spy plane?
- Thread starter gunman1960
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Hard to tell, but it looks like a B-57.
charlie sherrill
Member
One similar to that crashed near here back in the middle of the night in the 60's. A bunch of spook types showed up with the military, sealed the area off, and carried off every piece in covered trucks. I later learned it was some kind of experimental plane that never went into production. The government told us that so I believed it.
Gutpile Charlie
US Veteran
Yuppers, looks like a variation of the B-57 bomber. This plane was developed from the British Canberra. It served a while as a medium bomber and was then pulled out of service. IIRC, there was a squadron of them stationed a Little Rock, Arkansas. After they were retired as bombers the wings were primarily changed and they were converted into an aircraft with high altitude capabilities and extended range. I do not recall what the designation of that aircraft was.
As a side note, when I lived in Salt Lake City, 1978-1985, somebody was ferrying an out of service B-57 somewhere, when something catastrophic happened directly of the west side of Salt Lake and the crew of two ejected. The plane fell in a non residential area on the west side of town and crashed into a warehouse directly across the road from where the NBC television station was located then. It was at noon, everyone in the building had just left for lunch and there were no injuries. The crew also survived.
My next door neighbor was outside playing with his kid and saw it go down. I was either at the airport or had just taken off on another business trip.
As a side note, when I lived in Salt Lake City, 1978-1985, somebody was ferrying an out of service B-57 somewhere, when something catastrophic happened directly of the west side of Salt Lake and the crew of two ejected. The plane fell in a non residential area on the west side of town and crashed into a warehouse directly across the road from where the NBC television station was located then. It was at noon, everyone in the building had just left for lunch and there were no injuries. The crew also survived.
My next door neighbor was outside playing with his kid and saw it go down. I was either at the airport or had just taken off on another business trip.
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OP
gunman1960
US Veteran
fort worth
i went to an aircraft factory,,,in the 50s,i was about 8. my uncle worked there and took us on a tour. i snapped this plane,with an old brownie. i just found this picture in an old photo album. thank everyone who replied.
i went to an aircraft factory,,,in the 50s,i was about 8. my uncle worked there and took us on a tour. i snapped this plane,with an old brownie. i just found this picture in an old photo album. thank everyone who replied.
Alk8944
US Veteran
The crash site was a small machine/automotive shop in the middle of a strip of such shops. It was located approximately 3650 West 2100 South, on the North side of 2100 South, within the Salt Lake City city limits. After the crew ejected when the plane caught fire somewhere above 30,000'. The crew of two ejected when still above this altitude and took quite a while to come down. One landed about 3 mile NE of the crash site in the vicinity of 2300 W 900 South as I recall. The second one was several miles away also, don't remember where though.
The aircraft was an RB-57 on a ferry flight from Mountain Home AFB Idaho to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson AZ.
As I recall I was in the K-Mart parking lot, about 2600 East Parley's Way when I was dispatched to the crash site for traffic control. I made it to the site, nearly 10 miles West of where I had been, about the same time the one crew member landed on 900 South! Spent several hours on this call, early Summer.
Within several months we had a second crash of a civilian C-130 hauling freight. This one came down about two miles West of this one about 100 yds. North of 2100 South approximately 5200 West. The plane came down, literally, on top of the wire fence that had been the Eastern boundary of a private airport a few years before. It caught fire in mid-air also. Being a civilian aircraft there were not parachutes on board and the entire crew, 3 as I recall, died in that one. It was supposed to be carrying radioactive cargo and caused quite a problem during the investigation as a result! The radioactive cargo turned out to be a small bottle of Radium paint used for painting luminous watch and instrument dials, probably less than 1 ounce! Paranoia was alive and well even then.
At least the several hours I spent on that one were at night and a lot cooler!
There is a Canberra on display just inside the gate at Little Rock AFB. I believe they were still being used (sparingly) in RVN when I was there in 1969. Does anyone know if they were powered by the VIPER engines? I wrote it like that because they are so LOUD!!!
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deralte
US Veteran
I was assigned to the 10th Tactical Recon Wing in 1955 and we flew the RB-57s out of Spangdahlem AB, Germany. It had a three man crew and if they had to bail out one of the crewmen in the rear had to slide forward on rails to get to the opening to eject. We lost one plane while I was there. The Canberra was a beautiful airplane.
Bill_inBouse
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I was assigned to Bien Hoa AFB, 4-69 thru 11-70 Canberras were most definitely based out of there.
rcnixon
Member
They used the Wright J-65, a development of the Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire. The RB-57F used General Dynamics TF-33 turbofan.
Russ
bobf
US Veteran
Bob R
US Veteran
Here is the one they have at the museum at Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls, MT.
Good thing they have the museum with a few planes. They don't have an operational runway so they have no active planes there. Just a lot of missle stuff.
bob
Good thing they have the museum with a few planes. They don't have an operational runway so they have no active planes there. Just a lot of missle stuff.
bob
Gutpile Charlie
US Veteran
I am always amazed at when you post something on one of these forums, recalling a place or an event, there always seems to be someone that was there and can add more to the story.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Evil Dog
US Veteran
They were there 6-66 thru 6-67 also.
cass
Member
General Dynamics Corp in Ft. Worth (now Lockheed Martin) did the modifications on these. The mod consisted of new wings (big ***'s), better landing gears, and a lot of electronics. Actually, at the time of the mods, it may have been Convair Aerospace, Ft Worth. All the work was done on third shift, including test flights. That bird used very little runway to get up, and was "whisper quiet". If you look at the Google Earth view of Davis Mountain AFB bone yard, you can clearly see one of them.
bobf
US Veteran
At an air show at Travis AFB Ca. in 1968.
Here's some more info on the RB-57 from the Wright-Patterson museum:
Factsheets : Martin RB-57D
If you're ever in the Dayton area, that museum is a "must see". -S2
Factsheets : Martin RB-57D
If you're ever in the Dayton area, that museum is a "must see". -S2
Texas Star
US Veteran
I think the RAAF also used Canberras, although I can't say if in Vietnam. They may have relied on US air support there.
Do the board's Aussies know?
T-Star
Do the board's Aussies know?
T-Star
bshepherd
Member
In the mid to late 90's NASA had one at Ellington for high altitude research. They may still have it.
OP
gunman1960
US Veteran
i agree
i was thinking the same thing. ive never been on a site,where you can find out so much.
mudbone
US Veteran
Babalooie
US Veteran
B57 they used them for weather recon in Japan in the late 1960's. The recon ones had a wider wing span.
safearm
US Veteran
Last users were the ANG; Forbes Field, Topeka, Kansas had the only squadron of B-57Gs fitted with all kinds of sensor gear for night attacks and then EB-57s which were used to test NORAD radars. The EB-57s went to Burlington, Vermont where they were flew until 1981, replaced by F-4D.
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