B-52 Flyby of USS Ranger

Family friend 'N.T.' | Today | Me

[Fury]

He crashed a few seconds later...1994, Fairchild AFB, Washington.

Yep, LTC Bud Holland. He was unsafe and killed several people in that stunt. Several in the chain of command got hammered over that incident.

[GoldCountryRedneck]

"Way cool!"

Thanks....and my teen tells me that's "k-e-w-l"!! *LOL*!

In follow up, Qiux,there was no 'official Navy' photo as such, but TankerKC's pic post #9 comes from the User Album area of the USS Ranger website (www.ussrangercv61.org).

Ya' know, folks, one would think that with...

(1)Personal knowledge of the photos' source pre-post, (2) the background context post details,(3) comments verifying that nap-of-the-earth is one of but a few of the BUFFs' mission profiles, (4)SampleMans' own knowledge of the event and (5) that second pic from the Ranger website...

....that even the harshest of the FReepSkeptics' would stand down.

I'm forwarding your version,cobra, back to my family as everyone knows that AF B-52 pilots are frustrated Thunderbirds at heart!!!! *LOL*!

Gotta hit the commute All!

~GCR~

[Quix]

Hmmmmmm. That's more than a little harder to believe.

Also, as I recall, the B-52 is a larger bird than both pics make it look. One of my counseling bosses was a crewman.

[Quix]

Did that occur sometime between 1978 and 1987? I'm not sure.

I lived in Spokane sometime during that period.

[Quix]

Since the buff is obviously closer than the Ranger, something is amiss. On top of that, my eyeballs tell me there's a loss of proportion in the pic.........FWIW.

I felt the same thing.

[Quix]

Thanks.

I don't mind believing the first photo--though, in my mind, the plane seems smaller than it should.

And, it does help to have your personal connection.

OTOH (you have different fingers) . . . The upside down one strains even my supposedly tin-foil credulity.

In any case, a fun thread. I love Navy related flight ops.

[Professional Engineer]

ROFLOL

[Hatteras]

"What's that above & to right of tail fin ?"

My guess is probably the plane that took the first picture.

[Zavien Doombringer]

LOL, someone should crop the Loch Ness Monster off the bow :)

[TankerKC]

Just for the record, I'm not questioning that this happened...only that this particular photo looks a bit out of whack to me.

[TankerKC]

What did you fly? KC-135 or KC-10?

I am (or was) a maintenance guy on B-52, KC-135, KC-10, & F-16s.

[balrog666]

No downwash wake behind the BUFF?!

[buccaneer81]

Looks like a screen shot from Dr. Strangelove.

[cva66snipe]

I believe you. An F-14 pilot from our ship did a maneuver that caused quite a stir. It was real, looked fake, but camera angle means everything :>} This one looked like he was gonna clip the FD but he was close to a quarter mile off.

Getting a size to size comparison of objects to a CV can be difficult. You can put a 50 foot Utility Boat at the base of the ship and it will barely show up in a picture taken from some distance.

[usmcobra]

Wait until I have the Ranger flying over the B-52 upside down.

[skeptoid]

You might be thinking of this tanker crash in June 87. My sister lived in Spokane then and initially thought it was a nuke....heavy duty ka-boom.

[spectr17]

Son of a bi$##

[Quix]

Probably so. Thanks.

[Ditto]

Yep, LTC Bud Holland. He was unsafe and killed several people in that stunt. Several in the chain of command got hammered over that incident.

As I recall, he snagged a power line and cartwheeled in. Sad to see so many good men die that fast over a foolish stunt.

[JRios1968]

IIRC he took the squadron commander and director of ops with him, because they were the only ones who felt confident enough of being able to override him. Obviously they weren't.