Since then, there have been only 744 aircraft built by Boeing. Here's a little blurb about the alert facilities themselves (aka "mole holes"): "The SAC alert crew quarters, like the SAC command post, were partially below ground structures. On Jan. 18, 1957, three B-52Bs completed the first non-stop round-the-world flight by jet aircraft, lasting 45 hours and 19 minutes and requiring only three aerial refuelings. By August 1973, they had flown 126,615 combat sorties with seventeen B-52s lost to enemy action. Links: Thule AFB . . Jun 18, 2016 - blytheville afb photos | Blytheville Air Force Base, Blytheville . And the United States was about to enter war with Saddam Hussein. JetPhotos.com is the biggest database of aviation photographs with over 4 million screened photos online! It was good to see jets setting on the tarmac, even if they are only civilian jets. In the early 1950s, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) approved a plan to convert the former airfield into an airbase, which officially opened in 1955 as Blytheville Air Force Base. c/n 18002/T0417. On January 23rd, 2022, it was announced that the former dorms would be demolished. The nose art trend continued through Operation Desert Storm--though some of the ladies were censored or temporarily taped over to avoid offending Saudi religious officials--but then began to disappear again during the 1990s. In December 1972, after being repaired, it flew four additional missions over North Vietnam. The aircraft remained there until November when it was reassigned to the 320th Bombardment Wing (H) at Mather AFB, California. https://nuke.fas.org/guide/usa/bomber/kc-135.htm#:~:text=The%20KC%2D135%20can%20haul,transferable%20for%20global%20refueling%20missions. Suggest edits to improve what we show. Arkansas Razorbacks. The process is called B.R.A.C.. Some of the land has since been declared a National Historic Landmark. The National Cold War Center is planned to be the largest collection of history and information on the decades that made up the war in the world. This area was developed pursuant to guidelines established by the Federal Housing Administration , and is laid out with . My job was to keep the alert aircraft supplied with the parts they needed to be mission ready. When Vietnam ended and the USAF got back to peacetime, nose art once more disappeared. I was one of four Production Supervisors who coordinated the P-Check maintenance and retrofitting of existing 737-200's (42 aircraft) for MetroJet; this included all coach interiors and . The exhibits are impactful and tell the story of Base history. Explore. Serial Number 61-0023 landed safely in Blytheville. Thanks VetFriends. The majority of buildings have suffered the same fate. After it became operational in 1955, the B-52 remained the main long-range heavy bomber of the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War, and it continues to be an important part of the USAF bomber force today. These women had proved their selves capable of flying aircraft such as the B25 and the B29. I had a great time and intend to go again next year. Armament: Four defensive .50-cal. I think it is lost on most Americans that the first time a B-52 was used in actually live combat was in Vietnam and it was the only time a B-52 was lost to enemy fire. Vietnam War, 1961-1975. No photo description available. Today. Of the 3,778 acres the base is comprised of, two thirds of the land is abandoned. The B-52G is missing its missile pylon because these were removed and destroyed as a condition of he SALT treaty launcher reduction conditions. Learn how your comment data is processed. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. The 456th completed deployments to Anderson AB in Guam with this B-52G. Desert Storm was the swan song for the B-52G. Thule is the only air force base with no aircraft and a tugboat. Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment 3. It was also a B-52 that made the first airborne hydrogen bomb drop over Bikini Atoll on May 21, 1956. My 1966 Ford Mustang was setting in the parking lot the day we watched this jet fly. View of the southern end of the former Blytheville AFB (Eaker AFB). The incident over Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico on January 21, 1976, would not only stretch to a second night but was also witnessed by pure chance by a student journalist known only as "Bruce.". The B-52 has set numerous records in its many years of service. 766 th BS headquarters. It is planned to be its own exhibit within the system of buildings. My 1972 Suzuki looked exactly like the one in the brochure. As Soviet air defenses increased in numbers and lethality, the B-52 was switched from high-altitude attack to low-altitude penetration; the job of Hound Dog-equipped B-52s was to use the nuclear-tipped primitive cruise missiles to destroy SAM defenses, giving the follow-on B-52s equipped with gravity nuclear weapons a better chance at reaching their targets. The aircraft on display saw extensive service in Southeast Asia and was severely damaged by an enemy surface-to-air missile on April 9, 1972. The hospital is also a very large (plan wise) building, so it is very possible to get lost inside the building without a map. Available for both RF and RM licensing. Photo Credit: The National Cold War Center. In 1990, Blythevilles population was 23,443. The Ritz Theater from the outside circa. Dave Howell, RN Bob Gilbert, Gunner Rick Watson, EW Chuck Kinkhead, N Can't remember, CP Kevin Rice. Alas LRAFB was where we flew C119s to summer camp, but always hoped foe a fly in there. To differentiate ALCM-equpped B-52Gs from unmodified aircraft, a wing fairing was added solely for the benefit of Soviet reconnaissance satellites, in accordance with arms control treaties. On a Bravo alert, while taxiing the aircraft, the pilot was waiting (and hoping!) The nine surviving jets are scattered from coast to coast most of them restored and on display. If was really not abandoned til 10 year ago becuae I went to preschool on the base then I got shut down because all of us got sick becuase the heat and air went out. A photo of my Mustang in the snow at Barker's Trailerpark in Blytheville Arkansas. I took this from the back seat of the P-51 Mustang Gunfighter. Thank you! [1] Other aircraft stationed at Blytheville AFB included: KC-97 refueler, B-52G bomber, KC-135A tanker, T-33 jet fighter, and the T-37 traineramong others. at the old Blytheville Air Force Base now called the Blytheville Aeroplex where the city is planning to invest $20 million . [1], On 15 July 1955, the facility was reopened as Blytheville Air Force Base (AFB), when the 461st Bombardment Wing was moved from Hill Air Force Base in Utah. In December 1972, after being repaired, it flew four additional missions over North Vietnam. Below is my Blytheville Air Force Base token collection. On January 18, 1957, three B-52Bs completed the first non-stop round-the-world flight by jet aircraft, lasting 45 hours and 19 minutes and requiring only three aerial refuelings. Transferred from the 97th Bomb Wing, Blytheville Air Force Base, Ark., this aircraft was flown to the museum in November 1978. [1], The Blytheville Air Force Base Strategic Air Command (SAC) Alert and Weapons Storage Areas Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. Eaker Air Force Base in its entirety is a mix of private and federal property. It seemed like every morning at 5:00 AM the flight line maintenance crews would fire up some of the airplanes engines. Businesses have come and go, but the wear and tear of Mother Nature and Father time have taken their toll on many buildings on base. In the years leading up to the reunification of Germany, the U.S. government sought out to begin a process that would eventually end in many bases like Eaker, to be closed. In 1988, the facility was renamed Eaker Air Force Base in honor of World War II General of the Eighth Air Force, Ira C. Eaker. Ash worked from a photograph of the B-52 Blytheville plane. Enter your email address to subscribe to Abandoned Arkansas and receive notifications of new posts by email. Full view. Best years of my life. We share a body likeness and dress and I had an orange helmet but most of the time I wore my Easy Rider Flag helmet. On January 11th, during Agile Combat Employment training exercises performed by the U.S. Air Force at Eaker Air Force Base, work had begun on the restoration process of Building 1225. The Air Force packed up and left. The facility now operates as the Arkansas Aeroplex and Arkansas International Airport. The majority of the bases housing is still in use, a few buildings are in use, and the tarmac is now the Arkansas Aeroplex. Though it is currently in a rough shape as an Air Force Base it doesnt have to be that way. The population suffered as well. Donate to our causeCheck out our books! Evans at Blytheville air show in 1980. No photo description available. There are some items of interest in this photo of things that didn't appear on my uniform. As a result, the B-52Gs took heavy casualties in the first days of Operation Linebacker II in December 1972, losing 15 aircraft; it was decided to pull the Gs out of operations after the first week. . if I remember correctly it was one of the rooms pictured (162). Currently, the main tarmac is used as Blythevilles airport. Renamed Eaker Air Force Base in 1988 honoring Gen. Ira Eaker, the entire facility closed in 1992. I was stationed at 3 bases that closed during this BRAC (Eaker, George and Chanute) and took an early out at the same time (volunteer compensated RIF in 1992). Coupled with the more regulation bound USAF of the 1950s, almost no B-36s or B-52s carried nose art, despite a larger "canvas" than the B-29 or B-17. Photographer unknown. The last duty station for this aircraft was with a previous owner, the 93rd Bombardment Wing (H) at Castle AFB, where it arrived in December 1988. When 58-0183 got its nose art, it was assigned to the 97th Bomb Wing at Blytheville AFB, Arkansas, but it would carry its nose art into combat during the First Gulf War as part of the 2nd BW at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Eaker_Air_Force_Base, https://www.boeing.com/history/products/b-52-stratofortress.page, https://www.boeing.com/history/products/kc-135-stratotanker.page, https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1771/text?r=1&s=1, https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2020/12/bill-designating-national-cold-war-center-in-blytheville-introduced-in-senate, https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/107172/general-ira-c-eaker/, https://www.afcec.af.mil/Home/BRAC/Eaker.aspx, https://www.npr.org/2010/03/09/123773525/female-wwii-pilots-the-original-fly-girls. Housing for members of the military and their families was developed between 1957 and 1962 north and south . Several C-47s were fitted with pontoons and redesignated C-47C. The airfield was used as the Southeastern Training Command's flight training school, which closed in October 1945 after the Second World War ended. In order to understand why Eaker Air Force Base closed, one has to dive into foreign, political, and socioeconomic issues of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Eaker AFB was selected for closure under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round of 1991. 3 items. Mr. Gorbachev tore down that wall. In August 1991 this Stratofortress was dropped from the Air Force inventory and made available to the USAF Museum Program. It worked very well and it was how I towed my new 1972 Suzuki GT750J from my parent's home in Alma the 300 miles to Blytheville Air Force Base. It was amazing. During its test flight, Boeing was performing tests to show the aircrafts resilience against low-altitude turbulence. As crew chiefs we had all spent many tours in the mole hole. Though, due to high traffic in that area, the aircraft had to change its course and headed for Blytheville Air Force Base instead. Lots of good memories. The WASP program tasked select women with many key roles on airfields across the nation.
Breaking News Sarasota, Celina Daily Standard Obituaries, Native American Names For Little Bear, Monologue About A Mother Losing Her Child, Articles B