Past B-52 Deployments to the UK (Updated more photos added)

[bigcrow]

Hi All

By no means complete but here is a selection of shots from myself & dad of the various deployments of Buffs to the UK from the late seventies to the 2003 ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ deployment. I'll split the topic into two parts this up to 'Operation Desert Storm' in 1991.

#1 From the 28th Bomb Wing, based at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. Seen here shortly after arriving for the joint USAF/RAF Bombing Competition.

61-0003 B-52H 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB, RAF Marham 5-6-79 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#2 From the 410th Bomb Wing based at K.I.Sawyer AFB, Michigan, seen arriving for the joint USAF/RAF bombing competition.

60-0058 B-52H 410th Bomb Wing, K.I.Sawyer AFB, RAF Marham 5-6-79 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#3 From the 28th Bomb Wing, based at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. Seen here shortly after arriving for the joint USAF/RAF l Bombing Competition.

60-0049 B-52H 28th BW, Ellsworth AFB. RAF Marham 5-6-79 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#4 From the 22nd Bomb Wing based at March AFB, California, seen on the glide path to runway 08 at the commencement of a 'Busy Brewer' exercise.

56-0617 B-52D 22nd BW, March AFB, RAF Brize Norton 25-8-1980 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#5 Belonging to the 22nd Bomb Wing based at March AFB, California also caught during a 'Busy Brewer' exercise.


56-0671 B-52D 22nd BW, March AFB, RAF Brize Norton 25-8-1980 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#6 From the 7th Bomb Wing based at Carswell AFB, Texas, seen during another 'Busy Brewer' exercise.

55-0070 B-52D 7th BW, Carswell AFB, RAF Fairford 25-10-81 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#7 Of the 410th Bomb Wing based at K.I.Sawyer AFB, Michigan. Seen here wearing D-Day markings shot at IAT81, I belive there was a deployment at RAF Marham at the time?

60-0057 B-52H 410th BW, K.I.Sawyer AFB, RAF Greenham Common 27-6-81 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#8 Belonging to the 28th Bomb Squadron/19th Bomb Wing, based at Robins AFB, Georgia, seen landing following a mission during the ' Busy Brewer ' exercise.

58-0192 B-52G 19th BW, Robins AFB, RAF Fairford 12-9-1982 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#9 Of the 42nd BW, based at Loring AFB, shot on the ground taking part in the ' Busy Brewer ' exercise.

58-0207 B-52G 19th BW, Robins AFB, RAF Fairford 12-9-1982 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#10 Belonging to the 2nd Bomb Wing. based at Barksdale AFB. Shot during another ' Busy Brewer' exercise.

59-2588 B-52G 2nd BW, Barksdale AFB. RAF Brize Norton 11-9-83 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#11 Belonging to the 2nd Bomb Wing. based at Barksdale AFB. Shot during another ' Busy Brewer' exercise.

59-2588 B-52G 2nd BW, Barksdale AFB. RAF Brize Norton 11-9-83 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#12 Belonging to the 2nd Bomb Wing based at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, seen shortly after arriving for the 'Busy Brewer' exercise.

58-0210 B-52G 2nd BW, Barksdale AFB, RAF Fairford 24-5-85 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#13 Belonging to the 2nd Bomb Wing based at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, seen arriving for the 'Busy Brewer' exercise.

57-6512 B-52G 2nd BW, Barksdale AFB, RAF Fairford 30-5-1985 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#14 Belonging to the 2nd Bomb Wing based at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, seen during the 'Busy Brewer' exercise.

59-2599 B-52G 2nd BW, Barksdale AFB. RAF Fairford 30-5-85 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#15 These last few are shot at Fairford during ' Operation Desert Storm' February 1991, the last a very spirited take-off on the first active mission to Iraq, pretty scary considering there was live ordinance under the wings.

58-0213 B-52G 806th BW(P) RAF Fairford 15-2-91 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#16

58-0182 B-52G 379 BW, 806th BW(P) RAF Fairford 6-2-91 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#17

58-0247 B-52G 379 BW, 806th BW(P) RAF Fairford 6-2-91 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#18

58-0231 B-52G 416th BW, 806th BW(P) RAF Fairford 6-2-91 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#19

58-0168 B-52G 379 BW, 806th BW(P) RAF Fairford 6-2-91 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#20

58-0204 B-52G 379 BW, 806th BW(P) RAF Fairford 6-2-91 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#21

58-0231 B-52G 416th BW, 806th BW(P) RAF Fairford 6-2-91 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#22

B-52G 806 BW(P) RAF Fairford 9-2-91 by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

[awacsfan]

Sure love your BUFF pictures - # 23 gets my vote!!! Quite impressive! Thanks for sharing your pictures here with us!
Cheers

Andy

[H.A.Bucken]

Last one awesome! 60 0057 with D day stripes was indeed on tdy at MRH (now MAM?) for the Giant Voice/Strike bombing competition. Somewhere I've got slides of the detachment coming off Morecambe Bay at 500'

[Jazz]

Fantastic, historical account of UK Buff Ops

[Punkrunner62]

Awesome,keep them coming.I have been impressed by your recent posts of your Dads photographs.This is one of the best.I remember visiting Marham on 27/06/81 and logging 61-028 410BW,61-022 5BW,60-026 5BW,60-046 319BW all B-52H.
Thanks so very much for posting these Great and Historical Photos.

[ythanpythan]

That last one's a bit awesome!

[paddyboy]

Hi Bud

They are all seriously good, but that last one is just awesome

That 'jock' had some real cojones to pull like that

Thanks

Paddyboy

[Gary West]

Just Immense!!

[faithle55]

Smokingly good mate love them

[Ferrari]

Fantastic.....every single one but the last one is hard to believe!

Thanks for posting
Ferrari

[Skywatcher]

Hi
Excellent post
Really is very hard to pic a fav from that mighty set!
Long live the BUFF
Thanks again for sharing ,what a treat
All the very best always
Max

[SW Sky Blue]

Yep

[Knife 04]

Another great post Stuart - quality as if they were taken yesterday and content fantastic. My previous couple of Busy Brewer posts cannot complete with these!

Think I can remember number 15 (with the snow) appearing in one of the magazines of the time (AI or Air Forces etc) - always thought this was a good shot, well composed with the snow, wire, bombs and two aircraft - a real feeling of an impending mission.

I can remember taking a run over to Fairford with my brother one Saturday afternoon during the Gulf War in 1991. I did not bother to take a camera as I did not expect to see anything and it was a dull day. Could not believe it when we got there - bombed up B-52s lined up ready to go. Stood there in awe watching a stream take off of the smokey 'G's on their way to visit the Republican Guard. Luckily my brother took his camera and got some shots - will try and borrow them and get them scanned.

Can also clearly remember trucks laden with bombs crossing the road from the bomb dump to the airfield - an interesting time!

Thanks again for these and look forward to any further posts / updates

Cheers

Darren

Edit - I see a 'tower' near the crash gate on the far right of the final 'take off' picture. Can imagine one of the members of this forum making this his home for the duration of the conflict - Mr Luxton?

[bigcrow]

Pure Buff Smut!!...Blimey mate if you don't ease off posting this sort of Aviaporn shares in Kleenex are going rocket!!
That last shot takes me back. Such a heavy overcast morning but what a sight and sound. If I remember rightly we started to get a bit jumpy when we saw him start to bank..

Regards

Craig

Thanks guys for the comments.. Craig thought the last shot would bring back a few memories.. A little more info on the final image As Craig states it was very dark & overcast that morning for there 1st mission, we were stood by the road down the 27 end there was a watch tower by the bomb dump with some base personal up there with a stars & stripes flag which they were waving vigorously, no doubt the crew saw them on rotation & headed straight for them, great to capture it but pretty scary at the same time...

[tapcat]

wow ,wow and double wow!! that last one:>)))))

[MikeB]

Fantastic stuff Stu. It's always great to see old slides of Fairford.

Hope you're keeping well!

[graham luxton]

Edit - I see a 'tower' near the crash gate on the far right of the final 'take off' picture. Can imagine one of the members of this forum making this his home for the duration of the conflict - Mr Luxton?

Great selection Stu - I remember them all and like you say by no means complete. Putting it into perspective, between Feb'67 and the end of Desert Storm in '91, 148 B-52's visited the UK - 63 of them at Fairford!

I like the last shot as well - seems like its making a very early turn on the Lechlade 1 Standard Instrument Departure (SID) possibly executing a fan manoeuvre reducing vortex wake for others which may be departing behind it. The Lechlade 1 required departures off Runway 09 to turn right onto a heading of 125 degrees when passing about 115 feet AGL.

Looking back, some of those B-52D deployments were very brief affairs of less than a week. Those in shots 4 and 5 are examples of this. I was also at the 08 end of Brize that day filming them on 8mm sound so its good to see some stills. The other a/c involved was 60606. They all returned to March on Fri 29 Aug so you had to be on the ball to get some of 'em in those days!

Shot 9, 80207 is wearing a 42BW badge Stu. This was a mixed deployment - 80172, 80192 and 80197 were 19BW while 80236 was the other 42BW a/c. Both Loring birds departed for home on the 23rd Sept but on the 6/8 Oct '82 the 19BW a/c moved over to Brize to exercise its B-52 role, returning home from there on the 11 Oct.

Shot 10/11 92588 - 11.9.'83? Need to check the date on this mate as it didn't arrive at Brize until Mon 12 Sept. I was at Brize when it arrived from Barksdale, along with 92596 and 92599. They flew back home on the 12 Oct'83. During this deployment the last B-52D flights in the UK took place when Duxford's 60689 arrived at Brize from the US on Tues 4 Oct and was delivered to Duxford on Sat the 8th.

Shot 15, 80213? Finger trouble for 80231?

- looking forward to part2,

regards,
Graham

[Davef68]

Lovely photos.

A question if I may - as I kid, I recall seeing at least one (and maybe a couple) of B-52s over Morcambe Bay - this would have been June 1980. Anyone any ideas as to what/where from?

[graham luxton]

Lovely photos.

A question if I may - as I kid, I recall seeing at least one (and maybe a couple) of B-52s over Morcambe Bay - this would have been June 1980. Anyone any ideas as to what/where from?

Highly likely to have been B-52G's from Marham - 80189 379BW, 80193 68BW, 92577 2BW, 92580 97BW and 92583 320BW were all taking part in the RAF Bombing Competition.

cheers,
Graham

[Davef68]

Thanks Graham!