Operation Power Flite
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
mission in which three Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses became the first jet aircraft
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
to circle the world
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
nonstop, when they made the journey in January 1957 in 45 hours and 19 minutes, using in-flight refueling
Aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
to stay aloft. The mission was intended to demonstrate that the United States had the ability to drop a hydrogen bomb anywhere in the world.
Around the world
Led by Major General Archie J. Old, Jr.Archie J. Old, Jr.
Archie J. Old, Jr. was a General during World War II and a command Air Force pilot.-Early life:Old was born at Farmersville, Texas in 1906. Here he grew up and went to the normal childhood schools and graduated from high school...
as flight commander, five B-52B aircraft of the 93rd Bombardment Wing of the 15th Air Force took off from Castle Air Force Base
Castle Air Force Base
Castle Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced and about east southeast of San Francisco, California....
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on January 16, 1957, at 1:00 PM, with two of the planes flying as spares. Old was aboard Lucky Lady III (serial number 53-0394) which was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Morris, who had flown as the co-pilot aboard the Lucky Lady II
Lucky Lady II
Lucky Lady II is a United States Air Force Boeing B-50 Superfortress that became the first airplane to circle the world nonstop, when it made the journey in 1949, assisted by refueling the plane in flight. Total time airborne was 94 hours and 1 minute...
when it made the world's first non-stop circumnavigation in 1949. Heading east, one of the planes was unable to refuel successfully from a Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker and was forced to land at Goose Bay Air Base
CFB Goose Bay
Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , is a Canadian Forces Base located in the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador....
in Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
. The second spare refueled with the rest of the planes over Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and then split off as planned to land at RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
After a mid-air refueling rendezvous over Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, the planes followed the coast of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and then made a simulated bombing drop south of the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
before heading towards the next air refueling rendezvous over Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. The three planes continued across the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and landed at March Air Force Base
March Joint Air Reserve Base
March Joint Air Reserve Base is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside and Moreno Valley. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's 4th Air Force Headquarters and the 452d Air Mobility Wing , the largest air mobility wing of the 4th Air Force...
near Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
on January 18 after flying for a total of 45 hours and 19 minutes, with the lead plane landing at 10:19 AM and the other two planes following each other separated by 80 seconds. The 24325 miles (39,147.2 km) flight was completed at an average speed of 525 miles per hour (234.7 m/s) and was completed in less than half the time required by Lucky Lady II when it made the first non-stop circumnavigation in 1949. General Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
was among the 1,000 on hand to greet the three planes, and he awarded all 27 crew members the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
. Though Old called the flight "a routine training mission," the Air Force emphasized that the mission demonstrated its "capability to drop a hydrogen bomb anywhere in the world."
The National Aeronautic Association
National Aeronautic Association
The National Aeronautic Association of the United States is a non-profit 501 organization and a member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale , the international standard setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics and astronautics. NAA is the official record-keeper for United States...
recognized the 93rd Bombardment Wing as recipient of the Mackay Trophy
MacKay trophy
The Mackay Trophy was established on 27 January 1911 by Clarence Hungerford Mackay, who was then head of the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company and the Commercial Cable Company. Originally, aviators could compete for the trophy annually under rules made each year or the War Department could award the...
for 1957.
Other Lucky Ladies
Lucky Lady III was one of three similarly named aircraft, each of which was part of an historic circumnavigation on behalf of the United States Air Force:Lucky Lady I was one of two Boeing B-29 Superfortresses that made a round-the-world trip in July/August 1948, flying from and back to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
Davis–Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, and approximately south-southeast of downtown, Tucson, Arizona....
in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, completing the 20000 miles (32,186.8 km) flight in 15 days after making eight stops along the way and flying for 103 hours and 50 minutes.
Lucky Lady II was a Boeing B-50 Superfortress
Boeing B-50 Superfortress
The Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...
of the 43rd Bombardment Group
43d Operations Group
The 43d Operations Group was the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 43d Airlift Wing. It was stationed at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, and is assigned to the Air Mobility Command Eighteenth Air Force.The unit was Air Mobility Command's only active-duty C-130...
with an additional fuel tank added in the bomb bay to provide additional range. It became the first airplane to circumnavigate the globe nonstop, when it made the journey in 94 hours and one minute in 1949, assisted by refueling the plane in flight.
See also
- Lucky Lady IILucky Lady IILucky Lady II is a United States Air Force Boeing B-50 Superfortress that became the first airplane to circle the world nonstop, when it made the journey in 1949, assisted by refueling the plane in flight. Total time airborne was 94 hours and 1 minute...
- the first-ever non-stop around-the-world airplane flight, 1949 - Coronet BatCoronet BatCoronet Bat was a 1995 U.S. Air Force exercise where two B-1B Lancers flew around-the-world non-stop with air-refueling on a practice bombing mission to ranges on three different continents, Europe, Asia and North America....
- B-1B around-the-world simulated bombing mission, 1995