This is a photoshopped 1972 Suzuki Brochure that I have transposed my face over the riders face. In August 1991 this Stratofortress was dropped from the Air Force inventory and made available to the USAF Museum Program. Airplane Photos & Aviation Photos - View, Search, or Upload Photos! Airport information, from map to hotels to aeronautical information. Armament: Four defensive .50-cal. I hope they can save this base so that it doesnt get destroyed. "Valkyrie" would fly a few more missions during the war, the only time she would drop bombs in anger. BLYTHEVILLE ARMY AIRFIELD 1942. Its' soft start" with hours on Friday's and Saturday from about 12:00pm to 4:00pm, will take some trip planning. It launched rescue missions from the base to Grenada in 1983 and in August 1990, the pilots of the 97th Bomber Wing began practicing for missions in the Middle East and eventually supported Operation Desert Storm. Though, local organizations and legal entities constantly fight to preserve the base. This B-52G-100-BW (S/N 58-0191), nicknamed "Bearin' Arms," was manufactured by Boeing Aircraft Corporation in Wichita, Kansas, and delivered to the USAF on October 16, 1959. My job was to keep the alert aircraft supplied with the parts they needed to be mission ready. 6 'Cat And Mouse' UFO Chase Over Cannon AFB January 1976. No photo description available. 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. Gosnell reported losing over half its students. He told me many stories about the German . Ritz. Originally Blytheville Air Force Base, the base's official name was changed in 1988 to honor air pioneer and commander of the Mighty Eighth Air Force during World War II, Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker. 27 items. In December 1972, after being repaired, it flew four additional missions over North Vietnam. The first of 12 model aircrafts that were once housed at the Blytheville Air Force Base (later Eaker Air Force Base) was delivered on Wednesday to the exhibition building. In June 1965, B-52s entered combat in Southeast Asia. Base Theater. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. Yes we grew up overseas and only went to Department of Defense Schools but it was amazing. 10 free downloads. The Strategic Air Command had reached the end of the road. This facility trained Army Air Cadets on Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita advanced trainer planes to learn to fly North American B-25 Mitchell bombers in all theaters of World War 2. Notable people who were stationed at the base durring this time include Carl Jr. and Frank . The National Cold War Center at the former Eaker Air Force Base in Blytheville announced Monday that it had received a $400,000 grant from the Division of Arkansas Heritage Cultural Institutions Trust Fund.A spokesperson said the money would be used to . ADM-20 Quail Decoy used to produce a fake B-52 signature on radar making a single B-52 appear to be as many as eight B-52s causing the Soviets to waste their SAMs chasing the Quails. Eaker Air Force Base was originally named Blytheville Army Airfield when it was built in 1942. The current BAFB Exhibit is housed in the former B52 crew briefing building, and will continue to be an exhibit. During the weekend of February 21st, 2022, the former N.C.O. The nose art of the B-52 version is a faithful reproduction of the B-17 version--one of the many Varga Girls that decorated World War II-era aircraft. I completed USAF Technical School in Denver Co the end of June 1972 and received two weeks leave before reporting to my base and when I arrived home my old farm boss, USAAF Veteran Bill Morriss had a brand new Suzuki motorcycle in his garage. Lots of good memories. Desert Storm was the swan song for the B-52G. Had many good times there. It was retired in July 1991 and donated to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Arizona. Owners of said buildings had big ambitions to renovate and repurpose the old buildings, but either plans never took off or money was tight. MEMORIES. Nose Art: Boeing B-52G Stratofortress "Hoosier Hotshot", Nose Art: Boeing B-52G Stratofortress "Valkyrie", N915DN Delta Air Lines | McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 | Arkansas International Airport, N502DN Delta Air Lines | Airbus A350-941 | Arkansas International Airport, 59-1514 Boeing KC-135E Stratotanker United States Air Force, N907DL Delta Air Lines | McDonnell Douglas MD-88 | Arkansas International Airport, www.hill.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5714, www.youtube.com/watch?v=leohcvmf8kM&feature=related, B-52G with an North American AGM-28 Hound Dog Missile, National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio, Photoshopped image of Rick OKelley Age 20 on his 1972 Suzuki GT750J Le Mans, Post Card KC 135 refueling a B-52G from Blytheville AFB, Sign that set at the Main Gate at Blytheville Air Force Base, 1977477_10202915854723496_3494507586333601988_n, www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/facility/bomber_alert.htm, Blytheville Air Force Base exhibit at DGM, Rickie D O'Kelley Staff Sergeant 1975 - Age 22. Communism had shriveled in the world. 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. Arkansas had six Army airfields. Capt. Fighter units also rarely carried nose art or even a name, though they made up for it with very gaudy colors and flamboyant unit crests. At the height of the Cold War, Eaker Air Force Base was home to the 97th Bombardment Wing, the 42nd Air Division, the 97th Air Refueling Squadron, the 97th Supply Squadron, the 97th Organizational Maintenance Squadron, the 820th Medical Group, and many more. 88 of the aircraft built are modified versions to serve specific purposes such as reconnaissance aircraft, and cargo carriers. The 17th Bombardment Wing (H) at Anderson AB was this aircraft's next duty station, arriving there in January 1973. 2, no. Was stationed there from 1967 to 1970 with 97th AMS, the old A&E Squadron. Loved it. My 1966 Ford Mustang was setting in the parking lot the day we watched this jet fly. of conventional or nuclear bombs. The top attractions to visit in Blytheville are: Historic Greyhound Bus Depot Visitor Center; The Ritz Theatre; Delta Gateway Museum; Blytheville Air Force Base (BAFB) Exhibition; That Bookstore in Blytheville; See all attractions in Blytheville on Tripadvisor Blytheville Eaker Air Force Base - KBYH, USA - Arkansas; By: Brady Brooks Photos | Profile | Contact; 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. B52 for his quick thinking, response to a crisis, and heroic duties. Jul 1999. The Ritz Theater from the outside circa. The aircraft was flown from Castle AFB to Hill AFB, Utah, in its final flight. I was an army brat and a military wife along with an army civilian off and on over the years. It was around 1960 and I still recall vividly sitting in the cockpit of a B-52. Doors and numerous truckloads of metal were being hauled off the alert pad. Photo from Facebook. 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. Glad to see the alert pad will be saved. The newer B-52Hs had turbofan powerplant, which was more fuel efficient, and START arms control treaties required the dismantling of the B-52G force after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. By August 1973, they had flown 126,615 combat sorties with seventeen B-52s lost to enemy action. Many times I stopped what I was doing and watched the full power, roaring and smoke trailing takeoffs. About Westminster Village . There are some items of interest in this photo of things that didn't appear on my uniform. for another radio code that would tell him to turn around. While the B-52Hs remained on nuclear alert standby, the G models were used in the conventional bombing role after the first few nights of cruise missile strikes; at first, this was done at low altitude, but switched to high altitude later onnot because of the threat of Iraqi air defenses, which had been badly degraded, but of the psychological effect. Washington, DCMay 26, 2020.Today, Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) joined Congressman Rick Crawford (AR-1), Congressman French Hill (AR-2), and Congressman Bruce Westerman (AR-4) in announcing the introduction of legislation to name the Blytheville/Eaker Air Force Base located in Blytheville, Arkansas the "National Cold War Center." The air force base was established in 1942 as a . Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. 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. 3 talking about this. I only ask that you send older photos (probably sometime before 1970).and they can be of People, Places in Blytheville, and Things. From an extreme case of having to be boarded up like a top secret quarantine, to simply being an old tool shed that never got used. Ruth Eaker, General Eakers widow, signing autographs during the name change of the base in 1988. 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.". The Air Force needed a long-distance bomber that could travel all the way to the former U.S.S.R., drop a payload on a target and travel back without needing refueling. [3] Six more men from the 97th were also lost in Vietnam, whose names are recognized on a memorial placard at the former base. Serial Number 61-0023 landed safely in Blytheville. It is the USAFs main aerial fueling aircraft. 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. Base Closure What happened to Blytheville, Arkansas? Details on 57-6486 are sparse; it may have seen combat over Vietnam with another unit. (KAIT) - Members of the United States Air Force in Little Rock and Louisiana landed aircraft on the Arkansas Aeroplex on the morning of . I thanked my dad for my upbringing. Blytheville was the only Advanced training base in Arkansas. Scrapped at Birmingham AL in 1997. 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. machine guns in tail plus up to 60,000+ lbs. The crew started to lose control of the plane and went to bail out. [4], It is a 247 acres (100ha) historic district which included 23 contributing buildings, 33 contributing structures, two contributing sites, a contributing object, as well as two non-contributing buildings. . In June 1965 B-52s entered combat in Southeast Asia. A taxi way to the southern end of the apron joins the Blytheville Air Force Base Alert area to the main runway, which allows bombers and tankers with the quickest access to that . Because it was an Air Force base, the airport has room and facilities that are not available in many other complexes. In June 1975 the aircraft was sent to the 97th Bombardment Wing (H) residing at Blytheville AFB, Arkansas. . Today, "Valkyrie" still wears her 1991-era SIOP camouflage and a SAC badge on the nose; the nose art is on the port side. It was located 3 miles (5 km) northwest of central Blytheville, Arkansas. At Mildenhall. The heavier steel fuel tanks of the tall-tail series were replaced by integral fuel tanks, in which the entire wing served as a tank. . Offering the freedom of maintenance-free independent living with the flexibility of an affordable rental program, Westminster Village enables you to remain close to the best of Blytheville near fishing at Big Lake, as well as convenient access to Memphis . The hospital is also a very large (plan wise) building, so it is very possible to get lost inside the building without a map. Photographer unknown. Jun 18, 2016 - blytheville afb photos | Blytheville Air Force Base, Blytheville . Eaker Air Force Base (1942-1992) was a front-line United States Air Force base for over 40 years. The B52 Stratofortress was the answer to all the problems found in the Convair B36 Peacemaker and the B24. This area was developed pursuant to guidelines established by the Federal Housing Administration , and is laid out with . Leaving Little Rock as Arkansas only active base. [1], The base closure cost the community over 700 civilian jobs, but half of these were recovered through the adaptive reuse of the former base, such as United States Post Office's utilization of the base in the late 1990s as an airport hub during the holidays, some of the base housing being converted by Westminster Village of the Mid-South for a retirement community, the construction of a $2.5 million sports complex by the local community, and the private investment of some $3 million for the creation of the Thunder Bayou Golf Course. Blytheville AFB experienced a great deal of activity throughout the Cold War era, when for instance, the 97th Bombardment Wing went on airborne alert on 22 October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. These windowless alert quarters were identical everywhere, with tunnel-like egress covered in corrugated steel. I had only three duty assignments, I began my service at Blytheville right out of Tech School as the Supply Representative to Base Procurement, then most of my time I was a "NORS Controller" responsible for keeping the Alert Aircraft and Nuclear Missiles supplied with parts. Finally, again to save weight, the tail gunner position was eliminated in favor of a remote-controlled barbette, with the gunner moved forward to the crew compartment. 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. Officers Club. The boom operators on KC-135s got a laugh over it, the pilots loved it, commanding officers were horrified and eventually ordered it removed. Use code: FLICKR10, International Air Tattoo 1987 - RAF Fairford. Five feet of water was pumped out of the basement of the building. As the Cold War ended, "Valkyrie" was assigned to her last duty station with the 2nd BW at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, but she would have one last mission. thrust each. I single had a wonderful time on my motorcycle that summer when I arrived at Blytheville Air Force base and my motorcycle was a major reason for my fond memories of a carefree time in my youth. NCO Club. Eaker Air Force Base is located approximately 3 miles northwest of Blytheville, Arkansas, on Interstate 55 between St Louis and Memphis. School trips were to other countries LOL. The small gold Hap Arnold Wings that appear just below my name tag was a gift from the widow of a deceased WWII USAAF pilot. Of the 3,778 acres the base is comprised of, two thirds of the land is abandoned. The Southeast Asia War Tour Boeing B-52D Stratofortress BUFF LF USAF Museum (9202) Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 3-10-2019. Sign up and get notified about upcoming volunteer events!

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