Along For The Ride On A B-52

The most difficult part of my wild ride on a B-52 bomber was probably the training. Before leaving for Fairford Royal Air Force Base in England, I had to become certified to fly on the B-52. This meant an intense, day-long session at Andrews Air Force Base, including a physical, five hours of classroom training and an afternoon in the altitude chamber.

I was warned that anything could happen in the chamber. If I'd had cola to drink, the gas bubbles might expand in my stomach and cause unbearable pain. If I'd had the slightest hint of a cold or was unable to clear my ears on the simulated descent, my eardrums could bleed and break. My sinuses could explode.

CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson

In the end, anticipating the chamber was much worse than experiencing it. I got certified to fly in the bomber.

Destination: Fairford And Beyond
The next step was going to Fairford and getting on a combat sortie.

I suited up five times before I actually flew. Mission after mission was planned and then scrubbed at the last minute. Time and time again, without explanation, crews of airmen would be at the ready only told at the last second that the sorties was canceled, targets deleted.

Some planes even took off only to come back with their entire load of cruise missiles still aboard, after having been waved off the mission mid-flight.

So when my crew finally got the chance to fly, they were ready.

First Combat For All
It was the first combat flight for every one of us and the crew handled the tension with limited humor, making jokes and playing hard rock music through the intercom radio system.

But they were always on the alert and when a flash of light appeared right in front of our B-52, the airmen immediately began exploring the possibility of an enemy threat. After several minutes of investigation, they concluded the flash was a shooting star.

We proceeded on, talking to air traffic controllers in the countries that passed us below.

Two hours into the mission, NATO sent word that the number of targets had inexplicably been cut in half. Three planes were no longer needed for this bombing run. The lead plane was being called to base with its disappointed and weary crew.

Moment Of Truth
It took about five hours to reach the launch site over the Mediterranean Sea. The crew became quiet and very focused, going throgh the procedures to open the B-52's bomb bay doors and prepare to release three giant 3,000-pound cruise missiles, one at a time, into the black of night, toward Serbian targets below.

When the bomb bay doors opened, he plane shook and convulsed as if it were suddenly flying through turbulence. A quiet countdown from five to one, then the words "missile launched" as a rectangular light flickered confirmation in the cockpit.

It took only ten minutes to drop the missiles. The bomb bay doors were closed and the plane headed back home.

After The Attack
There were no whoops or hollers aboard the plane, no sounds of satisfaction or joy at the launching of the missiles. The crew had simply done a technical job and done it well. They wouldn't know for another day whether the missiles even hit their targets, but the crew's mission was already considered a success because the launched were made.

The next day, support staff on the ground at Fairford went about the tradition of marking the B-52s with the sign of new combat: decal silhouettes of cruise missiles placed on the outside of the planes toward the nose. One for each missile launched.

New sorties were already being planned.

Written by Sharyl Attkisson
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