Group Project time

a reply to: Zaphod58

Sorry, I've been looking all day. Even called a Ret. AF. Col.(F-102A & A-7D its first A-7D Corsair II)
And my uncle whom was a naval aviator at that time. (F-4 phantom was the last aircraft flown) then got into Submarines. Both looked into it as one has access to a data base.

Both had a saying... "No Joy"? So no luck I presume.

Sorry😐.

I see the others are stating it was a Mig that shot it down?

a reply to: Bigburgh

We're not sure that it was a D model, but it's believed to be based on the time. It could have been an early F. All we know for certain is it was Christmas Eve, 1957 and an RB-57.

a reply to: Zaphod58

To be clear, I'm searching for info on this U2 type aircraft.


Usually wiki will list aircraft incidents. It only says 56-59 flight over Vladivostok.

 The Eielson-based aircraft conducted ELINT around the Kamchatka Peninsula of the Soviet Union. On 15 Dec 1956 three aircraft overflew Vladivostok

But this tells me nothing beyond that.😐

I got nothing.

a reply to: Bigburgh

Yes, that's the type that we're looking for. The individual model type is up for determination, but the aircraft type itself is not.

24 December 1957 A US Air Force RB-57 was shot down over the Black Sea by Soviet fighters.

myplace.frontier.com...

To be specific, that's the incident I'm looking for.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thank you

Bare with me.
I found this, as every source so far is an exact copy as the other sites.
www.airvectors.net...

Only eight B-57As were built. They never entered real operational service, being used for trials and evaluations. They were hard to distinguish from the Canberra B.2 at first glance, featuring the "fishbowl" style canopy, but there were significant differences.

My screen cap of Edward Airforce Base..( South Base )

* Initial flight of the B-57B was on 18 June 1954, with the type going into service with USAF tactical bomber squadrons before the end of the year. Some early machines were delivered in natural metal, but most were painted overall black. A total of 202 was built; from the 83rd machine on, the eight 12.7-millimeter machine guns were replaced by four Colt M39 20-millimeter revolver-type cannons, with 290 rounds per gun. There had been hopes that the cannon could be retrofitted to the earlier machines, but installing the cannon had required major changes to the wing structure and it wasn't possible.

Long but good read. However...

There were four different "groups" of RB-57Ds, each with different mission configurations:

RB-57D Group A (6 built): Single-seat photo-reconnaissance variant, with an array of film cameras in the nose. 

RB-57D Group B (7 built): Same as Group A, but with inflight refueling (IFR) capability. 

RB-57D-2 Group C (6 built): Two-seat SIGINT variant with rounded nose, AN/APA-69A direction finder in a belly radome, distinctive wingtip antennas, an antenna fairing on the tail, and IFR capability. The AN/APA-69A is described as a radar in some sources, but it was actually an ELINT direction finder. 

RB-57D-1 Group D (1 built): Single-seat radar reconnaissance variant with a rounded nose for an AN/APN-107 navigation radar, AN/APQ-56 SLAR with fairings on the fuselage under the wings, an antenna fairing on the tail, and IFR capability.

Give it a gander

Page 5 on this PDF lists some of the Shootdowns around that period and that aircraft isn't listed amongst them?

www.nsa.gov...

And although the "D" was used for "Sniffing" atomic tests the quick look i did last night didn't show any tests with a few days of that flight?

Found this interesting Vid on Youtube as well



Mentions that some of the flights in that era were done without Presidential authorisation? Some were done with RAF crew rather than US? and of the aircraft shot down some of their crew members actually survived and were handed to the KGB and "Disappeared" rather than dying as their families were told? Could one of these be the reason the flight is still so secretive?

originally posted by: solidshot
Found this interesting Vid on Youtube as well

Mentions that some of the flights in that era were done without Presidential authorisation? Some were done with RAF crew rather than US? and of the aircraft shot down some of their crew members actually survived and were handed to the KGB and "Disappeared" rather than dying as their families were told? Could one of these be the reason the flight is still so secretive?

Yep it's a fact at least a dozen RAF personnel were involved, some well versed in high altitude recon and others under the direct orders of a section of the foreign office rather euphemistically called 'the strike arm'

The RAF had basically written the book on Canberra operations at such heights and so I guess their experience was extremely useful on the early 57's. Between 1955 - 1957 the RAF had flown Canberras up to 70k Ft, world records at the time, in fact the last Canberra to hold the record WK163 (70,310ft) is now being restored to flight condition, an old colleague of mine is volunteering on this, the same engineering team that got the Vulcan flying again.

www.vulcantothesky.org...

a reply to: Zaphod58

No RB-57D of the 4080th SRW /4025th SRS was shot down.

RB-57D
Build No
53-3963 14 RB-57D-1, 4025th SRS , 7407th SS RB-57D, SCRAPPED
53-3964 15 RB-57D-2 4025th SRS , 4677th DSES - EB-57D SCRAPPED
53-3965 16 RB-57D-2 4025th SRS , 4677th DSES - EB-57D SCRAPPED
53-3966 17 RB-57D-2 4025th SRS , 4677th DSES - EB-57D SCRAPPED
53-3967 18 RB-57D-2 4025th SRS , 4677th DSES - EB-57D SCRAPPED
53-3968 19 RB-57D-2 4025th SRS , 4677th DSES - EB-57D SCRAPPED
53-3969 20 RB-57D-2 4025th SRS , 4677th DSES - EB-57D SCRAPPED
53-3970 7 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS, 7407th SS - RB-57D, RB-57F 63-13502 SCRAPPED
53-3971 8 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS. To MASDC in 1961 for use as spares SCRAPPED
53-3972 9 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS, 7407th SS - RB-57D, RB-57F 63-13500. AMARC
53-3973 10 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS, 7407th SS - RB-57D, SCRAPPED
53-3974 11 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS, 7407th SS - RB-57D, RB-57F 63-13503. NASA 926NA
53-3975 12 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS, 7407th SS - RB-57D, RB-57F 63-13501. Pima Air Museum
53-3976 13 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS, 7407th SS - RB-57D, SCRAPPED
53-3977 1 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS, 4677th DSES - EB-57D. SCRAPPED
53-3978 2 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS, No 4 Squadron ROCAF - ????? - Shot Down 7th OCT 1959
53-3979 3 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS. Written Off Del Rio Texas
53-3980 4 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS, 4677th DSES - EB-57D. SCRAPPED
53-3981 5 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS, ROCAF 5644, 4677th DSES - EB-57D.SCRAPPED
53-3982 6 RB-57D-0 4025th SRS, 4677th DSES - EB-57D, Pima Air Museum WPAFB MUSEUM

a reply to: ajsr71

The person that started this didn't have a model, he believed it was a D model, but the only thing that is known is that it was December 24th, 1957, and an RB-57.

a reply to: Zaphod58

3 RB-57F lost.

63-13287 - 14th DEC 1965 BLACK SEA
63-13297 - 7th Nov 1966 New Mexico
63-13292 - 27th June 1972 New Mexico.

There was a reply on another site about this 24th Dec Shoot down from a guy who served with the 4025th say they didn't lose an aircraft on that date and I'm waiting on a replay to an email I sent to the 4025th Squadron Commander at that time.