1968 Thule Air Base B-52 Crash - Thule Monitor Mission

Thule Monitor Mission

In 1960, the USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) began Operation Chrome Dome, a peacetime airborne alert program devised by General Thomas S. Power to fly nuclear-armed B-52 Stratofortresses to the borders of the Soviet Union. The flights were scheduled to ensure that twelve bombers were aloft at all times. These bombers gave SAC offensive capability in the event of a Soviet first strike, and provided a significant Cold War nuclear deterrent. Beginning in 1961, B-52 bombers also flew secret "Hard Head" missions (or "Thule Monitor Missions") over Thule Air Base with the purpose of maintaining visual surveillance of the base's strategically important Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS), which provided early warning of Soviet missile launches. If the communication link between North American Aerospace Defense Command and the base was severed, the aircraft crew could determine if the interruption resulted from an attack or a technical failure. The monitoring mission started when the designated aircraft reached a waypoint at 75°0′N 67°30′W / 75°N 67.5°W / 75; -67.5 in Baffin Bay and entered a figure-eight holding pattern above the air base at an altitude of 35,000 feet (11,000 m).

In 1966, United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara proposed cutting "Chrome Dome" flights because the BMEWS system was fully operational, the bombers had been made redundant by missiles, and $123 million ($881 million as of 2013) could be saved. SAC and the Joint Chiefs of Staff opposed the plan, so a compromise was reached whereby a smaller force of four bombers would be on alert each day. Despite the reduced program and the risks highlighted by a 1966 B-52 crash in Spain, SAC continued to dedicate one of the aircraft to monitoring Thule Air Base. This assignment was without the knowledge of civilian authorities in the United States, who SAC determined did not have the "need to know" about specific operational points.