Bradford Runyon Interview, 5 May 2000
‹‹ Interview Index
1 /
2 /
3 /
4 /
5 /
6 /
7 /
8 /
9 /
10 /
11 /
12 /
13 /
14 /
15 /
16 /
17 /
18 /
19 /
20 /
21 /
22 /
23 /
24 /
25 /
26 /
27
| put a camera in the tail. Well, so at Minot we had the H model, which was built in 1960 and it was their newest plane. Well they put different engines, a whole lot more powerful engines then the other planes had and a gunner still up front but this time he doesn't have a camera, so if you go to war, you just—he just sets the gun so if anything comes in the firing range they just automatically fire. So you know, we didn't have a camera or a gunner in the back of the airplane to look out for us in that direction. | ||
| INT: | Yeah. So you only had a camera for the radarscope? | |
| BR: | Yes. Plus we have our Bombay cameras so, whenever we drop bombs why we can see their impact, and so forth. | |
| INT: | So you were first stationed at Minot—what year was that? | |
| BR: | Oh, I guess '67. Late '66 or 7. | |
| INT: | Okay. | |
| BR: | Yeah. | |
| INT: | And what were you doing there? | |
| BR: | I was co—pilot initially and— | |
| INT: | Instructor or? | |
| BR: | Okay, well after I was there for a while then they selected me for the standardization evaluation unit, which is—we gave the check rides for other aircrews at our base, so I was an instructor co—pilot at that time. | |
| INT: | And why were the B-52's stationed at Minot? | |
| BR: | Well this is during the Cold War and then we had nuclear weapons on them so we were—well we had a certain number on alert at all times, and, you know, and different times then we had 'em on alert in the air loaded with nuclear bombs. | |
| INT: | So the concern was coming out of— | |
| BR: | Out of Russia over the North Pole. | |
| INT: | You were tied in with that whole northern tier. | |
| BR: | Yes, uh—huh. |
‹‹ Previous Page — Next Page ››
3