12 Minute Response Time For USAF B1 Crew To Hit The "BIG ONE"

Reuters ^ | 8 April, 2003

[Happy2BMe]

Tue Apr 8,11:58 AM ET

A U.S. B-1 bomber that tried to kill Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) in Baghdad dropped four satellite-guided bombs only 12 minutes after receiving orders that 'this is the big one,' the plane's weapons officer said on April 8, 2003. 'We used four weapons on the target,' Air Force Lt. Col. Fred Swan, told Pentagon (news - web sites) reporters of Monday's attack in a telephone interview from the region. 'From the time we got the coordinates, it took 12 minutes to get the bombs on target.' A B-1B Lancer from the U.S. Air Force 28th Air Expeditionary Wing heads out on a combat mission in support of strikes on Afghanistan (news - web sites) in this file picture released December 7, 2001. REUTERS/Cedric H. Rudisill/USAF/Handout

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

From all the reports I've read and heard only the WSO has been identified. If they got Sodom and his punk kids then this guy will be famous. Some people like to see their names in the paper.

[MeekOneGOP]

hehe ! Suits me JUST FINE ! . . .

[HighRoadToChina]

God bless America!

This is the real Dream Team!

[TomB]

'We used four weapons on the target,' Air Force Lt. Col. Fred Swan, told Pentagon (news - web sites) reporters of Monday's attack in a telephone interview from the region.

So I guess this was Saddam's "swan" song?

[Happy2BMe]

"If they got Sodom and his punk kids then this guy will be famous."

Well I for one would certainly place a heart-felt pat on the back and it would be a distinct privilege to shake the pilot and all his crews hands!

Taking NOTHING away from credit where credit is deserved.

God bless this fine crew - the world is getting a WAKE-UP!

[observer5]

Sa(J)damn

[Happy2BMe]

The Look On Bob's Face. . After He Spoke With Ambassador Dorothy . .

[MaggieMay]

I worked in the Avionics Lab at Boeing on the B1A and the B1B. I was on my way to work when Jimmah (Panama Canal givaway,energy crisis,infation,recession, Iran)Carter cancelled the B1A, he cost the U.S. a fortune to get back on track with the B1B. So I propose a toast from my B1B coffe mug awarded to me,celibrating the "1st production Avionics delivery 10/31/84",to the B1B and it's fine crew.

[Happy2BMe]

"So I propose a toast from my B1B coffe mug awarded to me,celibrating the "1st production Avionics delivery 10/31/84",to the B1B and it's fine crew."

I SECOND that toast and salute our fine President George W. Bush for being a superb Commander-In-Chief . . .

The Home of The Free The Land of The Brave

[showme_the_Glory]

So didn't anyone in intelligence trail them, or whoever went into that building? I don't realy need to know how the whole process works but wouldn't they want to have a way to verify their success, especially after missing him once before? Granted, I would not have wanted to be the guy standing across the street to see if anybody came out before the packages arrived but there must have been some way to keep an eye on it. Now were left to wonder whether we got him, or he got us again. The thought of him playing us on Bagdad Bob TV makes me sick. What does "very reliable intelligence" sources actually mean?

[Happy2BMe]

"What does "very reliable intelligence" sources actually mean?"

Lancer hits regime leadership target (Aif Force Official Version)

[demosthenes the elder]

this needs to be put up as a Q.O.D. contender (#3)

[anymouse]

"Time Bandits" sound clip: "Don't touch it!"

[MaggieMay]

Cheers!

[jiggyboy]

General Brooks said at the briefing this morning that they always have at least two sources. Some of the scrolls on the TV news suggested CIA agents (SF?) were in on it.

[Happy2BMe]

"This is the real Dream Team!"

[Happy2BMe]

Saddam Strike Plane Told: 'This Is the Big One'

"We used four weapons on the target," Air Force Lt. Col. Fred Swan, told Pentagon reporters of Monday's attack in a telephone interview from the region. "From the time we got the coordinates, it took 12 minutes to get the bombs on target."

Swan, one of four crewmen on the aircraft, said two earth-penetrating GBU-31 2,000-pound bombs and two delayed-fuse bombs of the same size were used.

He said he did not know who was in the destroyed building, but that the air traffic controller in a nearby airborne radar plane told the B-1 jet's crew before the daylight raid, "This is the big one."

Other U.S. officials told Reuters that intelligence indicated that Saddam and his sons might have been in the building but that there was no immediate indication whether the Iraqi president or others might have been killed.

"We got the order that it was a high-priority leadership target," he said. He said the jet 12 minutes later dropped two GBU-31 (guided bomb unit) bombs designed to penetrate deeply into the target before they exploded and, three seconds later, another two of the bombs with "25 millisecond" delayed fuses.

"I did not know who was there. I really didn't care," he added, stressing that he told the crew "this could be the big one. Let's get it right."

The swing-wing, four-engine jet bomber carries 24 of the satellite-guided "joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs) bombs. Swan said the aircraft later dropped 17 of the bombs on two other targets -- one in western Iraq and one near Baghdad -- before returning to its base in the Gulf region.

[flamefront]

Reportedly the B1B was 200 miles away. So they went a supersonic 1000mph to catch the BaggedDad.

[Happy2BMe]

"Reportedly the B1B was 200 miles away. So they went a supersonic 1000mph to catch the BaggedDad."

Possible - very possible . . .

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Very good!

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST