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Showing results for tags 'B52 video sparked my memory'.
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This video of a B-52 landing at Oshkosh on a small runway sparked two memories of unsung heroes from the Viet Nam war: http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/b-52-makes-challenging-landing-to-visit-oskkosh-on-hist-1719206718 When B-52's were finally authorized to fly sorties over Hanoi (then the most heavily SAM defended city in the world) it was inevitable that we would sustain losses. If memory serves we lost outright more than 22 B-52's and an equal number that would likely never fly again...but two that stand out were as follows: The first one took a damaged B-52 into Camron Bay and had to endure "sapper fire" going in and coming out...but the second was my wingman on the 2nd Hanoi raid. A SAM caused damage to his aircraft and also sparked a fire in two of his engines on the right wing...losing fuel and dealing with other system losses and with the wing still burning he had to get it on the ground fast. the nearest base was a small marine strip as I recall on the border of Cambodia called Namphong...a strip shorter and more narrow than ever attempted by a B-52.... we flew his wing until the landing was assured....patched up enough to takeoff again....he did an incredible job getting launched with bare minimum fuel and due to the many leaks in the fuel tanks hooked onto a tanker until short final back in Thailand.... sadly I cannot recall the names of these two heroes now.... :salute:
