E/R/W/B-66 Production, Attrition and History

• Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona
• Octave Chanute Air Museum, Chanute AFB, Rantoul, Illinois
• Museum of Aviation, Warner Robins AFB, Georgia
• AF Flight Test Museum, Edwards AFB, California

Aircraft Museum Locator
(US, Canada and United Kingdom)

On the wall of Salina Airport [Formerly Schilling AFB and Smoky Hill AFB, Salina, Kansas], there is a blown-up overhead photo of the airport when it was a SAC base. The remnants of aircraft can be seen in a bone yard in the upper left hand corner of the photo – including a B-66 that must have crashed on the base.

RB-66 Crash Landing at Spangdahlem AB by Stephen Wooden

When I was looking thru the anecdotes section of the B-66/RB-66 pages, I saw a reference to crashes. One that I witnessed in 1958 at Spangdahlem AB Germany was not mentioned. I will tell what I remember of the incident, however inaccurate it may be.

The of the newly arrived RB-66's at Spang were all taking the plane off at a very sedate and lengthy angle almost as if the planes were heavily loaded cargo aircraft. They complained that the plane seemed to have no lift and flew badly compared to our previous aircraft, the RB-57 Canberra which had very large wide wings and plenty of lift.

The Douglas Aircraft tech rep (whose name I can't remember) called the plant in California and Douglas sent one of their factory test pilots out to Spang to put on a demonstation flight to show what the plane could really do. He flew one of 30th Tac Recon Sq. planes, (might have been 54-0528), in one of the best air shows I have ever seen. He did every jet fighter stunt with this two engined bomber. It was stupendous ! It was wonderful. It was educational.

The next day, the regular crew took off on a training flight, flew their mission and returned. When the plane landed, a hydraulic failure was experienced. The plane hit the barrier at the end of the runway (which was too low) flew over the base salvage yard and landed in a farmer's very soft hillside potato field and skidded downhill until it stopped inches short of a Gasthaus.

The tech rep's off-the-record opinion was that the air show may have stressed a fitting or line too much causing the failure.

Aircraft Attrition by Gerhard Moroff

According to a British book, a B-66B, tail number 54-0499 crashed on 26 October 1961 in the North Sea and no trace was ever found. Plane was assigned to the 85th BS (47th BW).

Does anyone have any further information on the crash at Spangdahlem on 24 Dec 1958 (Squadron, tail number?). [See above entry]

I found something about a crash of an RB-66B (54-0444) of the 1 TRS at Spangdahlem, but this allegedly already happened on 8 July 1958.

At Spangdahlem, there were two EB-66 crashes, one in 1969 and one in 1972:
55-0386 28 Aug 1972 SP EB-66C 52 TFW 39 TEWS crashed on take-off, no fatalities
54-0536 09 Oct 1969 BV EB-66E 36 TFW 39 TEWS crashed on take-off, at least some of the a/c lost their lives.

As for the plane downed over East Germany on 10 March 1964, it is likely that there was a confusion with the tail number. 54-451 (also in official USAF files) was assigned to an RB-66C. According to the former crew chief, Wayne Pruett,the tail number of the downed RB-66B was 54-541. As there were 3 crewmembers and the plane belonged to the 19th TRS this would make sense.

Production Numbers of E/R/W/B-66B/C/D Airframes
by Gilles Van Nederveen and Joe Zulaski

EB-66C (RB-66C when built):
• 1954 - 0447 to 0476 (30 airframes)
• 1955 - 0384 to 0389 (6 airframes)

EB-66B (B-66B when built):
• 1955 - 0482, 0484, 0485, 0486, 0487, 0489, 0491, 0492, 0493, 0495, 0496, 0497, 0498
(13 conversions assigned to the 6460th TEWS, 432nd Tac Recon Wing, Takhli RTAFB)

EB-66E (built as RB/WB-66) 50 airframes numbers found:
• 1953 - 0479, 0480
• 1954 - 0417, 0419, 0420, 0423, 0424, 0426, 0427, 0429, 0431, 0434, 0435, 0438, 0439, 0440, 0441, 0442, 0443, 0445, 0446, 0506, 0507, 0508, 0509, 0510, 0511, 0514, 0515, 0516, 0519, 0520, 0521, 0522, 0523, 0524, 0525, 0526, 0527, 0528, 0529, 0531, 0532, 0533, 0534, 0536, 0537, 0539, 0540, 0542, 0546 (51 converted)

This is all I have been able to find so far. I'll check on B-66 conversions. Most flew as pilot/nav trainers at Shaw AFB in the 363rd Tac Recon Wing and 4417Combat Crew Training Sqdn (CCTS).

Here is a compilation of B-66 Aircrew/Aircraft Losses, including those lost in Southeast Asia – which I assume is what everyone is primarily interested in. Such information is undoubtedly in the Official Air Force Archives at Maxwell AFB, but I haven’t seen any published statistics in this regard. The following is from Internet URL Site at: http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil

The Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) at Maxwell Air Force Base,
Alabama is the primary repository of historical information.

The Air Force History Support Office (AFHSO) at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. AFHSO is responsible for writing books, monographs, studies, and reports to preserve the history of the U.S. Air Force. The AFHSO also provides historical information, analysis, and perspective to Air Force leaders and their staffs to support planning, policy development, and decision making.

The Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) maintains individual aircraft records for almost all aircraft once or presently in the United States Air Force inventory. These records begin in 1924 and continue to July 1990 and appear to be about 98 percent complete. The records for many aircraft of the early 1920s and for aircraft in highly sensitive reconnaissance programs are not available.

Each set of aircraft records has its own unique characteristics, but for most planes one may learn the manufacturer, place of production, date of entry into the inventory, units of assignment, duty stations, and something of the final disposition.

Except in unusual cases, after 1 December 1991 the AFHRA will not be able to supply transcriptions or interpretations of aircraft records for unofficial patrons, as has previously been done. This policy change has been necessitated by limited staff resources, a higher volume of requests, and the expense of retrieving the records from the archives. Interested researchers should contact AFHRA for procedures to be used in gaining access to these records.

The only information I can offer is what I have in my personal records – which I will circulate to others in the B-66 Association to see what they can substantiate, add or correct toward compiling as accurate an accounting of aircraft events and losses as is possible.

As with any subject, there is conflicting information about the B-66 – and even the Official Air Force Accounts aren’t always correct. For example, the wide variation of published data on the Weight and Airspeed of the B-66 and the statement made by the Air Force Museum that the largest B-66 crew complement was 5 people – when, in fact, there were 7 crew members on the EB-66C.

I believe the procurement contract was for 300 B-66s. Information on the placard of the WB-66D display at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas states that a total of 299 B-66s were actually built and delivered to the Air Force.

When I completed my combat tour at Takhli AB, Thailand in November 1968, I believe there were only 25 B-66s left – 19 at Takhli, 5 at Shaw AFB, SC for Combat Crew Training and 1 at Westinghouse [Baltimore, Maryland] that was used as a test bed.

The Westinghouse WB-66D [Tail Number 390] made the last-ever flight of a B-66 from Baltimore to Kelly AFB, Texas on the 17^th anniversary of the date the AF took delivery of the first B-66. From Kelly, the aircraft was trucked to Lackland AFB where it remains on display.

The WB-66D at Lackland has a 41^st Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron Emblem on the right side of the cockpit.

There were originally 3 RB-66C Squadrons: Yokota AB, Japan. Shaw AFB, South Carolina. Spangdahlem AB, Germany.

The Yokota squadron was deactivated in 1959 (?) with the aircraft assigned to the 9^th TRS at Shaw AFB and the Shaw RB-66Cs put in the bone-yard at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona.

The rationale for moth-balling the 9^th TRS aircraft was that the Yokota birds were newer. As it turned out, the Yokota B-66s were in worse shape from corrosion and the better birds from Shaw were sent to Davis-Monthan.

Back to the interesting question of what happened to 274 B-66s between 1955 and the time they were phased-out entirely in 1972 (?).

Undoubtedly a number of the B-66s at Davis-Monthan were converted into Budweiser Beer Cans, and I would guess that the next largest demise was from operational losses -- based on the widely circulated story that the B-66 had the highest operational loss rate of any jet aircraft in AF history.

I have no idea if such story about operational losses is true – but one record that we all agree on, is that the B-66 had the longest take-off roll of anything in the inventory as attested to by KC-135 crews who thought they held that record of distinction until the KC-135 arrived at Takhli and broke ground 1000 feet sooner than did the B-66.

The Russians shot down at least 1 B-66 -- for certain the RB-66B from the 19^th TRS at Toul-Rosieres AB, France that a MIG-21 shot down over East Germany on 10 March 1964. I understand that all 3 crewmembers of the RB-66B crew are still around, and no doubt can provide the full story about this loss [Capt David I. Holland -- Pilot. Capt Melvin J. Kessler—Instructor Navigator. 1^st Lt Harold Welch -- Navigator].

The B-66s that didn’t end up in beer cans or become operational losses comprised the fleet inventory that was deployed to SEA and the aircraft that remained at Shaw AFB for Combat Crew Training.

No doubt, the Takhli and Shaw numbers can easily be verified. The missing part of the mathematics is what happened to the bulk of the 274 B-66 airframes that disappeared over the intervening years?

Southeast Asia continued to produce a high number of operational losses, in addition to combat losses. During my year at Takhli [November 1967 to November 1968], my records show the following losses:

• EB-66C [473]. Crashed during landing approach. 17 November 1967. No survivors.

• EB-66C [462]. Crashed during landing approach. 6 December 1967. 2 survivors Capt Peffley and Capt Al Thomas.

• EB-66E [524] Crashed during landing approach. 5 March 1968. All survived. Capt Bob Huey was one of the crew.

• EB-66C [388]. Preview 01. 14 January 1968.
Shot down by MIG-21 (Atoll missile) west of Hanoi. Pollard (Sonny) Mercer – Pilot. Instructor Nav: Attilio [Pete] Pedroli. Nav: Irby Terrell. EWOs: Thomas Sumpter, Hubert Walker, Jim Thompson and Ronald Lebert. Mercer, Pedroli & Thompson were rescued. Mercer died in the Philippines following rescue. Sumpter, Walker & Lebert were captured and held as POWs.

Postscript by Hubert walker

After our release from Hanoi in Mar 1973, Tom Sumpter, Ron Lebert and I were expecting to hear from some of our old crew mates. We didn't expect to hear from Sonny Mercer (who died at Clark AB hospital) nor from the guy who caused our shoot down by his negligence, but we did expect to hear from some of the others.

NONE OF US EVER HEARD A WORD FROM ANYONE! EVEN WHEN I WAS
AT MATHER AFB IN THE FALL OF 1973!! WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE THAT IS?

• EB-66C [461]. Shot down over N. Vietnam.

• EB-66C [474]. Shot down over N. Vietnam

• EC-66C [475], Shot down over N. Vietnam

• EB-66E [491]: Crashed on take-off at Takhli. 19 July 1968.
Pilot: Capt Bayer. The right engine had been trimmed 90 degrees out of phase, and on the previous flight when 491 was last flown by Major Bill Underwood, the #2 engine started unwinding as the aircraft was committed in its takeoff roll. Bill used up the entire 1000 foot overrun at the end of the runway, kicked up some dirt – and staggered into the air. Once airborne, 491 flew normally and went on to N. Vietnam and back. Back on the ground, maintenance ran the engine and signed-off the Form 781 “Engine OK”. Bill Underwood put an entry in the Illegal Dog Book at the Duty Desk to beware of 491 -- and made it a point to personally brief Capt Bayer who was the next pilot scheduled to fly 491.

The very same thing happened to Bayer, with the #2 engine starting to unwind mid-field during takeoff roll. Disregarding Bill Underwood’s advice to press on and keep rolling, Bayer attempted to abort takeoff, and 491 ended up Class 26 as it mowed down the jungle north of Takhli. Everyone escaped with minor injuries.

Capt Bayer who was notoriously boisterous of having flown SAC B-52s and referred to himself as a “Warm Merde Pilot” [or was it a “S _ _ _ Hot Pilot”] became uncharacteristically quiet thereafter.

Prior to my arrival at Takhli, the following B-66 losses occurred:

• EB-66C [457]. 25 February 1966. Gull 01. Shot down by SA-2 over N. Vietnam. Navigator: John Kodlick?

• EB-66C [464]. 20 July 1966. Devil 01. Shot down by SA-2 over N. Vietnam.

• EB-66C [387]. 4 February 1967. Harpoon 01. Shot down by SA-2 over N. Vietnam. Capt. John Fer, pilot; Major Jack W. Bomar, navigator; and electronic warfare officers (EWOs) Capt. Russell A. Poor, 1st Lt. John O. Davies, Capt. Herb Doby, and Major Woodrow H. Wilburn; comprised the crew of an EB-66C aircraft (serial #55-0387), call sign "Harpoon 01." The Destroyer departed Takhli Royal Thai Airbase at 1324 hours as the lead aircraft in a flight of two to conduct an active /passive electronic counter-measures mission in support of a strike against the Thai Nguyen Army Depot, which was located 32 miles northwest of the town of Thai Nguyen. The #2 aircraft in the flight, call sign "Harpoon 22," was also an EB-66C. Harpoon flight's fighter escort consisted of two F-4 Phantom II aircraft, call signs "Sword 01" and "Sword 02."

The following losses occured after I completed my combat tour:

• EB-66C [466]. Bat-21. 2 April 1972. Shot down by SA-2 hear the DMZ. Major Wayne Bolte [Pilot]. Lt Col Iceal Hambleton [Navigator]. EWOs: 1^st Lt Robin Gatwood. Major Henry M. Serex. Lt Col Tony Ginnageli. Lt Col Charlie Levis.

• EB-66B [498]. Operational loss at Takhli. 17 April 1969.

• EB-66C [384]. Operational loss. 24 October 1970.

• EB-66C [389]. Operational loss. 10 March 1971.

• EB-66E [529]. Hunt 02. Operational loss. 23 December 1971.

Shortly after I rotated from Takhli, an EB-66E was lost on take-off [Lt Col Jim Ricketts was the pilot. December 1968?].

I understand there were several other operational losses at Takhli – as well as the RB-66B that crashed into a mountain in South Vietnam [Capt Mann – Pilot]. I have no idea how many B-66 Combat Losses there were or what all the tail numbers were, but such details can be filled in by others who were in the outfit at the time, and definitely by those who survived and were rescued – or were released as POWs. Such crew members include: Pete Pedroli, Leland L. Hildebrand and Edward Hubbard .

The above account is a compilation of what I have in my personal records – as correlated with an account of EB-66 losses compiled by Captain Gilles Vannederveen, CADRE/ARJ, Maxwell AFB.

With 1 or 2 exceptions, my records agree with Captain Vannederveen. His account did not mention EB-66Cs 461, 474 or 475, which I show as having been shot down over North Vietnam.

In July 1961, two B-66s were lost due to fuel starvation and engine flame-out. The B-66 originally had flat fuel screens that plugged up with debris in the fuel and caused flame-outs. A T.O. was issued directing the removal and replacement of the fuel screens with a cylindrical built-up filter that had perforations in the sides and top of the screen.

Instead of removing the old flat fuel screens and throwing them away, someone at Brookley AFB shoved the old screens to the back of the storage bin – and by 1961 the old screens were again being installed in the B-66s.

After the loss of 2 B-66s in just a matter of days, the entire fleet was grounded and 90% of the aircraft were found to have the old flat screens – which were quickly replaced, but not without the unnecessary loss of 5 lives and 2 aircraft.

The first crash in July 1961 was an RB-66C in which both engines flamed-out over the runway on a low approach at RAF Chelveston, England killing all but 3 of the 7 crewmembers on board.

The gunner ejected, held onto his seat and was killed. Skip Jones [Pilot] was unable to eject, crashed with the plane and survived. Richard Morris [Navigator] ejected safely, went on to pilot training and was killed in an F-100 crash on Poinsett Range just SW of Shaw AFB.

Three of the EWOs [Jim Weymark, Reynolds McCabe & Bob Beeman] ejected in their downward seats and were killed. The 4th EWO [Norbert "Nez" Maier] survived the crash. His floor hatch blew, but the seat wouldn't fire. Nez Maier and Skip Jones rode the airplane into a field at the end of the runway.

Nez Maier extended for a 4^th year in the 42^nd TRS and continued to fly as an EB-66C EWO. He then went to Wild Weasel II as an F-105 EWO, and was the first Wild Weasel EWO to complete 100 missions over North Vietnam without being shot down. Nez Maier went to McConnell AFB, Kansas as an F-105 EWO Weasel Instructor and got sent back to SEA on TDY with his pilot, Kenneth Thete. Their F-105 was shot down north of the DMZ and they spent a harrowing several days on the ground before being rescued. As we were saddened to hear, Nez Maier passed on not too many months ago. Truly a giant among men.

Jerry Parker [42^nd TRS EWO] provided the following account of the Chelveston RB-66C accident:

The entire crew was: pilot - Skip Jones (who was also maintenance officer), nav - Richard "Moose" Morris, gunner - "Big" Smith, Ravens - Bob Beeman, Jim Weymark, Reynolds McCabe, and Norbert "Nez" Maier. Smith ejected but hit the ground in his seat because he grabbed the seat handles with his palms facing out and apparently could not get loose from the seat. Moose, something of an athlete, got out OK. Nez's hatch came off but his seat did not fire either. The Raven 4 (Beeman) thought that everyone in the back had ejected and called Skip that all were out except him, then ejected. Skip's seat did not fire, either - I forget why. Since Skip was still aboard and the engines were still running at idle, he was able to reach the controls with some effort (remember that the seat and controls both stow when the left handle is operated) and get the plane on the ground in the field off the end of the Chelveston runway.

The plane was seriously damaged when one of the wings clipped an old concrete bunker in the field but the fuselage held together. Skip and Nez both climbed out the top, both quite surprised to see each other, and ran as the rear fuel tank was ruptured and caught fire. The fireman got that out before too long but the whole tank area was melted down to the bottom stringers when I saw the airplane. I was part of a crew that covered up the classified equipment before we let the press in to see the wreckage. There were pieces all along about a 300-400 yard path where it slid on the field.

I played tennis with McCabe and knew him pretty well. Also, Smith had been on a crew with me at one time. It was the first time one of my friends was killed while flying so I remember it pretty clearly, even today. Gerry Parker

A few days after the EB-66C crash at RAF Chelveston, a WB-66D from the 9^th TRS at Shaw flamed out and crashed in the Atlantic ocean, killing Captain Jesse Kendler [Pilot]. With Captain Kendler at the controls, Lt Col Bush [Commander of the 4440^th Aircraft Delivery Group, Langley AFB] flew in the Gunner’s Seat on a Familiarization Ride with Lt. Don Fritz as the navigator, a Weather Tech [MSgt Iverson] and a Weather Officer [Capt Gordon ?] in the Weather Compartment. About 400 miles NW of Bermuda, both engines flamed-out and with the aircraft approaching the minimum safe altitude for downward ejection, Capt Kendler ordered the crew to eject. Just after the 2 crewmembers ejected from the Weather Compartment, Kendler got a light on one engine and told Lt Col Bush and Lt Fritz not to eject. They made it part way back to Bermuda when the engine flamed-out, and the aircraft headed for the water. As the engine wound-down and the cockpit went pitch black from loss of generator power, Captain Kendler asked Lt Fritz how high they were – and shining his flashlight on the altimeter, it read 500 feet. Lt Fritz tapped the altimeter glass to get rid of the lag error and the reading dropped to 100 feet just as Kendler gave the command to eject.

Lt Col Bush ejected from the Gunner’s position in a blinding flash that made Fritz think he must have been vaporized. Fritz then ejected and Kendler rode the aircraft into the water. Kendler’s body was never recovered. Lt Fritz and Lt Col Bush were able to lash their rafts together and spent 3-4 days in shark infested waters before being rescued. They said that all the shark repellant did was attract sharks, and all they could do was pucker and keep themselves in as small a ball as possible in their rafts. MSgt Iverson and Captain (?) both ejected without injury, and shortly thereafter a 20 man life raft was dropped to them by Air Rescue. Next day, a Swedish Cruise Ship picked them up – and they were wined, dined and who knows what else back to Bermuda.

Shortly afterward, Lt Fritz was killed in an automobile just outside the north gate at Shaw AFB.

Other known B-66 losses included:

• RB-66C [467] crashed at Warren AFB, Cheyenne, Wyoming. Bits and pieces of 467 were later cobbled together with B-66 remnants from Davis-Monthan and elsewhere to make an EB-66C of the composite parts.

• RB-66C [471] crashed at Donaldson AFB, Greenville, SC in March 1961.

Other comments by Ned Colburn follow:

I logged over 1500 hours in the RB/EB-66C as a Navigator and EWO. I have Flight Handbooks for both the RB-66C and B-66B and would like to comment on the wide variation of published data on the Weight and Airspeed of the B-66.

Aircraft Weight Limitations:

The B-66B Flight Manual [Dash 1] states the following on Page 5-21, Aircraft Weight Limitations:

Maximum Inflight Weight: 96,000 pounds

Maximum Take-Off Weight: 83,000 pounds

Design Gross Weight: 78,000 pounds

Maximum Landing Weight: 83,000 pounds [300 FPM Sinking Speed]

Normal Landing Weight: 50,000 pounds [540 FPM Sinking Speed]

On Page 5-15, the RB-66C Flight Manual [Dash 1], the following Aircraft Weight Limitations are shown:

Maximum Gross Weight: 83,000 pounds

Design Gross Weight: 75,000 pounds

Maximum Take-Off and Landing Weight: 83,000 pounds [300 FPM Sinking Speed]

Normal Landing Weight:

53,000 pounds [540 FPM Sinking Speed]

For the EB-66E, the AF Museum publishes a 91,000 pound Maximum Take-Off-Weight. I don’t have an EB-66E Flight Manual to determine what is stated as the Actual Aircraft Weight Limitations for the EB-66E. Some sources state that the RB/EB-66C was the heaviest B-66 model – which was undoubtedly true at the onset when Vacuum Tube Technology was used in the Electronic Reconnaissance Equipment, in the Jamming Transmitters, Transformers and Power Supplies – and the C-Model was literally a Flying Blacksmith Anvil. It may well be that the EB-66E ended up as the heaviest B-66 model.

Airspeed Limitations:

The AF Museum publishes 585 MPH as the Maximum Speed of the RB-66B which is incorrect. Janes All The World’s Combat Aircraft shows something around 720 MPH as the Maximum Speed of the RB-66C. Other sources go as high as 850 MPH – which is not accurate. Page 5-7 of the B-66B Flight Manual [Dash 1] shows the following Designed Maximum Flight Speeds [All Gross Weights – Clean Configuration]:

Sea Level Mach .86

5000 feet Mach .95

15000 feet Mach .95

30000 feet Mach .95

Page 5-7 of the RB66C Flight Manual [Dash 1] shows the following Designed Maximum Flight Speeds [All Gross Weights

– Clean Configuration]:

Sea Level Mach .84

5000 feet Mach .92

15000 feet Mach .95

30000 feet Mach .95

As reflected by the following on Page 6-6 of the B-66B and RB-66C Flight Manuals, the B-66 was capable of exceeding Mach 1...

Quote: Placard restrictions limit the speed of the aircraft to Mach .95 at altitudes above 5000 feet; however, several exploratory flights have been made at higher Mach numbers, and on occasions the aircraft has exceeded Mach 1. End Quote.

Two Infamous Intrepid Aviators of B-66 fame were Captain Douglas Bloomcamp and Captain Jim Finfinger who flew B-66 Test Hops at Shaw AFB. Rumor had it that Bloomcamp and Finfinger liked to rendezvous after completing their Functional Flight Checks, get into formation and then nose-over to see who could break the sound barrier before the other.

I flew one test hop with Douglas Bloomcamp -- and won’t comment further on his ability to put an RB-66B through the sound barrier. My assignment to the 9^th TRS at Shaw was cut short when I was told to report to Hq 9^th AF to be notified that I was being reassigned to Sewart AFB, Tennessee to establish the first-ever ECCM Program in Tactical Air Command to equip 100 C-130s with special avionics equipment and train the aircrews in ECCM tactics to insure access into Berlin under all conditions of weather, Soviet fighter harassment and Electronic Warfare.

My past had caught up with me, since the requirement was for someone who held AFSCs as an Air Traffic Controller, EWO, Navigator and Pilot. I qualified on the first 3 – and got a waiver on the 4^th requirement since I had a Commercial Pilot License.

Thus began a 2 year interlude away from the EB-66 at Sewart AFB, Tennessee until I received orders to Toul-Rosieres AB, France as a Photo-Reconnaissance Navigator. I was sent to Shaw for RB-66B training -- only to have Hq TAC find out that I hadn’t attended the 1525Z Bomb-Nav Upgrade Course at Mather AFB, and as a Map Reading Dead-Reckoning Basic Navigator wasn’t eligible to fly as a B-66 Navigator, despite having previously done so. Upon arrival at Toul, Major Kermit Helmke and Major Richard [Moose] Miller informed me that I was going to replace Kermit as Group Navigator -- after checking out in the RB-66B with the 19^th TRS. About this time, the Russian MIG-21 shoot-down of an RB-66B occurred, and it was decided that they shouldn’t stretch the regulations on assignment of navigators, so I joined the 42^nd TRS as an EWO.