B-52 Fire at Grand Forks Air Force Base
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- Опубликовано: 20 сен 2024
- The History Guy remembers the day we nearly irradiated North Dakota and the B-52 Fire at Grand Forks Air Force Base in 1980.
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I was the person who volunteered to enter the aircraft in a last-ditch effort to control the fuel flow supporting this fire, in spite of the fact that Boeing told us to back-off, because an explosion was inevitable. I asked one of my fire inspectors to go with me to assist with a flashlight
and to prevent violating the "two-man-concept". I know Eric Schlosser and I just want to say that I think you and Eric have both done a great job in accurately portraying the events of that evening, without sensationalism. Well done.
You definitely earned that Civilian Medal of Valor, Mr. Griffis. I was already on active duty at the time, stationed at Kirtland AFB, but my parents still lived in Minneapolis. I thought "Command and Control" was an excellent book.
Wow! You are very brave and first class! Thank you!
@@Gail1Marie "Command And Control" just rocks. It should be required reading for every adult in the USA.
IT was very Intense, I was the Alert Monitor that day, I will never forget this at 20 years old, I do remember the Pilot Captain Officer ( I will keep to myself) at the time and tail number of the bomber was 0059 is all I will say, building 807 I had hot lines in those days one to command post, security tower, job control. The Tower who notified me of the fire 20 minutes after a moving Klaxon exercise Alert . I Remember about 3 feet deep burned into the runway by Jet fuel from engines 5 & 6 burning 3 hours , Only one injury I Remember a crew chief for the bomber was treated with smoke inhalation, Thank you North Dakota winds that Monday but it was Sept. 15th 1980 I actually stopped over to Command Post that night,
I know we all wax with wisdom after the fact, and I know what I saw because I walked around that plane when it was on fire I stood off the nose with my arm 16 over my shoulder, my parka on my shoulder because it was hot with my Bible in my left hand, and I prayed I prayed and Mark and to this day I’ve searched my Bible trying to figure out what I prayed and I can’t find it. There’s a loneliness that I have shared our entire life ever since that plane something I’ve experienced and it took 37 years for the Air Force for the military for the United States, government the veterans administration, and everybody else had their sticky little fingers on it a cover-up it took them 37 years to say oh yeah, it happened because somebody piped up and said I live through it I hope I hope they treat you better than they’ve treated me because of my book I’m $250 million in the red
I was the guy in the command post answering the phone with the "I can neither confirm or deny" line. I remember walking out of my office after the klaxon to go home, noticed all the alert birds on the wrong end of the runway and the highway blockade. I had command post clearance and decided to go down to see if they'd let me in since I couldn't get off base anyway. Got through what is normally a very secure door in seconds flat. The Major in charge pointed at a phone and said "answer that and tell them you can neither confirm or deny". That's how I found out what was going on. It was a pretty intense few hours.
Grant Marlenee intensity is ebbing my psyche even after 40 years. fire team we stayed out there till about a half hour past the fire. Every so on that pad who paid attention in class understood that those SRAMs could kill us in a blink. Was there any MH or Debriefing you went thru
😲
@@johnl.geibel2373 Were you ever stationed at Davis Monthan AFB?
Jed-Henry Witkowski no why
Yeah. I bet it was rough on the people that had to stay out there. I was nervous a half mile away in an underground bunker.
They should have you on the history channel not the reality TV they do today you are awesome
Totally agree. It's a tragedy what A&E has done to all the great info-tainment channels: History, Discovery, TLC, etc. The History Guy is awesome.
I second that!
No no no no, he has freedom here... he will not have freedom on some lame ass tv channel.
No, dont touch that turd pole that history channel has become.
True that Aaron oh yes!
I was a aerial gunner on one of the aircraft parked in the Christmas tree alert area. There was one aircraft between our crew and the aircraft fire.
The normal alert cycle was a week on 7 day alert inside the fenced and secured alert area. We knew that sometime during that week we would have a practice alert response. That involved responding directly to our assigned aircraft, preloaded with personal gear, classified documents, and anything else needed for a long mission.
We got a klaxon alert horn and ran to our aircraft, our sleeping quarters was close by. As the crew chief arrived he started pulling aircraft engine covers, aircraft parking chicks, getting ready for engine start. The gunner (myself) would do the same thing on the left side. The gunner was the last one to climb aboard thru the crew hatch.
The engines were screaming in a high pitched whine, almost vibrating e wry bone in your body. As I was climbing up the ladder, there was a bright flash toward number three aircraft. I could see flames shooting way above the aircraft.
I climbed in, closed the hatch, and our plane started taxiing out of our parking spot. The gunners seat was upstairs on the upper crew deck. I got strapped in, co acted my parachute, helmet and intercom wire
The remains aircraft taxied down to the other end of a very long runway, and pared close together with engines running.
We sat there waiting on the command post to give further instructions to either give the takeoff coded message or remain in place.
At this point,we didn't find out until hours later. We eventually feedback into alert status in the Christmas tree parking area,regular and were co ked back on alert.
Consider that the B-52 entered service closer to the Wright Brother's first flight than it's entry date is today.
The B-52 has been in service for almost 55% of the entire history of aviation.
The operational life of the B-52 is *ALREADY* unprecedented. It is the oldest current operational front line combat aircraft and the longest serving aircraft of any kind currently in the USAF inventory.
Eric Taylor
I believe the C-130 has been around longer. Can't say that with 109% certainty. Good research idea.
The B-52 first flew 15 April 1952 and was introduced in 1955. The C-130 first flew 23 August 1954 so it depends on how you define it. However, the C-130 is not a combat aircraft. The AC-130 is a combat aircraft but it wasn't developed until 1966.
Eric Taylor
Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure.
Amazing how the C-130 just looks old and the B-52 so much more modern.
I logged a ton of hours on the B-52.
Real or simulated? What's amazing to me, the B-52 is old enough that there are 3rd generation B-52 pilots. A pilot whose father and grandfather were also B-52 pilots.
On the other hand, a C-130 is capable of landing and taking off from a Nimitz class aircraft carrier.
ruclips.net/video/uM5AI3YSV3M/видео.html
Both the B-52 and the C-130 are extraordinary aircraft.
Eric Taylor
Real. Stationed at Carswell back in the 80s.
You, sir, are a guy that deserves to be remembered.
Okay, I'm a SAC trained killer going back to 1975. The AGM 65 is what is known as the SRAM Missile. It was carried in a rotary rack of 8 missiles. So at best there would have been 16 AGM 65 missiles, but the most I have seen and knew of were 8 AGM 65's and a bomb load of 1 large nuke or 4 smaller nukes.
The scariest time I had was 2 days before Christmas when I was called out on stand by at about 2 AM, what Job Control told me was a stuck screw. I was a machinist and pat of our job was to remove stuck screws. Well, it turned out to be a stuck ARMING TOOL for the SRAM Missile. The tool was a "T" shaped tool that screwed in to the missile with a part that was inside that armed the missile. Not knowing much about about this tool, I was using a hammer to hit the "T" part to see if I could get it to unscrew. I had no effect as the Crew Chief cross threaded it and used a wrench to force it to screw in. After an hour I had to call my Shop Chief (Boss for the civilians) as he had far more experience. When he got there and saw what was happening, he just went WHITE. Evidently, the missile was armed and me beating on that "T" shaped tool, could have set it off. Not a nuclear yield, but an explosion that would have caused a lot of radiation (or dirty bomb) to go off and kill me and about 25 other people in the area. Not to mention a large part of the base would have been contaminated along with a good portion of the town down wind.
Well, it is best to say everything I was doing was halted and the missile was removed from the aircraft the next day. The warhead was removed, made safe and sent back to the manufacturer or to a DEPOT to remove that tool or fix the warhead.
To this day, I thank God that I'm still alive and that I was not responsible for killing several thousands of people.
Yes, others also noticed that the internal load was eight. The number twelve was a quotation from author Eric Schlosser, who was apparently mistaken. It is difficult to verify how many missiles were on board, as the Air Force has never released the accident details.
Wow- what a terrifying story- thank you for sharing! That is what i would have done with a stuck T shaped screw as well. You would hope that people fixing nuclear weapons had specialized training on the subject...
Thank you for your service! I am glad that you did not get blown up.
AGM-69
LOL, your right, I don't know why I wrote AGM 65, dyslectic I guess or it could have been that I still had my 65 Corvair on my mind. I was looking up parts to restore it before I saw this. I know the SRAM is the AGM 69. Thanks for the correction.
I’m with you Brother.
The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered You also have to remember that back in the 50s and 60s it was the era of Nuclear cowboys too.
Nobody that messed around with these things really knew what it was capable of, as any technology in its infancy, but they were also eager to push its limits.
Such as the Simi Valley nuclear meltdown for an example.
My father was a fighter pilot with the 18th FIS and we opened Grand Forks AFB in May 1960. During the Cold War if there was an operational runway the base would be opened. So, we moved into base housing when there were no roof shingles yet, the housing roads were North Dakota mud, there was no Commasary or Base Exchange, no schools, no youth facilities, and other support facilities were not operational yet. But we had an operational runway and F101 Vodoos to scramble. We did that often and they broke the sound barrier often, rattling windows. We kids loved it!
I was stationed at GFAFB in 1987. This is the first I’ve heard of this story. I do remember Grand Forks wanting to have the base shut down and not understanding why. When it was explained how much money the base dumped into the local economy and the volunteer work with flooding during the spring, that movement died down.
I was either on board or at both aircraft you spoke of in your video. I was assigned to the 319th AMS at the time. The airmen that died on board the aircraft on the parking ramp were friends of mine and I was just outside of the aircraft when it went up. I was on board the B-52 that was on the Alert ramp when it caught fire the memories are still very fresh in my mind. Thanks for the video.
Pop was the first Military Forefighter on the one of Jan of 83. I didn't find out till about 3 years ago, wish he had told me sooner, I was only 3 months old at the time at home with my mother
I just stumbled upon this video and read your comment. My father was one of the 5 men killed in Jan. 1983. I love finding things out about this incident at I was 7 months old when this happened.
My father was 1 of the 5 lost on Jan. 27th 1983. Though I was 7 months old when this happened, I like stumbling on videos or information like this.
I was 3 months old and my father was first on scene. Small world.
I was stationed at Griffiss AFB, a SAC B-52 base in 1980. We all had to go through heavy briefings due to the Grand Forks accident, as we had bunkers full of B-52 cruise missile spindles. We were told of the contamination possibility there and the need to improve all base & aircraft fire suppression systems. Wild stuff back then.
My kid went to Medical School in Grand Forks. They held a family brunch with the students on graduation weekend. In addition to being glued to their books for 4 years; when they did have a rare break from their studies, there was only that North Dakota wind and cold to greet them outside. It looked like a convention of vampire victims. Everyone who served at that base deserves a medal just for showing up, IMHO.
i was there, attending 1st grade at twining elementary. Remember the sound of the explosion and worrying about which one of our neighbors got hurt. I loved living there.
Great videos sir! This brings to mind a little remembered story also involving the venerable B-52 while on ready alert status. The airfield in Bangor, Maine now home of a wing of KC-135 refuelers and the Bangor International Airport has been home to a lot of history. During the cold war it was home to a B-52 wing as well as fighters and refuelers. This base also had the 'Christmas tree' ramp at the East end of the massive runway where the bombers would sit ready to roll onto the main runway at short notice. This Christmas tree was built at an angle so gravity would start the aircrafts taxi as quickly as the brakes were released. As There is no 'reverse' on a B-52 this required the fully laden craft to be towed backwards up into their ready spots, this must have required some finesse I would imagine. It was apparently done by winch, cable, and pulleys from a winch vehicle placed to the front of the aircraft and the tow cable stretched under, to a 'dead man' black aft, then to some tow point on the tail. From a very short story with photo in the Bangor Daily News during one of these operations the tow cable broke free and cut one (fully fueled) wing, the port I recall, clean off the fuselage near its base. The photo showed a giant spill of fuel and many personal running in various directions, but little other detail. There was no fire, thank God.
I remember that night well because I was in one of the other alert B-52s. There are several errors in this video:
1-B-52 crews did not fly training missions while on alert. We did that on the other days on the 21-day cycle.
2-The aircraft was not starting engines to go flying. It was a routine ground exercise.
3-The AGM-69 SRAM launcher in the aft bomb bay held 8 missiles, not 12.
4-The fire fighter's attempt to extinguish the fire by shutting off the fuel from the cockpit failed. The fire stopped when all of the fuel in the #3 main tank had burned.
5-All of the bombers were parked on the more secure west side of the alert pad and thus had their tails into the wind. Except for a "Crested Dove" plane, I don't remember a B-52 ever being parked on the east side of the alert ramp.
6-There was very little national media coverage of the incident because two days later an ICBM caught fire and blew up in its silo in Arkansas.
7-The AGM-69 SRAMs were withdrawn from service in 1993 because the solid rocket fuel had aged to the point of unreliability. (I was a B-1B instructor and staff officer at the time, and the decision caused us a lot of extra work.)
I was off duty and watched this B-52 burn on the Alert Pad from my 3rd floor day room, in barracks 322, about a mile and a half away. Us off duty Airmen, in the barracks, knew it was bad, but were not instructed to do anything.
We were previously briefed if a nuclear weapon were to detonate on base we couldn’t get in our car and drive away fast enough, even with hours of warning.
Anyhow, I watched until near midnight, but went to bed because I had to be at work at 7:00 A.M. the next day.
I wondered if I’d wake up the next day and what we would be faced with. Briefings were conducted the next day and we were instructed to not to talk to anyone about it, but it has been 40 years and I was not on site of the fire, and know not much more than has already been disclosed.
Sgt. Brumley
319th FMS
Grand Forks AFB ND
March 1977 to Dec 1980
I was an Air Force firefighter during the 1970s. I mainly worked around B-52s and KC-135s, at Loring AFB, Maine, and Andersen AFB, Guam. We were, of course, trained to deal with all emergencies, but we received special training in dealing with aircraft emergencies with weapons, and especially "special weapons" on board. We had very special "Secret" training concerning "special weapons," and what to expect from them when involved in fire or a crash. We always had " cocked'" or loaded B-52s on the flightline, on alert.I was an Air For
The B-52 is my favorite aircraft. I've responded to hundreds of emergencies involving them. Gladly, none of the serious ones did not include nuclear, "special weapons."
Thanks, History Guy for your page, for stories like this, and for those about the Coast Guard in WWII. My father served in the Coast Guard during the New Guinea and Leyte/Philippine campaigns, on PF52, the U.S.S. Allentown, a patrol frigate.
Thank you for your service!
Major: "Do we have a nuclear risk?"
*finger in the air*
Base official: "Hm... I can neither confirm nor deny it."
It’s nice to hear Dick Cheney’s name associated with something that isn’t completely awful.
I think we don't realize how amazingly lucky we got during the Cold War.
crimfan Bullshit. All these people that currently whine about taxes being too high, government being too big, and wanting more of their own money to spend are the boomers and descendants who idiotically gave up billions to build massive militaries that were never needed and never used. By the fifties the U.S. had enough missiles to deter any and all countries from any attacks on the U.S., which has been proven to be true to this day. The massive overspending on the military collapsed the Soviet Union, and diverted money in the U.S. away from tons of social good or even just lower taxes. Even today there is no need for all the aircraft carriers, Air Force squadrons, and ground forces of the U.S. The nuclear force alone is a major deterrent, and current levels of conventional arms are far beyond any mainland defensive needs. The Cold War was a TRAGEDY for being a massive waste of money and a theft from the citizens of the world. We dodged nothing.
Given that the Cuban Missile Crisis could well have escalated to full on nuclear war multiple times, along with a number of other potential close calls, I stand by what I said---we got amazingly lucky.
That doesn't take away from the fact that there was a whole lot of expensive and wasteful military spending, something Eisenhower himself identified in his 1961 Farewell Address. I don't think that "massive retaliation" was credible, though, but that's really a different issue.
Absolutely. "Amazingly lucky" isn't something you want to count on over and over.
crimfan, Tusconcoyote 501, I agree amazingly lucky, but we have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. If we had liberated the Nazi death camps in 1945, experienced the horrors of the Eastern front, Omaha beach, Bataan, the Pacific islands and especially Hiroshima/Nagasaki, would we have been willing to take these risks? I think I would...
Editing for clarity - having experienced the horrors of WWII (or WWI) did our fathers and/or grandfathers think these risks were worth taking to avoid another European war? I think they weighed the risks and went all-in on nuclear defense.
Oh definitely, and I suspect they might well have been right given how likely a horrible conventional World War III would have been in, say, 1965. Nonetheless, I still think that we got lucky.
In all that time, the B-52 has never done what it was designed to do. Let's hope it never will.
Jim Fortune amen to that!☦️
Aye aye!
History Guy - Wow...wind direction saved the day!!! Like New York Yankee skipper Casey Stengel said after Yankees down 12-0 in bottom of ninth rallying for 13 runs to win game. He stated "I'd rather be lucky than good any day"!! Great video...THANKS!!
Great stories in time. better than any podcast online.
I was stationed at GFAFB when this happened and I remember this well, although I wasn't part of the 319 Bomb Wing, I was actually part of the 321st Strategic Missile Wing, both part of GFAFB. Good times
Randall Castro Sr. , like wise from ‘67 /70 , was involved in an Incident going to Mike 24 in Jan of 68 , pretty scary times . Alls well that ends well !
I ran this aircraft a couple of days before this incident. The aircraft was rolled out of bomber phase docks the day before the incident. The aircraft is required to be run at idle, which is 62% of full military power. All engines were run and leaked, check for possible fuel, and oil leaks. I shut down the engines in accordance with the engine run requirements. Signed all forms, both X' and /'s, and certified the aircraft good to go. The aircraft was cocked onto the alert pad the next day.
Because the engines weren't required to be run at full military power, there was not enough fuel pressure to blow out the mainline fuel filter. When the Claxton went of the numer 4 and 5 engine are cartriage start engines. Put the throttles to full military position for 4-5 engines blow the cartridge the engines spool up to full power then air start the othere six and your ready to roll. Because the number 5 engine was at full power, the main fuel line filter blew out due to an improperly installed fuel strainer. It was the first time crew chiefs in bomber phase docks did minor maintenance on the engines... This was a very scary event. Jim D.
Thank you for this detail! And thank you for your service.
In the Manchester Airport Disaster on 22nd August 1985 a British Airtours had a problem when the port, left, engine caught fire during takeoff. The crew managed to abort the takeoff and when they got to the end of the runways turned to the right to clear it before stopping to allow the evacuation to begin.
Unfortunately this meant that the wind blew straight along the wing and set the cabin on fire where 54 people died, with one more dying in hospital. If the pilot had turned left instead of right the wind would have blown away from the cabin and most, if not all, could have survived.
god never underestimate the power of wind
The aircraft was a Boeing 737-236 Advanced, registered G-BGJL.
My Dad was a fireman during that fire - JOHN SACHS - currently in Christiansburg VA - previously Grand Forks ND - It may be so important to get first hand accounts of this from him and his buddies. He's on Facebook.
I was there for both, hard times to remember.
Myself and three other Airmen were in a shallow grave 100 yards from that fucking burning plane there’s no history of us never mentioned. everybody else was cleared to # 2000 feet are beyond I watched farmers chase horses out of corrals, carry their loved ones in blankets and shove them into trucks and drove away from this hell no one has ever mentioned us you might want to check your history again there’s no mention of the Alert Fire Team that stayed behind to report what happens and to protect the area from on-lookers. AF they snapped a bunch of pictures of this broken arrow but when I claimed ptsd in 1994 OSI broke into my home demanding my copy of the Grand Forks Herald 9/17/1980 Front page because they’re Embarrassed because 2-flight crews abandon their KC 135‘s and a couple SP’s ran for the hills because of their dereliction of duty/ their Desertion of posts I & other SP’s were ordered to end their lives! you may think it’s unique or exciting or fun to read but I lived it nobody’s ever asked
I would have thought that the crew's evacuation procedure would have included shutting off the fuel valves.
RandomTorok Good point, the Flight Engineer should have done that as a part of his Engine Fire drill long before the Captain gave the order to abandon the aircraft.
I was at GFAFB when this fire occurred and there was a briefing by my 319th FMS Squadron Commander (as he was briefed on it) that the co-pilot failed to pull the T-handles (fuel shut off valves) upon exiting the B-52.
Note: the engine that caught fire was #5, (inboard engine closest to the co-pilot)
I don’t remember it ever being confirmed, but I think it was claimed that the T-handles were pulled, but the electrical power was killed prior rendering the action null and void.
Anyhow, a fire raging with a fuel line the size of a garden hose a few feet from your window, well, you’re not going to think real clearly.
Mark Fryer -There is no flight engineer on a B-52. The emergency shut off T-handles are quite visible at the top of the instrument panel. Both the pilot and copilot have direct, easily reachable access to pull any one or all of them in an emergency. Doing so shuts off the fuel and everything associated with that engine including bleed air coming off that engine and going into the wing manifold. Only the pilot, copilot and maybe an observer can do this maneuver.
Rita Wessel Thank you for your service - and this story!
RandomTorok :
You are correct about the evacuation procedure for systems shutdown but with the severity of that explosion the valve was melted open. Which forced the Brass to “wait” for the Starboard wing bladder fuel tank to drain out. This Fact is of course contrary to the Official Air Force reports that say a Brave Firefighter volunteered and went onboard that plane and shit off the fuel valve. How I know about this eyewitness version is because the next morning we were summoned to the old armory at 8 am and they “ Debriefed “ us Officially.
This channel is amazing, scripts are so well-written and organized.
You present these stories with such efficiency, interest, and zeal that my attention is completely captivated. Keep up with this wonderful work!
Thanks for doing this story, Lance. I was born in Grand Forks in 1963 and spent the better part of 18 years or so there. Can't say I miss it very much. Those winters were rough. Is strange looking back on my childhood and as you might guess, I was pretty oblivious to the things going on then. My sister married an Air Force guy from the airbase so I was aware of the things they did. This is one story, however, that I had never heard of.
The amount of times things like this, or worse, happened and was down to a single person's decision, or the flip of a coin, during the Cold War is terrifying.
I was in a capsule when tv says president been shot. Then al Haig says " I'm in charge" less than a minute radio crackers " this is sac flying command disregard that we are in charge. So we got back to work like it's normal day 90' underground.
In this case it was Tim Griffis, a civilian fire inspector, who managed to shut off the fuel flow to the engine and extinguish the fire.
At 7:04 you see a machine called an Aero 47A Weapons Loader holding that missile. I was trained to operate one when in the Navy and the instructor told us, "You'll never see one of these because the Air Force got them all." Sure enough, that image is the first one I've seen since that day in 1971. Great channel - Be Cool.
I really love your delivery in these videos. Great story too.
'if things do go wrong, we can hope the wind will continue to be in the right direction'... those final words are quite scary
Good content. The real deal, not a shammy piece of infographics nonsense. Appreciated.
I was a 10 year old, living in Minnesota, about 100 miles from Grand Forks. My father was a recently retired veteran of both Korea and Vietnam. He had spent over a year in Greenland making sure fighters and bombers were weatherproofed from the harsh conditions. When the merger press releases were handed out, Dad knew of the explosive potential of the bombs. He knew what everyone else was blissfully unaware of, that the possibility of radioactive fallout was a genuine danger.
Great video! Eric Schlosser’s book, “Command and Control” is terrifying and amazing. But mostly terrifying. 👍🏻
When this film is made Eric will dream of redoing his
I was living in Moorhead MN about an hour South when this happened. I am so glad I didn’t know this as a kid.
Another incredible story that I did not know prior to today. You gave me yet another idea as a possible suggestion for a future story. Sandia National Laboratories. So many interesting everyday devices have come out of that lab. One of the quirkiest that comes to my mind is the timing switch originally designed for the nuclear bomb that they later used as the timing switch to detonate airbags in a car accident. I don't have a particular story idea in mind but there's certainly an incredible amount of history that could be plucked from there if you ever felt like looking into any of it. Anyway... thanks again for all the hard work you put into these; they really make my day.
That's a great idea. I always believe that New Mexico gets overlooked when it comes to history. It's amazing how much of the rest of the United States still doesn't realize that New Mexico is an American state. 🙄
@@catmac3577 In the east, New Mexico is known as "Arizona".
@@catmac3577 Not that amazing when you see the videos of americans pointing where to bomb iraq on a map of the states. Lol
I was stationed at Grand Forks AFB when that happened. The crew panicked and didn't follow their checklist for an engine fire. Had they done that, there would have been no issue, because the fire handles would have been pulled and the fuel shut off at the pylon. They would have also dispensed the fire extinguishing agent and put out the fire.
I don't know how many times I was approached by people that asked me about the situation, but it was a lot. I lived in the town of Grand Forks, so every time I went home, I was asked. The base was also a Minuteman Missile base and my primary duties were dealing with the missile wing. I used that to claim ignorance of the fire. I could be just like Sgt. Schulz, from Hogan's Heroes, when I needed to. "I know nothing. I see nothing. I say nothing."
Until I saw this video, I had forgotten all about it. After all, it was only 39 years ago.
Thank you for all the work you put into your videos. It's amazing the things I've never heard of or just forgot about. Love your videos.
Something as simple as the wind blowing in the right direction. MY, My, my.
Sir your content is very well constructed, i enjoy every moment thank you0
Excellent presentation thank you for your time posting this important information.
i am glad I found this channel, it is an exceptionally accurate and interesting gem of a RUclips channel, its always an interesting topic, and greatly ranging in time periods. You know how to make a video, keep the viewer entertained and informed, and videos are only 11 minutes or so on average. To me, that means even if you find a video uninteresting, you haven't wasted to much time. Keep it up!
For anyone involved with response/evacuation: 1. You are safer assuming the worst when it comes to anything military. 2. Basing your decisions on what the military is doing for its personnel (and usually their families) is not a good strategic move. Thanks History Guy!
I recently heard that during Battle of Stalingrad, the Germans had 104 panzer tanks parked in reserve on a field. When it came time to attack only 20 some tanks would start. Why? Because field mice were eating some of the wiring during their inactivity. Talk about some seemingly insignificant having a real effect.....
@Viking Power you may consider editing this again. You should change German to nazi. As not all nazis were German. Also horror to hilarious. Because fuck nazis.
@@killerkitty8058 Seriously? What is wrong with you.
@@mrblack888 Not sure what you mean? Yes seriously fuck nazis.
@@killerkitty8058 Not all Germans on the eastern front (or elsewhere) were nazis. A lot were just kids/young men who thought (wrongly, of course) that they were serving their country, or didn't want to be there at all. Just one bit of anecdotal, unverified info, but I was once talking to a guy who, as a young man, had been on the eastern front. According to him (and I believe it), if you didn't follow an order you weren't arrested, sent to the guard house, court-martialed, you were summarily shot.
@@michaelcharlesmiller I find that hard to believe. Not even the Japanese would just kill you outright for stepping out of line.
I was stationed at Minot AFB across the state west of Grand Forks AFB when this happened ! We all got talked to during the Base Commanders call . There was several things that had happened during my time at Minot AFB . I was there from around September of 1978 to January 1982 . I was a aerospace ground equipment specialist and worked on the trailers that carried the nuclear bombs out to the B-52's ! Thank you for reminding me of that day !
It is a great comfort to me to know that we now have "safe" Thermonuclear Warheads instead of dangerous Thermonuclear Warheads.
I was there as a Air Force brat 1977-1981. My dad was a crew chief of one of those B-52's.
Your channel is without a doubt one of my favorites on You Tube. Always an interesting story.
Your writing complements your delivery. Enjoyable as well as impeccable.
I live 70 miles from Grand Forks. I don't remember hearing about this back then. Now the air Base is mostly a ghost town.
Me neither. I live 75 miles south of GFAFB. Not word about this in the only local newspaper, which is crappy at best.
It happens everyday in my head.
Absolutely outstanding piece. I was with the 7th Bomb Wing in the late 1980s and those SRAM missiles completely scared the pee out of us on the Alert aircraft. We had been given a “rough” briefing on the known details of the 319th BMW fire in 1980 and were all worried about it constantly. Whenever our H-models went full power up during klaxon alert exercises, everyone just held their breath. When they downloaded those SRAMs off the BUFFs in 1991, it was a great night of sleep for “those who knew” in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The B-52H, however, is the greatest warbird in the history of Planet Earth, bar absolutely none. Thanks for your GREAT work!!!
Very good production quality, again. You're a history machine!
My dad served in the USAF from ‘53-‘73. He started out on B-45’s in England and ended his career as a B/N on b-52s . He served with the 319th for a time. He was stationed at both Grand Forks and Minot. I was born in 1968 at the Hospital at Wright -Patterson, when my dad was there after he had 300 lbs of test equipment fall on his back and needed the specialists there. I remember the winters of North Dakota and being wrapped up like the Kid in a Christmas Story. This video made me feel nostalgic.
I keep expecting you to end with "and now you know...the REST...of the story." Thanks for these blips of history!
That would be Paul Harvey.............Good Day!
My brother was the ground crew chief on this bird, 57-6507 when he was stationed in Guam during the Vietnam War. He cried when I told him that it burned.
Another well-made, informative, and entertaining video.
History guy, the man who educates new generations and Waze our school systems don't and won't
I like your new slower delivery. It makes it easier to absorb the details.
When Robins AFB was a SAC base prior to 1983, a B-52 caught fire in either 1979 or 1980 - remembering this on the news. My Dad was an electronic technician there from 1958 to 1966 before becoming an electronic instructor at Fort Gordon.
I was a B-52H Crew Chief at Minot AFB, ND in the early 90's. There was a story then that a B-52 had burned on our ramp before I was there. Perhaps it was actually one of the two that happened at Grand Forks AFB and the story got bastardized through the years. It's scary to think how many times we've come close to having our own Chernobyl.
TJ Rohyans I was in the 319th back in 1984. We had G-models then. As I recall the story of the one exploding on the ramp, during routine fueling/de-fueling for maintenance, a circuit breaker for a fuel transfer pump kept popping. The story then was someone reset the breaker and that initiated a spark and fuel tank vapors ignited. I have no idea if that story is true.
That's the story I heard, but I was told it was at Minot, though I don't think that's true now. I also remember that one exploded at Depot Maintenance in San Antonio while I was in BMTS in '89. That one was during a refuel/defuel too.
TJ Rohyans it was definitely GFAFB. I was in the ECM/EW shop of the 319th AMS. Our new dorms were named Salva Hall, after of of the victims. Tragic accident...
@@EsotericSoul I was there that day it is very true. I lost friends on board that aircraft. I was outside when it when up. I was in the 319th AMS.
@@sullysrun7706 were you in the fire dept or on maintenance crew?
My dad worked at Offutt Air Force Base (SAC) near Omaha, Nebraska, from 1957-1960.The SAC Headquarters was there at that time. I was only 2-4 years old, so I don't know much about what he did. I know that he was an electrical engineer and radar specialist. He also worked on runway lighting and other runway and air navigation systems. I don't know if he had any exciting experiences like the one described by the HG here. Thanks, History Guy!
This guy deserves so many more than 20k subscribers!
no
beefgoat
Why?? This story is BS.
May I have an elaboration for this response?
Just trolling.
He's doubled his subs to 40k in one month, so obviously many people agree with you, I am one of them and now support him on Patreon too. :)
sixstringedthing huzzah!
Interesting story. My family was stationed at Grand Forks during the 1960s. I was a young child and I loved it there.
Great job! You do excellent work, HG!
8:25 John Sachs was part of the team kneeling fighting the fire. GO DAD!!
I'm so glad that I found your channel. My favorite stupid little incidents that changed world history are the crazy lady that wrecked the bar that her lousy husband was spending his evenings in. The other is the day that an actor who was a confederate sympathizer stopped by Ford's Theatre to get his mail after breaking up with his fiancee. Had he got his mail first then he wouldn't have known that the President would be at the attending the play that evening.
I was the Security Policeman guarding that Buff the night she caught fire. Klaxon sounds, crews come running across the ramp, codes for the day are exchanged betwen crew and myself. I run for cover to my guardshack a not to take too much jet blast and they fire up all eight. Instantaniously the inboard engine starboard side (yes Air Force uses squid terms too) blows up in flames. About ten seconds elapse and the crew pours bout the hatch like ants on fire running like hell back toward the Alert Facility. Instinctively I grabbed a wheeled extinguisher positioned at the wingtip and pulled itito position. Fired that baby up and blastedstraight into the intake. To no avail as the wind was so strong half of the chemical blew straight back into my face. I went through that bottle then grabbed another. Fought that monster for what seemed like forever then the Fire Dept showed up. I recall them attempting to blast it with the foam but they too were fighting a mean wind. At some point one of my colleagues rushed in with a Security Police truck and wisked me out of there. I recall getting chastised by my Flight Commander for not running away when the crew did. At the moment I had no regard for me it about putting this fire out. Was awarded the Airmans Medal about six months later for heroism along with the firefighter who re-entered the bird to kill the fuel flow. What a night and experience for being only 21 years old at the time. An experience I will remember forever and as vivid in my mind today as if it just happened.
Thank you for sharing the story, and thank you for your service!
I love history to,very much !! thanks you sir are very good it i think the best ever !
My dad joined the Air Force in 1950. He worked as a navigator bombardier in the B-36 alongside a Doolittle Raider, Frank Kapple. My dad became a pilot with no college at 20 years old and picked flying cargo planes, the C-124. He didn't want to fly bombers, B-52's or B-47's because all you did was sit in a bunker for 24 hours a day. He didn't want to fly fighters because they were all single-engine and crashed a lot. He wanted to see the world and he did.
He flew AC-119 gunships in Vietnam. He flew the 1st C-141 into McChord. He flew Gary Powers' personal effects back to the US after getting shot down in his U-2 in Russia.
Cool site!!!!!!!!
And the other upside to flying cargo planes is you can get a job hauling people afterwards on 3 x the wages in normal times if you leave with a clean record.
Interesting story--a kind of the "rest of the story." I was stationed at Grand Forks AFB and lived on the base (1980-1984). I was a Minuteman III ICBM launch officer (321 SMW, 446SMS). We didn't hear about the first B-52 fire until the next day--so the History Guy is correct--no notice to evacuate the base. The second B-52, as we were going on alert to the missile fields, was thought to have crashed during a minimum interval take off--found out the real cause when we go to the launch control center.
Thank you for your service!
You know. It's interesting. I was with the 742 SMS at Minot from '81-'85 and I didn't know about this until I saw the video. They never said a word to us about it. Probably because it involved the bomb wing. But you would think there would be generic nuclear safety issues involved.
carl jacobs thank you for your service! It was in local papers, but not highlighted much. Much of the detail did not come out until the congressional hearing years later.
My dad was stationed at GFAB and was there during the 1983 incident. The explosion occurred right behind the building he was working in. He told me that the building shook and when they ran outside to see what had happened, the heat was so intense they had to go back inside.
i like your style and, of course, rock solid facts. give us more!
I live 3 miles south of the GFAFB! Never knew this “history that deserves to be remembered” Thanks History Guy!
So many times both the US and USSR got so ridiculously lucky.
and, therefore, potentially, the rest of the world.
God won't let it happen until its time to happen...
Unbelievable, Great Story.
Wow - Love your show. Keep up the great work.
I was never one to enjoy history class but you are one whom makes it interesting, enjoying every video you have made!
Thanks for sharing the video.
Did not check, but some corrections. First Grand Forks at the time had the B-52G, which had turbojet engines. The second was that the aircraft was on alert and was responding to an alert exercise which required starting all engines. The fire originated during engine start. I was stationed at Grand Forks at the time in the Plans Office and remember tis well. May want to redo this one.
My father was a Fireman from 79-83 at GF, I was born there in Oct of 82, he missed this because the civilian dispatcher didn't call him in. But he was there for the one in January of 83. Made him a hero, and I didn't learn about it till only a few years ago.
@@ashirrelevent1062 Very busy night as I can remember. No one was injured but a lot of concern. Five people were killed in the 1983 event, an empty file tank exploded while they were working on the electrical system. Marks are still in the pavement at the parking spot.
HE may be The History Guy, but WE were almost history too!
These are little gems. They're like mortar around the big bricks of history we know so well.
I was stationed at Grand Forks from 1983 to 1986. I arrived there in October, and the bombers assigned there were not “H” models, they were “G” models, an older version.
I was a B-52 crew member at GFAFB from 1978 to 1982. The H models were replaced with G models in 1982 as cruise missiles came into the inventory.
Very interesting, I live just north of Grand Forks on the Minnesota side and have been to the base for airshows. But I have never heard this happened, thanks for sharing.
In the episode I say there were twelve AGM-69 SRAM missiles on board. That number comes from an interview with Eric Schlosser, the author of Command and Control. A couple of viewers have pointed out that the internal load was only eight missiles. According to the Air Force description of a B-52, the bomber could carry up to twenty SRAM using the internal load and external pylons. Given that the Air Force has never released details of the incident, there is no definitive answer regarding how many missiles were on board. The only official confirmation that nuclear missiles were involved is the partially redacted transcript of the 1988 congressional hearing. The estimates of Dr. Batzel regarding the potential impact were, presumably, derived from the actual ordinance on the aircraft at the time of the incident.
The picture demonstrating the “Christmas tree” is Minot AFB, not Grand Forks. GFAFB had a single large pad, although aircraft were arranged in a Christmas tree formation.
The alert pad at GFAFB used to be a "Christmas Tree" but it was squared off sometime before 1978 when I got there. You could see the outline of the Christmas Tree when you flew over it, and you could also see the old edges when you walked across it.
The Buff could carry 20 SRAM. Eight on a rotating launcher in the weapons bay & six under each wing. It could have had 8 in the bomb bay along with 4 B28 gravity bombs.
@@markaustin643 Correct but the planes on alert at GF weren't parked in a "Christmas tree formation". They were pushed back straight and parallel to each other.
@@vitogulotta7193 None of the planes on alert carried SRAM on the wings, in fact we never loaded SRAM on the wings at GF.. Nothing was carried on the wings until we got the ALCM (AGM86)
I was there the day that happened as I was stationed at G.F.N.D. AFB My unit and I were just returning from a week out in the field. It was a very tragic day for our base.
I really enjoy your videos sir! You deserve more subscribers and likes
While in Nam I watched a B-52 stick dropped into a valley about 3 klicks away. Watching the shock wave and seeing the trees blown up was an experience I'll never forget. I was told that if you were in a foxhole 1 mile away the concussion would still kill you. The shock even at 3 klicks was enough to almost knock you down. Just one of the reasons my ears still ring to this day.
And three days later we blew up a titan II Missile in Damascus Arkansas. Those Cold War era weapons were dangerous, yet awe inspiring
John Owen yup- talked about that here: ruclips.net/video/jDcog2ZP684/видео.html
Yes, we said (I was at GFAFB then) we didn’t allow Jimmy Carter much sleep that week.
Whoa! I didn't realize they were the close together 🤯
I was an airman there during the 1983 explosion.i lost a friend in that horrible situation.what a horrible memory
Mark Carson I’m sorry for your loss and for the memory
Pop was there 79-83, he didn't get called in on the 80 fire by the civilian dispatcher, but he was first military firefighter on scene for the 83 fire, I was 3 month's old at the time at home with my mother. Pop got a medal and left AF soon after. Wish I had known earlier in my life, but only found out a few years ago
I am sorry for your loss that day. I was 7 months old when this happend. My father was 1 of the 5 lost that day.
Extremely well done! Please do one on the B-52 that actually dropped a unarmed nuclear bomb that created a crater in some east coast state that filled up with water and it's now a perfect circular pond.
I was briefly stationed at GFAFB, Mar-Dec '76, 319th MMS, munitions maintenance squadron, and have a few tales that would raise eyebrows when told of our hi-jinks....
Thanks History Guy. I have fought against the Military Secrecy for now, the 38th year. Many of the pics showed in the presentation are incorrect; The old Alert B 52/KC 135 parking area was just north of Hwy#2 and the pas itself was not a Christmas tree design. A large expanse of concrete with a taxi gap and a fence everywhere else. The pic showing the burnt aftermath of the engine is On the wrong wing. You show the Starboard wing when in fact it was the Port inner pod. The wind was blowing from the Starboard side. And one more little note, in the opening pic shows a background detail which is a guard gate shack,
the 4-Man Alert Fire Team ( the ‘Fire’ refers to the ‘Fire Power’ we bring to any Security situation.) well about #60 yards to the Right of that visible gate shack is where we were in a shallow foxhole.
One thing about this night was we could hear the ‘Blow Torch’ and the rivets popping off the fuselage right at the beginning We Died 1000 times!
So many good historical stories in this series of videos, worth its weight&then some in gold&books!
I served in the Air Force during the "Cold War". We were sitting on a powder keg. Thanks to our God it didn't go off, or very few of us would be here today.
I was in the Air Force around 1980. We used to get a monthly pamphlet called "Maintenance" where a major incident was featured on the back pages. This one particular issue has a story about a fuel drain incident on a B-52 where they forgot to take the plugs out of the vents on the tanks. As the fuel drained, the wing collapsed from the suction. I believe I read years later that the remaining good wing was taken from this burned A/C and installed onto the one featured in the magazine.
@ Obsolete Professor… Interesting. I wasn’t aware of that. Probably best as I was already nervous enough working on those old beasts. We had the same thing happen at Mather AFB somewhere between ’81 and ‘83[?] except it didn’t explode in flames. I think it was tail number 178. That air-hog was totally jinxed. I and another Bomb/Nav weenie were out that same night til waaaayyyy late ohming out endless wires trying to get the Bomb/Nav radar RT wiring back together after someone yanked the RT out without disconnecting the fifty-fucking-pin cannon plug in the rear. Tore it all to Hell. We got it back together and working, went to bed, got up the next morning and someone in the dorm said, “Hey, did you hear 178’s wing fell off on the ramp?”
Yeah, right. I thought they were joking. Turns out they weren’t. Fucking unreal - snapped off right near the wing root. Fuel shot like 80 feet in the air and slopped all over the flightline. It’s a wonder it didn’t burn down and take a couple others with it. Funny thing is they tried to put the wing back on. We jokingly called it the six-million-dollar bomber - we can rebuild it, bigger, faster, stronger…
I was told they hauled it into a hanger, put the wing on, then realized they couldn’t back it out. Had to cut away part of the hanger to get it clear. Don’t know for sure if that’s true, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was.
We never could get the radar properly aligned after that and the radar display was always fucked up. I don’t know if they ever got the hump worked out of the spine of that old pig or not. Hopefully it’s rotting in the dessert at Davis Monthan next to old 164 [aka one sick whore] - my other “favorite” air-swine from Hell. Great memories best forgotten.