Rick Marquardt visits “his” B52 at Duxford, England.
3 May 2007.
Rick Marquardt, former Crew Chief of B52 tail number 56-689, finally gets to meet the old girl again.
Rick and his wife Joan are spending a week in jolly old England, where they had the opportunity to visit the American Air Museum at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford.
Rick was Crew Chief during the Cold War on this very aircraft, and after some long searches through his and the US Airforce archives, eventually found where she is now residing.
We are indebted to the Imperial War Museum, and to Mr Peter Collins of the IWM Duxford for not only arranging the visit, but for the rare honour of access to the interior and allowing us to climb aboard 689 and permitting Rick to sit once again in his old chair, and indeed to sit in the command seat with his own co-pilot of so many years, Joan.
Needless to say, it was a slightly tearful reunion for Rick, and he thinks it should be repainted in the original SAC markings, but what a successful day!
By: RobL - 9th May 2007 at 23:45
Extract from a discussion in the 1990’s with one of Rick’s sons:
Rick was assigned to this aircraft from 1956-1959; he was an airman firstclass with the 347 bomb sqd. 99th. bomb wing 8th.airforce.
The airplane was based at Westover AFB in Massachusetts. Their flight path was east of Greenland were they would fly for 24 to 72 hrs.
while waiting for orders from SAC to either stand down or to move on to there designated target (MURMANSK USSR). They carried nukes and he would
not tell me how many or what size. Some of the crew members were:
Pilot-McCluskey (first name unknown);
Eddy Sherman, tailgunner;
Younglove – ECM;
Rick was the crew-chief.
The airplane always flew nose down (more than any other); it’s name was MISS JOAN, which was on the pilot side just under the window. The tail number was 689.
Miss Joan (now for many decades Mrs Joan Marquardt, and mother of Rick’s three children) is the lady in the first photo.
By: QldSpitty - 4th May 2007 at 10:10
Age shall not weary them..
Great pics..Thank you for sharing with us.
By: Moggy C - 4th May 2007 at 09:57
Simply brilliant.
It’s a sign of the times that these guys are now B52 crewmen. I remember a similar reunion back in 1993, but that was of B17 flight crew and the IWM B17.
Maybe it wasn’t actually ‘their’ aircraft, but nothing would stop the ball gunner folding himself up into his cramped little ‘home’
Great post and pictures.
Moggy
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May 4, 2007 at 9:52 am