the Air Force Heritage Foundation of Utah flew to California to figure out the best approach to disassembling, packaging, and moving the aircraft.

In August 1990, a crew consisting of sixteen members from the 405th CLSS traveled to California and disassembled the aircraft into three main sections along with several smaller parts, such as a start cart and J58 engine. They then palletized all of the components for transportation on a C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft. However, when the disassembly operation was completed, no cargo aircraft was immediately available to transport the pieces back to the base. Everything would have to wait.

Only one SR-71C was built and it was nicknamed “The Bastard.” Here’s why. — SR-71C The Bastard

SR-71C The Bastard at Hill AFB

Only the largest components that would need to be transported by cargo aircraft remained after representatives from the 405th CLSS and the 67th Aerial Port Squadron made two trips to Beale AFB in the spring of 1991 using two large flat-bed trucks. It was a C-5 aircraft from Travis AFB that was eventually scheduled for air transport in August 1991, a year after the dismantling started.

The aircraft parts were assembled in a large hangar owned by the 405th CLSS for reassembly and restoration after they all arrived at the base. The aircraft’s extensive two-month reconstruction comprised many active-duty personnel, volunteers, and Air Force Reservists. The finished aircraft was transported to the museum and put on display on October 16, 1991.

Source: U.S. Air Force

Photo by U.S. Air Force

April 21, 2024 0 comment

Cold War

The pilot and bombardier of the B-47 remembers carrying the biggest nuclear bomb ever manufactured toward Spain

by Till Daisd April 20, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The B-47 that flew the largest Nuclear Bomb ever built to Spain

The first XB-47 prototype, built to fulfill a 1944 need, flew in December 1947 and outperformed its competitors. It had swept wings, jet engines in underwing pods, main landing gear located on the fuselage, and automated systems that lowered the crew number to three, among many other innovative features for the period.

In May 1951, the B-47 began replacing the propeller-driven B-29s and B-50s in the US Air Force’s Strategic Air Command (SAC) medium bomber units. While it could carry about the same bomb tonnage as the aircraft it replaced, the B-47’s top speed was more than 200 mph faster.

The US Air Force’s Strategic Air Command (SAC) medium bomber units started using B-47s in May 1951 in place of their propeller-driven B-29s and B-50s. The B-47 had a top speed of over 200 mph, but it could carry roughly the same number of bombs as the aircraft it replaced.

B-47 Stratojet nuclear bomber

Due to its capabilities, the B-47 Stratojet—a nuclear bomber and reconnaissance aircraft—became an essential component of the SAC in the 1950s and early 1960s.

As Richard “Butch” Sheffield (former B-47 navigator/bombardier, former B-58 navigator/bombardier, and former SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO)) recalls in his unpublished book “The Very First,” Stratojet units regularly deployed to forward air bases around the world on temporary duty because the B-47 did not have the range of SAC’s heavy bombers (the B-36 and later the B-52).

B-47 navigator/bombardier recalls when his Stratojet flew the largest Nuclear Bomb ever built to Spain — Richard “Butch” Sheffield is on the far right in the photo. His crew was named Best B-47 crew in 1960

Flying to Spain with Mark 36

‘In the summer of 1959, our Wing moved its overseas operating location from Fairford, Royal Air Force Base, in the United Kingdom (UK) to a Spanish Air Force Base at Moron, Spain, near Seville.

‘In order to get our nuclear weapons to Spain, we just flew them in our B-47’s. This way, we did not have to down load them from our alert status in the UK. Our primary weapon was the Mark 36. It weighed twenty thousand pounds, completely filled the B-47 bomb bay, and had a seven-megaton yield. This was the largest nuclear bomb ever produced.

‘The normal way of moving nuclear weapons was by Military Air Lift. The weapons were safe, offloaded from the bombers, place into heavy lift aircraft like C-130, C-97, or later, C-5s.

Carrying the largest Nuclear Bomb ever produced

‘So, flying them in the bomber was very unusual. Also, when the B-47 was full of fuel, with tip tanks fully loaded and the Mark 36 loaded, our center of gravity (CG) was far aft of normal. We could not land with the bomb onboard and fuel in the tip tanks. We have to burn the fuel out of the tip tanks or drop the bomb to get the CG forward to land.

‘The route to Moron took us right over the Capital City of Spain, Madrid. As I flew over Madrid with this very large Hydrogen bomb, I couldn’t help but think, what do those people on the ground think is flying over them today? We even made a simulated bomb run on them.’

Flying home over the Bermuda Triangle

When Richard “Butch” Sheffield would discuss flying over the Bermuda Triangle and claim that there was indeed something strange about it, he would have a perplexed expression on his face.

‘When it came time to rotate back home to Little Rock, my CO-pilot, Jim McCracken, and I came up with a way to get home sooner than normal. We would land at the Azores; refuel then were going to fly all the way home on one tank of gas going over Bermuda.

‘Everything was going well, right on fuel plans until we passed Bermuda, then we ran into the jet stream, two hundred-knot headwinds, that were not forecast. We were lucky to make it to the East Coast. I have never seen, before, or sense, headwinds like that. The jet stream never goes that far South.

‘We landed at Hunter, AFB, SC. on the East Coast. Flew home to Little Rock the next day.’

Check out Habubrats SR-71’s Twitter profile and the Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and Linda Sheffield Miller

April 20, 2024 0 comment

History

Avro Vulcan pilot recalls being ‘zapped’ with kiwis on his bomber’s roundels during New Zealand Ranger

by Till Daisd April 19, 2024

written by Till Daisd

RAF Akrotiri

RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, began on Jul. 1, 1955, when the first 30 personnel posted to the ‘Unit’ established themselves in the flat, dry, rocky scrubland on the windswept Akrotiri Peninsula.

Due to terrorist activity, Nicosia Airport was temporarily closed. As a result, Akrotiri was designated as the new location to handle civil aviation on the island, along with a temporary “civil airport reception center.” They also brought in an RAF Regiment Light Anti-Aircraft Wing.

The station’s strength increased dramatically in just 12 months, reaching 260 officers and 2864 other ranks by the end of August 1956. Construction trailed behind the unexpected demand for accommodations, which resulted in overcrowding and unhygienic conditions that sent 1430 people on a daily sick-out.

From the Station’s rudimentary beginnings with caravans and mud tracks, roads were developed, hangars were built, and some permanent buildings were constructed.

The Station reached its height in the 1960s and 1970s after the departure from east of Suez; Lightning, Canberra, Hercules, Argosy, and Vulcan aircraft were all permanently based squadrons operated from RAF Akrotiri.

The Avro Vulcan goes to New Zealand

In Tony Blackman’s book Vulcan Boys True Tales of the Iconic Delta V Bomber, Adrian Summer, a former Vulcan pilot who was the pilot in charge at the time of this story, remembers;

‘My greatest memory from Cyprus days was our New Zealand Ranger in February 1972. Ron had received a letter from the widow of an ex-squadron commander who had sadly died; he had had a silver bat, the IX Squadron emblem, as a mascot on their car and she wished to present it to the squadron. The only problem was that she lived in Christchurch, South Island, NZ.

‘Unfortunately, this was not sufficient justification for a trip ‘down under’ so a further reason had to be found. I am not sure how it happened, but Ron [Wg Cdr Ron Dick, Summer’s Vulcan captain) managed to get an invite to take part in the Hamilton Air Show, south of Auckland, North Island. Our base throughout our stay was the RNZAF airbase at Ohakea, just outside Palmerston North.’

Kiwis within the roundels

Summer continues;

‘As it happened, we were the first Vulcan to return to New Zealand since 1959 when a Vulcan B1 XH498 undershot the runway at Wellington damaging the port undercarriage, and crash-landed back at Ohakea. I understand the crew chief remained with the aircraft in NZ for a number of months! Our ranger was not without incident, but of a different kind.

‘During the first evening of our arrival, our aircraft was ‘zapped’ having kiwis painted within the roundels on either side of the nose. Then, during our flight down and back to Christchurch to pick up the silver bat, we came across an old steam train known as the “Kingston Flier’ which we managed to capture on F95 film. On returning to Ohakea, Ron was handed a telegram which was from the engine driver, a Mr Glendenning, which read-+++GREAT FLYBY STOP DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAD AN OIL LEAK UNDER YOUR LEFT WING STOP+++.

‘Apparently, several years later Ron Dick re-visited NZ and found out where Mr Glendenning was living. He knocked at his door and said to him “We have never met, but I have been close to you,” to which Mr Glendenning replied, “you’re that bloody Vulcan pilot.”

Vulcan flying up and down in New Zealand

‘Another occurrence was as a result of flying up and down the fantastically beautiful Milford Sound in New Zealand again during our flight back from Christchurch. Months after our return to Cyprus, I was back in the UK on my intermediate co-pilot’s course for conversion to the left-hand seat. I was browsing through the flying magazines in Smiths and came across a Vulcan filling the whole of the centerfold picture; on closer inspection, I realized it was our aircraft in New Zealand. The picture had been taken by an Australian professional photographer who was on his honeymoon and who happened to be fishing in Milford Sound at the time.

‘Flying back to Cyprus from New Zealand, whilst crossing the Inter-Tropical Front and endeavoring to climb out of severe icing, we had the outer lamination of two of our front windscreens crack. We subsequently landed safely at Tengah in Singapore, and the aircraft remained there for a double windscreen change whilst our crew flew back to Akrotiri by VC10.’

Kiwis within roundels again!

Summers concludes;

‘Some days later the aircraft was recovered back to base by Flight Lieutenant Jon Tye and his crew. Within minutes of it landing at Akrotiri, Ron was summoned to the station commander’s office to explain to John Stacey [RAF Akrotiri commander] why one of his aircraft had been seconded to the New Zealand Air Force. Ron had forgotten about the kiwis in the roundels!’

Vulcan Boys True Tales of the Iconic Delta V Bomber is published by Mortons Books and is available to order here.

Photo by Crown Copyright

April 19, 2024 0 comment

History

Richard Bong, America’s Top Ace, used his P-38 to shoot a crocodile to protect his comrades

by Till Daisd April 18, 2024

written by Till Daisd

America’s Top Ace Richard Bong

Richard “Dick” Bong enlisted as a flying cadet near Wausau, Wisconsin, on May 29, 1941, following his schooling in his hometown. He completed his aviation training at Luke Field, Arizona, and Tulare and Gardner Fields, California. On January 9, 1942, he received his commission and wings. Until May, when he left Luke for combat training in P38s at Hamilton Field, California, he served as an instructor for other pilots.

According to the USAF Historical Support Division, he went to the Pacific as a fighter pilot with the 9th Fighter Squadron of the 49th Fighter Group in Australia. Major Bong was transferred to the 35th Group’s 39th Squadron in November 1942, where he shot down five Japanese fighter aircraft before joining the 9th Squadron again in January 1943. He flew with the 9th until November, being promoted to first lieutenant in April and to captain in August.

Richard Bong continues to fly combat missions in P-38s

On Nov. 11, 1943, he was given 60 days’ leave and reassigned to Headquarters V Fighter Command, New Guinea, as assistant operations officer in charge of replacement airplanes. In this assignment, Major Bong continued to fly combat missions in P-38s and increased his enemy aircraft kills to 28. In April 1944, he was promoted to major and sent home to instruct others in the art of aerial superiority, with the assignment to Foster Field, Texas.

In September 1944, he returned to the Pacific with the Fifth Fighter Command as a gunnery training officer. Though not required to perform further combat flying, he voluntarily put in 30 more combat missions over Borneo and the Philippine Islands, destroying 12 more planes to bring his total to 40. Still today, Major Bong is the top American ace of all wars, with 40 enemy aircraft destroyed in aerial combat.

Nailing a crocodile with his P-38 20mm

However, Bong not only shot down enemy aircraft, but he almost got credit for nailing a crocodile with his 20mm.

Pete Feigal, a former Pro Military Artist, explains on Quora. ‘Dick didn’t consider himself a very good shot—the most important skill needed to shoot down an enemy aircraft—so he would fly in nice and cozy before pulling the trigger.

‘Bong’s strategy of close combat served him particularly well during a rescue mission in Papua New Guinea. Three fellow pilots were crossing a lake in a small boat to rescue another pilot who had been missing in the jungle. While flying overhead cover, Bong noticed a crocodile following the boat closely in the water. Charged with protecting his comrades, Bong dove very low and glided right over the water. With a precise burst of 20mm cannon fire, Bong blasted the croc. Newspapers reported on the incredible tale, though the crocodile was erroneously called a gator. Some joked about painting a crocodile on the side of “Marge!”’

The incredible story of when America’s Top Ace Dick Bong fought alone against Nine Japanese Zero Fighters. He shot down two of them and damaged another before safely RTB. — Richard Bong’s P-38 Marge

Photo by U.S. Air Force

April 18, 2024 0 comment

History

A U-2 pilot recalls how the Cuban Missile Crisis almost turned into WWIII

by Till Daisd April 16, 2024

written by Till Daisd

A U-2 pilot tells a scary story that took place during the Cuban Missile Crisis

August 1955 saw the first flight of the original U-2A, which was built by Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works in total secrecy. Early flights over the Soviet Union in the late 1950s provided the president and other US decision-makers with key intelligence on Soviet military capability.

The Cuban Missile Crisis began in October 1962 when the U-2 captured images showing the Soviet Union stockpiling nuclear missiles for offensive use in Cuba.

The fear of World War III

Everyone was terrified of a third world war following the Cuban Crisis. Situated barely ninety miles from Florida, the island of Cuba had installed nuclear missiles that might reach the United States.

On Oct. 23, 1962, Butch Sheffield’s daughter remembers his father telling her mother to go to the commissary and buy as much food as possible. At that time, we lived in Texas at Carswell Air Force Base (AFB). Butch Sheffield, who was an SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer, as he was leaving, said to fly the B-58 Hustler bomber on red alert.

Buddy Brown, one of only 12 men in the world who flew both the U-2 and the SR-71

They lived at Beale AFB seven years later, and Buddy Brown was their neighbor. He was one of the only 12 men in the world who flew both the U-2 and the SR-71. The following is an interview by Buddy Brown given ten years ago to Oakridger.

‘Now let me say something about that Cuban Missile Crisis. This is probably as close as this nation has ever come to being in World War III,’ Brown began. ‘When I say close, it was probably about that far from pushing a button to launch a nuclear torpedo,’ he stated, as he gestured with two of his fingers only a few inches apart.

The crew of a Soviet submarine thought that World War III had started

‘I was at a 50-year thing at George Mason University about a year ago, and they were celebrating (the 50th anniversary of) the Cuban Missile Crisis. Since I was one of the pilots, they had me talk to the group there about that. I sat next to Sergei Khrushchev — (Soviet Premier Nikita) Khrushchev’s son — who was around 30 years old during the Cuban Missile Crisis and is now a professor at Brown University. But he was telling us that the Soviets had some diesel subs inside the line there in case nuclear war started.

The story of Buddy Brown, the U-2 pilot that took part to O Club parties wearing fake bad teeth to joke about the ozone level effect on U-2 drivers — Buddy Brown in front of an SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3 spy plane

‘Well, this one person running the submarine thought we were, in fact, at war — because they didn’t have any contact,’ Brown recalled. ‘They had a bunch of naval ships out there and, fortunately, somebody with a cooler brain stopped him from doing that — but he was about three inches from pushing and launching one of those nuclear torpedoes at one of our naval ships out there.’ He paused and stated: ‘Now that would have started it right there.’ The Soviets had, in Cuba, about sixty 1-megaton weapons that were ready to go. Cruise missiles and a few other things.’

1 MEGAton nuclear weapons

Brown concludes;

Former U-2 pilot tells the story of the Soviet submarine that almost fired a nuclear torpedo at a US Navy ship during the Cuban Missile Crisis — Soviet submarine B-59, forced to the surface by US Naval forces in the Caribbean near Cuba.

‘To make a comparison, the ones that they set off during World War II at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was about 15 kt (kiloton) — now we’re talking about 1 MEGAton and they were going to use them. Well, fortunately, none of that happened and it ended up that we didn’t go to war; but it was probably the closest this nation has ever been.’

Check out Habubrats SR-71’s Twitter profile and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder’s Facebook page for further Blackbird photos and stories.

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

April 16, 2024 0 comment

History

Before Operation Iraqi Freedom began, Saddam Hussein buried Iraqi Air Force fighter jets in the desert

by Till Daisd April 16, 2024

written by Till Daisd

No opposition from the Iraqi Air Force during Operation Iraqi Freedom

Preemptive attacks against the presidential palace of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and specific military targets marked the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) on March 20, 2003. About 67,700 “boots on the ground” and 15,000 Navy personnel on ships in the region followed the initial attack. Iraq was judged to violate UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which “prohibits stockpiling and importing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs),” prompting the authorization of OIF.

Five weeks after the invasion started, Baghdad fell due to the swift defeat of Iraqi forces. There was no opposition from the Iraqi Air Force (IrAF) to the US and coalition forces during the invasion of Iraq.

Remembering the Iraqi Air Force fighter jets found buried in the desert by American Forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom — Several MiG-25 interceptors and Su-25 ground attack jets have been found buried at Al-Taqqadum air field west of Baghdad.

Why?

When Iran and Iraq ended a brutal 8-year war in 1988, the IrAF had fought well.

As Daniel L. Haulman, PhD Air Force Historical Research Agency, explained in his document What Happened to the Iraqi Air Force? “By 1991, it was one of the largest air forces in southwestern Asia, with well over 700 fixed-wing combat aircraft. Iraq had purchased new and very capable fighter aircraft, including MiG-29s from the Soviet Union and Mirage F-1s from France. The country had also improved its air bases, increasing the size and number of their runways and taxiways and constructing hundreds of hardened aircraft shelters to protect aircraft on the ground. Yet twelve years later, when the United States and coalition forces invaded Iraq in 2003 [during Operation Iraqi Freedom], they faced no Iraqi Air Force opposition. Not one Iraqi warplane attacked the invaders as they proceeded toward Baghdad.”

37 Iraqi Air Force airplanes shot down during Operation Desert Storm

Iraqi Air Force fighter jets were buried in the desert by Saddam Hussein before Operation Iraqi Freedom started. Here’s why. — “Iraqi FOD” is a 34-by-48-inch oil painting. It depicts the wreckage of an Iraqi MiG 23 and its engine at Tallil Air Base, Iraq, in April 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The artwork is among 200 pieces being donated to the Air Force. (U.S. Air Force painting by Harley Copic)

“During the Gulf War or Operation DESERT STORM, between January and March 1991, USAF pilots shot down 37 Iraqi airplanes, including 32 fixed-wing airplanes and 5 helicopters. The lost Iraqi airplanes included eight MiG-23s, six F-1s jets, five MiG-29s, four SU-22s, two SU-25s, two MiG-25s, two MiG-21s, one PC-9, one IL-76, one SU-7, and five helicopters, including two MI-8s, one MI-24, and two that were not identified. In December 1992 and January 1993, two USAF F-16 pilots each shot down two additional Iraqi aircraft, including a MiG-23 and a MiG-25.”

Haulman continues;

“When the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, the Iraqi Air Force did not show up. It did not generate a single sortie. Allied air and ground forces operated without any aerial opposition. The absence of Iraqi Air Force opposition allowed the United States Air Force to use aircraft more vulnerable than fighters and bombers, such as helicopters, transports, and drones, with less fear of having them shot down over enemy territory. Of course, the failure of Iraq to launch any aircraft to oppose the invasion was partly deliberate. The Iraqi leadership realized that challenging the United States and coalition air forces would be futile, in light of the 1991 campaign.”

Thus, as the photos in this post show, Saddam Hussein buried Iraq’s air force in the desert.

Iraqi Air Force Russian fighter jets buried in the Iraqi desert

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stated in a press briefing on August 5, 2003, that American forces had discovered IrAF Russian fighter jets buried in the Iraqi desert, as reported by Kathleen T. Rhem of the American Forces Press Service in the article “American forces unearth hidden aircraft in Iraq.”

“We’d heard a great many things had been buried, but we had not known where they were, and we’d been operating in that immediate vicinity for weeks and weeks and weeks… 12, 13 weeks, and didn’t know they were (there),” Rumsfeld said.

The secretary said he wasn’t sure how many such aircraft had been found, but noted, “It wasn’t one or two.”

“Something as big as an airplane that’s within… a stone’s throw of where you’re functioning, and you don’t know it’s there because you don’t run around digging into everything on a discovery process,” Rumsfeld explained. “So until you find somebody who tells you where to look, or until nature clears some sand away and exposes something over time, we’re simply not going to know.

“But, as we all know,” he added, “the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”

Photo by Master Sgt. T. Collins / U.S. Air Force

April 16, 2024 0 comment

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