B-36 Cold War Shield
Navigator's Journal
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Thirty seconds later: "Major Kingby to crew. We are over Phoenix, have just completed our turn and are one and one half hours out of Walker Air Force Base. Engines number four and six have been shut down and we are watching number one, which is turning but reading high temperature. All jets are powered up and are in idle. I have been in contact with the tower at Luke near Phoenix and have made them aware of our situation. If we have to shut down number one, I will declare an in-flight emergency and at that time I will decide. whether to continue on to Walker or return to Luke. The flight deck will immediately make you aware of any changes. Navigator, compute a point of no return. Major Kingby out." Four minutes later: "Navigator to Pilot." 'Pilot." "I read present time at 1206. Estimate Walker at 1352 hours. Point of no return at 1259 hours." The Pilot acknowledges my call. I check cloud cover through the greenhouse and estimate fifty percent cloud cover below. "Panetta," I call, "we are over the Rockies and cloud cover above is now increasing. Take a look out the dome." , Panetta returns. "Cloud cover above at almost 100 percent. No sun available." We both concentrate on map reading. Pilot needs to know where we are at any time. We are flying over mountains that are about sif or seven thousand feet high .... the Continental Divide, with few features or landmarks to guide us. I dead reckon. "Navigator to Pilot." "Pilot here." "Time is 1254. Five minutes to point of no, return," I report to the pilot. "Pilot, understand five minutes." , Silence on the intercom. Ten minutes pass. Phoenix is gone, and we are committed to Walker. Then another ten minutes. Panetta taps me on the shoulder and points forward through the greenhouse. "Looks like Route 85, running north-south with River Rio Grande paralleling on the east side!" "Right on," I respond. ''Navigator to Pilot." "Pilot. " Revise ETA. Walker at 1348 hours." An excited voice on the intercom: "Flight deck, left-side scanner. Black smoke coming out of engine number one." "Pilot, understand smoke at number one. Light or moderate?" Scanner responds, "Started light, now heavy. A flame just shot out of the back of engine number one!" "Crew, this is Second Pilot. Major Kingby is at the controls. We are shutting down engine number one. Fire suppression system activated. All jets powered up. Major Kingby has declared an in-flight emergency. Prepare to take positions for an emergency landing on my call." I scan out the greenhouse. Everyone is waiting. Waiting. We keep descending .... and waiting. "Crew, take positions for an emergency landing now." is the order from the second pilot. Major Heller shuts down his entire radar system and at the same time climbs out of his seat. "Panetta," I yell, "radio room." I loosen my seat belt and turn to the rear. The plane is rocking left and right from ground turbulence but looks as if it is still holding altitude. Heller has his chute in hand and is almost into the radio compartment. He turns and looks back. I look in his eyes and see no fear. I see resignation. Calm resignation. I have no control. My eyes feel like they're wide open with fear bleeding through. My throat is squeezed shut and I need water. I have no control. Panetta moves past me, his eyes turned toward the floor. He is looking for his chute pack. My chute is on the floor touching my left leg and I pick it up and follow Panetta. I can hear and feel the engines surging and the whine of the jets. In the radio room we are all jammed together, side by side, with our backs against the forward bulkhead. I have my knees drawn up with the chute tight between my chin and knees. Radio has his back against the bulkhead, has his headset on and a long wire cord from his station so that he can still monitor the intercom. Radio bellows, "Engineer is dumping fuel. Tower clears us for a straight-in approach. No pattern. Yellow trucks on the way." I close my eyes and listen. We're descending. The sound of the engines is decreasing, the jets are whining and I can feel the plane rocking left, right, left, right. Noise from the engines rises and falls as the pilots work the controls. So this is how it is. Can't see the ground or the sky. I have no control.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
This book tells the story of a B-36 crew, flying countless training missions while carrying full-sized 8,500-pound mock nuclear weapons in their bomb bays. B-36 crews trained for the one flight when they would be ordered to drop combat nuclear bombs on the USSR. Flights of fifteen hours over continental United States to grueling thirty-hour nonstop flights overseas were routine, all without the benefit of in-flight refueling—not yet invented. The experiences of this crew, as they flew their assigned missions, are part of the history of our nation’s defense. They were part of our Cold War Shield.
About the Author
The author enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War. While in basic training, he was selected to attend Navigation school and completed his training in 1954. He was then was assigned to the Sixth Bomb Wing of the Strategic Air Command, as a navigator in a B-36 heavy bomber aircraft. The crews in the B-36 aircraft flew missions all over the world, training every day with only one goal—to be ready, when ordered, to drop nuclear weapons on the USSR. The B-36 and its crews were our nation’s Cold War Shield. The author was a part of that team during our Cold War with the USSR.