1st Lt. James W. van Scyoc watches in horror as his misfired AIM-9 blows the wing off Air Force B-52B “Ciudad Juarez”

Sidewinder

vs.

B-52

by DON HOLLWAY

hen even Air National Guard units were trained in bomber intercepts, the 188th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, New Mexico ANG, was the first to fly the North American F-100 Super Sabre. On April 7th 1st Lt. James W. van Scyoc in F-100A-20-NA #53-1662 took off from Kirtland AFB, with Capt. Dale Dodd flying wing. Each “Hun” had a pair of AIM-9B Sidewinders (USAF designation then GAR-8) on a dual mount under the port wing—live rounds, but “safed.”

Boeing B-52B-30-BO Stratofortress #53-0380, of the 95th Bomb Wing, Strategic Air Command, out of Biggs AFB, El Paso. Shown at Biggs in July 1959, before it was christened Ciudad Juarez. Of interest is the twin 20mm cannons in the tail, with the distinctive MD-5 fire control radome, as usually seen on RB-52 reconnaissance bombers. Only about two dozen of the 50 B-52B models built were so equipped. The standard mount was the A-3A radar with quad .50 cal machine guns.

Their target was the Boeing B-52B Stratofortress Ciudad Juarez, of the 95th Bomb Wing, Strategic Air Command, out of Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas. Veteran pilot Captain Donald D. Blodgett didn’t like playing fighter bait, but the mission was good practice for Staff Sgt. Ray Singleton, manning the “BUFF’s” radar-guided twin 20mm tail guns.

F-100 Super Sabres of the New Mexico ANG	An Air Force F-100 with dual port-side Sidewinder mount

Ground control guided the F-100s to an intercept near Albuquerque, 34,000 feet above an April blizzard, also confirming with both pilots that their weapons were on safety. Van Scyoc, then 27, was not only the 188th’s safety officer but had written standard operating procedures on the Sidewinder. With a toggle switch in the nonfiring position and a circuit breaker off, launch of a GAR-8 was theoretically impossible.

Singleton spotted the Sabres’ contrails on approach. Soon their bare-metal finishes and the 188th’s black-and-yellow fin flashes came into view as the fighters roared past on a series of five attack runs.

Light on fuel, Van Scyoc radioed Dodd, “Okay, wing, one more run, then we’ll go home.” Diving onto the bomber’s tail, he heard the Sidewinder tone as he achieved lock...and was horrified to feel a thump, hear a roar and see his No. 2 missile leap from its launcher.

Wreckage of the Ciudad Juarez on Mt. Taylor, NM

Ciudad Juarez was on autopilot. Blodgett heard Van Scyoc call, “Look out! One of my missiles is loose!” just before the bomber shuddered and rolled left. The Sidewinder had exploded in the port side inboard engine pod, blowing off the wing. As the B-52 heeled over into a spin, his copilot ejected, but Blodgett—nearly trapped by G forces in the burning cockpit—only just managed to hit the alarm button and pull his own ejection handle. At 12:15 p.m. Ciudad Juarez made a 75-foot crater on Mount Taylor, taking three crewmen with it. Blodgett broke his pelvis on landing, but was soon found by Singleton, who’d been burned bailing out through blazing jet fuel. They and three others survived.

Blue paint denotes AIM-9L training round: live seeker head, empty pipe for a body

An inquiry fully exonerated Van Scyoc, finding that moisture had condensed in a worn connector plug, causing a short that allowed the Sidewinder to launch. Further investigation revealed that almost all Guard F-100s had the same faulty wiring. (The F-100A was not designed to fire Sidewinders; launchers had been added when the type entered ANG service.) That problem was rectified. Moreover, these days such training is conducted with dummy missiles: live seeker heads, no motors.

More by author Don Hollway: