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N July 25, 1909, Louis Bleriot Took Off from a Field In LuckyLucky LadyLady IIII n July 25, 1909, Louis Bleriot Bleriot’s flight lasted a mere 37 By Bruce D. Callander OO took off from a field in France, minutes. In several demonstration flew his flimsy monoplane north- flights in France during the previ- ward for half an hour, and landed near ous year, Wilbur Wright had stayed Dover Castle in England. The flight—at aloft much longer. What caught the time, daring beyond belief—caused the pub lic’s imagination was that a sensation in Britain. Bleriot had actually crossed the Eng- Forty years later, Capt. James lish Channel. This narrow waterway G. Gallagher and a 13-man crew separating England and Europe had took off from Carswell AFB, not been traversed this dramatically Texas, in a B-50 bomber named since the invasion of William the Lucky Lady II. Four days lat- Conqueror in 1066. er—50 years ago this month— “Britain’s impregnability has passed they landed back at Cars well. This away,” warned a London newspaper. achievement, the first nonstop “Airpower will become as vital as flight around the world, also stirred sea power.” the public imagination. Similarly, Lucky Lady II was not Neither event involved a major break- the first airplane to circumnavigate through in technology, but each was the Earth. That feat had been ac- significant for other reasons. complished 25 years earlier by two 72 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1999 Fifty years ago this month, a production-model B-50 with a regular crew made the first nonstop flight around the world. LuckyLucky LadyLady Air Service biplanes dubbed the Timing Was Everything The war had demonstrated the “Douglas World Cruisers.” In fact, What made the flight of Lucky effectiveness of strategic bombing, Chicago and New Orleans had flown Lady II more than just another record- but the US had scrapped much of its a route almost 3,000 miles longer setting event was its timing. Like wartime air armada and demobilized than that covered by the Lady, and the achievement of Ble riot’s little most of its troops. It still had sub- they logged almost four times as airplane, the big B-50 flight demon- stantial numbers of the B-29s, the much air time. strated that distance and geographical airplanes that had pounded Japan Nor was Lucky Lady’s 94 hours, barriers no longer offered sanc­­tuary into final submission, and it was one minute aloft a record for flight from airpower. stepping up deliveries of an advanced duration. Twenty years earlier, a Consider the political climate of Superfortress, the B-50. Fokker C-2 named Question Mark the late 1940s. World War II was For the moment, at least, Washington had stayed airborne for more than over, but the Cold War was just still also held a monopoly on nuclear 150 hours. In that case, Maj. Carl beginning. The Soviet Union had weapons. However it still was years A. Spaatz and his crew did all their blocked land access to Berlin and away from developing an interconti- flying in circles over southern Allied airplanes were struggling to nental ballistic missile delivery system, California, but, in the process, they keep the city supplied by air through and, although the long range B-36 pioneered the refueling techniques the Berlin Airlift. Meanwhile, the bomber was in development, much of that would make it possible for Soviets were rebuilding their forces the world remained beyond the unre- Lucky Lady II to circle the globe and tightening their grip over most fueled range of any US–based aircraft nonstop. of Eastern Europe. then in quantity production. AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1999 73 Needed, air leaders decided, were LeMay’s Demonstrations ingly, SAC dispatched the tankers to some dramatic demonstration flights In late 1949, LeMay launched a se- existing US bases at Lajes Field in to convince the Soviets that the US ries of demonstration nonstop flights the Azores, Dhahran Field in Saudi still could mount a credible attack from Texas to Hawaii and back. One Arabia, Clark Field in the Philippines, with on-hand forces and that the B-50 on the runs dropped a dummy and Rogers Field in Hawaii. USSR was not invulnerable. Such bomb in the harbor on Dec. 7, the Picked as the primary aircraft for demonstrations also would help the anniversary of the Japanese attack the mission was a B-50 dubbed Glob al Air Force at home. Less than two on Pearl Harbor. It was refueled in Queen. Selected as a backup aircraft years old, the new service still was midair by a B-29 modified into a was a second bomber bearing the struggling for public recognition and tanker. If a B-50 could fly that far tail #B-5046010. It was called Lucky still competing with the Navy for a by refueling en route, it followed Lady II. share of the strategic mission. that it could reach any point on Earth The Queen took off from Carswell No one realized the importance of the same way. To prove it, the Air on schedule and flew eastward. It imagery better than Air Force Gen. Force began planning a nonstop flight crossed most of the Atlantic before Curtis E. LeMay. He had taken over around the world. engine troubles forced the pilot to Strategic Air Command in October 1948 Refueling during a four-day mis- abort the mission and land in the and begun to reorganize and rebuild it. sion would be the main challenge. Azores. Lucky Lady II, the under- Early on, he realized it was important State-of-the-art fuel transfer still had study now in a position to become to showcase SAC’s capabilities, both not advanced far beyond that which the star, took off from Carswell in to discourage Soviet aggression and had kept Question Mark aloft for six a low overcast on the next morning, to win the support of a war-weary US days in 1929. Called a drogue system, Feb. 26, 1949. public reluctant to spend heavily on it involved one airplane’s letting out Except for modifications required peacetime forces. a cable which the other grabbed and for the trip, the Lady was an off-the- Just months before LeMay had brought on board. A hose attached shelf B-50, complete with armaments. taken command, SAC had sent three to the cable then was reeled in and She carried a normal crew, manned B-29s on a world flight, but it had connected at one end to the tanker’s two deep in most positions. Gallagher not been the unqualified success the system and at the other to the receiver’s was the aircraft commander and Neal, Air Force had hoped for. One of the tank. Gravity did the rest. who had commanded the original bombers crashed. The other two, Gas With radar still unreliable, this Lucky Lady on her world flight, was Gobbler under Lt. Col. R.W. Kline and process was best accomplished in second pilot. Capt. James H. Morris Lucky Lady under 1st Lt. Arthur M. daylight. This meant scheduling four was copilot. Neal, completed the trip in less than hookups, spaced about equally along The crew included two navigators, 104 hours but a commercial airliner the route so the B-50 could reach each Capt. Glenn E. Hacker and 1st Lt. Earl already had done it faster. of them in the morning hours. Accord- L. Rigor, and two radar operators, 1st Lt. Ronald B. Bonner and 1st Lt. William F. Caffrey. Capt. David B. Parmalee, who had been on one of the earlier flights to Hawaii, was project officer for this flight and flew as chief flight engineer. Flight engineers were TSgt. Virgil L. Young and SSgt. Robert G. Davis. Radio operators were TSgt. Burgess C. Cantrell and SSgt. Robert R. Mc Leroy. Gunners were TSgt. Melvin G. Davis and SSgt. Donald G. Traugh Jr. All except for Parmalee were with the 63d Bomb Squadron, 43d Bomb Group. Unblushing Promotion While the flight was an unblushing attempt to promote USAF and SAC, the Air Force took pains to keep it secret while it was in progress. The ground crews who modified the bombers and tankers were not told about the mission. Nor did USAF inform the news media, which later protested the Lucky Lady II’s crew, service’s unwarranted secrecy. To preserve the illusion that the home from the first nonstop around-the-world flight was nothing out of the ordinary, flight, receive congratulations from a host of USAF officials, the Air Force worked out an elaborate including Secretary of the Air Force Stuart Symington, shaking system for filing dummy flight plans. hands with aircraft commander Capt. James Gallagher. The Lady was to switch tail numbers 74 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1999 with a tanker at each refueling point to give the impression that it was going only a short distance. The Air Force wanted to be able to publicize a spec- tacular success, not have to explain a costly failure. The first refueling began over the Azores the morning after takeoff. It took two hours, during which time the bomber and the tanker remained linked and had to maintain a tight formation. It was tiring work. Later that day, the Lady flew past Gibraltar and across the Sahara Des ert. The next morning, it made its second refueling over Saudi Arabia. This time, the transfer was complicated by turbulence as the airplanes moved through a line of thunderstorms. The operation went off without incident, but, as the B-50’s log noted, the crew members were beginning to show signs of fatigue.
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