The following image was taken from a KC-135 tanker on Jul. 31, 2012.
Image credit: U.S. Air Force
It shows a B-1B as it crosses the Atlantic Ocean on its way to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. The aircraft (#85-0064) had taken off from RAF Mildenhall as “Rama 81 Heavy” along with Quid 63, an accompanying tanker of the local-based 100th Air Refueling Wing.
The “Bone” had arrived in the UK on Jul. 11, when an avionics failure forced the U.S. Air Force bomber to divert to Mildenhall.
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Interestingly, on Jul. 31, the return trip to Dyess was delayed by another KC-135 that experienced an emergency during an air-to-air refueling sortie over Germany.
Here’s an audio file of RAMA 81 talking with Gander to coordinate a weather deviation and rendez vous with the tanker approaching the East Coast.
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