Warbird Information Exchange

In honor of one of our newest members with a great background with the USAF, b1bmsgt.

I thought I would throw up some old B-1 photos I just recently rediscovered.

These were in front of the NMUSAF's restoration center back in 1995. Anybody got an idea which Serial it is and where she's at today? Maybe some background information of this BONE. I don't think this the same B-1 on display today but don't quote me on this though.







Shay
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Semper Fortis

By googling "Leader of the Fleet" and "B-1" I got to http://www.zianet.com/jpage/airforce/we ... r/b-1.html and they say that the serial number for that a/c is 82-0001. ("On 4 Sept 1984, the first B-1B (82-0001) was rolled out at Rockwell's Palmdale, California plant. The manufacturer made something of the fact that the B-1B was well ahead of the similar Soviet Tu-160 ('Blackjack'). 82-0001, nicknamed 'Leader of the Fleet', made its first flight on 18 Oct 1984. This first ship was also one of two B-1Bs (with 83-0065) to wear the nickname 'Star of Abilene')". Baugher's page says that 82-0001 was scrapped at Ellsworth AFB in mid-1990.


Dave G.

Obiviously there is some margin for error

Shay
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Semper Fortis

Wow, it sure is weird to see an aircraft that I saw being built at the plant in Palmdale, CA. (not this particular aircraft, but the B-1B in general) lying around in pieces! I can only think of the B-1 as a brand new airplane! Ours were still pretty new looking when we transferred them to the Kansas ANG in '94!

Come to think of it though, in 4 years my B-1 will be the same age that my T-33 was when I first got to Griffiss in 1982, and they seemed ancient then. I guess time really does fly. (No pun intended...)

Russ

PS: I never heard the B-1 referred to as a Bone until Roving Sands 94, an exercise I attended at Roswell, NM. That was when we were assigned a call sign on the maintenance net of "Bone"

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R.L. Sisco
MSgt, USAF, Retired

How so? Looks "scrapped" to me in the photos.

What goes so wrong with a 10 year old airplane that it ends up in pieces on the ground at the Air Force Museum?

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

I suppose when you put it that way. In my head the reasoning for the disassembly was for transportation. Awfuly nice of them to take her apart at the production mating joints. I wished they scrapped all aircraft that way. Might leave more bits-n-pieces usable to reaassemble later.

Shay
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Semper Fortis

Some of the B-1s are being retired due to fatigue cracks.

man that thing looked war weary, & we still hardly use the b-1 to this day!!

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!