15,000 Miles Non-Stop in the SR-71
and B-58 Hustler Records Achieved
At the start of the SR-71 program, Colonel Douglas Nelson selected crewmembers to fly the new SR-71. One of his many resources included crewmembers from the two operational B-58 Squadrons. This webpage is dedicated to those accepted into the SR-71 program and also reflects their previous achievements on the B-58 Hustler. Perhaps there are other SR-71 crews not listed on this document and for that end, I apologize. Email me with corrections or additions at sr71webmaster@sr71.us Please bear in mind that the B-58 set many other records that is not included on this web page. Recognition is also given to SR-71 Crewmembers Estes & Vick who set the 15,000 miles endurance record.
Editors Note: All B-58 crew photos photos on this web page are the copyrighted property of Colonel (Ret) BJ Brown, B-58 AC. Permission granted to use these images.
Please visit his web site "The Hustler Hanger" here: http://www.b58hustler.net/
These are the aviators who flew record flights in the B-58 and later transferred to the SR-71 program. They are:
Colonel Harold (Hal) E. Confer
B-58
record setter #2441set six
high speed course records, including one run at 1,284.73 MPH
Flown
by
In
1961, General Hal Confer, a Major at the time, and his crew, flew the B-58 to
three new world record speeds, including a new record over the 100 kilometer
course of 1,284 mph. In recognition of their achievement they were awarded
the prestigious
Thompson Trophy, the first time in the 33 years history of the trophy that it
was won by a bomber crew. The Thompson Trophy was one of four major
aviation racing awards established during the Golden Age of Air Racing in the
1930's. Gen Confer was in the initial cadre of the 9th Wing and was the
commander of both the 1st STRATEGIC
Reconnaissance Squadron and the 9th STRATEGIC RECONNAISSANCE Wing.
On January 14,
59-2441 set three international speed-with payloads by flying at a speed of
1284.73 mph over a 1000-km closed circuit. The crew of 59-2441 (Lt.
Col. Harold Confer),
Lt. Col. Richard Weir, and Major Howard Bialas) were awarded the 1961 Thompson
Trophy for this feat.
Colonel Harold (Hal) E. Confer Qualified #164 on the Mach 3+ SR-71 on 11 April, 1967.
Lt. Colonel Charles J. (Red) McNeer, RSO Qualified #178 on 17 July 1967
Major
Robert G. Sowers
Gen.
Thomas Power (right), Commander In Chief of the Strategic Air Command, greets
Since
the B-58's were on a roll, on 5 March 1962, then Captain Robert “Gray”
Sowers and his B-58 crew, flew non-stop from Los Angles to
The
Mackay Trophy was established by Clarence H. Mackay,
Pilot Major Robert G. "Gray" Sowers was #115 to qualify to fly the Mach 3+ SR-71 on 30 November 1965. His RSO Captain Richard E. "Butch" Sheffield was #116 to qualify on the same date.
Major Sowers and Colonel Harlan Hain at Beale AFB, CA.
The Bendix Trophy and the Distinguished Flying Cross Awarded to:
Captain Robert G. Sowers & Crew of the 43 Bomb Wing:
Awarded the Bendix Trophy: On March 05, 1962, Captain Robert G. Sowers (Pilot), Robert MacDonald (Navigator) and John T. Walton (Defensive System Operator) flew from Los Angeles to New York City in the Convair B-58A Hustler #59-2458 in only 2 hours and 56.8 seconds, an average speed of 1,214.17 miles per hour. For this significant aeronautical achievement, each crew member was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. They broke two other speed records on the return flight-New York to Los Angeles and for the roundtrip. This record would stand for 28 years. The aircraft (1 of only 8 remaining B-58's) is on display at the USAF Museum at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio.
The
Bendix Trophy is an aeronautical racing trophy. The transcontinental,
point-to-point race, sponsored by industrialist Vincent Bendix founder of
Bendix Corporation, began in 1931 as part of the National Air Races. Initial
prize money for the winners was $15,000. The last Bendix Trophy Race was flown
in 1962.
The trophy was brought back in 1998 Allied Signal the then current owner of the Bendix brand name (which later merged with Honeywell) to "recognize contributions to aerospace safety by individuals or institutions through innovation in advanced safety equipment and equipment utilization."
USAF Museum at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio.
The following is a transcript of Operation "Heat Rise" as told by the flight's Defensive Systems Operator, Capt. John T. Walton.
The B-58 on display at the USAF Museum at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio set three speed records on March 5, 1962, and in the process won both the Mackay and Bendix Trophies for that year.
Museum: Capt. Walton, let's start with the basics. Who were
the crew members for the record flight?
Capt. Walton:
The pilot was Capt. Robert G. Sowers, the navigator was Capt. Robert MacDonald
and I flew as DSO.
Museum: Was there any particular reason your crew was chosen?
Capt. Walton:
Actually no. The crew was picked off a roster in a normal rotation. There were
so many special flights and record attempts, eventually most crews got a
chance to participate in one kind of record-breaking flight or another.
Museum: So you were flying with an operational bomb wing at
the time.
Capt. Walton:
Yes, the 43rd Bomb Wing, 65th Squadron out of Carswell AFB,
Museum: How much training and preparation was done before the
flight?
Capt. Walton:
We trained for about four months prior to the flight, practicing aerial
refueling and things of that nature. Preparation and planning was done by the
43rd Bomb Wing staff and the Strategic Air Command Headquarters at Offutt AFB.
Museum: How was the B-58 prepared?
Capt. Walton:
The aircraft was a standard production version with no special modifications
of any kind. The ground crew waxed and polished the aircraft until it shined,
but other than that it was flown like any other mission.
Museum: Because you were going for a speed record, the
aircraft must have been inspected.
Capt. Walton:
Yes, of course. The certification folks went over the aircraft with a fine
tooth comb. They actually recorded the serial numbers on the engines before we
took off so they could check them after we landed and be absolutely certain
the aircraft wasn't switched en route. They also watched as we boarded the
aircraft and didn't leave until we taxied out from the flightline at Carswell.
Museum: Didn't the flight begin in
Capt. Walton:
Yes, but we took off from Carswell and didn't land again until we reached LA
for the second time.
Museum: After returning from
Capt. Walton:
Yes.
Museum: Can you tell us about your role during the flight?
Capt. Walton:
Sure. The DSO (Defensive System Operator) sits in the aft most crew position;
the three crewmen sit in tandem with the pilot up front, the navigator in the
middle and the DSO in back. The DSO is responsible for flight engineering,
electronic countermeasures (ECM), radio communications and gunnery. On the
Bendix flight, my primary job was to carefully monitor the center of gravity
and make adjustments to gain the maximum performance for the speed run.
Museum: The Bendix Trophy was awarded for the winner of a
transcontinental race. Were there other aircraft flying?
Capt. Walton:
Yes, a second aircraft was flying against us.
Museum: Another B-58?
Capt. Walton:
Yes.
Museum: So you took off from Carswell AFB and flew to
Capt. Walton:
Yes, we flew out over the Pacific Ocean west of
Museum: So you had to refuel a total of four times during the
flight, including the IFR over LA prior to the beginning of the Bendix Race?
Capt. Walton:
Well, actually we refueled three times during the record flight. Over
Museum: Can you tell us a little more about the
"problem?"
Capt. Walton:
Well, after we completed the first IFR over the Pacific, we turned and
accelerated up to Mach 2 and passed directly over the ground station recording
the official start time of the flight. However, the aircraft was lost in the
ground clutter and we got called back because we hadn't been officially
verified. We flew back out to rendezvous with the tanker and topped off the
fuel and flew over the starting point again, this time for visual validation.
Museum: You flew at about Mach 2, is that right?
Capt. Walton:
Actually we were able to go a bit faster. When we were planning the flight, we
asked the engineers "How hot can we go?" You see the maximum speed
wasn't the major concern, but the maximum skin temperature. An aircraft
traveling at Mach 2 generates a tremendous amount of heat due to air friction.
The limiting skin temperature "by the book" was 115 degrees
centigrade, but the engineers told us we go probably get away with temps up to
125 degrees centigrade. This would allow us to exceed the maximum design speed
of 1,325 mph and push the plane up past 1,400 mph. We had skin temperature
gauges on board so we could closely monitor the skin temperature. The
engineers warned us not to go higher than 125 degrees. As you may know, the
skin of the B-58 is actually an aluminum honeycomb sandwich. Two sheets of
aluminum are bonded to a center core of aluminum honeycomb material. The
engineers told us that the skin panels which covered the wings would tend to
unbond at higher temperatures.
Museum: This was how the operation was named, wasn't it?
Capt. Walton:
Yes, the name was Operation Heat Rise because we were pushing the ram air temp
above the normal operating limit approaching the point where the aircraft
tended to melt.
Museum: How high did you fly?
Capt. Walton:
Depending on what we were doing, anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000 feet. The FAA
(Federal Aviation Administration) cleared the airspace between 25,000 and
50,000 feet in a wide corridor all the way from
Museum:
You also were
assigned a single radio frequency for the entire flight, weren't you?
Capt. Walton:
Yes, no one was supposed to use the frequency, but during our first IFR over
Museum: You lost the nav radar? Can you tell us more about
that?
Capt. Walton:
Yes, outbound from LA in the vicinity of the
Museum: How did you manage the IFR rendezvous without radar?
Capt. Walton:
We were flying at approximately 45,000 feet eastbound at Mach 2+. The KC-135
was closing head on at about .9 Mach. The KC-135 does a 180 degree turn about
70 miles out and we descend for the join up. This part should have taken about
6.5 minutes, but took a bit longer because of the malfunctioning radar. The
KC-135 had to relay navigational commands to us and the commercial traffic on
our restricted frequency delayed the process even more. After join up, we
would take on about 85,000 lbs. of fuel being transferred at 4,000 pounds per
minute. After about 21 minutes, we had enough fuel to get to
Museum: Was there just one tanker or were there back up
KC-135s as well?
Capt. Walton:
As I recall, there were 10 KC-135s supporting both B-58s.
Museum: So after refueling, it was basically a speed run to
Capt. Walton:
Not exactly. After the IFR we had to climb back to our optimal cruising
altitude of about 45,000 feet. However, we encountered a temperature inversion
over the
Museum: Tall Man Five Six was the call sign of the other B-58?
Capt. Walton:
Yes, and we were Tall Man Five Five.
Museum: You didn't land in
Capt. Walton:
Oh no. We hit the tanker out over the Atlantic to prepare for the run back to
Museum: This wasn't part of the Bendix Race was it?
Capt Walton:
No. We planned to combine the LA to NY Bendix Race with additional record
attempt for the fastest trip from
Museum: You were still competing again the second B-58?
Capt. Walton:
Yes, but mechanical trouble forced them out of the race soon after leaving the
New York
area.
Museum: You were flying again the sun then?
Capt. Walton:
Literally yes. The B-58 could fly faster than the rotational speed of the
earth. We actually beat the sun by about three quarters of an hour in the
Museum: Were there any significant problems of the return
flight?
Capt. Walton:
We encountered the same temperature inversion on the way back, but the last
IFR over
Museum: How long was the flight back?
Capt Walton:
The official time for the
Museum: You were awarded the Mackay trophy for the most
meritorious flight of 1962 also.
Capt. Walton:
Yes, the three of us and 458 (the B-58) won the Bendix Trophy race and were
awarded the Mackay Trophy for 1962.
Museum: The flight was 5 March.
Capt. Walton:
Yes, we were actually ready to go earlier, but the Air Force wanted to wait
until John Glenn's Mercury flight was over.
Museum: His space flight was 20 February 1962.
Capt. Walton:
Yes. The Air Force was hungry for records and publicity to enhance the
prestige of the service and gain favor for more funding of high speed bomber
projects. This is why we used a standard, unmodified, production aircraft. It
proved the capabilities of the first line SAC bomber force. In any case, we
had to wait for the first
Museum: The museum has your B-58A on display in the Modern
Flight Hangar. What do you think of when you look at her?
Capt. Walton:
Beautiful. Prettiest plane in the museum. It looks great all polished. The
decals commemorating the Bendix and Mackay Trophies are impressive and bring
back a lot of memories. Of course, most of the decals were missing on our
flight. The heat would have burned them off.
Museum: Thank you. We appreciate you taking the time to give
us the inside story of your flight.
Capt. Walton:
You're welcome.
Note: This story is true, but is based on a number of E-mail and telephone
interviews, not any single conversation. The museum questions and Capt
Walton's responses have been altered for readability, but are otherwise
correct.
Transcript courtesy of:
Recap of Data and Awards:
In 1962, a
B-58 flew from Los Angeles to New York
City at an average speed of 1,214.65 mph, from New York City to Los Angeles at
an average speed of 1,081.8 mph, and from Los Angeles to New York and back in
four hours, 41 minutes, and 14.91 seconds, at an average of 1,044.46 mph. The
Bendix Trophy was awarded to the crew in 1962 and the Mackay Trophy in 1963.
SR-71 Crewmembers that came from the B-58 Organizations
43rd Bomb Wing crew, prior to flight
Earle Boone, A/C ~ Bob Hendrickson, Nav ~ Vern Carpenter, DSO
Pilot Captain Earle M. Boone Qualified #154 to fly the SR-71 on 22 November 1966. His RSO, (on the left) Dewain C. Vick #155 qualified on the same date.
43rd BW crew - prior to solo flight
Dale Shelton, A/C - Tony Dipietro, NAV - Don Barnes, DSO
Crew of B-58 "Lucky Lady" 43rd BW
Selected as 43rd BW outstanding crew for April-June 1963. Pat Smothermon A/C - Larry Boggess NAV - Jack Sheffer DSO
Dale Shelton and Lawrence Boggess: SR-71 Crew
Franklin D. "Dale" Shelton, Pilot #147 Qualified on the SR-71 on 09 September 1966.
Lawrence L. Boggess, RSO #148 Qualified on 09 September 1966.
Coz Mollozzi (RSO) and John Storrie (Pilot)
John
Mallozzi Writes: My Dad Coz Mallozzi was in the B-58 program (Nav) he didn’t
set any records but he was the first crew to photograph the
Email: john.mallozzi@texstars.com
Editor's Note: Indeed Coz Mallozzi's accomplishments deserve appropriate credit. Capt Cosimo B. (Coz) Mallozzi was Crew Number #117 to qualify as an RSO on 02 December, 1965. Thank you John for the information. Leland Haynes, webmaster, SR-71 Blackbirds
305th Bomb Wing Crew S-14 Commanded by Al Hichew
Major Allen L. Hichew , #113 SR-71 Pilot qualified on 18 November 1965.
Captain Tom W. Schmittou, #114 SR-71 RSO qualified on the same date.
15,000 Miles Non-Stop in the SR-71
On April 26, 1971, USAF SR-71 tail number 61-7968, set the endurance record on April 26, 1971. Lt. colonel's Thomas B. Estes and Dewain C. Vick, flew over 15,000 miles in 10 hrs. 30 min. Non-Stop (Time includes aerial refueling at subsonic speeds). Awards for this flight include the 1971 Mackay Trophy for the "most meritorious flight of the year" and the 1972 Harmon Trophy for the "most outstanding international achievement in the art/science of aeronautics". The grueling marathon mission tested the endurance of the J58 engines and the blackbird airframe, but mostly to see how many times they could refuel before the liquid nitrogen gave out.
The long range endurance of the SR-71 had never been tested and General
P.K. Carlton, Commander of 15th Air Force, wanted to know the answer. On
26 April 1971, then Majors Tom Estes and Dewain Vick, established an endurance
record for the SR-71 by flying multiple high Mach legs for ten hours and
thirty minutes, covering a distance of 15,000 miles, which included
circumnavigating the continental U.S. twice. By the way, this was done with
the old analog air inlet system. In recognition of this outstanding
achievement, Tom and Dewain won the 1971 Air Force Mackay Trophy for “the
most meritorious flight of the year.” They were further awarded the
1972 Harmon International Trophy for “the most outstanding international
achievement in the art and science of aeronautics.” The ceremony took
place in the White House with President Nixon and Senator Barry Goldwater
awarding Tom and Dewain the trophy. This was a critical test and the
first time the 9th Wing was allowed to attempt any public record flights.
It confirmed to Air Force leadership the capabilities of our aircraft…a
capability which was soon to be exploited on even longer operational missions.
L-R Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona), Lt Col. Tom Estes (pilot), President
Richard Nixon, and Lt Col. Dewain Vick (RSO), at the White House on September
20, 1971 for the presentation of the 1972 Harmon International Trophy.
Captioning and flight data by www.habu.org
USAF photo via John Stone
The 15,000 Mile Record Flight:
Taking off from Beale AFB in California, they flew 2 laps around the continental United States via Missoula, Montana; east to Bismark, ND; southeast to Peoria, IL; east to Columbus, OH; southeast to Cape Hatteras, NC; southwest to Gainsville, FL; south to Tampa, FL; west to San Antonio, TX; northwest to El Paso, TX; west to El Centro, CA; then back to Beale AFB. Once the second lap was complete, they entered the third lap and turned south at Bismark, for Santa Fe, NM; then west to Las Vegas, NV; then finally back to Beale (flight plan via Ron Kloetzli). This 15,000 mile, 10.5 hour flight required five aerial refuellings. After the flight the aircraft was thoroughly examined and found to be none the worse for the experience. The SR-71 remains to this day the only aircraft rated to run in full continuous afterburner. On September 20, 1971, Estes and Vick were awarded the 1972 Harmon International Trophy by President Richard Nixon for their accomplishment. They were also awarded the 1971 Mackay Trophy for the same flight.
The Harmon International Trophy
The award was established in 1926 by Clifford B. Harmon, a wealthy balloonist and aviator. The award is for the most outstanding international achievements in the arts and/or science of aeronautics for preceding year with the art of flying receiving first consideration.
1. 3 international trophy championships - aviators, aviatrixes and special balloonists or astronauts.2. Trophy is permanently housed in Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.
3. Certificate to the winner.
The Mackay Trophy
Awards for this flight include the 1971 Mackay Trophy for the "most meritorious flight of the year".
The
Mackay Trophy was established by Clarence H. Mackay,
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