DFCS-NW

I recommend Captain Allan G. Hagelthorn, B-52G Instructor Pilot for the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement as B-52G Aircraft Commander during combat operations in support of Operation DESERT STORM on the night of 20 January 1991. His crew was flying their first combat sortie. Their two-ship formation of B-52Gs was part of a six-ship strike package targeted against a radio transmitting facility just north of Baghdad. Their mission objective was to shutdown the transmitter for 72 hours. During this sortie they were faced with high concentrations of anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) and multiple guided missile launch sites. To defend against these ground threats, they had to rely on their own equipment. They were unsupported by normally mission-dedicated suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) aircraft. But their equipment wasn't all working. Their tail warning receiver and one jamming transmitter were inoperative. The flight into the target area was seven and a half hours long. Captain Hagelthorn performed two difficult, maximum gross weight air refuelings on this long flight into Iraq. As they approached the target area from the west, AAA fire lit up the sky. Surface-to-air missile (SAM) radars engaged their aircraft, but no missile fired. During the bomb run, the B-52's equipment alerted the electronic warfare officer (EW) to the presence of multiple SAMs and airborne radar interceptors. The EW, without the aid of his tail warning receiver, needed one more hand to handle all the threats. As they turned to the bomb run, a SAM came up at one o'clock and transitioned to eleven o'clock. At turn completion, another SAM acquisition came up for about 30 seconds then stopped. Another SAM came up at 2 o'clock. The EW jammed the most lethal threat, a SAM at 10 o’clock. The aircraft commander maneuvered the aircraft left and right of track throughout the bomb run to degrade the SAM radars tracking him. As the bomb doors opened, Captain Hagelthorn rolled back on bomb-run track. At six seconds to release, the EW called, "missile guidance, break right now” The SAM had them in its "sights." The navigator called out time to release, "four, three, two...." The pilot corrected back to track, maintaining bomb run parameters. The SAM site stayed "locked” onto the B-52 overhead. The EW dropped chaff, dispensing over 300 bundles. Their only jamming transmitter was jamming the SAM at 10 o'clock. They had no jamming against the SAM at two o'clock. The navigator called, "Bombs away,... break right pilot." The pilot pulled the B-52 into 50 degrees of bank and changed altitude in the break turn. The EW dispensed more chaff. The SAM at two o'clock now moved to 11 o'clock. The aircraft commander saw a missile plume tracking in his left window. The first SAM finally stopped tracking, and the EW allocated the single transmitter on the SAM now moving to the 11 o'clock position. The pilots saw the bright flash of the missile exploding below the wing. It had apparently fused on all the chaff dispensed. The crew maneuvered back to the planned heading for the rejoin with the other cell. The formation returned to base after flying seven more hours and after performing a critical lightweight air refueling. The bomb damage assessment of the target showed the mission was successful. All of the bombs were in the target box with most of the bombs on target—dead center. Captain Hagelthorn’s bombs were perfectly spaced the length of the target. The damage was so heavy and precise the facility never transmitted again. Captain Hagelthorn and his crew performed in an absolutely flawless manner, countering numerous enemy attacks despite numerous defensive equipment failures and delivering bombs on target. Captain Hagelthorn’s outstanding achievement, superior skill, and gallantry in the face of intense enemy fire clearly merits the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross.