From: Wes Knettle (wsknettl@centurytel.net)
Date: Fri Sep 23 2005 - 21:01:49 PDT
I was a B-52 Crew Chief and flew on them for many hours. It was very
common for the 6 to 10 hour training sorties to include navigation work,
inflight refueling, radar bombing with radar scoring and fighters. This
gave the fighters a chance to practice high altitude intercepts and the
B52 gunner a chance to acquire, track, lock on and sim fire at them. The
fighters would at times have hot munitions on them for use at a range
later in their missions. In the case you mentioned the F100 had a heat
seeker that fired inadvertantly due to an electrical problem and hit an
inboard engine which blew the wing apart on that side. If I remember the
count correctly 3 in the Buff got out and 3 didn't. The F100 was from
the New Mexico ANG I believe. An unfortunate accident but then "shit
happens".
Wes K
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