SUMMER BRIEFING SERIES IS BACK! March Field Air Museum will feature Col Hal Austin, USAF (ret ) as the first speaker in the Summer Briefing Series which begins on this Saturday June 7th. Col. Austin will speak about his Cold War Overflight of the USSR May 8, 1954 Col Austin, under secret orders from Strategic Air Command General Curtis LeMay intentionally entered Soviet airspace over Murmansk on a mission to photograph and map Soviet air bases and the test Russian radar capabilities and air defense forces. Penetrating from the north, the high-flying RB-47E was intercepted and shadowed by several flights of low flying MiG-15 fighters clearly frustrated by their inability to reach the bombers altitude. Just over an hour into Soviet airspace, the RB-47E crew was surprised when cannon fire from more advanced MiG-17 fighters streaked past their bomber, one shell slamming into the RB-47Es left wing. The damaged bomber briefly returned fire and maneuvered to hold the Russians at bay. Photographing the last of nine of the Soviet airfields on their mission list, Col. Austin exited Soviet airspace and brought his aircraft and crew safely to England. The talk will begin at 1pm in the museum’s Yeager Family Library. It is free with paying admission. This summer series is sponsored by Renaissance Village Moreno Valley.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 20:03:00 +0000
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