Rockwell B-1B Lancer 85-0073, Wings of Freedom, lands at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, 21 January 1987. (U.S. Air Force)General John T. Chain, Jr., U.S. Air Force
21 January 1987: The first Rockwell International B-1B Lancer was delivered to the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. The airplane, serial number 85-0073, was named Wings of Freedom. It was flown to Ellsworth by General John T. Chain, Jr., Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command.
100 B-1B Lancers were built by Rockwell International’s aircraft division at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, between 1983 and 1988
The Rockwell International B-1B Lancer is a supersonic intercontinental bomber capable of performing strategic or tactical missions. It is operated by a flight crew of four.
The B-1B is 147 feet, 2.61 inches (44.8719 meters) long, with the wing span varying from 86 feet, 8.00 inches (26.4160 meters) at 67.5° sweep to 136 feet, 8.17 inches (41.6603 meters) at when fully extended to 15° sweep. It is 33 feet, 7.26 inches (10.2428 meters) high to the top of the vertical fin. The bomber’s empty weight is approximately 180,500 pounds (81,873 kilograms). Its maximum weight in flight is 477,000 pounds (216,634 kilograms). The internal payload is up to 75,000 pounds (34,019 kilograms).
The bomber is powered by four General Electric F101-GE-102 turbofan engines, mounted in two-engine nacelles under the wing roots. These are rated at 17,390 pounds of thrust (17.355 kilonewtons) and produce 30,780 pounds (136.916 kilonewtons) with “augmentation.” The engine has two fan stages, a 9-stage axial-flow compressor and a 3-stage turbine. The F101-GE-102 is 15 feet, 0.7 inches (4.590 meters) long, 4 feet, 7.2 inches (1.402 meters) in diameter and weighs 4,460 pounds (2,023 kilograms).
“The Bone” has a maximum speed of Mach 1.2 at Sea Level (913 miles per hour, or 1,470 kilometers per hour). The service ceiling is “over 30,000 feet” (9,144 meters). The Lancer’s maximum range is “intercontinental, unrefueled.”
A Rockwell B-1B drops Mk. 82 bombs from its three weapons bays. (U.S. Air Force)
It can carry up to 84 Mk.82 500-pound (226.8 kilogram) bombs, 24 Mk.84 2,000-pound (907.2 kilogram) bombs or other weapons in three weapons bays. The B-1B was built with the capability to carry 24 B61 thermonuclear bombs, though, since 2007, the fleet no longer has this capability.
100 B-1B Lancers were built between 1983 and 1988. As of May 2018, 62 B-1B bombers are in the active Air Force inventory. The Air Force plans upgrades to the aircraft and plans to keep it in service until 2036.
After 21 years of service, 85-0073 was retired to The Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona, 24 March 2008.
Rockwell B-1B Lancer, 85-0073, Wings of Freedom, at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, 21 January 1987. (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell Douglas F-15A-17-MC Eagle 76-0086 carrying an LTV ASM-135 anti-satellite missile on a centerline hardpoint. (U.S. Air Force)
21 January 1984: Major Ralph B. Filburn, U.S. Air Force, flying a McDonnell Douglas F-15A-17-MC Eagle, serial number 76-0086, successfully launched a Ling-Temco-Vought ASM-135A anti-satellite missile to a point in space.
The ASM-135 was a three-stage guided missile using a solid-fueled Boeing AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile (SRAM) as its first stage and an LTV Aerospace Altair 3 rocket as the second stage. The third stage was the homing vehicle, which used an infrared seeker to intercept the targeted satellite. This was not an explosive warhead. The satellite was destroyed by the kinetic energy of the very high speed impact. The ASM-135 is 18 feet (5.48 meters) long, 20 inches (50.8 centimeters) in diameter and weighs 2,600 pounds (1,180 kilograms).
There were five test launches of the ASM-135, including one in which an orbiting satellite was intercepted and destroyed. The missile was not placed in production, however, and the program was cancelled.
76-0086 was retired 18 May 1995 to The Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona. It was scrapped in 2008.
McDonnell Douglas F-15A-17 Eagle 76-0086 with ASM-135 Anti-Satellite Missile. (U.S. Air Force)
British Airways’ Concorde G-BOAA departing Heathrow, 11:40 a.m., 21 January 1976. (Adrian Meredith/British Airways)
21 January 1976: The first scheduled supersonic passenger airliners, Air France’s Concorde F-BVFA, and British Airways’ Concorde G-BOAA, took off simultaneously at 11:40 a.m. F-BVFA departed Paris en route Rio de Janero, with a stop at Dakar, and G-BOAA departed London Heathrow en route Bahrain.
Air France Flight AF 085 was flown by Commandant de bord, Captain Pierre Jean Louis Chanoine-Martiel, with Captain Pierre Dudal, Chief Pilot, Concorde Division, as co-pilot; and Officier Mécanicien Navigant (Flight Engineer) André Blanc.
Flight crew of F-BVFA, 21 January 1976. Left to right: Co-pilot, Captain Pierre Dudal, Chief Pilot, Concorde Division; Second Officer André Blanc, Officier Mécanicien Navigant; and Captain Pierre Chanoine-Martiel, Commandant du bord. (Air France/Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, Aéroport de Paris – Le Bourget)
The British Airways’ flight, BA 300, using the call sign “Speedbird Concorde,” was crewed by Captain Norman Victor Todd, Captain Brian James Calvert and Flight Engineer John Lidiard. The British Aircraft Corporation’s Chief Test Pilot, Ernest Brian Trubshaw, C.B.E., M.V.O., was also aboard.
British Airways flight crew, Left to Right: Senior Engineer Officer John Lidiard; Captain Brian James Calvert; Senior Test Pilot Brian Trubshaw; and Captain Norman Victor Todd. (British Airways)Concorde inaugural flights, 21 January 1976. (Heritage Concorde)
G-BOAA arrived on time at 15:20. F-BVFA, after a delay at Dakar, arrived at Rio de Janeiro at 19:00.
Air France Concorde F-BVFA. (Aérospatiale/Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, Aéroport de Paris – Le Bourget)
In 1977, the Royal Aero Club awarded its Britannia Trophy to Captain Todd for “the most meritorious performance in aviation during 1976.”
Lockheed YS-3A Viking Bu. No. 157992 (394A-1001) during a test flight. (U.S. Navy/Wikipedia)
21 January 1972: At Palmdale, California, Lockheed test pilots John Jean (“Chris”) Christiansen and Lyle Howard Schaefer took the first Lockheed YS-3A Viking, Bu. No. 157992 (Lockheed serial number 394A-1001), for its first flight. The duration of the flight was 1 hour, 42 minutes.
When interviewed afterward, Christiansen said, “The aircraft handled beautifully. It was exceptionally stable and very responsive to the controls. I think it will do everything the Navy expects of it.”
The aircraft was a response to the U.S. Navy’s need to counter the Soviet Union’s massive submarine fleet. By 1972, the USSR had 340 submarines in service, 100 of which were nuclear powered. It was adding new submarines at a rate of 15 per year. The S-3A was needed to replace the aging Grumman S-2 Tracker.
In 1969, the Navy issued a $494,000,000 development contact to Lockheed for the first four YS-3A pre-production aircraft. A second lot of four YS-3As were also built. The total production for the Viking came to 187 aircraft.
Lockheed YS-3A Viking Bu. No. 157992 during first flight, 21 January 1972. (Lockheed Martin)
The Lockheed S-3A Viking is a twin-engine anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed to operate from Essex-class or larger aircraft carriers. It carries a four-man crew consisting of a pilot, co-pilot, tactical coordinator and sensor operator. It is a high-wing aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear. The S-3A had an extensive electronics suite, and a retractable MAD (Magnetic Anomaly Detector) boom. The vertical fin and wings could be folded for storage.
The S-3A is 53 feet, 4 inches (16.256 meters) long, with a wingspan of 68 feet, 8 inches (20.930 meters) and overall height of 22 feet 9 inches (6.934 meters). The total wing area is 598 square feet (55.6 square meters). With the wings and vertical fin folded for storage, the airplane’s length is reduced to 49 feet, 5 inches (15.062 meters), span 29 feet, 6 inches (8.992 meters) and height of 15 feet, 3 inches (14.648 meters). The S-3A has an empty weight of 26,581 pounds (12,057 kilograms), and a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 52,539 pounds (23,831 kilograms).
The S-3A is powered by two General Electric TF34-GE-2 turbofan engines mounted under the wings on pylons. The TF34-GE-2 is a two-spool, axial-flow, high-bypass turbofan. It has a single fan stage, a 14 stage compressor, annular combustion chamber and six stage turbine (2 high-pressure stages a 4 low-pressure stages). It has a maximum continuous power rating of 7,513 pounds of thrust (33.420 kilonewtons) at 6,690 r.p.m, N1 (17,130 r.p.m., N2); 8,159 pounds (36.293 kilonewtons) at 6,930 r.p.m., N1 (17,340 r.p.m., N2) for 30 minutes; and a maximum of 9,275 pounds of thrust (41.257 kilonewtons) at 7,365 r.p.m., N1 (17,900 r.p.m., N2), for five minutes. The TF34-GE-2 is 8 feet, 4 inches (2.54 meters) long and 4 feet, 4.4 inches (1.331 meters) in diameter. It weighs 1,421 pounds (664.6 kilograms).
A Lockheed S-3A Viking, Bu. No. 159755, with its MAD boom extended, 6 May 1982. (W.M. Welch, U.S. Navy/VIRIN DN-ST-84-05128)
The cruise speed of the S-3A Viking is 348 knots (400 miles per hour/644 kilometers per hour). Its maximum speed is 429 knots (494 miles per hour/795 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, or 447 knots (514 miles per hour/828 kilometers per hour) at 20,000 feet (6,096 meters). It can climb at 4,450 feet per minute (22.61 meters per second) and its service ceiling is 40,900 feet (12,466 meters).
The S-3A’s fuel capacity is 2,533 gallons (9,588 liters) usable fuel in three tanks. Its combat range is 2,765 nautical miles (3,182 statute miles/5,121 kilometers). It could also carry two 300 gallon (1,136 liter) drop tanks on the underwing hard points. The maximum ferry range is 3,368 nautical miles (3,875 statute miles/6,238 kilometers).
The S-3A could carry up to 60 sonobuoys. It was normally armed with four Mark 46 homing torpedoes carried in an internal bomb bay. Alternatively, it could carry four Mark 53 mines or Mark 54 depth bombs. It was also capable of carrying two Mark 57 Mod. 0 five-kiloton nuclear depth bombs. Three low drag Mark 82 bombs could be carried on each of the underwing hard points. After conversion to the S-3B configuration, it could carry two AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the submarine threat was believed to be considerably reduced. 122 S-3As had their antisubmarine suite removed and were converted to the S-3B configuration. Another 16 were converted to ES-3A Shadow electronics intelligence aircraft. YS-3A Bu. No. 157996 was converted to a prototype KS-3A aerial tanker. It and five other YS-3As were later converted to US-3A Carrier Onboard Delivery (“COD”) transport aircraft.
The last S-3s were withdrawn from U.S. Navy service on 30 January 2009. Four S-3Bs were transferred to the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland, Ohio. The last one was retired 13 July 2021.
Lockheed YS-3A Viking Bu. No. 157992 launches an AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile, 4 January 1983. (U.S. Navy)
The first YS-3A was rolled out at the Lockheed California Company plant, Burbank, California, on 8 November 1971. It was then transported to the Lockheed plant at Palmdale, California.
Lockheed YS-3A Viking Bu. No. 157992, is rolled out at the Lockheed California Company plant at Burbank, California, 8 November 1971. (Lockheed Martin)
Additional testing of Bu. No. 157992 was carried out at NATC Patuxent River, Maryland.
Lockheed YS-3A Viking, Bu. No. 157992, at NATC Patuxent River, Maryland. (U.S. Navy/Flickr)
According to Rick Pospisil’s “Hoover History,” the first YS-3A, Bu. No. 157992, was damaged at NATF Lakehurst, New Jersey, during barrier arrest trials. It was stricken from the Navy’s active inventory on 20 January 1976, having accumulated just 184.8 flight hours. The damaged aircraft was then stored at the Naval Aircraft Depot (NADEP) at Alameda, California. In 1991, the fuselage was transported to the Navy Avionics Center (NAC) at Indianapolis, Indiana, for modifications. It was later scrapped.
John Christiansen, 1942. (The 1942 Log)
John Jean (“Chris”) Christiansen was born 1 May 1923, at Oslo, Norway. He was the second of three children of John Christiansen, a painter, and Ruth Floby Christiansen. After the family immigrated to the United States, he grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Christiansen attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Saint Paul, graduating in 1942. He played football and was a member of the W Club.
In June 1942, he was employed by Hayden Motor Service in St. Paul. When he registered for the draft (conscription), he was described as being 5 feet, 10 inches (1.778 meters) tall, 160 pounds (72.6 kilograms), with a ruddy complexion, blonde hair and blue eyes.
Alice Phoebe Zeis, 1942.
John Christiansen married Miss Alice Phoebe Zeis, who had been a fellow student at Woodrow Wilson High School. They had one son. Christiansen was later married to Diane S. Schindler.
Christiansen served in the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War.
John Christiansen joined the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as an experimental test pilot in 1953. During his career with Lockheed, he made the first flights of the prototype YP3V-1 (P-3 Orion), 25 November 1958, and the YS-3A Viking, 21 January 1972. He retired from Lockheed in 1983.
John Christiansen with his family and a Lockheed P-3C orion, circa 1984
John Christiansen died at Lake Havasu, Arizona, 6 September 1998, at the age of 75 years.
Lyle Howard Shaefer
Lyle Howard Schaefer, was born 18 Dec 1939 at Union, Nebraska. he was the first of two children of Russell H. Schaefer, a farmer, and Marcella L. McQuin Schaefer. He grew up in Meade, Colorado.
Following his graduation from the University of Colorado, Schaefer entered the United States Navy, 8 June 1962.
Ensign Shaefer was promoted to the rank of lieutenant (junior grade), 6 December 1963.
Serving during the Vietnam War, Lieutenent Schaefer was awarded the Air Medal, 5 October 1968 for meritorious action during a strike mission.
Lieutenant Schaefer was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander 1 September 1969.
A graduate of the U.S. Navy’s test pilot school, Lieutenant Commander Schaefer resigned in 1972 to join Lockheed.
Lyle Schaefer married Virginia (“Ginny”) Maude Greenlee 29 June 1974, in Los Angeles County
Schaefer later earned a masters degree in business administration (MBA) from California State University Northridge (CSUN).
As Lockheed’s chief experimental test pilot, Schaefer is credited with having set 26 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world records for altitude and time to altitude while flying a Lockheed C-130J Hercules, 20 April and 14 May 1999. He was inducted into the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 2011.
Lyle Howard Schaefer died 1 June 2017 at Marietta, Georgia. His remains were interred at the Georgia National Cemetery, Canton, Georgia.
Full Disclosure: TDiA’s father, Bart Robert Swopes (1925–1995) was Lockheed’s Configuration Manager for both the S-3A Viking and the CP-140 Aurora.
Boeing B-52G-75-BW Stratofortress 57-6471, similar to 58-0188. The numeral “3” on the vertical fin and the white cross-in-black square on the top of the fuselage identify this B-52 as a Boeing flight test aircraft. (U.S. Air Force)
21 January 1968: A United States Air Force Boeing B-52G-100-BW Stratofortress, serial number 58-0188, assigned to the 380th Strategic Aerospace Wing, was flying an Airborne Nuclear Alert mission as part of Operation Chrome Dome. The bomber, call sign Hobo 28, had a crew of seven and was armed with four B28FI nuclear bombs carried in its bomb bay.
Prior to takeoff, the third pilot, Major Alfred D’Mario, had placed three foam cushions under the navigator’s seat on the lower deck of the B-52. During the flight the crew cabin became very cold and additional heat was directed into the heating ducts from an engine’s bleed air system. Due to a malfunction, the bleed air was not cooled before entering the heating system and this very hot air ignited the cushions. Very quickly a fire developed.
Boeing B-52G-100-BW Stratofortress 58-0190, the same type as Hobo 28. (U.S. Air Force)
At 12:22 p.m., Atlantic Standard Time (16:22 UTC), the aircraft commander, Captain John Haug, declared an emergency and requested an immediate landing at Thule Air Base, Greenland, which was about 90 miles (140 kilometers) to the north. The crew’s fire extinguishers were quickly depleted and the fire continued to spread. The bomber’s electrical system failed and the cabin filled with smoke. Captain Haug ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft at 16:37 UTC.
Hobo 28 passed directly over the air base and six of the seven crewmen ejected. The co-pilot, Captain Leonard Svitenko, who was temporarily in a jump seat on the lower deck rather than in an ejection seat, tried to jump from an open hatch on the lower deck. He struck his head and was killed.
Captain Haug and Major D’Mario landed on the air base, and three others were very close by. The sixth, gunner Staff Sergeant Calvin Snapp was 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) south on an ice floe, and was rescued 21 hours later.
Concentric cracks in the sea ice at the upper center of this photographic mosaic show the impact point of Hobo 28. The aircraft burned for several hours, covering the ice downwind with soot. (U.S. Air Force)
The B-52, now unmanned, continued north and then began a 180° turn to the left. It crashed onto the sea ice of North Star Bay, about 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) west of Thule.
The conventional explosives inside the four B28 bombs detonated on impact. No nuclear detonation occurred but radioactive plutonium, uranium and tritium was scattered over a wide area.
Hobo 28’s gunner, Staff Sergeant Calvin Waldrep Snapp, was rescued 21 hours later. (U.S. Air Force)
A massive cleanup effort was required. Under the circumstances, this was much more difficult than at Palomares, Spain, two years earlier.
As a result of these two nuclear accidents, referred to by the code words “Broken Arrow,” Operation Chrome Dome, which had kept armed B-52s in the air 24 hours a day since 1961, was ended.
Thule Air Base, Greenland. Mount Dundas is the flat-topped mountain just right of the center of the image. Saunders Island is at the upper left. Hobo 28 crashed into North Star Bay, covered with sea ice in this photograph.
The Mark 28 was a two-stage radiation-implosion thermonuclear bomb which was designed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory and produced from January 1958 to May 1966. In 1968, it was redesignated B28. More than 4,500 were manufactured in as many as 20 variants. Explosive yield varied between 70 kilotons and 1.45 megatons. The bomb remained in service until 1991.
Three airmen position a B28Y1 1.1 megaton thermonuclear bomb for loading aboard a B-52 Stratofortress. (U.S. Air Force)
The Rockwell International B-1B Lancer is a supersonic intercontinental bomber capable of performing strategic or tactical missions. It is operated by a flight crew of four.
The bomber is powered by four General Electric F101-GE-102 turbofan engines, mounted in two-engine nacelles under the wing roots. These are rated at 17,390 pounds of thrust (17.355 kilonewtons) and produce 30,780 pounds (136.916 kilonewtons) with “augmentation.” The engine has two fan stages, a 9-stage axial-flow compressor and a 3-stage turbine. The F101-GE-102 is 15 feet, 0.7 inches (4.590 meters) long, 4 feet, 7.2 inches (1.402 meters) in diameter and weighs 4,460 pounds (2,023 kilograms).
