B-52 / KC-135 Alert cartridge start, Elephant Walk, 6 ship MITO takeoff Wurtsmith AFB

B -52 / KC-135 Alert cartridge start, Elephant Walk, 6 ship MITO takeoff Wurtsmith AFB

By: RustysClips | Minutes: 04:46 | Views: 63,842
Uploaded: May 13th, 2011 (2 years ago)

1987 Wurtsmith AFB, MI. This is a video I took of an Alert Cartridge Start and MITO take off of 6 aircraft. Every so often the alert aircraft would start engines using cartridges and then move the aircraft to the runway. They would then roll down the runway and re-park in the facility. They looked like a bunch of heavy elephants wedeling down the runway...thus the name elephant walk. I was a B-52 pilot at the time.

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Mylitla: Somewhere around 4:25 I think All Gore shed a little tear. Great video. I miss the G models.

ThePlnnutz: ah yes the good ol sand bar!! good times

PeaceOnEarth302: Old J-57 water burners. I was crew chief on tankers at Wurtsmith in 1970. Spent most of the time at U-Tapao Thailand TDY on Young Tiger./

MrJp990: Thank you for your service. I am a veteran myself.

john grauberger: Wurtsmith was my base in the mid 70's I worked the RAPCON and still have fond memories of Cheeseburgers and pitchers of Pabst blue ribbon served up at Decker's restaurant in town.

FylthyBeest: Command post controller, ground and airborne, mostly in SAC.

Bbendfender: I know they're moving as fast as they can on the ground but it sure seems like it takes a long time to get these birds airborne.

Bbendfender: FylthyBeest, Were you a "gunner" on at B-52. It's odd but every one of the MFT's in my training class had listed B-52 gunner as their first priority. I took 2 physicals while I was in basic but I was placed in the missile field. Tell me a little about B-52 life.

Bbendfender: That's it! I was on alert that night. We got the "message" around 11:30 PM. Red safe opened, launch documents/codes out, launch keys out and inserted into the consoles. My MCCC was very nervous and so was my DMCCC. The two enlisted guys were pretty cool even though we were a little stressed. We could hear all of the radio traffic and we knew something big was about to happen. We were ready to launch and would have if we had gotten a launch message. That message was all we needed to go.

FylthyBeest: I too was enlisted. Ended up attending college(s) quite a bit and earned a graduate degree. I always believed that the Titan crews had a better, more well-rounded, professional take on the crew concept largely because the crews were 50/50 officer/enlisted. The Minuteman crews didn't enjoy that cameraderie and experience. Titan was an awesome system.

FylthyBeest: (2 of 2) went to its highest state of "ready alert" in its history. The media never even learned of it. SAC responded to a multiple-missile launch from the USSR and placed SAC in the most advanced "Posture", short only one step from a Positive Control Launch. Missile crews certainly took many actions as well. I was still less than 19, a trainee, and a bit puzzled when I acknowledged the Alert Receive Panel on the SACCS/465-L and found a hard copy that simply said "KLAXON KLAXON KLAXON".

FylthyBeest: I began Basic Military Training in August of 1973 after joining under the Delayed Entry Program four months prior. I was in the first batch of the All Volunteer Force. In October, I was transitioned from basic to my tech school. If you're alluding to US reaction to an Israeli raid during the Yom Kippur War, I'm familiar. But, this exchange we're having now sounds like deja vu. I believe you and I conversed before. When I was a trainee in the command post at D-M in early 1974, SAC (1 of 2).

Bbendfender: I was actually a college educated MFT. I was a little older than most of the guys who came in when I did. During one of my most harrowing alerts, I was actually the oldest crewmember. I was in from 1971-75. Were you in during Oct. 1973? You may know what I'm talking about. Most Titan crews got along very well. Every now and then a young officer tried to shun the enlisted crewmembers but that didn't last long. One of those was on one of my crews. He "busted" a check later on. Bye bye!

FylthyBeest: Excellent. Worked with a lot of Titan crewmembers while stationed at D-M. Then worked with several Titan and Minuteman officers while serving with the PACCS. For the most part, the Titan folks seemed easier and more pleasant to work with.

Bbendfender: Were you a pilot? We had KC-135s at McConnell. I really miss the Air Force. I'm 63 now and still remember clearly my days in the Air Force.

Bbendfender: MFT

FylthyBeest: Were you an MCCC, DMCCC, BMAT/MSAT, or MFT?

bwbam777: Found my aircraft at Davis Mothin bone yard

bwbam777: I pulled alert at Ellsworth, and Minot on ec 135a and g model tankers remember the cartridges really well, the olley, and tally.

thevintagehifi: Great video. Miss the glory days of the USAF

LJDRVR: Ah, the weekly mover. I was at Loring for three years.

ChampionMobile: I was a Tanker Crew Chief at Wurtsmith from 70-74. My A/C tail number was 8014. Went Young Tiger 3 times. MANY weeks on alert. We lived in the trailers at the end of the flight line. SO many cold night out there heating water. What memories !

Carl Thompson: I was at Wurtsmith from the fall of 72 until the summer of 77. I was a pilot in the 920th ARS. Great video. I remember oh dark thirty alerts in the middle of the winter, Bush Hog, MITO's, ORI's and TDY's.

TheSirjohn2012: Isaw on the you tube channel a B52 G model at castle AFB and there on the front of that chain link fence was lassie the collie dog. It was a scramble,scramble excercise at that base. The b 52 g models are now inthe place they call mothball city its in kingman arizona. Idoubt any of these models are still now and then flying around. I appreciate the deicated and tough jobs all of you in our USAF are doing to keep the peace and be vigilant 24/7 365 days a year. Aim high USAF.

Sidney Mathious: That is a B-52G model and I can tell by the 50 caliber guns on the rear. The "H" model had the M61 machine gun on the rear of it. I worked on both models in the states and the "D" model overseas during the Vietnam war.

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