Some B52’s pulled out of Barksdale after midnight doing a MITO take-off
Minimum Interval Takeoff
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Three United States Air Force Boeing B-52G Stratofortresses depart during a minimum interval takeoff exercise at Barksdale Air Force Base in 1986
A Minimum Interval Takeoff is a technique of the United States Air Force for scrambling all available bomber and tanker aircraft at twelve and fifteen second intervals, respectively.[1] Before takeoff, the aircraft perform an elephant walk to the runway.
It is designed to maximize the number of aircraft launched in the least amount of time possible before the base faced a nuclear strike, which would obliterate all remaining aircraft