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Friday, February 20, 1998
Piece of history gone with "The Hellion"
By BETH HALLMARK / Abilene Reporter-News
When "The Hellion" crashed and exploded in a Kentucky
field Wednesday afternoon, it took a piece of Air Force history
with it.
In a 1995 mission code-named "Coronet Bat," the Dyess
Air Force Base plane was one of the first two B-1B's to circle
the globe in a non-stop flight. It now lies in pieces and shreds
in a muddy cow pasture.
"The loss of any airplane is sad, but this one had some
history to it," said Lt. Col. B.J. Allers, who commands Dyess'
9th Bomb Squadron.
Aller, who could not remember how the plane earned its devilish
title, said he was pretty sure it had broken some kind of world
record for its round-the-world trip.
But then, B-1Bs hold more than 61 world records for their various
feats. "The Hellion" made its historic 20,100-mile global
trip in 36 hours along with "Global Power," another
Dyess B-1B.
Both planes returned home "Code One" after the around-the-world
journey, meaning they required only minor routine maintenance.
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Copyright ©1998,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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