The aircraft was set on course to Boeings headquarters in Wichita, Kansas. This is a photoshopped 1972 Suzuki Brochure that I have transposed my face over the riders face. [1], During the Vietnam War the 97th Bomber Wing at Blytheville supported strike operations throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. An exploration of the base's history and its impact on the community. While with the 97th Bomb Wing at Blytheville AFB, Arkansas, it received the name "Valkyrie" with appropriate nose art of a mail-clad female warrior on horseback; nose art made a renaissance in the USAF in the late 1980s, though not quite as risqu as that seen during World War II. Setting near the base is a memorial bench for Army Spc Christopher Stark killed in Afghanistan Feb 28 2011. Since Eaker Air Force Base went under B.R.A.C. Since then, there have been only 744 aircraft built by Boeing. Available for both RF and RM licensing. I saw this jet in the Thunderbird performance at Blytheville Air Force base Oct 25 1972.. My USAF service had no connection to the Thunderbirds other than I saw this Thunderbird perform at Blytheville Air Force Base Oct 25 1972. The 456th completed deployments to Anderson AB in Guam with this B-52G. To differentiate ALCM-equpped B-52Gs from unmodified aircraft, a wing fairing was added solely for the benefit of Soviet reconnaissance satellites, in accordance with arms control treaties. Notice my Mustang has what appears to be a trailer hitch. The process is called B.R.A.C.. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Any and all donations are appreciated. I was stationed at this base in 1972-1976 and worked in the 97th Supply Squadron which is one of the large buildings located near the center of the photo. These jets were flown from 1969 to Feb 1974 when they were retired due to the oil crisis. During the second World War, the United States needed more areas to train pilots, and launch aircraft to respond to the threat on the Eastern front. At Mildenhall. Constructed on former agricultural land, the site was originally activated as the Blytheville Army Airfield in 1942. The aircraft in question was tail number 61-0023. action specifically caters to closures and revitalization of U.S. military bases. The B-52 had 8 engines but the two AGM-28 engines could also be used for take off and getting up to altitude. In December 1972, after being repaired, it flew four additional missions over North Vietnam. Air Base Group Headquarters. The Air Force packed up and left. The USAF Thunderbirds flew the F-4E Phantom II from 1969 until Feb 1974 when they were retired due to the October 1973 fuel crisis. Honorable Discharged at the rank of E5 Staff Sgt. The B52 Stratofortress was the answer to all the problems found in the Convair B36 Peacemaker and the B24. [5], For the civil use of this facility and airport information, see, Blytheville Air Force Base Strategic Air Command (SAC) Alert and Weapons Storage Areas Historic District, Last edited on 26 September 2022, at 16:47, U.S. National Register of Historic Places, AFCEC, "Eaker Air Force Base Community Relations Plan", "National Register of Historic Places: Weekly list", "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Blytheville Air Force Base Strategic Air Command (SAC) Alert and Weapons Storage Areas Historic District", "Arkansas Officials Seek Cold War Museum for Former Air Base", "Community Relations Plan for the Former Eaker Air Force Base Blytheville, Arkansas (July 2007}", Arkansas Northeastern College (formerly Mississippi County CC), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blytheville_Air_Force_Base&oldid=1112498994, Part of Strategic Air Command/Tactical Air Command, Continental Air Forces, 16 June 1945 21 March 1946, 25th Twin Engine Flying Training Group, 25 July 1942 29 February 1944, Army Air Force Pilot School, 3 May 1942 31 May 1945, 211th Army Air Force Base Unit, 1 May 1944 15 June 1945, 809th Army Air Force Base Unit, 16 June 1945 31 March 1946, 334th Army Air Force Base Unit, 1 April 1946 25 November 1946, 461st Bombardment Wing, 8 April 1956 1 April 1958, 4329th Air Base Squadron, 1 April 1958 1 July 1959, 97th Bombardment Wing, 1 July 1959 1 September 1991, This page was last edited on 26 September 2022, at 16:47. I was stationed there from 1966-69. The hospital is also a very large (plan wise) building, so it is very possible to get lost inside the building without a map. In 1988, the based was renamed to honor World War II General, Ira C. Eaker. Eaker Air Force Base was home to a group of Strategic Air Command B-52 bombers and more than 3,000 military personnel before closing in 1992. The communication building of the 97th Bombardment Wing is in terrible condition as well. I don't have a clue who captured or created this image but this is it is an excellent computer generated image of a Pre-Vietnam War SAC Paint Scheme with a North American AGM-28 Hound Dog Missile. It originally provided housing, school and community resources to the families of military personnel who were stationed at the adjacent Blytheville Air Force Base (which is now operated as Arkansas International Airport). "Valkyrie" would fly a few more missions during the war, the only time she would drop bombs in anger. 35 57.54 N, 89 57.74 W. Marker is in Gosnell, Arkansas, in Mississippi County. Thule is the only air force base with no aircraft and a tugboat. The incident over Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico on January 21, 1976, would not only stretch to a second night but was also witnessed by pure chance by a student journalist known only as "Bruce.". Tom Sylvester used to look up at the sky above Blytheville in the 1970s, watch the planes fly out of the nearby Air Force base and dream about being able to glide among the clouds. Property is disposed of, and the government cleans up after itself. The exhibits are impactful and tell the story of Base history. Sheila Russell Thurber. This does not include 149 civil aircraft impresses before delivery. The pictures and history lesson accompanying are amazing. Unbeknownst to the crew, over seventy percent of the vertical stabilizer and rudder assembly had been sheared off. Cover photos. Some of the land has since been declared a National Historic Landmark. It is very possible the paint that is peeling on the walls is lead-based. Jun 18, 2016 - blytheville afb photos | Blytheville Air Force Base, Blytheville . The B-52 is one of the few planes I remember Dad talking about during his career at Hill Air Force Base. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. Far in the northeast corner of Arkansas, five miles west of the Mississippi River, the city of Blytheville remembers a prosperous past while hoping for a bright future. at the old Blytheville Air Force Base now called the Blytheville Aeroplex where the city is planning to invest $20 million . Here's a little blurb about the alert facilities themselves (aka "mole holes"): "The SAC alert crew quarters, like the SAC command post, were partially below ground structures. Blytheville was the only Advanced training base in Arkansas. Community Profile: Blytheville, Ark., Spreads Its Wings after Air Force Base Closing. I have been to the former base and tarmac many times in the 2010s for Sports Car Club of America events. I think it is lost on most Americans that the first time a B-52 was used in actually live combat was in Vietnam and it was the only time a B-52 was lost to enemy fire. The current BAFB Exhibit is housed in the former B52 crew briefing building, and will continue to be an exhibit. The aircraft on display saw extensive service in Southeast Asia and was severely damaged by an enemy surface-to-air missile on April 9, 1972. These windowless alert quarters were identical everywhere, with tunnel-like egress covered in corrugated steel. "Valkyrie" was known to the USAF as 58-0183, a B-52G Stratofortress. No photo description available. On January 18, 1957, three B-52Bs completed the first non-stop round-the-world flight by jet aircraft, lasting 45 hours and 19 minutes and requiring only three aerial refuelings. The 2nd Bombardment Wing (H) at Barksdale AFB acquired the plane a second time in February 1987. This increased the B-52Gs range over earlier B-52s, though it also added considerable weightone reason why the tail was shortened; to help the heavy bomber get off the ground, the water-injection system already present was increased. The rest I earned via my service to my country. Armament: Four defensive .50-cal. Altus AFB ACTIVE Need photos: Location: Altus, Oklahoma. Photo from Facebook. Blytheville AFB: See Eaker AFB: Bolling AFB ACTIVE: Location: Washington, DC . thrust each. I took this from the back seat of the P-51 Mustang Gunfighter. During World War II, the site served as a training airfield as part of the 70,000 Pilot Training Program. The airfield was used as the Southeastern Training Command's flight training school, which closed in October 1945 after the Second World War ended. Two B-52G bombers were readied to strike the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons if necessaryfor which the wing received the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for its performance during the crisis. The boom is controlled by an operator lying prone under the cargo deck of the aircraft. The Cold War had come to and end. A bomber crew from Blytheville were among the first shot down during Operation Linebacker II, a December 1972 mission targeting complexes in North Vietnam. The Blytheville Air Force Base Exhibition, a part of the National Cold War Center, is a permanent exhibit that showcases the air base and the people that lived and worked there. He arranged the trade of my old piece of crap Harley, arranged the financing so I could just get on my new motorcycle and drive away. The plane . [1], In 1988, the U.S. Air Force officially renamed Blytheville AFB to Eaker AFB in commemoration of World War II General Ira Eaker, the former commander of the 8th Air Force. Camo with white under belly North American AGM-28 Hound Dog Missile on display at the Global Power Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base. Louisiana was the aircraft's next stop when in May 1974 it was transferred to the 2nd Bombardment Group (H) at Barksdale AFB. My job was to keep the alert aircraft supplied with the parts they needed to be mission ready. All photos (32) Top ways to experience nearby attractions. Buildings, schools, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, car . A strong gust of wind has pushed the rear of the aircraft left then right. There was some concern that female aircrew--which were becoming far more common in the 1980s than in years previously--would object to the nose art, but no such objections materialized. BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. In July 1963 the aircraft was stationed at Beale AFB, California, with the 456th Bombardment Wing (H). May be an image of text that says 'David Pride 2000' No photo description available. I also lived in the dorms that are pictured. They could go out of the facility to visit family, go to a movie or the BX, but the whole crew had to go everywhere together. The B-52H, however, continues to serve without a replacement on the horizon; the USAF intends to keep it in service until at least 2025, by which time the newest Stratofortress would have been in service sixty years. Eaker Air Force Base was originally named Blytheville Army Airfield when it was built in 1942.

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