TSGT Samuel O. Turner, U.S. Air Force, rests his hand on one of four air-cooled Browning AN-M3 .50-caliber aircraft machine guns of a B-52 tail turret. (“Bulldog Bulletin, Fall 1985”)
18 December 1972: On the first night of Operation Linebacker II, Staff Sergeant Samuel Olin Turner, United States Air Force, the gunner aboard Boeing B-52D-35-BW Stratofortress 56-676 (call sign “Brown 3”), saw a supersonic Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 21 interceptor approaching the bomber from below and behind, with a second interceptor following at a distance.
As the Mach 2 fighter made a firing pass, Turner directed the four Browning AN-M3 .50-caliber machine guns of the bomber’s tail turret at the enemy fighter and opened fire. In a single 6–8 second burst, he expended 694 rounds of ammunition. He saw “a gigantic explosion to the rear of the aircraft.”
Master Sergeant Louis E. LeBlanc, the gunner on another B-52, “Brown 2,” had also seen the MiG 21 and confirmed Turner’s kill.
A Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 interceptor at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, in the markings of the VPAF. (U.S. Air Force)
Staff Sergeant Turner was the first B-52 gunner to be officially credited with shooting down an enemy fighter, and the first aerial gunner to shoot down an enemy aircraft since the Korean War. He was awarded the Silver Star.
The citation reads,
Silver Star
Staff Sergent Samuel O. Turner distinguished himself by gallantry in connections with military operations against an opposing armed force as a B-52 Fire Control Operator near Hanoi, North Vietnam, on 18 December 1972. On this mission, Sergeant Turner’s aircraft was attacked by numerous enemy fighters. During these attacks he skillfully operated his gunnery radar equipment to train his guns on the attackers and destroyed one of them. By his courage in the face of hazardous combat conditions and outstanding professional skill, he successfully defended his aircraft and its crew and enabled it to complete its mission and return safely to base. By his gallantry and devotion to duty, Sergeant Turner has reflected great credit upon himself and to the United States Air Force.
Staff Sergeant Samuel O. Turner is awarded the Silver Star by General John C. Meyer, Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command, for his actions in combat over Hanoi during Linebacker II. (U.S. Air Force)The tail gun turret of Boeing B-52D Stratofortress 56-676. (U.S. Air Force)
Samuel Olin Turner was born at Atlanta, Georgia, 15 August 1942. He was the son of William Edgar Turner and Beatrice Honnicutt Turner. Sam Turner attended Russell High School at East Point, Georgia, then studied at David Lipscomb College, Nashville, Tennessee.
Turner enlisted in the United States Air Force, 13 January 1970, and was trained as a gunner on Boeing B-52s. He served in Southeast Asia for two years. In 1977, Technical Sergeant Turner transitioned to the B-52H Stratofortress, which was equipped with a remotely-operated M61A1 20 mm six-barreled rotary cannon.
The gunner’s position in the tail of a Boeing B-52D Stratofortress. (MSGT L. Emmett Lewis, U.S. Air Force/U.S. National Archives)
Senior Master Sergeant Samuel O. Turner was released from the U.S. Air Force 31 January 1982. In addition to the Silver Star, during his military career Turner had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and a number of Air Medals. He died at Stockbridge, Georgia, 9 April 1985, at the age of 42 years.
The Samuel O. Turner Airman Leadership School at Ellsworth Air Force Base, near Rapid City, South Dakota, is named in his honor.
56-676 was the last Boeing B-52D Stratofortress in service. It is on display at Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane, Washington.
A Boeing B-52D Stratofortress of the 307th Strategic Wing over Vietnam during Operation Linebacker II, December 1972. (U.S. Air Force)
Boeing B-52D-1-BW Stratofortress 55-0049 is rolled out of Wichita Plant II, 12:40 p.m., 7 December 1955. Three B-47 Stratojets are in the background. (Unattributed)
7 December 1955: At approximately 12:40 p.m., the first Wichita-built Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, B-52D-1-BW 55-0049, (MSN 464001) was rolled out of Plant II.
55-0049 made its first flight 14 May 1956, and was delivered to the Air Force on 26 June of that year.
On 26 September 1958, 55-0049 set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world records for speed.¹
The record-setting Stratofortress was sent The Boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona, 4 October 1978. It was later scrapped.
Boeing B-52D-1-BW Stratofortress 55-0049 (the first Wichita-built B-52) in flight. This is the same type bomber that set two world records 26 September 1958. (U.S. Air Force)
¹ FAI Record File Numbers 8498, 8499 (see This Day in Aviation, 26 September 1958)
A Boeing B-52D Stratofortress dropping a load of bombs during the Vietnam War. The B-52D could carry up to 108 MK82 500-pounds bombs. (U.S. Air Force)
22 November 1972: The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers began combat operations in the Vietnam War with ARC LIGHT strikes against enemy troop concentrations and supply lines in June 1966. The B-52s flew so high and fast that they could neither be seen nor heard on the ground. It was more than six years before the first of the eight-engine bombers would be lost to enemy action.
Boeing B-52D-65-BO Stratofortress 55-0110, weapons loading. (U.S. Air Force)Captain Norbert J. Ostrozny, U.S. Air Force
B-52D-65-BO 55-0110, call sign OLIVE 2, was assigned to the 96th Bombardment Wing, Heavy. It flew combat missions from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and the U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand. On 22 November, -110 was crewed by Captain Norbert J. Ostrozny, aircraft commander; Captain P. A. Foley, co-pilot; Bud Rech, radar navigator; Captain Robert Estes, navigator; Larry Stephens, electronic warfare officer; and Staff Sergeant Ronald W. Sellers, gunner.
Near Vinh, on the central coast of North Vietnam, OLIVE 2 was struck by an exploding S-75 Dvina surface to-air missile (NATO identified the S-75 as the SS-2 Guideline, commonly referred to as a SAM). The S-75 is a Soviet two-stage command-guided surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile. It is 10.60 meters (34 feet, 9.3 inches) long and 0.7 meter (2 feet, 3.6 inches) in diameter. It is liquid-fueled and has a maximum speed of Mach 4 and range of 24 kilometers (15 miles). The missile has a 200 kilogram (441 pound) fragmentation warhead. The loaded weight is 2,300 kilograms (5,071 pounds).
OLIVE 2 was seriously damaged and on fire, and the flight crew turned toward the airfield at U-Tapao.
North Vietnamese missileers prepare an S-75 Dvina (NATO: SA-2 Guideline) for launch. (Popperphoto/Getty Images)
After crossing the Thailand border, Captain Ostrozny ordered the crew to eject from the stricken bomber. All six crewmen escaped the doomed Stratofortress and were later rescued by a Sikorsky HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant search-and-rescue helicopter.
55-0110 crashed 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. It was the first Stratofortress lost to enemy action in more than six years of combat.
Boeing B-52D-30-BW Stratofortress 55-662 crosses the perimeter fence on approach to U-Tapao Airfield, Thailand, 30 October 1972. OLIVE 2 did not return from its final mission. (National Archives and Records Administration/U.S. Air Force)
The United States Air Force flew more than 125,000 combat sorties with the B-52 from 1966 to 1973. During that time, the bombers delivered 2,949,615 tons of bombs against enemy targets. A total of 31 B-52s were lost. 73 crewmen were killed in action and 33 captured and held as prisoners of war.
My thanks to Colonel Knox Bishop, U.S. Air Force (Retired), for contributing the additional details.
Boeing B-52D-1-BW Stratofortress 55-0049 (the first Wichita-built B-52) in flight. This is the same type bomber that set two world records, 26 September 1958. (U.S. Air Force)COL Victor L. Sandacz USAF
26 September 1958: Lieutenant Colonel Victor Leonard Sandacz, with Captain Kenneth G. Wolf, flew a Boeing B-52D Stratofortress of the 28th Bombardment Wing, Heavy, twice around a triangular circuit from Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, South Dakota, to Douglas, Arizona, Newberg, Oregon, and back to Rapid City. He established a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 10,000 Kilometers Without Payload with an average speed of 902.369 kilometers per hour (560.706 miles per hour).¹ Sandacz’s B-52 made two circuits in 11 hours, 9 minutes. The actual distance covered was 10,032 kilometers (6,233.6 statute miles),
Other members of the flight crew were Major James A. Hentschel, navigator; Major Joseph T. Sulkowski, radar navigator; Major James E. Kimble, electronic countermeasures; and master Sergeant Phillip B. McCaffree, tail gunner.
Lieutenant Colonel Victor L. Sandacz, USAF, at left, with the crew of Boeing B-52D-40-BW Stratofortress 56-694. (Sandacz Family Collection)
A second B-52D, flown by Captain Cholett Griswold and Captain Edward V. Godfrey, made a single circuit, setting an FAI World Record for Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 5,000 Kilometers Without Payload, averaging 961.867 kilometers per hour (597.676 miles per hour).² Griswold’s B-52 competed the course in 5 hours, 11 minutes, 49 seconds.
Additional members of Captain Griswold’s crew were 1st Lieutenant Leo M. Molland, navigator; Captain William T. Dugard, radar navigator; Captain Emmanuel C. Hallenbeck, ECM; and Technical Sergeant Matthew Scopelitis, gunner.
Observers from the National Aeronautic Association were aboard each bomber.
Boeing B-52D Stratofortress three-view illustration with dimensions. (U.S. Air Force)
The Boeing B-52D Stratofortress differed from earlier production models primarily in that it did not have the capability of carrying a reconnaissance capsule in its bomb bay. It is an a long-range high-subsonic heavy bomber powered by eight turbojet engines. It is flown by two pilots, a navigator and bombardier, an electronics countermeasures operator and a tail gunner.
The airplane was 156.6 feet, (47.73 meters) long with a wingspan of 185.0 feet (56.39 meters) and overall height of 48.3 feet, (14.72 meters). The wings were mounted high on the fuselage (“shoulder-mounted”) to provide clearance for the engines which were suspended on pylons. The wings had a 6° angle of incidence and 2° 30′ anhedral. The wings’ leading edges were swept aft 36° 58′. The bomber’s empty weight was 165,110 pounds (74,893 kilograms), with a combat weight of 279,900 pounds (126,961 kilograms) and a maximum takeoff weight of 450,000 pounds (204,117 kilograms).
The B-52D is powered by eight Pratt & Whitney J57-P-19W turbojet engines grouped in two-engine pods on four under-wing pylons. The J57 is a two-spool, axial-flow engine with a 16-stage compressor section (9 low- and 7-high-pressure stages) and a 3-stage turbine section (1 high- and 2 low-pressure stages). The -19W engine had a normal power rating of 9,000 pounds of thrust (40,034 kilonewtons) at 5,900 r.p.m., N1 and 9,650 r.p.m., N2, continuous; military power rating, 10,500 pounds of thrust (46,706 kilonewtons) at 6,150 r.p.m., N1, and 9,900 r.p.m., N2, and maximum power rating of 12,100 pounds of thrust (53,823 kilonewtons) at 6,450 r.p.m., N1, and 9,900 r.p.m., N2, with water/alcohol injection, five minute limit. The J57-P-19W was 3 feet, 4.5 inches (1.029 meters) in diameter, 157.7″ 13 feet, 1.7 inches (4.006 meters) long, and weighed 4,035 pounds (1,830 kilograms).
The B-52D had an average cruise speed of 457 knots (526 miles per hour/846 kilometers per hour), and a maximum speed of 546 knots (628 miles per hour/1,011 kilometers per hour) at 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) (0.77 Mach). The service ceiling with the maximum bomb load was 49,400 feet (15,057 meters), or 55,300 feet (16,855 meters) for a ferry mission.
The maximum ferry range of the B-52D was 7,260 nautical miles (8,350 statute miles/13,446 kilometers). With the maximum bomb load, it had a combat radius of 3,115 nautical miles (3,585 statute miles/5,769 kilometers). With inflight refueling, though, the bomber’s range was essentially world-wide.
Boeing B-52D-40-BW Stratofortress 56-695. Note the McDonnell GAM-72 Quail decoy missile and trailer near the nose of the aircraft. (U.S. Air Force)
The B-52D could carry 27 1,000 pound (454 kilogram) bombs; one 30,000 pound (13,608 kilogram) “special weapon,” or two 8,600 pound (3,901 kilogram) “special weapons.” During the Vietnam War, many B-52Ds were modified to the “Big Belly” configuration. This allowed them to carry 42 750 pound (340 kilogram) bombs in the internal bomb bay and 24 750 pound (340 kilogram) bombs on external underwing pylons.
Boeing B-52D-40-BW Stratofortress 56-695 launches a McDonnell GAM-72 Quail. (U.S. Air Force)
Defensive armament consisted of four Browning Aircraft Machine Guns, Caliber .50, AN-M3, mounted in a tail turret with 600 rounds of ammunition per gun. These guns had a combined rate of fire in excess of 4,000 rounds per minute.
Tail gun turret of an early B-52 Stratofortress
Between 1956 and 1958, Boeing produced 101 B-52Ds at Seattle, Washington, and 69 at Wichita, Kansas.
Victor Sandacz, 1938. (The 1938 Colophon)
Victor Leonard Sandacz was born 13 September 1920 at Youngstown, Ohio. He was the first of four children of Sylvester Simon Sandacz, a waiter, and Veronika M. Porembka Sandacz. He attended Mount Pleasant Township High School, Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, graduating 26 May 1938.
In 1942, Sandacz was employed by the American Cyanimid and Chemical Corporation at Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He registered for Selective Service (conscription) on 16 February 1942, and was described as having a ruddy complexion, brown hair and eyes. He was 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 meters) tall and weighed 150 pounds (68 kilograms).
Sandacz entered the United States Army as an aviation cadet at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 23 May 1942.
Lieutenant Sandacz married Betty Grace Johnson, a stenographer, at the United Brethren Church, Winchester, Virginia, 24 December 1942. The ceremony was officiated by L. G. Bridgers. They would have four children.
2 Lt. Victor L. Sandacz
Sandacz graduated from flight training at Marfa, Texas, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant 3 November 1943. He trained in four-engine bombers at Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico, qualifying as a B-17 first pilot 15 August 1945.
Lieutenant Sandacz was promoted to the rank of captain in January 1951.
Sandacz went on to the Boeing B-29 Superfortress and Convair B-36 Peacemaker. He transitioned to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress at Castle Air Force Base in California, April 1956.
On 16 April 1962, Lieutenant Colonel Sandacz became the first Strategic Air Command pilot to accumulate 4,000 flight hours in the B-52.
Colonel Sandacz retired from the United States Air Force 1 August 1971 after 27 years, 9 months of service.
Colonel Victor Leonard Sandacz, United States Air Force (Retired), died at Arlington, Texas, 16 December 2017 at the age of 97 years. His remains are interred at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.
Thanks to TDiA reader James Koenig for suggesting this topic.
¹ FAI Record File Number 8498
Lieutenant Colonel Sandacz’s FAI Diplôme de Record (Sandacz Family Collection)
19 May 1976: A Strategic Air Command Boeing B-52D Stratofortress eight-engine bomber took off from Carswell Air Force Base, Fort Worth, Texas on a training flight. As the airplane’s landing gear was retracting, the hydraulic system failed leaving the right front gear with its 2-wheel bogie partially retracted and unlocked. The hydraulic system failure also disabled the B-52’s steering, brakes and rudder. Captain James A. Yule, an Instructor Pilot, took command of the aircraft. SAC headquarters at Omaha, Nebraska, diverted the airplane to Edwards Air Force Base in California so that the bomber could land on the large dry lake bed there.
Rogers Dry Lake and Edwards Air Force Base, looking to the south west. Captain Yule landed his B-52 Stratofortress on the dry lake bed. The air base and its concrete runways are at the top center of the photograph. (U.S. Air Force)
After a five-hour flight and making several practice approaches, Captain Yule landed the aircraft. With no brakes, it coasted for two-and-a-half miles before coming to a stop. During the roll out, the right front bogie bounced up and down, providing no support. However, with the limited control available, Captain Yule successfully landed the Stratofortress with no damage and no injuries to the crew. He and another pilot received the Air Medal, and the rest of the air crew were awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal.
Boeing B-52D-75-BO Stratofortress 56-0606, the same type bomber flown by Captain James A. Yule, 19 May 1976. In this photograph, the airplane has its landing gear extended and flaps lowered. (U.S. Air Force)
Captain Yule was the recipient of the Mackay Trophy for 1976. Established in 1911 and administered by the National Aeronautic Association, the Mackay Trophy is awarded to the “most meritorious flight of the year” by an Air Force person, persons, or organization. His citation reads:
The Mackay Trophy.
“For gallantry and unusual presence of mind while participating in a flight as an instructor pilot of a B-52D Stratofortress.
“Captain James A Yule, distinguished himself by gallantry and unusual presence of mind while participating in an aerial flight as an instructor pilot of a B-52D aircraft on 19 May 1976. Captain Yule’s flight developed a unique multiple emergency and he assumed command of the aircraft, and at great personal risk, checked out the hydraulic open wheel well area to detect the problem. Using initiative, he coordinated with ground agencies and crew members and determined that a safe landing could be made after loss of braking and complete failure of steering. Captain Yule’s professional competence and outstanding airmanship under extreme stress resulted in successful recovery of the crew and a valuable aircraft. His courageous acts in landing a malfunctioning aircraft reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”
