Posted on 08/25/2020 7:43:21 PM PDT by texas booster
The movie "Thirteen Days" is the latest dramatization of President Kennedy's showdown with the Soviets during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.
Retired Air Force Maj. Gottlieb "John" Wilmsmeyer, 71, hasn't seen the film. But the Missouri farmer figures he can match that Cold War tale with a nail-biter of his own.
It occurred about the same time. It might even have influenced the missile crisis. But for nearly 40 years, Wilmsmeyer had to keep quiet about "Operation Speedlight Delta."
He was crew commander on a KC-135 tanker at Forbes Air Force Base, Topeka, Kan., in the summer of '62 when invited to volunteer for a mission described as risky. The 32-year-old captain, already a proven test pilot and flight instructor, said, "Bring it on."
In August, Wilmsmeyer and crew - co-pilot, navigator and enlisted observer - flew to Brize-Norton Air Base in England. Their deputy wing commander at Forbes came along, uninvited, just to learn more about the mission.
The colonel in charge took the new arrivals outside and pointed to the aircraft, about a mile away, that appeared only in silhouette through the fog. And Wilmsmeyer recalled this terse exchange.
"Well," the colonel said, "they're going to be flying that airplane over there."
"But I want to know what they'll be doing," the wing deputy said.
"I just told you."
Wilmsmeyer got a fuller explanation.
The Soviets were conducting atmospheric nuclear bomb tests on the Russian peninsula of Novaya Zemlaya, above the Arctic Circle.
To monitor them, the Air Force had reconfigured a KC-135, with bigger engines to increase speed and altitude, and a longer fuselage to carry more reconnaissance gear, measurement devices and a special technical team.
The one-of-a-kind JKC-135 would have to fly 2500 miles, unarmed and unescorted, to loiter within 20 miles of the test site, monitor the blast and return with critical data about the Soviet nuclear program.
The crew was briefed on the obvious dangers - blast, heat, light - but nothing much was said about exposure to radiation.
On Aug. 23, the aircraft took off at 4 a.m., flying north over the Norwegian and Barents Seas, east past Sweden and Finland, and deep into Soviet air space.
After climbing above 45,000 feet, the crew pulled flash-blind curtains and circled on instruments alone, above the test area. Detonation came, as expected, at 9 a.m.
The crew watched the mushroom cloud spread, over closed circuit television, as Wilmsmeyer quickly banked to spread the shock wave "over as much of the aircraft as possible."
No Soviet air base was near enough for fighters to approach without warning, Wilmsmeyer said. But any other information on how this aircraft avoided being shot down is still classified.
The crew monitored 20 atmospheric blasts over nine weeks.
Some were thousands of times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Japan. One blast cracked three of the JKC-135s four engine mounts, forcing repairs. Heat from another scorched paint on the plane's underside. After every mission, teams with Geiger counters surrounded the aircraft on the tarmac to measure for radiation.
Leo, that would be impressive to just about everybody.I only saw one fly and they were ferrying it to a museum a long time ago and it was impressive all by itself.What a memory you have there.
My stepfather was in the AF at the time and mentioned the monitoring to me - how he found out I don’t know. He was a bombardier in WWII - Ploesti was one of his missions - real life “Catch 22” for him - got many medals, including DFC.
-I would not have wanted to be only 20 miles away when Tsar Bomba went off.-
You would likely still be about 20 miles away from where it went off.
Great point. Thumbs up!
And that would mean that the Russkies would know what we knew ...
And my kids wouldn't be.
Thanks. Both are going in this month’s model clubs newsletter. I have a close friend who was the GIC of the Intel back of the RC-135. He has some fun stories.
Yes , well thanks . Dad was stationed st Forbes AFB , after a 3 yr + TDY to RAF Fairford ,England , where my early childhood occured . At Forbes we lived in base housing , which not far from the flight line. When I wasn’t out in the Kansas field catching turtles and snakes I was watching those beautiful aircraft come & go.We were the home of Gary Powers too I think. And important element of SAC was strategic recon. So many entire air crews were lost in the Cold War . The nation never knew . But I heard whispers.
My dad was USAAF in WW2. 9TH AF 386 BG . England,France & Belgium, from June’44 to June ‘45. He was a personal friend of Curtis LeMay . Years later , in retirement, the would get together for lunch & coffee once in awhile and talk over old times out at March AFB , where they’d both go to shop for food at the BX . I got to meet LeNay once . Very impressive gentleman.
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