B-47 Crew Chief?
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
To avoid confusion, the role of the RAF Crew Chief was Ground Crew and look after an ac on the ground. On ranger flights he would be in charge of the turn round servicing assisted by the aircrew.
Sorry PN - badly written by me - what I meant was that in the USAF one could be a 'crew chief' on any USAF a/c - even on a single seat aircraft,a Crew Chief would look after an a/c, sometimes with an assistantt CC.Whereas - as you posted - in the RAF it was a specific role on 'V' Bombers.
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Wales
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Quote:
No the Crew Chief was not a member of the flight crew on the B-47 but most did at times fly with the plane. Normally this was done when a possibility of the B-47 landing at a air base that normally was not used by B-47s. It also allowed the Crew Chief to be on hazardous duty pay to compensate for the extra duty of traveling with the plane and extra hours maintaining the aircraft as well and the extra pay was helpful as well. To maintain this pay you had to fly at least 4 hours a month, but at times it greatly exceeded that. It was boring duty to fly where you could only see outside by looking straight up as the seat for the 4th crew member was located along side the co-pilots feet just above the cockpit entry door.
Where do I apply for the back pay that we all missed out on (Crew Chief, 55 Squadron, Victor K1A).
No the Crew Chief was not a member of the flight crew on the B-47 but most did at times fly with the plane. Normally this was done when a possibility of the B-47 landing at a air base that normally was not used by B-47s. It also allowed the Crew Chief to be on hazardous duty pay to compensate for the extra duty of traveling with the plane and extra hours maintaining the aircraft as well and the extra pay was helpful as well. To maintain this pay you had to fly at least 4 hours a month, but at times it greatly exceeded that. It was boring duty to fly where you could only see outside by looking straight up as the seat for the 4th crew member was located along side the co-pilots feet just above the cockpit entry door.
Where do I apply for the back pay that we all missed out on (Crew Chief, 55 Squadron, Victor K1A).
While working out of MSP in the 80's I went up in a Stearman owned by a colleague. He was an ex-B47 Bombadier, and told me that the chances of him safely ejecting were virtually zero since either not enough height or going too fast and too high.
They all accepted the risks including if they would need to drop a big one.
A different breed
IG
They all accepted the risks including if they would need to drop a big one.
A different breed
IG
