Page Eighteen  

I had a head cold, so about noon I decided to go to the dispensary to get something for it. The medic on duty said I should not fly until my ears cleared up. When I told him I was flying that night, he contacted the flight surgeon who, put me on DNIF (duty not to include flying). Any rapid decompression at altitude could cause severe eardrum damage. As a result, the trip was canceled and we never completed the bomb requirement.  

As this TDY ended, it was planned that we would return to the States in several three-plane formations on two different days. These formations really meant that the two wing crews kept the lead plane in sight. This was referred to as "British" formation (same direction - same day).  

On the first day, it had just stopped raining at takeoff time and as a result there was standing water on the runway. This could cause some problems during takeoff.

The first two planes were clean (no wing tanks) and had no great problems during takeoff. The third plane had wing tanks and was having trouble during the takeoff roll. The plane got off the runway, but was not really flying. As a result, it mushed back down, crashed and exploded at the end of the runway. There were no survivors. The fourth plane had started its takeoff roll when the explosion appeared in sight of the crew. They aborted the takeoff and returned to their hardstand. When the pilot exited the plane, he stated he would never fly a B47 again. In fact, he did not, and another pilot was sent over to England to fly the plane and crew back.

The pilot flew back with the ground crews. He resigned from the Air Force and later information was that he accepted a pilot position with Eastern Airlines. In the mid-fifties, the airlines were glad to find any pilot with jet time.  

This accident, plus two others during the TDY (one lost all three crew members and the other lost the navigator), caused concern all the way up the ladder. All further flights for the Wing were canceled until further notice.  

General LeMay (SAC Commander) personally came over to get involved in the investigation. We were delayed for a week, but the investigation continued for a considerable length of time. In the end, the Wing Commander was removed from his position.  

When we finally headed back, things started happening again. During the takeoff roll, the gyros on my computer system stabilization unit tumbled. Caging and un-caging them did not help, so I left them caged. This meant I could do no pressure pattern navigation, so we should not be leading. The number two crew took over.  

About halfway across the Atlantic the leader informed us that they had lost their radar. This meant they would have trouble finding the tankers over Newfoundland. The third crew had encountered some previous navigation problems, so we agreed to take the lead back. At least my radar was working, even with the lack of stabilization.  

When we took over, my dead reckoning indicated we were south (left) of course, so I gave a correction to the north. Since I could do no pressure pattern work. I just put my radar on the 200-mile range and waited for Newfoundland to show up on the left edge of the scope.  

When land showed up, it appeared at the top of the scope. The way I had my map folded, there should have been no land right (north) of course. While I was unfolding my map, I suddenly remembered that I had no stabilization, so, with the gyros caged. I had no north orientation. Thus, the top of my scope was not north, but was in fact the aircraft heading. We were heading directly towards the northern tip of Newfoundland. The old saying held true - a navigator never gets lost, just momentarily confused.

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