Boeing B-52H Stratofortress

60-0012
 United States
Bomber - Positioning - Military

07 January 2021
13:11 UTC

 
 

CommentLast time I saw a Stratofortress I had the temerity to doubt the tracker. Now I know better : yes there are B-52s in the area. It was even on CNN
It also ties up another loose end, a rather spectacular one, that's been nagging me : the recent 'show' of the three BOBBY with 2 Bs off the coast of Crete.
A little after midnight -- UTC remember -- 3 KCs appeared off the Spanish coast in the Mediterranean and they repeated the BOBBYs 'show' there, adding another screaming "why ?" to the BOBBY loose end this time with a QID call sign : QID734, QID735 and QID736.
Why ? became : Why ? Why again ?
Then later the B52 appeared and as it approached the Strait of Gibraltar where the 3 QIDs put on their show much earlier, the 3 QIDs reappeared with a forth from Sevilla in Spain : QID743
The B52 was flying among them and it all fell into place !
The B52 moved between the KCs, 'visiting' each of them : refueling.
So the BOBBYs with two Bs and the QIDs off the Spanish coast were practicing the dance to refuel a B52 for it to cross the big pond. In the event it didn't refuel off Crete were the BOBBYs, like the QIDs also from Mildenhall but flown in earlier, practiced but near Gibraltar where the QIDs from Mildenhall had trained earlier.
This ties it all up rather neatly and spectacularly.

Operations
 GRIM (54)
 
GRIMN : mission : Boeing B-52H Stratofortress over Afghanistan.

Resources
Image
13:11 UTC
Image
16:34 UTC