Coronet Bat

Coronet Bat was a 1995 U.S. Air Force exercise in which two B-1B Lancers flew around the world non-stop, dropping practice bombs on ranges in Europe, Asia and North America.

Around 3 a.m. on June 2, 1995, four B-1Bs launched from Dyess AFB in Texas. The group was commanded by then-Lt. Col. Doug Raaberg, pilot of the lead aircraft,^[1] nicknamed "Hellion" (tail number 85-057), and accompanied by "Global Power" (tail number 85-082)^[2]. The other two bombers — "Bad to the B-one" and "Black Widow" — served as "airborne spares" for the two primary aircraft (they were not needed and landed at Langley AFB, Virginia, and Lajes Field in the Azores). The servicemen flying the aircraft were Capt. Gerald Goodfellow, Capt. Kevin Clotfelter, Capt. Rick Carver, Capt. Chris Stewart, Capt. Steve Adams, Capt. Kevin Houdek and Capt. Steve Reeves.^[3] Requiring six air refuelings, the two B-1Bs performed practice bombing runs over the Pachino Range, Italy, the Torishima Range near Kadena Air Base in the western Pacific, and the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR), dropping BDU-50 inert, concrete-filled 500-pound munitions (practice versions of the Mark 82 bomb) on these three targets.^[4]

The total flight time was 36 hours and 13 minutes with an average speed of 631.16 mph (1,015.75 km/h)^[5] across a route that went over the North Atlantic, through the Strait of Gibraltar, across the Mediterranean, south to the Indian Ocean, north over the Pacific Ocean to the Aleutian Islands then southeast to the west coast of the US back to a landing at the starting point of Dyess AFB.^[1] All eight crew members completing the around-the-world flight were awarded the Mackay Trophy.^[6]

See also

• Lucky Lady II - the first-ever non-stop around-the-world airplane flight, 1949
• Operation Power Flite - B-52 around-the-world simulated bombing mission, 1957

References