After reading the Rumsfeld letter many
old, though not forgotten, memories were rekindled, refreshed and
brought back to mind as if they happened yesterday. Names like
Shemya, Komandorskis, Kamchatka and Ladd Field, Fairbanks, Alaska were
seen through an imaginary window that's now almost 58 years old. Of
all these memories the strongest and most vivid is of Keith Chance
Hanna, Aircraft Commander of the RB-50,tail number 47131,with its
red tail, "Hanna's Hellions" painted on its nose, and sitting on a
tarmac in the Alaskan snow.
Hanna, at that time
a Captain, was the Commander of a two ship detachment assigned to
study the weather off the coast of certain "Denied Territories".
This study was to be conducted using a camera, mounted in the
forward bomb bay that had a lens the size of a trash can lid. The
companion ship, 47128, "Laborin Lady", was commanded by Captain
Walter E. Ward whose Obituary, sadly, has just appeared, May 2008,
in Taps.
On 23 Sept. 1950,
two RB-50s departed Barksdale AFB Shreveport, LA and 14hrs and
20min.later touched down at Ladd AFB Fairbanks, Alaska. It took a
little over a week to repair fuel leaks which occurred when these
older aircraft were moved from the warm southern climes to the near
frigid zone just slightly below the Arctic Circle. On 2 October
47131 took off from Ladd bound for Shemya. Not long after passing
the point of no return, severe icing occurred on all the leading
edges. The anti-icing devices caused these formations to melt, but
as the water trickled aft it refroze forming an ice buildup 2-3
inches thick in some places. The accumulation of so much ice caused
the surface speed to drop to near zero. Needless to say, even a tail
gunner knew this flight was in trouble. However, the calmness
of Captain Hanna when explaining the actions to be taken to overcome
this condition gave such confidence to the crew that the whole
matter appeared almost routine. After searching out various
altitudes for better conditions a loud burst of "It's breaking up"
was heard over the intercom, and slowly the ice broke away, and
normal ground speed was resumed. Twelve hours and fifty five minutes
after the take off 47131 touched down on Shemya. This flight
took 3 hours and 40 minutes longer than subsequent, similar flights.
Subsequent inspection of the entire aircraft revealed no damage and
so the ship was refueled and completed its first mission to study
the weather off the Russian coast with a safe landing back at Ladd.
The next flight to
Shemya on 17 October 1950 was a routine 9 hour flight. Again
the ship was refueled and readied for the next day. On takeoff, as
it roared down the runway the engineer, lst Lt. Willis Cox, reported
that #3 engine showed 60 pounds manifold pressure caused by the
wastegate
which had jammed closed. As soon as we left ground, Hanna
turned the ship around and began emergency landing procedures.
Landing this ship with approximately 11-12000 lbs. of fuel, on a
rock in the Pacific Ocean was not for the faint hearted. As
the ship slammed into the runway, my seat collapsed, held up only by
springs in order to allow access to the tail, and all I saw from the
floor was the compartment ceiling. I was later told by our
weather gunner, then S/Sgt. Robert L Brammer, that the ship veered
to the left and headed for the ocean but was righted by Hanna and
eventually brought to a stop near the end of the runway. Once
again the ability of our A/C had saved the day. Repairs were
made and the mission flown as briefed.
In all 9
missions were flown, totaling 68 hours in the air. On all but
one of these, the results were the same, namely 10/10th's cloud
coverage with an occasional mountain peak sticking up out of the
clouds. However, on 14 November 1950, as we approached the
Russian Coast, not a cloud was to be found in the sky that day.
Taking advantage of the fortuitous luck, every camera on board, used
its entire supply of film, to accomplish more that day than any
intelligence organization could have possibly expected.
Sitting in the tail, I never saw where we were going, only where we
had been. Our compass must have malfunctioned that day because
I swear at times it appeared that I was looking inland, with no
Ocean or Sea in sight. While on that course, with all
throttles wide open, and a descent of 2-3 degrees down, we were
heading for home. After the results of this mission were
received, both 47131 and 47128 returned to Barksdale on 29 November
1950. Not too long after this Hanna was promoted to Major and was
given a commission in the regular Air Force, whereas prior to that
he was a reserve officer. A picture of Hanna's crew and both
aircraft taken at Ladd Field appear in the Gallery Section of the
55th SRWA website.
Another incident,
on a mission designed to test the radar shield in and around the
Miami area, flying out of Ramey AFB, PR, in an area near the Bermuda
Triangle, and just before descent to 1000 ft. the ship turned
abruptly on its side, dropped about 4000 ft. and had flames from the
number 3 engine trailing back to the tail. To further complicate
matters there was a student engineer in the seat at the time and he
prematurely released all the Co2 before preliminary steps like
closing the nacelles, etc were taken. Hanna was able to right the
ship, the fire was out and the crew began to breathe again. This
problem was attributed to a short in the anti-icing system of the
propeller which caused the pitch of the blade to change creating a
runaway prop. This condition was compared to car suddenly having its
right wheel go backwards while cruising down a highway at 50 MPH.
There is no fear at a time like this, unlike the icing on the way to
Shemya. The fear came after an emergency landing at Hunter AFB, GA
when the tub under the engine was dropped and large pieces of the
engine fell to ground.
It is because of these incidents that
I write this tribute to Keith Chance Hanna, Col. USAF. When I
started to write, I felt that the word "Hero" was a little
unrealistic for what I wanted to convey. However, after reviewing
these incidents regarding his flying ability and his coolness under
pressure, I realize that is exactly what I now feel. It has been
said on many occasions that a lesser man could not have been able to
accomplish these feats. My only regret is that I did not do
this before he passed.
I attest that the writing of this story is non-fiction, and
historically accurate to the best of my memory. It has been
verified by another 55th SRWA member, and a fellow crew member who
was on every one of the flights referred to in this story, namely
Robert L. Brammer, Col., USAF, Ret.
Videmus Omnia, Armand J. Stolte
The
RB-50B flight crew of 47131, "Hanna’s Hellions"; after flight to
study “Weather”, off the Russian coast in 1950 with special camera
in forward bomb bay, Sept – Dec 1950.
Left to right, back row: Capt Keith C. Hanna, A/C, 1st Lt Donald K.
Rise, Co-pilot, Major Vincent S. Dilly, Nav, 1st Lt Robert D.
Newcomb, ECM, Capt Harold E. Bonney, Nav, S/Sgt William Allen, CFC
Bottom Row S/Sgt Fred Buss, Photo Gunner, M/Sgt (?) Christensen,
Spec. Camera Operator, S/Sgt Robert Brammer, Weather Gunner, 1st Lt
Willis S, Cox, Flt Engineer, S/Sgt Armand Stolte, Tail Gunner
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