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Airmen of the 28th Maintenance Squadron prepare a B-1B Lancer to support Operation Odyssey Dawn on Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., March 27, 2011. Their work was made especially difficult by severe weather conditions including snow, ice, and freezing fog. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Marc I. Lane)
Everyone is all smiles as Capt. William Jacks walks with his wife, Nicole, and daughters, Rachel (left) and Anna, after returning home from a six-month deployment to Southwest Asia, July 28, 2010, at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. Captain Jacks is a B-1B Lancer pilot assigned to the 34th Bomb Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo BY Staff Sgt. Marc I. Lane)
The air & space museum is located at the entrance to Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. At the museum, you can purchase tickets for a tour of the base and its sole remaining missile silo. Ellsworth Air Force Base is the home of the B-1B and the 28th Bomber Wing. With luck, you'll get to experience a B-1B flying overhead. The B-1B is a four-engine, variable sweep wing, supersonic bomber used by the U.S. Air Force. Designed by Rockwell International (now part of Boeing), the first production B-1B was rolled out on September 4, 1984. Max Speed: Mach 1.25 at high altitude. Max Range: 6,478 miles at low altitude. Ceiling: 60,000 ft.
Airmen of the 28th Maintenance Squadron prepare a B-1B Lancer to support Operation Odyssey Dawn on Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., March 27, 2011. Their work was made especially difficult by severe weather conditions including snow, ice, and freezing fog. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Marc I. Lane)
Rockwell B-1B Lancers of the 34th Bomb Squadron "Original Thunderbirds" and 37th Bomb Squadron "Tigers" from Ellsworth AFB participating in Red Flag 14-3 exercises at Nellis AFB. A review of the exercise can be found at www.airshowsreview.com/2014_Red_Flag_2014-3_Exercise.htm .
Air Force Global Strike Command bombers perform the Super Bowl LV flyover at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Jan. 7, 2021. The trifecta was the first of its kind as it included a B-1B Lancer from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., a B-2 Spirit from Whiteman AFB, Mo., and a B-52H Stratofortress from Minot AFB, N.D. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jacob B. Wrightsman)
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16/08/2018 : Box Elder, SD, Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota Air and Space Museum: Rockwell B-1B Lancer
Airmen assigned to the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron perform triage and extract “casualties” from a hostile environment during the Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force (BEEF) challenge at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., Aug. 17, 2017. The challenges they faced included a variety of high endurance events such as an M4 relay, truck push, four-man litter carry and Self-Aid and Buddy Care. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Donald C. Knechtel)
Staff Sgt. Joseph Vawter, a 28th Security Forces Squadron patrolman, reports conditions while patrolling Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., Dec. 31, 2009. Sergeant Vawter, along with other security forces, ensures the safety of members on the base. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Corey Hook)
Airmen from the 28th Maintenance Squadron perform maintenance on a B-1 bomber prior to take-off at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., Jan. 7, 2015. Airmen from the 28th MXS work throughout various weather conditions yearlong to keep all B-1s on Ellsworth mission ready. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Rebecca Imwalle/Released) "For more photos from around the Air Force, visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/usairforce." United States Air Force
The 28th Security Forces Squadron team out of Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., stands ready to compete in the 2010 Global Strike Challenge at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. The challenge pits missile and bomb crews, security forces, and maintainers from five Air Force bases in head-to-head competitions to determine the “best of the best.” (From left to right) Tech. Sgt. Joseph Wengler, Staff Sgt. Jacob Lacefield, Airman 1st Class Brian Turney, Senior Airman Johnathan Byron, Airman 1st Class Aaron Simpson, Staff Sgt. Tyson Steiger and Senior Airman Michael Thompson (not pictured) will be tested on tactical movements, firing skills, and security knowledge during the challenge. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kasey Close)
The history of the B-1 Lancer is a long, troubled, and ultimately successful one. With the cancellation of the high-altitude XB-70 Valkyrie and the retirement of the low-altitude B-58 Hustler bombers, this left the USAF with no real replacement or even supplement for the B-52 Stratofortress, which by the mid-1960s, was felt to be increasingly vulnerable to Soviet air defenses. Four separate studies called for a supersonic bomber, probably with variable-sweep wings, capable of high-speed, low altitude penetration of the Soviet Union, but nothing came of these studies until 1969, when President Richard Nixon, drawing on the experience of the Vietnam War, ordered the military to adopt a “flexible response” to war: the prevailing attitude to that point had been all-out nuclear war from the beginning, and Vietnam had shown that not all future wars would be nuclear.
A manned bomber would offer the flexibility Nixon called for, and a new aircraft would supplement the aging B-52 as well as the FB-111A Aardvark, which was not performing to hoped standards. The USAF called for designs, and in 1970 Rockwell was chosen to build three prototypes and one pre-production aircraft; the new aircraft was designated B-1.
Since Rockwell could draw on nearly a decade of studies, the B-1 prototype first flew only four years later, in December 1974. It was a radical looking design, with a blended, long fuselage, four engines fed by variable intakes pushing the aircraft to Mach 2, a high swept tail, and variable-sweep wings. Since much of the B-1’s attack plan called for low-level attack, two vanes were attached at the nose to smooth the flight. Flight testing went relatively smoothly and the USAF ordered 244 B-1As in 1976.
Unfortunately, the B-1 now faced enemies it would struggle far more to vanquish than enemy defenses: politics and cost. The inflationary 1970s had doubled the cost of each aircraft, and to new President Jimmy Carter, the increase in cost coupled with the development of cruise missiles made the B-1 a fiscal and unnecessary nightmare; Carter had also been informed of a technology breakthrough that now allowed for the development of a truly stealthy bomber. With all of this in mind, Carter abruptly cancelled the B-1, leaving the USAF once more dependent on the B-52 and a handful of FB-111s, albeit armed with cruise missiles; flight testing of the four existing B-1As would be allowed to continue. Carter’s decision proved a politically damaging one: Ronald Reagan used the cancellation as a political weapon that helped Reagan to the Presidency in 1980.
Reagan had promised to restart development of the B-1, and he was assisted in this by a USAF study in which it was predicted that the B-52, even with cruise missiles, would no longer be able to survive Soviet air defenses after 1985. The Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB, what would become the B-2 Spirit) was not projected to be operational until 1990. As such, the B-1 would be a useful “interim” bomber between the very non-stealthy B-52 and the stealthy B-2. In 1982, the USAF ordered 100 B-1Bs from Rockwell.
The B-1B differed substantially from the B-1A, though not much externally. It was heavier, because it was now given the capability to carry external weapons and range was increased. The variable intakes were replaced with simpler fixed ones, though the internal structure of the intakes were altered to make it more stealthy: although the B-1 lost its ability to reach Mach 2, it now had one-fiftieth of the radar signature of a B-52. Avionics were far more comprehensive, and the electronics suite was significantly upgraded. The crew capsule escape system, which was never reliable, were replaced by standard ejection seats. The first B-1B was delivered to the USAF in June 1985, with squadron strength a year later.
Ironically, the B-1 would never be used against its intended foe in its intended role. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 saw the B-1 program struggling: engine fires and high-profile crashes had grounded it during the First Gulf War, and with the Cold War over, its existence was called into question. However, the ever-increasing age of the B-52 and the slashes to B-2 Spirit production meant the B-1 was still needed: its high speed penetration ability, range, and bombload were still very competitive. Unlike the B-52, the B-1 could also operate from shorter runways. As a result, the B-1 force was switched over to a purely conventional role, and was gradually upgraded with improved avionics, as well as the capability to drop precision-guided weapons.
The USAF also addressed the B-1’s lack of an official nickname: crews had been calling it the “Bone” (a play on the words “B-One”); the USAF preferred the term Lancer, reflecting the aircraft’s ability to penetrate enemy defenses and its shape, similar to that of a lance, with wings fully swept. Finally, in 1998, the Lancer got a chance to show its capability in Operation Desert Fox, airstrikes meant to derail Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program, then a year later in the Kosovo War.
Entering the 21st Century, once more plans were announced to retire the B-1 as a cost-saving measure. Once more, plans changed. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after 2001 saw the Lancer used extensively, once more due to its speed and loitering time. Coalition troops in Afghanistan appreciated the B-1’s ability to respond quickly and drop bombs accurately in support of troops in contact—on more than one occasion, B-1s simply made low level supersonic passes over Taliban positions to deafen and intimidate the enemy into retreat.
As a result of these actions, the USAF has decided to keep the Lancer in service until 2040, albeit at a reduced force number of 67 aircraft. Of the original 100 B-1Bs and four B-1As built, nine have been lost in crashes; a further nine are on display in museums, a rarity for an operational aircraft.
83-0067 was the fourth B-1B to be built, and was assigned to the 96th Bomb Wing (later 7th Bomb Wing) at Dyess AFB, TX. It was later given the name "Texas Raider" after the Commemorative Air Force's B-17G Flying Fortress. When the USAF began downsizing the Lancer fleet in the early 2000s, 83-0067, as one of the remaining high-time B-1Bs, was retired and flown to Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, as a parts resource. After it was stripped of everything usuable, it was placed on display at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum.
83-0067 used to carry the "Texas Raider" nose art and a 9/11 commemorative "Let's Roll" patch, but those have been apparently been painted over in the aircraft's last restoration cycle. Though it never flew with the unit, it carries the 28th BW's tail stripe and tailcode. Two of the B-1's progenitors, the B-29 and B-52, can be seen in the background.
While I was touring the museum, two of Ellsworth's B-1Bs taxied out and took off on a mission. There is nothing quite like a Lancer in full 'burner--or as loud!
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Aaron Richards, 104th Fighter Wing, Massachusetts Air National Guard, inspects the top of an F-15E Strike Eagle during Red Flag 12-2 Jan. 27, 2012, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies. The Exercise includes units from Nevada, Colorado, South Dakota, Louisiana, Utah, California, Republic of Korea, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Massachusetts and Oklahoma.
During Operation Linebacker II, also known as the christmas bombing of Hanoi & Hai Phong in North VietNam, I patrolled the ramps and revetments where these dark giants were being uploaded to the hilt with bombs. Maintainence vehicles, bomb loaders, flatbeds with rows of various ordnance strapped down, fuel trucks were going in every direction to load and ready the planes for the mission. It was like a beehive of activity all afternoon under the blazing hot sun. The noise was deafening from all the ground vehicles, power carts, air conditioning units, and the aircraft engines all screaming wildly so you couldn't hear anything else and people had to yell at each other and hope they were heard. It wasn't the normal war operations we were used to, but an all out offensive and we were sending every availabe bomber we had. And it went on for days, but the first day was special. The tankers took off first and flew off so the bombers would catch up later and refill their tanks before heading north to deliver their deadly loads. When the bombers were ready they all began to taxi towards the runway and one behind the other roared down the runway, lifting off into the clear blue sky. All the fire trucks were in strategic positions in case anything went wrong (but nothing did), and the grass between the runway and main taxiways was filled with a long row of support vehicles and their crews of mechanics, bomb loaders, just about everyone and anyone was there standing outside on tops of their trucks or in the grass waving hats, saluting, and cheering the aircrews on. Soon the sky was filled with B-52s in waves and it was one of the most impressive sights I've ever seen. Some of us prayed for their safe return, some didn't make it, and also thought about how Charlie's gonna really get a real nasty Air Force Ass Kickin tonight! But I also felt sorry for the people who would get it. You have to try not to think about them as people, you have to think of them as "the enemy" because inside yourself you don't like the though of what you're doing to them. And later in my life I met some people we sent these birds to drop their eggs on. Anyway, they flew off and disappeared on the horizon, tiny black dots that vanished and it was soon dark and very quiet. When those who made it came back, the action began for me.
Rockwell B-1B Lancer of the 34 BS from Ellsworth AFB participating in a Green Flag exercise during the 2014 Nellis AFB Open House and Air Show. A review of the airshow can be found online at: www.theaviationmagazine.com/2014_Nellis_Aviation_Nation_A...
Seen here at the SD Air & Space museum in 2011 it has since been painted in USAF camouflage markings with tail code "TA"
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Bryan Burke, a 104th Fighter Wing crew chief with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, conducts a post-flight inspection on a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter aircraft during Red Flag 12-2 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 24, 2012. Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the U.S. and its allies, including units from Nevada, Colorado, South Dakota, Louisiana, Utah, California, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Daniel Hughes)
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Chris Shapiro, left, the 34th Bomb Squadron (BS) aircrew flight equipment assistant noncommissioned officer in charge, assists Aric Lassegard, 8, a 34th BS honorary aircrew member, with his HGU-55/P aircrew helmet at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., Jan. 13, 2011. The 34th BS gave Lassegard his own flight suit with name tag and unit patches as well as a flyer?s helmet with mask as part of the Aircrew for a Day program. The Aircrew for a Day program gives children who have significant medical difficulties a chance to tour and learn about Ellsworth. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Marc I. Lane, U.S. Air Force/Released)
Rockwell B-1B Lancer of the 37th Bomb Squadron "Tigers" from Ellsworth AFB seen at Nellis AFB, November, 2017.
Because of the C-135/KC-135's large size, it easily lended itself to modification. It was a proven, reliable airframe, and since KC-135 fuselages were mostly empty cargo space, it was not terribly difficult to turn these aircraft into a wide variety of roles.
As a result, there are a dizzying amount of KC/C-135 variants--RC-135 strategic reconnaissance and Elint platforms, VC-135 executive transports, OC-135 Open Skies treaty compliance aircraft, NC-135 test aircraft, WC-135 weather reconnaissance aircraft, TC-135 crew trainers, and EC-135s--the latter could be anything from standoff ECM jamming aircraft to airborne command posts.
The majority of EC-135 variants were used as airborne command posts. Because it was thought likely that a Soviet nuclear first strike would annihilate ground stations, an airborne component would need to be in the air all the time, so that the ability to launch retaliatory strikes would still exist. This was the concept behind the Airborne Launch Control Centers, codenamed Looking Glass: even if ground-based LCCs were destroyed in a first strike, the ALCCs could still remotely launch the United States' Minuteman ICBMs. Other EC-135s served as airborne command posts for theater commanders, under the codenames Silk Purse, Scope Light, and Blue Eagle. Finally, an airborne command post for the President was created, codenamed Nightwatch; Nightwatch-configured "doomsday planes" would follow the President wherever they went, so that the President could run national affairs from the air in case of nuclear attack. The Nightwatch EC-135Js were replaced in the late 1970s by the current E-4 NEACP ("Kneecap") fleet.
Built as a KC-135A in 1961, 61-0262 did not stay a tanker for long. In 1965, it was converted to an EC-135C as an airborne command post for first the 8th Air Force headquarters at Westover AFB, Massachusetts, and later USAFE at RAF Mildenhall. It was modified to Looking Glass ALCC standard in 1967, and was assigned to the 4th Airborne Command and Control Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. As an ALCC, 61-0262 was rotated through 24-hour airborne alerts, orbiting near either Minot AFB, North Dakota or Malmstrom AFB, Montana, to launch either base's 250 Minuteman III missiles, if necessary. In the 1980s, when nose art was authorized by Strategic Air Command, 0262 was nicknamed "Rolling Thunder" and got the nose art of a thunderstorm on the port side.
In 1992, the deactivation of SAC also led to the end of the Looking Glass role, in favor of the US Navy's E-6A Mercury aircraft. 61-0262 was retired and put on display at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum, where it remains today. The white uppersurfaces over light gray was used on almost all the USAF's EC-135 fleet (the white uppersurfaces was to reflect sunlight off the fuselage and the crew and computers inside); 0262 carries a small SAC stripe with the 28th Bomb Wing's patch, as the 4th ACCS was attached to the 28th. The "Rolling Thunder" nose art is still carried, but can't be seen from this side. The wing antennae are the quickest way to recognize an EC-135 ALCC.
I thought this might be the same EC-135 ALCC I had seen at a Malmstrom AFB airshow in the 1980s, but it is a different aircraft, though from the same squadron.
Rockwell B-1B Lancer of the 37th Bomb Squadron "Tigers" from Ellsworth AFB participating in Red Flag 14-3 exercises at Nellis AFB. A review of the exercise can be found at www.airshowsreview.com/2014_Red_Flag_2014-3_Exercise.htm .
In 1940, the United States feared that Great Britain would fall to Germany, which meant that there was a real possibility that America would be alone against the Axis powers. To be able to strike Germany from bases in either Canada or the continental US meant that the US Army Air Force would need an intercontinental bomber—even Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress, then on the drawing boards, would need bases in Iceland or the Azores to attack Germany, and the USAAF had to assume that those islands would be lost as well. Consolidated Aircraft won the contract against Boeing’s entry in October 1941, on the eve of the US’ entry into World War II.
The XB-36 project ran into numerous delays due to the war: work was halted so Consolidated could concentrate on producing the B-24 Liberator, restarted after the loss of the Philippines and Marianas (the XB-36 would be the only design that could strike Japan from Hawaii), and delayed again as the Allies took the offensive. By the time the first XB-36 Peacemaker flew in August 1946, the war was over.
Another problem Consolidated had run into was the aircraft’s sheer size. Nearly three times as large as the B-29, the XB-36’s wingspan was so large that it could not fit in any hangar then built; its tail was so tall that B-36s would have to be rolled out of the factory with its nose in the air. Everything about it was gigantic: its crew of 14 was divided by the bomb bays, and had bunks and a stove for its projected 40-hour missions. The wings were seven feet thick at their roots, to enable the crew to repair the engines in flight; the six engines themselves had no less than 336 spark plugs, and utilized a “pusher” design that kept steady airflow over the wing.
Because of its size, even six engines had difficulty getting the XB-36 into the air, and it was not an easy aircraft to fly once it got there. The prototypes had the largest tires ever fitted to an aircraft, which had so much ground pressure only three airfields in the entire United States could operate Peacemakers without destroying the runways. (This problem was rectified on production B-36s by using multiple wheels.) USAAF planners now had the world’s second largest aircraft at the time it was built (second only to the Hughes H-4 Spruce Goose), but no role for it to fulfill.
The Cold War was to rescue the B-36 from early retirement. Nuclear weapons were becoming more powerful, moving into the megaton yield, but these bombs also were getting bigger and heavier, outstripping the ability for even the B-29 to carry them—and in any case, the B-29 could not reach targets in the Soviet Union from the US. The B-36 could, without needing to resort to the then-experimental method of inflight refueling, and the huge wings that caused so much headaches for ground crew also allowed it to operate above 45,000 feet—which was far above any antiaircraft fire and, at the time, above the ceiling of any known fighter. Just in case a fighter should be able to reach the Peacemaker, a defensive armament of no less than 14 20mm cannons were added to the bomber; fuselage turrets would retract when not in use so as not to disrupt airflow.
After 21 B-36A pre-production aircraft were produced, the production B-36B (with a raised flight deck) began reaching units of the newly formed Strategic Air Command in 1948. With the B-29 being phased out or sent to Korea for combat operations, the B-36 became the backbone of SAC and its “long rifle”; even as the jet-powered B-47 Stratojet entered service, the B-47 still lacked the range of the Peacemaker and required forward bases to strike targets in the Communist bloc.
To deal with the Peacemaker’s indifferent top speed, four J47 turbojets were added beneath the wings in the early 1950s. This had a number of advantages: it decreased the B-36’s reaction time, gave it a better climb rate, lowered its stall speed, and took some of the load off the six propeller engines, which were prone to seizing up and catching fire. The noise produced by the “six turning and four burning” engines gave the B-36 the unofficial nickname “Earthshaker,” while its sheer size gave rise to the term “Aluminum Overcast.”
With delays to the B-52 project, the B-36’s lifespan was extended a few years by the Featherweight project in 1954, which stripped the aircraft of all armament but its tail guns. This did not help its top speed much, but increased its ceiling to 60,000 feet, far above any fighter of the time. It was only a temporary measure, however: the advent of long-range air-to-air missiles and surface-to-air missiles meant that the B-36 was becoming obsolete. Once the B-52 began to enter service, the Peacemaker was retired. The last left service in Feburary 1959—having never dropped a bomb in anger. For B-36 crews, no greater compliment could be paid. Today, of the 384 Peacemakers produced, only four remain in existence, along with the single prototype XC-99 transport version.
This is the only remaining RB-36 left in the world. Modifications between the standard B-36 bomber and the RB-36 involved sealing the forward bomb bay and turning it into a combination camera bay and darkroom, capable of carrying 23 cameras of various types and developing the film in flight. The second bomb bay was left intact to drop photoflash bombs for night operations. Crew was increased to 22, while additional fuel tanks were added to increase the RB-36's endurance to an astonishing 50 hours. The RB-36 variants served for a decade, from 1949 to 1959; most were modified to RB-36H standard, which shared the "Featherweight" modification of the later B-36 bombers.
51-13730 was delivered to the USAF's 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Rapid City (later Ellsworth) AFB, South Dakota, and flew from there until 1957, when it was retired. The aircraft was then flown to Chanute AFB, Illinois, to act as a ground instruction trainer, and then was preserved as a museum piece; by that time, it was one of only five B-36s left in the world. By the late 1970s, it was recognized that the Peacemaker's magnesium parts would deterioriate quickly in open storage and probably ruin the aircraft (which is what happened to the XC-99), so these were replaced by Chanute personnel with more resilient aluminum.
After the closure of Chanute AFB in the early 1990s, the museum there was not sure they would have the funds to maintain 51-13730. The Castle Air Museum obtained the aircraft in 1991, and cut the aircraft into 167 pieces, all transported by rail to the museum. It would take nearly three years to reassemble 51-13730, but the completed and repainted RB-36H was returned to its former glory by 1994, and has been on display at Castle ever since.
When I visited in 2021, 51-13730 is in the midst of another restoration and repaint period, and so does not look her best. It is in the markings of the 28th SRW, with a SAC stripe on the nose. On display next to the aircraft is a Mark 17 nuclear bomb; this is one of only five Mark 17 casings left in the world, and shows the enormous size of the nuclear bombs of the early 1950s. It would have had a yield of about 15 megatons.
With the sad scrapping of the YB-36 prototype from Walter Soplata's collection, I have now seen every B-36 left: the one at the NMUSAF, the one at Pima, the one at the SAC Museum, and now this one at Castle.
A B-1B Lancer aircraft takes off from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., Aug. 3, 2010, for a training mission. (DoD photo by Airman 1st Class Corey Hook, U.S. Air Force/Released)
Rockwell B-1B Lancer of the 37th Bomb Squadron "Tigers" from Ellsworth AFB participating in Red Flag 14-3 exercises at Nellis AFB. A review of the exercise can be found at www.airshowsreview.com/2014_Red_Flag_2014-3_Exercise.htm .
(Right) Senior Airman Matthew Pence and Airman 1st Class Matthew Beard, 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron load crew members, prepare the bomb bay of a B-1B Lancer for MK-82 weapons during a load competition at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., July 7, 2009. Traditionally used as a means for weapons Airmen to maintain job proficiency, the load competition featured two, four-man teams representing both the 34th and 37th Bomb Squadron Aircraft Maintenance Units. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew Flynn)
Edward Kooper, brother of 1st Lt. Clark Kooper, a U.S. Army Air Force pilot shot down during World War II, cradles a U.S. flag given to him by the Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. Honor Guard, at the Nebraska Veterans Cemetery, Alliance, Neb., May 27, 2011. Mr. Kooper was finally able to lay his brother to rest, more than 66 years after his plane was shot down. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jarad A. Denton)
Rockwell B-1B Lancers of the 34th Bomb Squadron "Original Thunderbirds" and 37th Bomb Squadron "Tigers" from Ellsworth AFB participating in Red Flag 14-3 exercises at Nellis AFB. A review of the exercise can be found at www.airshowsreview.com/2014_Red_Flag_2014-3_Exercise.htm .
This beautifully restored aircraft is part of the museum’s outdoor airpark, which features over 20 historic aircraft. It is one of only 22 complete B-29 airframes currently on display in the United States. It has been repainted and maintained to showcase its historical significance as part of the iconic fleet of B-29 bombers used during World War II. B-29s operated between 1942 and 1954 and they were only used in the Pacific Theater where their long range was critical.
The B-29 Superfortress itself was a groundbreaking aircraft, known for its advanced technology at the time, including pressurized cabins and remote-controlled gun turrets. "Legal Eagle II" stands as a tribute to this engineering marvel and the role it played in aviation history.
One of the early jet fighters on display at the South Dakota Air & Space Museum, Ellsworth AFB in Sept 2011.
A B-1B Lancer takes off during a Phase II Operational Readiness Inspection, Oct. 15. Carrying the largest payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory, the multi-mission B-1 is the backbone of America's long-range bomber force. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Anthony Sanchelli).
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jeffery Wood, a 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, crawls from the air intake of a U.S. Air Force B-1 Lancer aircraft from the 34th Bomb Squadron after performing a post-flight engine inlet inspection Jan. 26, 2011. Airman Wood is deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., in support of Red Flag 11-2, a combined exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., that provides a realistic combat training environment to the U.S. and its allies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Benjamin Wilson)
In December 1939, the US Army Air Corps had to consider the possibility that Nazi Germany might win a war in Europe, and that war with Japan was a possibility. If the Germans overran Europe, then bombers would have to operate from bases in Iceland or the Azores; if war came to the Pacific, the B-17s then in service would not have the range to reach Japan from the Philippines. With this in mind, the USAAC opened a competition for a heavy bomber that could carry 20,000 pounds of bombs over 2500 miles at 400 mph.
Consolidated, Douglas, Lockheed, and Boeing all submitted design ideas, but Boeing’s experience in heavy bomber design won it the contract for two prototypes, designated XB-29. Before the first aircraft even flew, the Battle of Britain, the invasion of the Soviet Union, and America’s entry into the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor increased the orders of B-29s to 500 aircraft, at a total cost of $4 billion—a contract unheard of at the time, and equalled only by the Manhattan Project in wartime cost.
When Boeing rolled out the first XB-29 Superfortress in September 1942, it was completely different from earlier Allied bomber designs. Besides being larger and capable of carrying a bombload only rivalled by the Avro Lancaster, the B-29 used a circular fuselage to reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency. It would be pressurized, allowing the crew to operate in comfort at 30,000 feet, a marked increase in altitude and crew comfort over the B-17s and B-24s then heading for combat in Europe and the Pacific; at that height, antiaircraft fire would be ineffective and only a few Axis fighters could reach the B-29. To further increase the B-29’s defensive capabilities, all four fuselage turrets were integrated into a primitive fire control computer controlled by one man, who would direct the other gunners onto targets.
Because the B-29 was so advanced an aircraft, it was no surprise that it ran into teething problems, mainly engine fires that would plague the Superfortress throughout its career. Making matters worse was the urgent need for the aircraft, as losses over Europe rose alarmingly and Japan’s war industry lay out of range of current aircraft; Boeing also constantly tweaked the design in an attempt to cure the engine fire problem and increase the Superfortress’ performance. So many design changes were being made that even the four plants that produced the B-29 across the United States could not keep up, leading to then-Senator Harry Truman being ordered by President Franklin Roosevelt to investigate the delays. A maximum effort in a subzero Kansas winter in March-April 1944 finally gave the USAAF 150 combat-ready B-29As. By this time, the situation in Europe had eased that the B-29 would likely not be needed, and so the Superfortress was earmarked for the Pacific, with the first aircraft arriving in China in April 1944. This brought not only the heretofore untouched Japanese industry in northern China within range for the first time, but also Japan itself.
However, missions from China, appropriately codenamed Operation Matterhorn, were to prove troublesome at best. While B-29s were able to hit Japan for the first time in June 1944, the mission exhausted available fuel and ordnance available in China and damage was miniscule. To support one B-29 mission, three dangerous supply missions had to be flown over “the Hump,” the Himalayan Mountains, and the literally hand-built B-29 airfields in China were vulnerable to attack from Japanese land forces. With this in mind, the B-29s were withdrawn from China to the recently-taken Mariana Islands of Guam, Saipan, and Tinian in September 1944; one of the reasons the Marianas had been invaded to begin with was to provide a base for the Superfortress. Tokyo itself was struck on the first B-29 mission to Japan from the Marianas, but once more, damage was light to the target. USAAF planners discovered why: the jet stream over Japan was so powerful that it scattered bombs in midair. Complicating the matter was that Japan had decentralized its war industry through the cities, instead of concentrating them in one area as the Germans had in Europe.
Curtis LeMay, commander of 20th Bomber Command in the Marianas, had the solution. After experimenting with a full-scale mockup city built in Utah, it was determined that Japan’s wooden cities were vulnerable to fire. B-29 crews were ordered to remove all defensive armament but the tail turret for added speed: the next attacks on Japan, codenamed Operation Downfall, would be made at low level at night to get below the jet stream, while precision bombing would be switched to area bombing with incendiaries. The results, begun in April 1945, were horrifyingly spectacular: Tokyo was razed to the ground with the deaths of over 100,000 people in a firestorm so intense it uprooted trees. Encouraged by these results, B-29s would go on to destroy nearly every major Japanese city over the next three months.
Simutaneously, Superfortresses mined the inland seas of the Japan island chain; combined with the US Navy’s submarine offensive, Japan’s industry ground to a halt, its defenses were in tatters (to the point that B-29s dropped leaflets warning Japanese civilians which cities were scheduled to be burned next), and the populace faced mass famine.
As the Japanese government still refused to surrender, President Truman authorized what he hoped would shock Japan into ending the war: the use of the atomic bomb. By the time the first bomb was detonated in July 1945, a handpicked B-29 group, the 509th Composite Group, had already been formed using special “Silverplate” modified Superfortresses built specifically for the atomic mission. Led by Paul Tibbets, one of the most experienced bomber pilots of the war, the 509th was to drop two atom bombs, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was enough that Japan finally agreed to surrender in August 1945. The B-29 had ended World War II.
World War II did not end the B-29’s career. As the only bomber capable of carrying the heavy atomic bombs of the time, it would have to stay in the inventory until larger bombers could replace it, namely the Convair B-36 and Boeing’s own planned successor, the B-52. As such, B-29s were used in nuclear testing throughout the late 1940s and were supplied to Great Britain as a deterrent to an increasingly restive Soviet Union; RAF B-29s were known as Washington Is.
As the B-36 came on line, the B-29 was gradually retired, but it was to have one last hurrah in the Korean War—again, because no other bomber was available in quantity or with the range to strike targets in North Korea from Japan. At first, the B-29 was used in daylight attacks, but the presence of MiG-15 jet fighters forced it back into the night. Nonetheless, the B-29s caused considerable damage to North Korea’s infrastructure, vastly complicating Communist supply lines. When the war ended in 1953, so did the B-29’s active service. While some were converted to weather reconnaissance and tanker aircraft, most ended up being scrapped; the last B-29 left USAF service in 1960. Today, only about 26 B-29s survive in museums, and only two are flyable.
"Legal Eagle II"--known to the USAAF as 44-87779--joined the 6th Bomb Group (Heavy) at Tinian only two weeks before the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; as such, it never saw combat, though it was there long enough to get the name "Legal Eagle II" and nose art. In 1948, 7779 was retired, but was not in storage long before it was returned to service and converted to a KB-29M tanker. It was retired for a final time in 1956, and handed over to the US Navy for use at NAS China Lake, as a target--the fate of many B-29s.
Though heavily damaged, 44-87779 survived its time at China Lake, and was placed into storage in 1975. By that time, museums and warbird enthusiasts realized that there were almost no B-29s left at all, and the surviving airframes at China Lake were worth their weight in gold. 7779 was recovered in 1985 and donated to the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, to represent the B-29s flown by the wing in the late 1940s. It took many years of restoration, but finally "Legal Eagle II" went on display at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum in 1997. In 2014, it was repainted as a B-29 in USAF service over Korea; though 7779 never served there, it is meant to represent those Superfortresses which did.
As such, "Legal Eagle II" is in pristine condition, painted in anticorrosion gray (meant to represent bare metal) over matte black for night operations; the red nose gear doors and fuselage numbers (not seen from this angle) are painted red for the same reason. It wears the "circle-R" tail insignia of the 9th Bomb Wing at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
After the success of the DC-3, Douglas Aircraft began looking into a four-engined airliner with true transcontinental range—as successful as the DC-3 was, it still had to make an average of five stops between New York and Los Angeles. Douglas wanted an aircraft that would need at most one stop, if that. United Airlines was interested in such an aircraft, and Douglas built the DC-4E to United’s requirements: this was a 42-seat airliner with a triple-tail unit and a wide fuselage for passenger comfort.
While the DC-4E had promise, it was also technically complicated, and both United and the other launch customer, Eastern Airlines, rejected it after its first flight in June 1938. Douglas then designed a simpler, slightly smaller and more streamlined aircraft, with a single tail and longer nose. This new version, simply designated DC-4, met the airlines’ requirements, but before it could enter revenue service, the attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the war, and the DC-4 production line was immediately converted to building aircraft for the US Army Air Force as the C-54 Skymaster.
While not as widespread, as produced, or as versatile as the C-47 Skytrain, the C-54 had longer range and could carry more passengers. Some were used as purely cargo aircraft, but most served as passenger transports: it was the only USAAF cargo aircraft that could fly nonstop over the Atlantic to England. 1170 were built during the war.
After the end of the war, Douglas built a further 72 DC-4s before switching to the larger and more advanced DC-6; it was unnecessary to build more, as the USAAF released half of the C-54 fleet as surplus. Like the C-47, these were rapidly bought by airlines, namely Pan American, who inaugurated transatlantic service in January 1946. Enough remained in the newly independent US Air Force to become the primary transport aircraft, alongside the C-47, for the balance of the 1940s and well into the 1950s.
The Skymaster’s defining moment came in 1948 when Josef Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union, had the city of West Berlin blockaded by land. Rather than back down, President Truman was determined to supply West Berlin from the air—something that had proven difficult for even the well-equipped Allies to do with much smaller military units in World War II, much less with a city of nearly a million people that needed a minimum of 500 tons of supplies a day. The C-47 could only haul about three tons apiece, but the C-54 could transport nearly ten tons.
Nearly every C-54 in USAF service, along with the similar R5Ds operated by the US Navy, were sent to Germany to supply Berlin, operating from June 1948 to April 1949. Specialized training for the mission was established at Great Falls AFB, Montana, where crews would experience similar weather to that experienced in Germany and would have plenty of open airspace to practice in—the air corridors of western Europe were far too crowded with transports for training. Once the course was completed, crews were sent to Rhein-Main airbase in Germany to begin Airlift duties, flying what crews called “the ladder” of three C-54 flights followed by a single C-47 flight to Berlin-Templehof airfield, with a turnaround time of less than half an hour on the ground, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in all weather. So important was the C-54 to the Airlift that the medal awarded for the mission consisted of a tiny gold Skymaster pin. When the Berlin Airlift ended, a thousand tons of supplies were being flown into Berlin, more than the city had received by land before the blockade began. The Berlin Airlift was the first success scored by the United States in the nascent Cold War, and bound the American aircrews tightly with a grateful German population, easing postwar tension.
Following the Berlin Airlift, the C-54 remained in service, though it was replaced in the transport role by the C-119 Flying Boxcar and the C-130 Hercules. C-54s were used extensively to fly personnel to the Korean War, and were still used both as executive transports and search-and-air rescue coordination aircraft during Vietnam. The last aircraft were withdrawn in 1974. 27 other air forces also used C-54s at one time or another. Today, about 40 C-54s are left, with half that number flyable; 14 are flown by Buffalo Airways of Canada, supplying research stations and mining camps in the Northwest Territories. A few have been converted to firefighting aircraft.
This C-54D was built as a R5D-3 Skymaster, Bureau Number 56511, for the US Navy in 1945, and served until 1962 as a standard transport for the Military Air Transport Service (MATS); it was converted to a VC-54S executive transport at that time and would stay in Navy service until 1975, when it was retired from military service and offered as surplus. It would then go through no less than eleven owners, and had the dubious distinction of being seized twice for running drugs. Finally, in 1995, it was donated by its last owner to the South Dakota Air and Space Museum at Ellsworth AFB.
Today, it has been restored as 42-72592, its initial order number as a C-54D for the USAAF, before being transferred to the Navy. It is displayed as a C-54D as used by the USAF in the 1950s, with a white upper fuselage (to reduce heat on passengers) and otherwise bare metal finish.
Rockwell B-1B Lancer supersonic strategic bomber 85-0077 of the USAF 77th BS based at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota at RIAT at RAF Fairford in July 1993. (scanned photograph)
B1B, Lot IV. C.N. 30. Ex-77th BS from Ellsworth AFB. Suffered an inflight hydraulic failure and made a nose gear-up landing at Edwards AFB. Withdrawn from service to AMARC 26 August, 2002 as AA BT0005.
A total of 100 B-1Bs were produced with 93 bombers remaining in 2000 after losses in accidents. In 2003, following the removal of the B-1B from two bomb wings in the Air National Guard, the USAF decided to retire 33 of the B-1Bs to concentrate its budget on maintaining availability of the remaining aircraft, although in 2004 a new appropriations bill called for some of the retired aircraft to return to service. In 2004, the USAF returned seven of the mothballed bombers to service, giving a total force of 67 aircraft, with the rest cannibalized for spares. Five of the seven that were brought back to service went to Dyess AFB in Texas, one to Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, and another to Edwards AFB, California. Photo Credit's: Unknown to me (Kodachrome Slide)
A fire truck from the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department heralds the return of a B-1B returning from striking targets in Libya in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn, March 30, 2011. This mission from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. marked the first time the B-1 fleet has launched combat sorties from the continental United States to strike targets overseas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Marc I. Lane)
B-1B Lancers are parked on the flightline at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Carrying the largest payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory, the multi-mission B-1 is the backbone of America’s long-range bomber force. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Corey Hook)
Rockwell B-1B Lancer of the 37th Bomb Squadron "Tigers" from Ellsworth AFB participating in Red Flag 14-3 exercises at Nellis AFB. A review of the exercise can be found at www.airshowsreview.com/2014_Red_Flag_2014-3_Exercise.htm .
Master Sgt. Dave Komandt pulls a dummy to the next stage of a fire fighter challenge at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., Sept. 30, 2009. Sergeant Komandt is an electrical power pro technician assigned to the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew Flynn)