Robert M. Bond (16 December 1929 – 26 April 1984) was a
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
(USAF). He saw combat in
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and three tours in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, before becoming an instructor and then vice-commander of an organization which developed and evaluated weaponry for the USAF. He was decorated for his combat service and his peacetime role. He died in an accident in Nevada while flying a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
-built
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generati ...
jet fighter-bomber.
Early life and career
![F-4Ds 435th TFS over Vietnam edit](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/F-4Ds_435th_TFS_over_Vietnam_edit.jpg)
Bond was born on 16 December 1929 in
Trenton, Tennessee
Trenton is the county seat and fourth largest city of Gibson County, Tennessee, Gibson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,264 at the 2010 census, down from 4,683 in 2000.
History
Trenton was established in 1824 as a county se ...
,
and attended
Marion Military Institute
Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a Public college, public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state mil ...
in
Marion, Alabama
Marion is a city in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 3,686, up 4.8% over 2000. First known as Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed for a hero of the American Revolut ...
, and the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment.
...
.
He joined the USAF in 1951 and flew 44 combat missions in the
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...
during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.
He flew
F-84 Thunderjet
The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thu ...
s, F-86s and
F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...
s in Europe, then in 1958 trained at the
USAF Fighter Weapons School
The USAF Weapons School is a unit of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, assigned to the 57th Wing and Space Delta 1. It is located at Nellis AFB, Nevada.
Mission
The mission of the USAF Weapons School is to teach gradu ...
at
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...
. In 1963 he became chief of the Strike Branch at
Kadena Air Base
(IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highl ...
, Japan, and flew
combat missions over Vietnam in the
F-105 Thunderchief
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Viet ...
.
After going to the
Air Command and Staff College at
Maxwell AFB
Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...
, Alabama from 1965 to 1966, he served as F-105 and
F-111 Aardvark
The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included ground attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons ca ...
project officer at
Norton AFB
Norton Air Force Base (1942–1994) was a United States Air Force facility east of downtown San Bernardino in San Bernardino County, California.
Overview
For the majority of its operational lifetime, Norton was a logistics depot and heavy-li ...
, California.
From 1968 to 1969 he flew 213 combat missions from
Cam Ranh Air Base
Calmodulin (CaM) (an abbreviation for calcium-modulated protein) is a multifunctional intermediate calcium-binding messenger protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells. It is an intracellular target of the secondary messenger Ca2+, and the bind ...
in
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, in the
F-4 Phantom
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...
.
On 30 December 1968 in
Vĩnh Lợi District in the
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...
, Bond, by now a
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
, made repeated ground attacks in poor weather and under heavy automatic ground fire, for which he won the
Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
.
He was an F-100 instructor pilot at
Luke AFB
Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, and west of Phoenix.
Luke AFB is a major training ...
, Arizona, from July 1969 to January 1970, when he was given command of the
310th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, the first USAF unit to fly the
A-7 Corsair
The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV).
The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...
.
While there, he became director of operations for the
58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing.
In 1972 he served a third tour in Vietnam, this time in the A-7.
In June 1973 he joined USAF HQ at
the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
in Washington D.C. He was awarded the
Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation.
Examples include:
*Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action
* Distinguishe ...
for his work there in modernizing and integrating weapon systems.
He worked in many of the USAF's "black" programs, which were activities so undercover that they commanded secret funds to avoid scrutiny. In August 1978 he was sent to
Eglin AFB
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The 9 ...
, Florida, as commander of the Armament Division,
Air Force Systems Command
The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems.
Ove ...
. On 25 April 1980, as a
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
, Bond read out President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
's eulogy at a memorial service for the eight American servicemen who died in
Operation Eagle Claw
Operation Eagle Claw, known as Operation Tabas ( fa, عملیات طبس) in Iran, was a failed operation by the United States Armed Forces ordered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter to attempt the rescue of 52 embassy staff held captive at the ...
, the unsuccessful U.S. attempt to free
hostages held by Iran. In June 1981 he became vice commander, Air Force Systems Command,
Andrews AFB
Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force. In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form Joint B ...
, Maryland, and was promoted to lieutenant general.
Death
![Chaos Communication Camp 2007 - military plane](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Chaos_Communication_Camp_2007_-_military_plane.JPG)
On 26 April 1984 Bond, who was about to retire, made a farewell visit to "an Air Force Systems Command unit" believed to have been the
6513th Test Squadron, Red Hats, at
Groom Lake
Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport ...
. The Red Hats, like the
4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron
The 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron (4477 TES) was a squadron in the United States Air Force under the claimancy of the Tactical Air Command (TAC). It is currently inactive. The product of Project Constant Peg, the unit was created to expo ...
''Red Eagles'' based at
Tonopah Test Range
The Tonopah Test Range (TTR, also designated as Area 52) is a highly classified, restricted military installation of the United States Department of Defense, and United States Department of Energy ( nuclear stockpile stewardship) located about ...
, clandestinely operated Soviet aircraft. On a previous visit to Groom, Bond had flown the secret
YF-117A prototype. The
MiG-23
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generatio ...
was known as YF-113 in U.S. service and, along with a greater number of
MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...
s, was part of a collection of Soviet-built aircraft that the 4477th flew. Bond insisted on flying the MiG-23BN fighter-bomber after a cursory briefing over the cockpit rail, even though it was considered a difficult aircraft and pilots usually received several hours of ground instruction before flying it. On his second high-speed flight, he was flying at and over
Mach 2, and had left the
T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first, and the most produced, supersonic trainer. The T-38 remains in service in several air forces.
The United States Air Force (USAF) operates the most ...
chase plane that was flying with him far behind, when a hydro-mechanical inhibitor activated, preventing him from disengaging the
afterburner
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...
. It was designed to avoid sudden shut-downs at high speed that could damage the
Tumansky R-29
The Tumansky R-29 is a Soviet turbojet aircraft engine that was developed in the early 1970s. It is generally described as being in the "third generation" of Soviet gas turbine engines which are characterized by high thrust-to-weight ratios and t ...
engine, or even cause it to explode and destroy the aircraft. At such speeds, with the
wings fully swept back to 72°, the MiG had very limited
pitch authority and was inclined to yaw and roll. Bond lost control, made a distress call ("I gotta get out of here") and was then killed in the
ejection, when the slipstream broke his neck and shredded the canopy of his parachute. The aircraft crashed in the desert, diving in at a 60° angle and impacting on what is now known as Jackass Flats, part of Area 25 that was still contaminated from
NERVA
Nerva (; originally Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dy ...
nuclear rocket testing years before. Bond's body was discovered by a USAF sergeant on his way to work, who removed the rank insignia from Bond's flight suit with a pocket knife before going to get help.
Aftermath
![MiG Ejector Seat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/MiG_Ejector_Seat.jpg)
The USAF would not confirm or deny that Bond was flying a MiG when he died,
and stated that Bond was flying "an Air Force specially modified test craft",
but it leaked the information to a journalist, Fred Hoffman.
When ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine reported on the accident and the rumors of the U.S. MiG program, the USAF was forced to reveal that it was flying Soviet aircraft. There were fears that the publicity would also lead to the exposure of the
F-117
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational air ...
program, which was still secret and was also based at Tonopah, but this did not happen.
The accident investigation was chaired by General
Gordon E. Williams
Gordon E. Williams (born 1935) is a retired United States Air Force officer. A command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours, he flew numerous Air Force and Navy aircraft. Upon his retirement on 1 August 1988, he was the director for plans and ...
. The investigation report was kept secret, but one pilot who had seen it commented unsympathetically: "He should have read the flight manual." The report was required reading for American MiG pilots in years to come. There was some annoyance that Bond had written off an irreplaceable national asset. Work continued to make the KM-1 ejection seat used in the MiG-23 safe and reliable; another USAF pilot, Mark Postai, had been killed in an attempted ejection from a MiG-23 in 1982. Maintaining the Soviet ejection seats included
reverse engineering
Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...
the pyrotechnic cartridges which fired them, as these had a relatively short life and had to be replaced regularly as the chemicals degraded. Pilots over the age of 45 were not normally supposed to fly solo in fast jets, and Bond was 54 at the time of his fatal crash.
Lieutenant Colonel James Tiley, commander of the
Red Hats, was reassigned in July, though it is a matter of debate whether this was related to Bond's death.
Bond was buried in
Ashland, Mississippi
Ashland is a town in Benton County, Mississippi, United States and the county seat. The population was 569 at the 2010 census. Ashland was incorporated on March 8, 1871, and has a Mayor-Aldermen form of government. Mitch Carroll is the 28th mayor ...
, and was survived by his wife Betty and four children.
A memorial stone to him was placed in the desert where he crashed.
Major Thomas E. Drake, an experienced MiG-23 pilot who frequently said "This airplane will kill you today if you let it", emphasized the importance of good preparation to Colonel James Evans, who was preparing to learn to fly the Soviet types, by referring to "the General Bobby Bond Memorial Checkout: two take-offs, one landing, and a fatal ejection." The 4477th was inactivated in July 1990 but it is likely that the USAF continues to operate Russian aircraft clandestinely, including
MiG-29
The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the Mi ...
s and
Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...
s.
References
Notes
Footnotes
Bibliography
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External links
F-117a.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Robert M.
1929 births
1984 deaths
United States Air Force generals
American aviators
United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War
United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War
American Korean War pilots
American Vietnam War pilots
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
People from Trenton, Tennessee
Marion Military Institute alumni
University of Mississippi alumni
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1984