The Lisa Ann Air Crew
Shemya, Alaska
Standing L-R: Capt. Charles A. Levis - Taps: 2 April 1972 , Capt. George Reagan, Capt. Peter M. Hurd - Taps: 16 December 2015, Capt. Duncan Wilmore, Capt. Ronald D. Strong, Capt. Richard P. Reeves -Taps: 19 June 2001.
Kneeling L-R: MSgt. Herbert C. Gregory - Taps: 5 June 1969, MSgt. Ernest B. Farley, TSgt. Maynard C. Chaney, MSgt. Clarence R. Wine, TSgt. James C. McMillan
Rivet Ann - Flying Over Shemya 1968.
Rivet Amber - Shemya
Rivet Ann over Shemya
Rivet Ann - Flying Over Shemya 1968.
This is "Rivet Amber" (#62-4137). Her original name was Lisa Ann (Named after Lisa Ann O'Rear, daughter of Big Safari program director Mr. F. E. O'Rear) prior to changes in 1967. She is a model RC-135E and the only one of her kind. Rivet Amber and Rivet Ball operated together as a team from Shemya. With the two of them we really kept a close eye on the Russians.
Rivet Amber was relatively new to Shemya back then. Her configuration was also new and experimental. She was equipped with the most powerful and sophisticated airborne radar that ever flew.... even to this day.
One thing for sure.... the Hughes engineers deserve a lot of credit for creating the worlds most complex and powerful radar that ever went airborne. The total weight of the radar topped out at 35,413 Lbs. making Rivet Amber the heaviest 135 in the entire fleet. There were no other aircraft in the Air Force like Rivet Amber. She was very special and very expensive. In 1960 dollars ($35 Million +) it was the most expensive single aircraft in the Air Force.
Rivet Amber and Rivet Ball were not only very expensive but they were very important. In the mid 1960s the Air Force had a Precedence Rating System that was divided into four categories ( I-IV ). Each category had space for about 100 projects.
Every project of importance to the Air Force was included. Rivet Amber and Rivet Ball were in Category I. Their Precedence Rating was I-17 and I-18 respectively. That meant that out of all the projects of importance, there were only 16 more important to the Air Force.
The aircrews and maintenance troops assigned to Rivet Amber and Rivet Ball were also the best of the best. They were highly qualified, motivated and professional. Everyone worked long and hard to bring home the bacon. We didn't think of it as work though. We thought of it as a rare opportunity and privilege to be involved with such a special program. We loved what we were doing in spite of the difficulties and risks involved. It was an all consuming passion for many of us and will be remembered as the best assignment of our career.
Rivet Ann Landing in Shemya 1968.
Once upon a time... there were two very special airplanes that lived.... far.... far.... away on a tiny island in the Bering Sea. One was named "Rivet Ball" and the other was named "Rivet Amber".
Very few people knew anything about these two planes or the men that flew them. Even family members knew very little. That's because their mission was... TOP SECRET.
The Soviets wanted to know everything about these two planes and what they did. They didn't like them at all.... not one bit. The aircrews loved their airplanes and what they did with them. They loved every minute of it.... even to this day. The story I'm about to tell you goes all the way back to the 60s when the United States and Soviet Union were locked in a "Cold War" battle of "Mutual Assured Destruction" (MAD). Remember the classic movie of 1964, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb?
The main players in this tale were called "Ravens". Their official title was Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO). The Russians thought of them more like spies than Ravens and were just itching for a chance to shoot them down. Well.... none of that matters very much anymore because many things have changed since then. Those were the good old days of the "Cold War". The only thing that remains now is our memory of a very special time and place.
The remote island of Shemya is at the far end of the Aleutian chain. Once there, you will find out what Alice in Wonderland felt like when she entered the Rabbit Hole. Shemya is not a mirage, but a secret base of operations for collecting intelligence and launching spy planes. Shemya is no ordinary run of the mill island and tourists are not welcome.
The treasured jewels of Shemya were glass balls that washed up on the beach. They were hard to find but they were worth their weight in gold. Your tour of duty was not considered complete if you left The Rock without any balls. The glass balls were used by nearby fishing fleets to float their nets.
Boozer was a friend to everyone on Shemya. One of his favorite spots was the main entrance to building #600.
The remote island of Shemya is at the far end of the Aleutian chain. Once there, you will find out what Alice in Wonderland felt like when she entered the Rabbit Hole. Shemya is not a mirage, but a secret base of operations for collecting intelligence and launching spy planes. Shemya is no ordinary run of the mill island and tourists are not welcome.
Click on photos to enlarge.
Lisa Ann preceded us, and we finally arrived at Eielson AFB, some 20-odd miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, early in the afternoon of the 25th . We had planned to go directly to Shemya but couldn't land there because the weather was bad. (No surprise!)
Although the month was September, the weather was already starting to get cold, and the skies were overcast. Some snow was trying to cover the ground. From the air, everything on the ground was black, white, or in shades of gray. Eielson is a very spread-out base with longer distances between buildings than would be expected for such a cold climate.
A large steam plant provided both heat and power to all the buildings on base. If the steam boilers were ever to fail for more than about a day, the base would have to be evacuated. This was because the steam pipes would freeze, burst, and become useless, even if the boilers could be restarted.
Eielson's atmosphere was very depressing, and I began to wonder if I could stand up against the family separation, isolation, bleak environment, and loneliness. The Alaska skies were overcast and gray and, with the cold weather and the six-hour time change jet-lag, they seemed to exacerbate my gray mood.
Charlie Levis took me aside and gently, and greatly, encouraged me. He was certainly the leader of our pack. Without Charlie's help Shemya would have been so very much worse for me and everyone else. We couldn't have done the TDY without him.
Here's an X-Ray view of Rivet Amber showing her crew positions and seven megawatt phased-array radar that was capable of tracking an object the size of a soccer ball from a range of 300 nautical miles. Click Here for a high resolution photo of Rivet Amber's cockpit provided by Don Earlywine.
The electrical load of the tracking radar was very high and required a separate engine driven generator which was located under the left wing between engine #2 and the fuselage. The heat generated by the radar was also very high and required a special heat exchanger (radiator) which was mounted under the right wing between engine #3 and the fuselage.
Rivet Amber's radar was very powerful and dangerous if you got to close. It proved powerful enough that Soviet fighter interceptors kept a respectable distance for fear they might be roasted and toasted.
The witch symbol shown above was created by Rivet Amber's maintenance team.
When Rivet Amber returned from a successful mission the crew chief stenciled a witch on the fuselage directly above the entrance hatch.
The Crescent Moon above the Witch represents a Reentry Vehicle (RV).
Click Here for Rivet Amber's, Mission Accomplished, page of Witches.
