Posted on 12/31/2015 2:43:22 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
The huge swing-wing airplane is nothing if not flexible — canceled, revived, converted from nuclear strike plane to conventional bomber and then to flying arsenal for the GPS-guided bombs on which ground troops fighting for their lives in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Syria often rely.
And if the U.S. Air Force’s supersonic B-1 bomber is one other thing, it’s misunderstood.
It’s no secret that the B-1 bomber, officially called the Lancer but known to its four-man crews as the “Bone†(they proudly call themselves “Bone-driversâ€), had a troubled early life. Canceled by President Jimmy Carter and revived by successor Ronald Reagan, the B-1 underwent sweeping redesigns before it reached Air Force crews in the mid-1980s — and even then, the revamped airplane suffered a string of high-profile malfunctions and crashes. Not until 1998, three decades after the distinctive swing-wing bomber was first designed, did the B-1 first drop bombs on enemy targets in Iraq.
In public forums, the B-1 has often been a punch line. A glowing New York Times feature earlier this month on the B-1’s older, slower brother, the gangly B-52, highlighted the tribulations of the supersonic bomber’s development, comparing it unfavorably to the reliable B-52 of “Dr. Strangelove†fame, which has been in uninterrupted service since the 1950s.
And during a Senate hearing last year, Sen. John McCain pushed back hard on Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James’s description of the B-1 as an effective airplane for “close air support,†or the delivery of precision-guided bombs in support of embattled ground troops. “That’s a remarkable statement,†McCain scoffed. “That doesn’t comport with any experience I’ve ever had, nor anyone I know has ever had.â€
What McCain didn’t seem to be aware of, and what the Times report failed to note, is the long third act
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
“One of the loudest objects on earth is a B1 taking off on full afterburner.”
You could feel the shuttle take off 50 miles away.
There is no prettier airplane than the A-10.
Goosebumps and tears. And, I’m a little old lady.
I would prefer it if John-Rob would just fix the software.
Won’t argue, I love the Warthog! It’s beauty is in its usefulness.
“Not as loud as 2 F4H Phantoms on afterburner, 50 yards away and me with the mother of all hangovers.”
Tell me about it. I worked the flight deck on the USS Enterprise when we launched our squadrons F-4J phantoms. I was right there when they went into after burner for take off. My hearing has suffered because of it.
Funny thing is I went to the VA for compensation for the hearing loss but was rejected. However I was granted some because I had fired a rifle in some of my training. Makes no sense.
Many years ago a freeper told about a relative who was in a gun tub on a cruiser firing AA in the Pacific in WWII. When he got out he went to the VA for hearing loss and they said it was a natural result of aging and sent him on his way. He was 23.
Yall must not have been exposed to the sound of the SR-71 or U-2 on takeoff.
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