Foil: 10 Panel: F100 Super Sabre Society Column: 3 Line: 12

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

ÿþPilot Profile F100 Air Foil - Urvayr-Hazy Center

Robert L. Bowers Jr. (Major USAF Ret.)

•Preferred Name

•Bob

•Date of Birth

•January 28, 1935

•Highest Military Grade Held

•05

•Hometown

•Muskegon Michigan

•Civilian Education

• BFA (Advertising), Drake University, MS Central Missouri State University and Ph,D.

Study at The Ohio State University Computer Graphics Research Group, Fulbright Scholar,

England, Federal Institute of Physical Education and Sport the order of Lenin, Moscow, USSR

•Military Education

• SOS, Survival School Stead AFB Nev, Air University Extension Courses

•Units Assigned

• ATC (Bainbridge AFB, GA and Craig AFB AL Mconnell AFB, KS, Stead AFB, NV), Strategic

Air Command (SAC) ADC (Air Defense Command) and TAC (Tactical Air Command)

•Comments

•Never dropped a hostile bomb or strafed in combat.. My heartfelt admiration for those who did

I fired at Drones - Mconnell AFB,, ground targets at Volk Field Wisconsin, air-to-air over Lake

Michigan and high altitude intercepts over the Gulf of Mexico, Longest flight, 28 hours

including brief and de-brief (B-=47). Shortest flight 7 minutes (T33), Fire on takeoff at Kirtland

AFB New Mexico.

I was brought up in a family which had very close connections to the writing of the

constitution. And the founding of the United States.

My 6th cousin was George Washington. My father served in the Navy in WW!, uncles

and cousins in WWII and during both the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Born in Muskegon, Michigan in 1935 and moved to Des Moines, Iowa via Erie PA, Springfield,

IL, and Springfield, Mo. Then to Winterset, Iowa (one year school) and Indianola, Iowa (two

years school), before returning to Des Moines. Iowa. Completed Jr. High and High School in

Des Moines,

Iiowa.

Original assignment at Alabama, Stead AFB, Nevada, Mconnell AFB, Kansas and Whiteman AFB, Missouri.

At the time I left high school the draft was in effect. I had a full ride to a university and

thus was not draft eligible, however, the university I attended had an Air Force ROTC

Detachment and the University required all male students to enroll in she AFROTC Air science,

of course. My senior year selected Commander of the unit.

The original commitment to fly was prior to the junior in college. At the time a 3 year

active duty commitment was mandatory. The three year requirement was changed to 5 years

during my junior year and a second commitment was necessary. Committed to five years,

complected my junior year and went to summer camp at Craig AFB Alabama.

Got my first flight of any kind in a T-33 at Craig AFB, Alabama and when ask by the

instructor pilot, “What do you want to do?” I answered, anything. That is what we did.

Graduated university and was assigned to Bainbridge AFB,

Georgia part of the Air Forces first “all jet class”. Guinea pigs, we were. Solo time 7:30 in the

T-37.

Then on to Craig AFB , Alabama. Often restricted to base because of the Martin Luther

King s attempted marches across the Norman Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama. On entering the first all-jet class the briefing was, “If you finish in the top 10 you will likely get the aircraft of your choice.

It didn’t happen. Only the top three got their fighter assignment., About 20 graduates who

finished below number 3 were assigned to the Strategic Air Command (SAC)..

All graduates assigned to SAC were expected to become B-47's co-pilots. Then off to

additional training. First stop, Stead AFB Reno for survival training (desert, arctic survival, and

escape and evasion). Later to find out the mission was to drop nuclear weapons, run out of fuel,

bail out and walk out of the Soviet Union. Completed survival school, then a free meal at a Reno

casino and off to McConnell AFB Kansas. There, meteorology, nuclear physics, gunnery,

(20mm directed at drones), celestial navigation and getting flying time in anything that would

get a foot off the ground.

Assigned to Whiteman AFB. Knob Noster, Missouri. Population 12, well,, maybe a few

more, and hours drive East of Kansas City. The original assignment to SAC was done with the

notion that “SAC was desperate for co-pilots”, so desperate that the new pilots were assigned to

“spare co-pilot” status at Whiteman AFB and had almost no duty assignments.

My original duty assignment was to report to the 488th Bomb Squadron at Whiteman

AFB. Then report, daily. to the commander of the 488th. Wait a couple of hours and be released

for the remainder of the day. On occasion get a “seat” in a B-47. The seat, was the stairwell

between the navigator’s cockpit and the flight deck - pilot and co-pilot. The steps were iron.

One “cargo-like seat belt”, no shoulder straps, and, no ejection seat. Flying time, you know.

On occasion you would be assigned a short time in the co-pilot’s seat. I got 58 hours

logged, and most of that was on the stairs.

A fellow “spare co-pilot” named Zim Smith and I were sitting in the 488th Bomb

Squadron “waiting room” when we saw a T-33 take off. The light came on and both he and I

went to base flight, asked, “Do you need any pilots?” We were all but attacked. Most of the

rated personnel were in the weather station or had duties directly related to the “alert facility” at

the end of the runway. The B-47's armed with big nuclear weapons and on 24 hour alert waiting

to be scrambled in case of a Soviet Union attack made flying for those making the bombers fully

ready to scramble ---Whiteman to Russia, The Cold War.

The flight assignments in the 488th were made to individual pilots, however, nobody ever

checked your name. and if you arrived at the aircraft in a flight suit you were the “spare co-pilot”

of the day. When you are released from duty at 10:00 A. M. You have time to “nose around”,

and, Zim and I found out that “if you didn’t fly the B-47 for 90 days you had to go

back to McConnell AFB Kansas and re-train. We also found that no pilot had ever been sent

back to McConnell. Ah haw! From that time on, we gave our B-47 flying slot to other spare copilots,

got a ride at Base Flight to stay current in the T-33 and 91 days later called our plight, no

flight time in the B-47, to the command and reminded them that we would have to go back to

McConnell unless we could be assigned to base flight. This is step one in getting to the F100. I

was assigned as Base Operations Officer responsible for more than 20 units including base flight

operations.

Step 2 came when I completed 5 years in SAC logging 583 hours in the T-33, leaving

active duty, getting home and 5 hours later got a call from SAC Headquarters, Offutt. “Please

report to Whiteman as soon as you can.” “What is this all about?” “I can’t tell you....get back to

your base as soon as you can.” Night driving, then a top secret briefing....the Cuban crisis. 3

bombers to Minneapolis, Lambert, St. Louis, Langley, VA, Selfridge, MI, Seward, TN (bombers

and crew only. So support of any kind. For about 60 days I flew the T-33 from Whiteman to St.

Louis, Seward, to Langley, RON, then to Selfridge, Minneapolis and back to Whiteman. RON

and most of the two months, start over Lambert St. Louis, Seward TN and Langley, RON on a

daily basis.

About two months later was released from active duty and in about 3 weeks got a call

from the 132nd Fighter Wing, 124th FIS...”We need pilots”. The 124th FIS was flying F-89's. No

training flights, simulator, get in the front seat with an experienced Radar Observer and toke off.

Step 3 came when the 124th got F-84's, nicknamed either the Groundhog, or the Lead

Sled. If you could get it airborne it wasn’t too bad. The upgrade to the F-84 and another 500+

hours.

Step 4 came when the 124th got the F-100C. No flaps, drag chute and tail hook. 180

knots plus fuel finial approach air speed. Fun, fun, fun. Common, 200 to 210 Indicated airspee

on final.

Our unit, the 124th, was called to active duty with destination Vietnam. 90 day get-ready

notice, but 60 days later, the 124th did not go.,

The Air Force decided that, if the F-4 could fire the weapons used on the current F-100,

the F-4 would be deployed. Thirty days before 124th deployment to Vietnam the deployment

was cancelled and the F-4 replaced the F-100 and the 124th.

My time in the F-100C was the most enjoyable flying experience of my career. By the

time I began flying the F-100C literally dozens of test pilots and other Air Force pilots had

provided invaluable operating procedures which made the “widow maker” a fairly safe

aircraft to fly. Early test pilots and early pilots gave their lives. My thanks and thanks to their

families for their courage and the information which they provided to make my flight time

reasonably safe.

Robert L. Bowers, Jr. (USAF Ret.)

Contact 1-515-287-1129