Memories of WWIII: Destination Bitburg Part III

Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Andrew Baker, USAF (Ret.)- “The next morning, Drool (Major Ed Leahy, 27fth TFS operations officer) and I hit the ground running. By first light Drool was busy working out air plans with the Bitburg wing staff and contemporaries from our sister squadrons there. For most of the morning on 5 July, I …

Memories of WWIII: Destination Bitburg Part II

Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Andrew Baker, USAF (Ret.)- “We touched down at Bitburg in the early afternoon of July 4th. Independence Day and a Saturday, though my first impression of the airbase revealed signs of neither. The airbase was a madhouse of activity and drove home how seriously USAFE was taking this crisis. To be frank, …

Memories of WWIII: Destination Bitburg Part I

Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Andrew Baker, USAF (Ret.)- “Around 2000 on July 3, 1987 I received a call at home from my squadron CO. He ordered me to pack a bag and in front of the wing headquarters building at 2100. Fortunately, packing a bag was no big deal. I already had one ready to go …

The Central Front D+20 (29 July, 1987) Part IV

General Bill Kirk, USAF was the Commander of Allied Air Forces in Central Europe (COMAAFCE). Thus far, he had run an almost flawless air war, having achieved air superiority and overcome Warsaw Pact advantage in aircraft numbers, as well as the much-vaunted effectiveness of enemy air defenses. That is not to say NATO losses in …