A Moment in Air Force History

Members of the 86th Airlift Wing have flown many important missions far and wide, but one former 86th pilot, Lt. Col. Charles M. “Charlie” Duke Jr., gained world attention for his flight for two reasons: the type of aircraft and how far he flew it.

Colonel Duke started his career with the wing as a fighter pilot flying F-86 Sabres from 1959 to 1962. The wing was already operating out of Ramstein in support of the air defense of Central Europe — sitting on the front lines of the Cold War. Ten years later, Colonel Duke’s flight was one of the United States’ biggest Cold War victories.

The aircraft was huge and powerful. At Ramstein, his single-engine F-86 produced about 5,500 pounds of thrust. In 1972, his craft “Casper,” including deployable “Orion,” were propelled by five engines that produced a combined 7.7 million pounds of thrust.

While numerous experiments were conducted on his flight, the craft itself was no longer considered experimental. By the time Colonel Duke flew, this was already the fifth such mission and his flight was not any farther than the previous missions. But he did fly farther than any other 86th wing member in a single mission.

Colonel Duke flew roughly 478,000 miles. His flight took several days, from April 16 to 27. He made a three-day stop at “Descartes Highlands,” where he took a few short drives on the ground before continuing on his return flight.

For those who have not figured it out yet, “Casper “and “Orion” were propelled to Descartes Highlands by a five-engine Saturn V rocket. Colonel Duke, a former member of the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, flew the Apollo 16 to become the 10th of 12 men to walk on the moon.

(Courtesy of the 435th Air Base Wing and 86th Airlift Wing history offices)