Video Inside A B-52 Flying A Nuclear Alert Training Mission

For the first time in modern history, cameras were allowed to enter the cockpit of a B-52H Stratofortress strategic bomber flying a nuclear alert training mission.
FIlmed by Dallas-based film producer Jeff Bolton, who recently filmed aboard a flying B-2A Spirit bomber, the new video, available at JeffBolton.org, provides a quite rare and interesting view of an aircrew from the 96th Bomb Squadron (based on the shoulder patch worn by one of the pilots) with the 2nd Bomb Wing out of Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, as it carries out a simulated nuke attack.


Although quite short, the clip shows several interesting details: the nuclear weapons panel, the front panel and the nav station and, above all, it provides a glimpse at the rare Polarized Lead Zirconium Titanate (PLZT, pronounced “plizzit”) used by the B-52 pilots to protect their eyes from injuries caused by the initial thermal flash from a nuclear blast. It’s probably the first time I see these goggles worn in-flight.
As explained in details by Nathan Finneman in an article published by Flightgear On-line (one of the most famous websites among flight helmets collectors and one of my personal favorites on this topic for years), nuclear detonations would cause “Flash blindness” making extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a pilot, to handle the aircraft for some time. Just imagine the impact of a temporary blindness on an aircrew flying in hostile environment who are not able to read instruments and operate systems.
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Ok, with all the required background information provided above and without further ado, let’s have a look at Jeff Bolton’s B-52 clip (BTW if you find some other interesting detail I may have missed, please let me know!)