Listen to B-1B Bomber’s distinctive roar ahead of deployment
Aviation enthusiasts could soon be listening to the distinctive roar of the B-1B Bomber as a rumoured deployment of one of the US Air Force's (USAF) noisiest planes looms ever closer. It has been two years since the last deployment of B-1B bombers to RAF Fairford.[1][2]
Speculation that the USAF heavy strategic bomber could be making a return to the Gloucestershire airbase started when a passenger flight was chartered from the B-1B's home in Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, to arrive at Fairford - one of USAF's main European bomber bases and new Wing headquarters.[3][4]
Last week, the US sent a giant C-5 Galaxy transporter[5] plane to RAF Fairford from Dyess, further igniting excitement about the possible deployment of the noisy strategic bomber among plane spotters. The US never announces its bomber deployments but many spotters believe the B-1B could be in Gloucestershire as soon as this week.
Commonly called the "Bone", the B-1B Lancer is a supersonic conventional long-ranged bomber that has been in use by the US Air Force since 1985. Though it was originally intended for use as a nuclear bomber, it was ultimately converted for use as a conventional precision bomber during operations in the 1990s, as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Anyone planning on lining up next to the fence outside RAF Fairford with a long-lens camera and a step ladder when the B-1 begins its long journey over the Atlantic would be best advised to wear ear plugs for when the plane takes off - with its jet engines reaching between 127 decibels and 140, which is enough to damage your hearing.
The B-1B was last deployed to Gloucestershire in 2021, when the long-range heavy bomber conducted a series of training drills with NATO allies. At the time, almost 100 people lined the Fairford fence to get a good shot of the iconic bomber coming in to land.
With Germany hosting one of the largest airborne training drills over the summer, with hundreds of US planes involved, it is likely the B-1B will be coming over for the duration of June while the exercise is taking place. This will mean plenty of time for enthusiasts to get the perfect shot of the increasingly rare 40-year-old bomber, which will be replaced by the new B-21 over the next decade.
A B-1B Lancer assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron takes off at RAF Fairford, United Kingdom, to conduct a Bomber Task Force Europe mission set, Oct. 19, 2021. (Image: Senior Airman Colin Hollowell USAF)
References
- ^ noisiest (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ RAF Fairford. (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Gloucestershire (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ headquarters. (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ C-5 Galaxy transporter (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Pictured: The sink hole that closed a major road over the weekend (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)