Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 01 by Flight of the Old Dog (v1.1) Page A

General Curtis E.
LeMay for his contributions to the Strategic Air Command and his support of
strategic air power.
                 “For
eight of the ten past competition years, the crews from Pease and Plattsburgh have walked away with the LeMay trophy. It was thought by some that the upgraded Offensive Avionics System and the
B-1B Ex- calibur would finally bump
the FBs out of the running.” The General paused, waiting for a reaction from
the crews in the audience. Then, he smiled a sly, secretive smile, and glanced
at the Eighth Air Force commander and the FB-111 crews beside him.
                 “With
a score of ninety-five point nine percent damage expectancy in low-level
bombing and an unbelievable ninety percent effectiveness in high altitude
bombing, the 715th Bombardment Squadron ‘Eagles’ of Pease Air Force Base in New
Hampshire set a record in all-purpose bombing—”
                 At
that, a huge roar went up from the audience, and the FB-111 crews from Portsmouth , New Hampshire , began to go berserk. The “fastburner” FB-111 crews had gone through
the entire competition in fear and loathing of the “heavies,” the B-52s with
their spanking-new digital computers and the sleek, deadly B-ls with an even more
sophisticated version of the solid-state bombing equipment. A B-52 crew had won
the previous year, and the FB crews had felt their superiority in this annual
international competition slip.
                 The
FB-111 guys had not done too well in the awards ranking until then, although
their performance had been up to their usual near-perfect levels. This, an
all-time Bomb Comp record, was their turning point.
                 Elliott
let the celebration continue for a few seconds. “Sorry, boys, I hate to do this to you ...”
                 He
had to raise his voice to make himself heard over the shouts of the FB-111
crews. More effectively than a gunshot or a cannon blast, a single word from
Elliott quieted the audience and broke more hearts, including his own:
                 “But
. . .
                 “.
. . The winner of the 1987 Curtis E. LeMay Bombing Trophy, with an
unprecedented ninety-eight point seven-seven percent damage effectiveness score
and an unbelievable one hundred percent score in low-level bombing, is . . .
crew E-05, from the 470th Bombardment Squadron.”
                 A
massive scream went up from the members and guests of the winning bomb squadron
and, as the winning B-52 crew stood and made their way to the stage, an equally
noticeable groan went up from the rest of the crews in the huge converted
aircraft hangar—now Competition Center at Barksdale Air Force Base in
Louisiana. The restlessness was not unlike the reaction of a crowded football
stadium when the visiting team has just scored another touchdown and gone ahead
by twenty points with only a few minutes remaining in the game. The outcome of
the contest, although far from over, was already obvious.
                 The
470th Bombardment Squadron, and Crew E-05 in particular, had just walked off
with five trophies, losing only one trophy to another B-52 unit and three other
trophies that could only be awarded to either an FB-111 or B-1B unit. In
addition, the 325th Bomb Wing, of which the 470th was a part, had taken three
other trophies for their KC-135B tanker unit and also brought home the
Doolittle Trophy for the 470th’s Numbered Air Force award. Everyone knew the
final outcome. If it were not a military formation, the huge converted aircraft
hangar may well have been empty by the time the grand prize, the coveted
Fairchild Trophy, ever made it into the winner’s hands. It was certainly an
anticlimatic finish.
                 Patrick
McLanahan, his crew, and officers and invited guests of the 325th Bomb Wing
were on stage for a solid hour after the ceremonies, getting pictures taken,
holding interviews