10/04/10
US Air Force ‘Going Out of Business’
| That's a B-52 "BUFF" (Big Ugly Friendly Fooker) dropping MK-82
500 pound bombs. The "big-tail" B-52 could carry 108 of those bombs
and flew in a "cell" formation of 3 planes in Vietnam. This "arclite"
mission left a path of destruction on the ground one kilometer
wide and 2 kilometers long. The B-52s were built from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s. My father-in-law flew them when they were Strategic Air Command's primary nuclear bomber. SAC was re-organized out of existence in 1992, but about 80 of the old BUFFs still have the nuclear mission if required, along with the 20 or so B-2s. (That's all we could afford to build.) I was never involved with SAC, except for seeing arclite results from a little Forward Air Controller plane, and helping to rescue some BUFF crew-members that went down after bombing Hanoi. During my 10 years active and 16 years reserve Air Force time I worked intelligence for reconnaissance, fighter (air superiority and bomber roles), and most especially for special operations (air commandos) which included the rescue folks. I spent a couple of years all over Southeast Asia, a couple of years in Germany with visits to other parts of Europe. I spent a lot of time in Texas, where I finally settled down, and enjoyed almost all of it, except maybe when people were trying to kill me. I have flown in more different kinds and types of aircraft than I can count, I have even flown in planes that were older than me. - That was back in the days when that was unusual. We now have young lieutenants and captains flying the Buffs. The aircraft commander, the captain, might be 25 - 27 years old. The B-52H, latest model built, is 48 years old.
Peter Schweizer, Editor in Chief of Big Peace
points to what he calls:
It was a really nice Air Force. I'll miss it. America will miss it. Time to learn another language. Most likely Chinese.
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