A Kalitta Air Boeing 747 (C/S CKS9457) freighter N741CK makes an early morning arrival into RAF Fairford to transport parts and supplies back to the U.S. after Baltops 2017.
It was a busy day for bombers on June 9th at RAF Fairford, and was the first time I’d seen (and filmed) all three of Global Strike Command’s heavy bombers on the same day.
These two aircraft were flown from Whiteman AFB, Missouri, visited a bombing range in the UK before recovering into Fairford. These aircraft were 82-1068 Spirit Of New York (MYTEE51) and 88-0329 Spirit Of Missouri (MYTEE52).
The famed B-2 Spirit ‘Stealth Bomber’ entered service in 1997 and they still look absolutely cutting edge to my eyes, despite the fact that they celebrate 20 years in service this year. Happy birthday B-2.
Shortly following the B-52 on the same day, and just after 6am on a chilly summers morning, the regular dawn chorus of rural Gloucestershire was accompanied by the sound of two B-1Bs (85-0084 BONE01 and 86-139 BONE02) out to a Baltops mission somewhere out in the Baltic Sea.
These aircraft come from the 34th BS United States Air Force at Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota.