 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Profile
#05 forms a brief summary
of events at RAF Fairford between February and June 1999, where the 2nd Air
Expeditionary Group was formed with aircraft from CONUS based 8th Air Force
units to conduct strike missions as part of ‘Operation Noble Anvil’, the USAF
part of ‘Operation Allied Force’.
B-52Hs were deployed from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana and the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota, with B-1Bs from 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota.
No attempt is made here to describe the overall Kosovo situation, this report merely covers the activities at the Gloucestershire ‘standby’ base, which was fully activated when the need arose to forward deploy USAF heavy bombers to Europe.
Following an uneventful deployment in October 1998, the first eight B-52Hs arrived at RAF Fairford over the weekend of 21st/22nd February 1999 as tensions in the Balkans rose again.
As the air campaign intensified, the B-52 force switched to the conventional bombing role, with freefall weapons carried internally and on the wing pylons. Typical strike packages comprised two B-52Hs and two B-1Bs, with ‘Havoc’ and ‘Razor’ callsigns being used by both types. Further B-52Hs arrived from Barksdale and Minot on 1st May using ‘Tiger’ callsigns.
Two
aircraft crossed the Atlantic with laser guided bombs on the wing pylons,
and a further two arrived with AGM-142 ‘Have Nap’ TV guided missiles. One
of the heaviest raids of the war was launched on the evening of 10th May,
when a mixed package of B-52s and B-1Bs departed using callsigns ‘ Havoc 11-14’,
‘Razor 11-12’ and ‘Titus 41-42’.
 |
2nd Bombardment Wing | Barksdale AFB, Louisiana | LA | ||||||
| Type | Serial | Sqn | Tail Mks | Noseart | Mission
Mks (date recorded) |
Resident
From/To |
|||
| B-52H | 60-0010 | 96 BS r | Instigator | 21/2/99-30/3/99 | |||||
| B-52H | 60-0011 | 11 BS g | 11 BMS | 11th Bomb Sqn | 5
x CALCM 21xbombs (19/6) |
9/4/99-18/4/99
1/5/99-23/6/99 |
|||
| B-52H | 60-0014 | N/m | 27/3/99-29/3/99 | ||||||
| B-52H | 60-0016 | N/m | 22/2/99-26/3/99
9/4/99-17/4/99 |
||||||
| B-52H | 60-0020 | 20 BS b | 20 BMS | The Mad Bolshevik | 10x
CALCM 20 xbombs (19/6) |
21/2/99-9/4/99
1/5/99-23/6/99 |
|||
| B-52H | 60-0022 | 96 BS r | 21/2/99-26/3/99 | ||||||
| B-52H | 60-0037 | N/m | Wham Bam II | 1 x bomb (19/6) | 26/5/99-23/6/99 | ||||
| B-52H | 60-0043 | 20 BS b | 8 x bombs (19/6) | 18/5/99-23/6/99 | |||||
| B-52H | 60-0046 | 20 BS b | 1 x bomb (19/6) | 3/6/99-23/6/99 | |||||
| B-52H | 60-0049 | 20 BS b | 5xCALCM
2xbombs (14/5) |
21/2/99-26/3/99
4/5/99-5/6/99 |
|||||
| B-52H | 60-0052 | 96 BS r | 1 x CALCM | 28/3/99-27/5/99 | |||||
| B-52H | 60-0059 | 96 BS r | 96 BMS | 96 BS badge | 6 x red CALCM (2/4) | 21/2/99-17/4/99 | |||
| B-52H | 60-0062 | 20 BS b | Cajun Fear | 1
x AGM-142 10 x bombs (19/6) |
3/5/99-23/6/99 | ||||
| B-52H | 61-0002 | 20 BS b | 2nd OG | Eagles Wrath III | 11 x bombs (19/6) | 1/5/99-23/6/99 | |||
| B-52H | 61-0011 | 11 BS g | 11 BMS | 1/5/99-9/5/99 | |||||
| B-52H | 61-0016 | 11 BS g | Freebird MIA/POW Remembered | 15 x CALCM (14/5) | 21/2/99-18/5/99 | ||||
| B-52H | 61-0020 | 96 BS r | 2
x CALCM 5 x bombs (14/5) |
27/3/99-10/4/99
1/5/99-20/5/99 |
|||||
| B-52H | 61-0023 | 20 BS b | 11
x CALCM 5 x bombs (3/6) |
28/3/99-9/4/99
1/5/99-4/6/99 |
|||||
| B-52H | 61-0031 | 11 BS g | Ol' Smokey | 21/2/99-26/3/99 | |||||
| B-52H | 61-0039 | 11 BS g | 13 x bombs (19/6) | 8/5/99-23/6/99 | |||||
 |
5th Bombardment Wing | Minot AFB, North Dakota | MT | ||||||
| Type | Serial | Sqn | Tail Mks | Noseart | Mission
Mks (date recorded) |
Resident
From/To |
|||
| B-52H | 60-0009 | 23 BS r | Rolling Thunder II | 7x CALCM (14/5) | 29/3/99-30/3/99 | ||||
| B-52H | 60-0018 | N/m | 14xbombs (19/6) | 1/5/99-23/6/99 | |||||
| B-52H | 60-0033 | 23 BS r | Instrument of Destruction | 17 x bombs | 27/3/99-29/3/99
1/5/99-23/6/99 |
||||
| B-52H | 60-0044 | 23 BS r | 29/3/99-17/4/99 | ||||||
| B-52H | 60-0051 | 23 BS r | Appetite for Destruction | 2 x bombs (19/6) | 29/3/99-1/4/99
3/6/99-23/6/99 |
||||
 |
28th Bombardment Wing | Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota | EL | ||||||
| Type | Serial | Sqn | Tail Mks | Noseart | Mission
Mks (date recorded) |
Resident
From/To |
|||
| B-1B | 85-0073 | 77 BS y | 1/4/99-26/4/99 | ||||||
| B-1B | 85-0074 | 77 BS y | 7 x bombs (5/6) | 8/4/99-6/6/99 | |||||
| B-1B | 85-0075 | 77 BS y | 8 x bombs (17/6) | 1/4/99-11/4/99 | |||||
| B-1B | 85-0083 | 77 BS y | 1/4/99-29/5/99 | ||||||
| B-1B | 85-0091 | 77 BS y | 24 x bombs (17/6) | 1/4/99-24/6/99 | |||||
| B-1B | 86-0097 | 77 BS y | 8 x bombs (17/6) | 24/4/99-24/6/99 | |||||
| B-1B | 86-0102 | 37 BS b | 1/4/99-18/5/99 | ||||||
| B-1B | 86-0104 | 77 BS y | 3/6/99-24/6/99 | ||||||
| B-1B | 86-0129 | 37 BS b | 15/5/99-25/6/99 | ||||||
 |
366th Wing | Mountain Home AFB, Idaho | MO | ||||||
| Type | Serial | Sqn | Tail Mks | Noseart | Mission
Mks (date recorded) |
Resident
From/To |
|||
| KC-135R | 59-1498 | 22 ARS | Spud Nick | 16/4/99-25/6/99 | |||||
| KC-135R | 61-0277 | 22 ARS | Wild Wild West | 31/3/99-1/4/99
12/4/99-25/6/99 |
|||||
| KC-135R | 62-3513 | 22 ARS | Heavy Metal | 16/4/99-25/6/99 | |||||
| KC-135R | 62-3572 | 22 ARS | Luck of the draw | 15/4/99-25/6/99 | |||||
| KC-135R | 63-8004 | 22 ARS | Gunfighter Express | 16/4/99-6/6/99 | |||||
| KC-135R | 63-8875 | 22 ARS | 22 ARS | 3/6/99-25/6/99 | |||||
 |
B-52H 60-0062/LA "CAJUN FEAR" armed with AGM-142s shortly after engine shutdown following arrival at Fairford on 3rd May 1999 as Tiger 01. |
©
Tim Hunter
EOS-5 75-300mm K64 350/f5.6 |
With the failure of diplomacy to resolve the Kosovo situation, the morning of 24th March saw the start of the bombing campaign, when eight ‘buffs’ launched as ‘Havoc 11-18’. Two aircraft returned as spares and six continued on the mission armed with Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missiles (CALCMs).
Callsigns
used during the evening recovery were ‘Reset 11-16’. Over the following days,
two- and three-ship missions were launched, whilst a number of aircraft returned
to Barksdale, with replacements arriving at Fairford with CALCMs carried internally.
Mission launches throughout the first week at Fairford were covered by multiple
TV crews, and were no doubt broadcast around the world.
There was no flying until 9th March when a full scale training mission was launched with seven aircraft and refuelling support from three KC-135s from RAF Mildenhall. The following morning saw a rare visitor to the UK when B-2A 82-1067/WM ‘Czar 12’ arrived at Fairford for a fuel stop and crew change during an ‘Global Power’ training mission, taking advantage of the active status of the base.
A
peace agreement between NATO and Serbia was signed on 9th June, following
heavy B-52 raids on Yugoslav army units in Kosovo, widely reported by the
media. By 20th June, eleven B-52Hs, five B-1Bs, and five KC-135Rs were still
present, at which time bombs had been removed from wing pylons.
Once it became clear that the Serbs had complied with the terms of the settlement, and had withdrawn from Kosovo, the massed air armada in Europe began a quick process of redeployment. The B-52H force left Fairford en-masse on 23rd June, when 8 aircraft returned to Barksdale as Brock 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21, whilst the 3 Minot machines returned home as Hazan 12, 14 and 16. The B-1Bs departed for Ellsworth on the following day using the familiar Razor callsigns, and the KC-135s departed on 25th. With the withdrawal completed the only aircraft movements were AMC transports collecting ground equipment and personnel. Only one month later, however, RAF Fairford was temporary home to 483 aircraft from 45 air arms - but that’s another story!
The aircraft listed in the following table have been deployed to RAF Fairford in the period February - June 1999.
There
was a high change over rate of B-52Hs, with some aircraft returning stateside
then being redeployed. The maximum number of B-52Hs present at any one time
was fourteen in early May. B-1B force remained fairly static, with few changes.
It is understood that those Lancers present were the most capable machines
in the inventory, having undergone a series of recent modifications and upgrades.
All current USAF heavy transport types were represented, with C-5s, C-17s, C-130s and C-141s visiting during the build up periods with equipment, personnel and ordnance loads. Those types are not listed here.
|
Mission
mark being applied to B-52H 60-0010. Air Force slang for marking up the
aircraft is 'frocking'. In this case the 'frocker' is the commander of
the 96th Bomb Squadron. © Photo via 96BS |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
 |
|
|||
 |
B-52H
60-0037, no squadron markings, at dispersal on 6th June 1999. This aircraft
was a late arrival and flew a single mission. 
EOS-5 75-300 K64 180/f8 |
 |
KC-135R 62-3572/MO returning after a mission. 6 KC-135's were deployed
from Mountain Home in support of 'Noble Anvil' missions.
© Duncan Adams |
 |
B-52H
60-0016 wearing no squadron markings, seen on the morning of 27th February
1999, one week after arriving at Fairford.
EOS-5 75-300 K64, 180/f8 |
 |
B-52H
60-0011/LA 11th BS/2ND BW on 3rd May 1999
EOS-5 75-300 K64 180/f8 |
 |
B-52H
60-0062 ‘Tiger 01’, chute in trail, taxies off runway 27 after arrival
on 1st May 1999.
EOS-5 75-300 K64 350/f5.6 |
 |
B-52H
61-0002/LA 20th BS/2nd BW armed with LGBs on 3rd May 1999
EOS-5 75-300 K64 180/f8 |
 |
B-52H
60-0051 photographed on 6th June 1999, prior to one of the final missions
of the campaign.
EOS-5 28-105 K64 180/f8 |
 |
B-52H
60-0049 photographed on 9th may, with an AGM-142 TV guided missile visible
on the port wing pylon. The mission marks indicate 5 launches of CALCMs
on previous missions.
EOS-5 28-105 K64 125/f8 |
 |
B-52H
60-0020 of the 20th Bomb Squadron, photographed on 3rd May 1999 with a
full pylon fit of Laser guided bombs.
EOS-5 75-300 K64 350/f5.6 |
 |
B-1B
85-0083 taxies towards the runway 09 threshold on the evening of 3rd May
1999, at the start of a five hour two-ship combat mission. Two B-52Hs
launched at the same time.
EOS-5 75-300mm K64 180/f8 |
 |
B-1B
86-0073 parked at the Fairford eastern dispersals on 2nd April 1999. The
aircraft arrived in England on the previous day, and was being 'bombed
up' for its first mission that evening when this photograph was taken.
EOS-5 75-300 K64 350/f5.6 |
 |
Buffs
at rest. B-52Hs 60-0020 and 60-0062 at dispersal on 19th June 1999. By
this time the final mission had been flown, but the aircraft were still
on standby for further operations.
EOS-5 75-300 K64 350/f5.6 |
 |
B-52H
61-0016 on the evening of 2nd April 1999, after a week of raids during
which twelve cruise missile marks had been applied.
EOS-5 28-105 K64 125/f8. |
 |
B-52H
61-0023/LA 20th BS/2nd BW parked towards the Center of the field on 3rd
May 1999, when 14 ‘buffs’ were present and ramp space on the western dispersal's
was in short supply!
EOS-5 75-300 K64 180/f8 |
Please
contact us with any corrections, additions or comments regarding any of the
information on this page.
Original Kodachrome 64 slides of B-52s are available for sale or trade. Please e-mail for further details. We are currently missing slides of 61-0011, 61-0031 and 61-0039 taken at Fairford. Please contact us if you can help us complete this historical photographic record.
Sources |
||
|
AirForces Monthly |
Military Aviation Review |
Mil-Scan - The European Military Communications Monitoring Group |
|
Aircraft Illustrated |
Mil-Spotters-Forum |
B-52 / USAF Patch Collector's Web page |
|
Campaign | |
Callsigns | |
Aircraft Log | |
Photofiles |
Fairford
Command Post
Foxtrot
Control, Havoc, Hedgehog, Razor, Bladerunner
Mildenhall
ACC Command Post
Banter
Control
B-52H
Callsigns - 2nd BW/5th BW
Transit
Amuse, Area, Artic, Binge, Borg, Brock, Edwin, Gamut,
Havoc, Hoyle, Jambo, Laser, Lundy, Nappy, Meyer, Oscar, Tiger
Operational
Mission (including Rolling Changeovers)
Agnew, Amuse, Artic, Balot, Binge, Blow, Blur,
Crude, Dallas, Doom, Faker, Girth, Griff, Havoc, Hazan, Litch, Mity, Prude,
Quid, Reset, Titus, Upset, Valid
B-1B
Callsigns - 28th BW
Bone,
Foil, Havoc, Razor, Titus, Yard
KC-135R
callsigns - 366th WG
Riyal
| Report:Tim
Hunter Photos:Tim Hunter |