Allegedly, in November 1951 a number of RB-36s visited RAF Sculthorpe. These aircraft were apparently engaged in clandestine overflights of the Soviet Arctic. The unit they were attached to was, I think, the 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing of the 15th Air Force based at Fairfield-Suisun (later Travis) AFB.
The B/RB-36 visited the UK and Europe several times during the 1950s. All of these visits are fairly well documented; but the visit to Sculthorpe in [ATTACH=CONFIG]220908[/ATTACH] November, 1951 remains a bit of a mystery.
It has been suggested to me that SAC, in the aftermath of the Gary Powers shootdown, destroyed their Overflight documentation, fearing a Congressional committee probe. However we know that details of many B/RB-47, RB-45, RB-29 and RB-50 overflights made it into the public domain.
Is there anyone out there who has knowledge of the November 1951 RB-36D sojourn at Sculthorpe? Please get in touch if you can help me unravel this one.
Attached a photo of an RB-36D of the 5th SRW
By: Discendo Duces - 18th September 2013 at 20:40
Nothing very clandestine about the B-36, either in size or noise created!
DD
By: J Boyle - 18th September 2013 at 17:34
I might suggest asking on the Warbird Information Exchange. They’re a bit more knowledgeable on postwar USAF operations.
If it did overfly any part of the USSR, it would have to have been a very remote place…and at extreme altitude. I can’t imagine the USAF risking interception of such a large /slow target. At least the RB-47s had speed as a defense when they overflew (or near) Soviet territory. Lesser performance aircraft usually stayed in international airspace, not that that ever stopped the USSR from shooting down aircraft (like the Swedish C47).
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September 18, 2013 at 10:32 am