97th Bomb Wing
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The B-29s
were replaced by B-50s in the early 1950s. 48-095
(left)"City of Milwaukee" carries the "Flaming
Spear" emblem, but the Triangle "O" has been removed from
the tail. Most of the 97th's B-50s carried the name
of a city on the nose. The photo also appears
to have been taken at an open house. (NMUSAF)
The City of San Fernando (48-067) parked on
the ramp at Biggs.
Aircraft
48-110, the City of
Independence. The number four engine
is running which would indicate that the conversation must
have been operations related.
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48-101,
possibly at the same airshow as above. The craft is
named City of Detroit.
The
fuselage of B-50A Lucky Lady II is in the right background, second
picture. The two photos (center and right) were
taken in front of the original terminal at the Detroit
Major Wayne Airport. A great local recognition to
have an airplane named after the city of Detroit displayed
at an airshow! (The location information was kindly
provided by Stewart W. Bailey.)
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One very
frustrating thing in looking at photos is a partial shot
of an airplane. The RB-50G (47-157) parked behind
the 97th PMS shack is a case in point. The airplane
has a black belly and tail, but the question I have
is: "Is the 97th BW patch carried on the nose?
Does it have the standard lettering on the fuselage and
wings?" (USAF)
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This panel
is taken from a yearbook on the 810th Air Division
published in 1954 and shows various maintenance functions
performed on B-50s. (USAF)
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The KC-97
was an integral part of B-50 and B-47 operations.
SAC's long range mission would have been severally
hampered without that resource. Here a KC-97 crew
stands formation in front of their mission aircraft.
(I have lost track of who sent me this photos.
Please accept my apologies as I wish to give credit to the
individual who provided it.)
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A
ceremony to dedicate the arrival of the 97th's first
B-47Es; The City of
El Paso and the The
State of Texas. In the background can be seen
C-124s of the 1st SSS. (Tom Duncan)
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Maj. Robert E. Hinnant
looking up at his aircraft, the City of Ridgeway
a B-50D, 48-119. She was named after Ridgeway,
South Carolina by Maj. Hinnant. Rob Hinnant
provided this background to his father's airplane. "As
you may know, there were certain requirements dealing
with the city's actual size. Well, Dad was able to
"embellish" the virtues of Ridgeway. After the
plane was painted, some "knucklehead" went and looked it
up. He proceeded to add the city's population next
to the name, "Pop. 408." ("Salute!!")
The bottom photo is of the crew during the 1952 SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition at MacDill AFB. Robert Hinnant is on the far left.
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