Very early in the video (at the :40 second mark), another B-52 (Ebony 2) is hit by two SAMs and explodes. The pilot was killed by the first SAM but the co-pilot manages to get the bombs off before the plane is hit again during its turn.
When I enlisted in the USAF in June ‘71, my first job choice was the only enlisted flying job available. Defensive Fire Control in the B-52.
This would have had me leaving Tech School, to my first assignment in Dec. 71.
Right about the time the BUFFs started getting whacked.
Fortunately, they asked if I’d rather go into Nuke Weapons school in Denver.
So, by Dec. 72, I was working on MMIII, Mk 12 Re-entry Systems at VAFB, CA, working operational test flights, rather than bouncing around the back of a BUFF, over Vietnam.
bump for later
Linebacker II led to one of my all time favorite phrases....”Bomb them back to the Peace Table”.
Anyone know what countermeasures b-52s used against SAMs? The crew seemed remarkably nonchalant about being shot at by them. Maybe more sangfroid than nonchalant.
Mark for later.