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Boeing B-52 Stratofortress —
Apologies for the poor Q. This is a shot from the 1980s so it is over 35 years old.
To view this more closely, click on FULL. The quality won't get any better, but it will make it easier to see thru all the smoke.
There are some who won't have any clue of what they are viewing in this shot. But there are plenty of military, both AD and Retired, who will instantly recognize this situation ... and for some, this will bring back a flood of memories.
There are four B-52Gs in this shot which was taken at Loring AFB, Maine. All four were assigned to the 69th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) in the 42nd Bomb Wing at Loring. This was a "Cart Start" during the first few moments of an Alert Force Launch. Not visible in this photo (off to the right), eight KC-135s are also starting engines for launch right behind these BUFFs. From unattended and shut down, all twelve (these four 52s and the eight KCs) HAD to be airborne and target-bound within six minutes max ... because it was known that a missile launched from Russia would take seven minutes to arrive and obliterate Loring AFB, and the twelve aircraft HAD to be gone by then.
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96 >>> I wish I could have seen an F-4 cart start. Truthfully, I wish I could have been around F-4s no matter how they started. Never had the opportunity. And as for the camera on the line (grin), well, let's just say that sometimes the worst offenders of a policy are those who are supposed to be enforcing the policy and leave it at that. (Another grin)
William >>> You are spot-on correct; this snap is indeed from the "Way Back." (Chuckle) And I'll bet that not only don't most millennial viewers have any true idea of what is being shown here, but they also don't know what a "Way Back Machine" is ... or who Mr. Peabody was, either. But I liked the reference so I hope you won't mind if I use it the next time I put up an oldie. (Wave)
I was a BUFF navigator and radar navigator at Barksdale and Wurtsmith. Any engine start exercise while you were pulling alert was a heart pumper and cart starts always added a little extra mustard! Especially when you are the last one to arrive at the aircraft while the carts are firing and engines spinning up...yes, once, young Lt, early in my career, I'm the late one. But my excuse was that I was visiting my wife in the hospital after she's just had our first child. I was the only one using the crew truck, the rest of the crew still at the alert facility. KLAXON blows, I bolt out of the hospital. With my adrenaline gushing, smoke everywhere, screaming engines, I roar up in the crew truck, jump out...and run to the wrong aircraft! Hatch is closed, I bang on it, of course no one opens it, I run out in front of the aircraft, jumping up and down, arms waving, trying to get the pilot's attention...then the crew chief appears out of the smoke, literally grabs my flight jacket, yanks and points me towards the BUFF next door...the one with the hatch still open and my pilot frantically flapping his arms out the open window of the cockpit. All this is, of course, witnessed by the Wing Commander, DO, Squadron Commander and who knows all else. We still made our time!!... which is probably the only reason I still had a career.
Indeed, those were the days!
Hey, Alien >>> TYVM for your comment. Hope you had a wonderful holiday.
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