15,B52s in a MITO from Minot in '09

[Daveroo]

awesome sights and sound,cool to see the effects of jetwash ( lack of termiology) even on these beasts

teurbulance

http://www.fark.com/cgi/vidplayer.pl?IDLink=4632948

[Jagdflieger]

Thanks for posting that Daveroo.

I saw a similar launch back in the early 70s out of Carswell AFB outside of Fort Worth, Texas. Not only B-52s launched but also several KC-135s launched after the Buffs. It was about the loudest thing I ever heard as they flew over me at only a thousand feet or so and back in the Cold War days, one never knew if it was an exercise or the prelude to doomsday.

[gtirob01]

Man that is great to see! My dad was stationed at Beale in the 60's when this happened a lot! He was there for the filming of the movie, "Gathering of the Eagles".

[TARPSBird]

Those big planes never fail to impress. 10 minutes from man-up to last plane off is pretty good. I assume the residents of Minot are used to these MITO drills and don't automatically assume WWIII has kicked off when they occur.

[HorusJ]

I saw a similar event at Fairchild AFB some years back with 52s and 135s.Pretty impressive and smokey.

[SSI01]

An abiding memory is riding in dad's car as a 9-year-old in October 1962, driving by one of the taxiways of Detroit Metropolitan Airport and seeing a row of gleaming B-47s parked there, swarming with mechanics and surrounded by maintenance vehicles and armed security forces members on the perimeter. They only flew in there, I never saw them leave though obviously they did, but the knowledge they were only a few miles away from our home, "locked and cocked" should something happen in Cuba, was awesome. I have wondered what base they were dispersed from. I was only 9 and awestruck by what I had seen; I'm sure Dad, being a combat veteran, was worried about what they portended.

[TeaSea]

As a B-52 Pilot friend of mine says....


"Smells like piss, sounds like freedom."


I believe this was a reference to the older relief system on many of the aircraft.