Capt. Charles Barton, USN (Ret.), Military Honors/Popular Mechanics: Rescue From the Heart of a Typhoon
Crewmen of a downed bomber are saved from a raging sea in a daring feat by nuclear subs fighting 40-foot waves.
Capt. Leroy Johnson, pilot of Cobalt 2, a B-52G of the Strategic Air Command, taxied into takeoff position at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. It was past 4:00 a.m., July 8, 1972. Two other planes in the flight already were airborne. Airman Daniel Johansen, gunner and , at 21, the youngest member of the crew, felt the power surge, the runway bumps, then liftoff.
Lights dropped away in the predawn darkness as the aircraft headed seaward above the surf that crashed against Guam's precipitous northeast coast. Crosswinds from local showers burbled over the cliff, tossing the plane, an indication of bad weather throughout the Western Pacific. Three tropical storms were on or near their flight path. The nearest would grow into Typhoon Rita - a storm they'd come to remember. As the bomber climbed through 20,000 feet, Johansen's headset came alive. "I've lost airspeed readings." It was the captain. "it's out over here, too," replied his 25-year-old copilot, Lt. William Neely III. "Johansen, come forward and give us a hand."
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WNU Editor: What can I say .... but an incredible story.
