Nuclear Weapons Flight Incident - 1950s

Another brief departure from the FAA.

I just read a book, "Shards: Dialogues of War" by a very close friend, George Heuston.  He just published it.  The book is a collection of interviews with Vets coupled with a reading of his great-great-grandfather's Civil War diary.  It was a great read and I congratulate George on this, his fourth book.  

One of his stories, in particular, shocked me.  I have read a lot of about accidents and mishaps involving nuclear weapons but I had never heard this story.  I am wondering if we can somehow verify it.  It seems important.

On page 101 of the book, LTC (ret) Walter Dean Hunter is quoted discussing an experience in the Strategic Air Command.  It is unclear when this happened but George thinks it was in the "mid-50s....maybe 1954 or 1955."  As per LTC Hunter, he was flying nuclear-armed B-47s at that time.  

In one particular flight, the B-47 was loaded with one or more nuclear weapons.  As best I understand, the B-47 had tandem seating, with the two pilots having no direct contact but sharing the same flight control wires.  

During the flight, LTC Hunter reports the co-pilot started acting oddly and, abruptly, tried to crash the plane and its nuclear payload.  The bomb was disarmed, as it required both pilots to activate it.  But a crash could have released dangerous radioactive isotopes.

As related by Hunter, the copilot dived the plane towards the ground.  Hunter wrestled with his set of flight controls and tried to correct the decent.  I assume that his controls were connected to the copilots and, whoever was stronger, got their inputs reflected in the plane's aeronautics.  Hunter reported that, at some point, the plane was inverted.  Hunter then managed to stabilize the jet while the copilot continued to try to crash it.  The LTC and copilot engaged in several hours of a prolonged and exhausting push-pull match with the control surfaces of the plane before, eventually, the co-pilot tired and allowed the plane to be landed.  

During the battle over control surfaces, LTC Hunter radioed a "mayday" and two fighter jets were ordered to shoot the B-47 down, if Hunter somehow lost the battle over controls.

Once the B-47 safely landed, Military Police took the unnamed copilot into custody and Hunter never heard from him again.  

I know George; he is good, honest, forthright man -- as fine as they come. I do not doubt his rendition of the story.  As far as LTC Hunter's telling...well, he is one of the most highly decorated airmen in the history of the USAF.  

Someone should verify the story but, oh my, this cold-war incident is disturbing.  I can understand why, if true, it was hidden from the public for so long.  

In my examinations on the topic, it does seem rare for direct pilot-pilot physical fights to occur in the cockpit.  In the known "internal threat" plane crashes where there was a murder-suicide, nearly all involved the murder locking the pilot or copilot out of the cockpit before crashing the plane.  See my prior "Part 1" blog where I describe these events in more detail.  

It does also bring to mind Federal Express Flight 705 .  There, Auburn Calloway, a Federal Express employee in the jump-seat, tried to hijack and crash the jet.  Unlike the B-47 story, the crewmembers physically shared a common space.  That enabled Calloway to directly assault and badly wound the three flight crewmen.  After a harrowing fight, he was (barely) overcome and the plane was safely landed.   

I am trying to find out if LTC Hunter is still with us.  If so, perhaps he can elaborate on the story.  George thinks he was given an award for his actions -- the Distinguished Flying Cross?  Even if so, I doubt the award  would detail much;  the incident would have been highly classified.  If others have insight, please do say.