B52 bombers depart Europe as U2 spy planes rotate 🇺🇸 🇬🇧

Two B52 bombers and a U2 spy plane depart the European area of operations after attending airshows in the UK. Another U2 arrived to take the place of the predecessor.

The B52 Stratofortress 'Junkyard Dog' arrived at RAF Fairford for the Royal International Tattoo (RIAT) on Wednesday, July 17th, under the callsign 'Skull 20'. It remained at the standby bomber airfield to conduct a flypast of the Farnborough International Air Show on Wednesday, July 24th.

Another B52 with the nickname 'Free Bird' also participated in a flypast at Farnborough on Friday, July 26th. That B52 arrived on Tuesday, July 23rd under the callsign 'Skull 21'. Both travelled from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, USA, before returning on Friday.

See a playlist of videos from Bomber Task Force (BTF) deployments to Europe here:    • Bomber Task Force in Europe  

A U2 Dragon Lady departed on the same day, presumably back to it's homebase at Beele Air Force Base in California. This U2 was already operating out of RAF Fairford before displaying at RIAT. Another U2 arrived to take it's place a few days later (also seen in this video).

For more videos from the Royal International Air Tattoo (#RIAT), check out our playlist:    • Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT)  

Recorded: Friday, July 26th, 2024
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Outroduction Music: Watch it Glow - Silent Partner    • Watch it Glow – Silent Partner (No Co...  
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