Flying from the Black Hole

The B-52 Navigator-Bombardiers of Vietnam

By: Robert O. Harder

Narrated by: Bob Souer

Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Air Force navigators and bombardiers have long labored under the shadow of pilots - their contributions undervalued, misunderstood, or simply unknown to the general public. This was especially the case with the non-pilot officer aircrew in the Vietnam and Cold War-era B-52 Stratofortress.

Of the six people who operated the bomber, three wore navigator wings - two of those men were also bombardiers, the other an electronic warfare officer. Without the navigator-bombardiers in particular, executing the nuclear war strike plan or flying Southeast Asian conventional bombing sorties would have been impossible.

This book reveals who these men were and what they did down in the "Black Hole", a story told by one of their own.

©2009 United States Naval Institute (P)2018 Tantor

Excellent story and narration.

I really enjoyed this book. The author does an excellent humorous job of having us ride along as a a B-52 navigator. The book starts off with a review of bomb aiming of WW1 and 2, and the arduous training programs. the author than delves into SAC's culture (good and bad) and than takes us to "Arc lite" and "Linebacker" missions over Vietnam. Highly recommended book.

Super story

Well done. Great look at navigators and radar navigators. Might have touched on how B-52 tactics changed as the airframe had new capabilities added but overall a great listen. (with one caveat— as with some other military books, get your pronunciations correct! it’s “sack! (SAC) not “ess-ay-see” and “”ee-woah (EWO)” and several others.)

Good Story but Bad Narration

I really enjoyed the story but couldn't stand the narrator spelling out the acronym for the Strategic Air Command (SAC). In the military, we don't usually spell out acronyms, so SAC is pronounced "sack", not S-A-C. Given the number of times the acronym comes up in the book, its especially grating to hear it spelled out.

Other than that, I enjoyed the book!

Intriguing Review of the Buff

Enjoyed the unique viewpoint of being a navigator-bombardier on the b-52 during Vietnam

Good insight on the B52, crews and missions

Good book that doesn't overstays its welcome. The reading is superb, and the story keeps you coming back for more. The details about the operations and the crew's side on it all are presented in excelent form. Good insight into the plane, the training, the constraints, the theater of operations in the vietnam era. overall and ode to a terrific plane.

Exceptional story, well written!

The author puts you right there in the ejection seat! He covers all the boring out of your mind sequences with light humor and the terrifying instances with simulated pucker factor! This is one of the best I've read lately! As for the narrator, exceptional! Brilliantly incorporates the authors sarcasm!

Too Much Detail

I expected this book to be about events that happened to B-52 crews, but the first half was almost a detailed manual on how to navigate and drop bombs from a bomber. The second half is better, but overall I can't recommend it.

B52, a history relearned

Wow, the descriptions of this amazing airplane are so real that you feel like you are part of the crew. From it's inception and concept of design to where and how this airplane is currently staged. How vital a role this airplane was to ending of the Vietnam war, to the Cold war and the nuclear programs that proliferated after 1973. If you like learning history from the people who participated in the real events then this audio book is a great place to begin.

loved it,

great storyteller, if you like aviation and military history you will too
about the greatest bomber ever created

Today I learned something new.

As someone who grew up around these guys, it was an engaging listen. All too often, only the perspective of the left-seater is given; and, while exciting, it overlooks the rigorous training and important contributions of the guys who figured out the directions to the target, how to deliver the payload, and how to get home.

My only real complaint about this audio book is that the reader would say "S-A-C," pronouncing each letter, as opposed to "SAC" the word. (Rhymes with "sack.") The whole world knows what SAC (or TAC) is, and for the duration of the audio book, I'd grumble every time I heard those letters.
(I also think that there was a mistake in the use of the word "exacerbate" when I think the author meant "exasperate.")

All of that said, this was an excellent book, and I am glad that I discovered it.