Word: scopehead
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...squadron had recently flown from Limestone Air Force Base in Maine to England in 4 hr. and 37 min.) First, on the day before take-off from Upper Heyford, the three-man, crews went through a two-hour briefing session on what they were supposed to do. Then the "scopehead" (SAC slang for the bombardier-observer who runs the radar and is responsible for putting the A-bomb on target) of each crew withdrew to calculate- his course and study the radar pictures of his plane's target so he would be able to recognize the target by radar...
Guided by Ground Controlled Approach (G.C.A.), the pilot headed in. In the observer's compartment, the scopehead had the landing strip firmly fixed on his radarscope, and could have directed the landing without help from G.C.A. if required. But the scopehead kept still, let G.C.A. do the talking. G.C.A. altered the bomber's course a degree as it let down to 1,500 ft. "Come on down, come on down," said G.C.A. in a relaxed voice. "You're right on now. Steady. It's raining, and the landing strips are wet and slippery. Easy...
Come on down." "Drag Chute Out!" The pilot, with his air tube wide open, letting a steady stream of frozen misty air blow on his face (the frozen air turned to snow and fell like soft hail inside the cabin), strained for a view of the field. The scopehead, his eyes glued to his radar, spoke for the first time at about 400 ft. above the ground. "You're just off a bit to the right," he said. Seconds later, the wheels chirped on the runway. The B-47 didn't bounce, just scraped, then the plane settled...
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