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Up for sale a VERY RARE! "B1 Test Flight Flown Cover" Signed. Signers are; Col. Charles Bock Jr and General George Larson Jr. This cover was flown on the first test flight (1-23) and is a ONE OF A KIND piece of both Military and Aviation history.
ES-5686E
The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is
a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force.
It is commonly called the "Bone" (from "B-One").[3] It is one of three strategic bombers in the U.S. Air Force fleet as of 2020,
the other two being the B-2 Spirit and
the B-52 Stratofortress. The
B-1 was first envisioned in the 1960s as a platform that would combine the Mach
2 speed of the B-58 Hustler with the
range and payload of the B-52, and was meant to ultimately replace both
bombers. After a long series of studies, Rockwell International (now
part of Boeing) won the design contest for what emerged as the B-1A.
This version had a top speed of Mach 2.2 at high altitude and the capability of flying
for long distances at Mach 0.85 at very low altitudes. The combination of the
high cost of the aircraft, the introduction of the AGM-86 cruise missile that flew the same basic profile, and
early work on the stealth bomber all significantly affected the need for the
B-1. This led to the program being canceled in 1977, after the B-1A prototypes
had been built. The program was restarted in 1981, largely as an interim
measure due to delays in the B-2 stealth bomber program, with the B-2 eventually reaching
initial operational capability in 1997. This led to a redesign as the B-1B,
which differed from the B-1A by having a lower top speed at high altitude of Mach 1.25, but improved low-altitude
performance of Mach 0.96. The electronics were also extensively improved during
the redesign, and the airframe was improved to allow takeoff with the maximum
possible fuel and weapons load. The B-1B began deliveries in 1986 and formally
entered service with Strategic Air Command (SAC)
as a nuclear bomber in that same year. By 1988, all 100 aircraft had been
delivered. In the early 1990s, following the Gulf War and concurrent with the disestablishment of SAC
and its reassignment to the newly formed Air Combat Command, the
B-1B was converted to conventional bombing use. It first served in combat
during Operation Desert Fox in
1998 and again during the NATO action in Kosovo the
following year. The B-1B has supported U.S. and NATO military
forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Air Force had 62 B-1Bs in service as of 2016. The
B-1B is expected to continue to serve into the 2030s, with the Northrop Grumman B-21
Raider to begin replacing the B-1B after 2025. The B-1s in
inventory are planned to be retired by 2036.
Major General George W. Larson Jr. is deputy assistant
secretary, budget, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Financial
Management and Comptroller, Washington, D.C.
General Larson was born in 1940, in Minneapolis and graduated
from Boise (Idaho) High School in 1958. He received a bachelor of science
degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1962 and a master's degree in
business administration from Golden Gate University in 1978. He completed Air
War College in 1979. Upon
graduation from the academy, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in June
1962. The general received his pilot wings in August 1963 at Vance Air Force
Base, Okla. His initial operational flying assignment was as a B-47 pilot with
the 9th Strategic Aerospace Wing, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. While
there he held positions as senior standardization and evaluation co-pilot and
aircraft commander. In February 1966 General Larson was assigned as an
EB-66 an RB-66 aircraft commander at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., in preparation
for a Southeast Asia assignment. He then was assigned to the 41st Tactical
Reconnaissance Squadron, Pacific Air Forces, based at Takhli Royal Thai Air
Force Base, Thailand. During this tour of duty, he flew 85 combat missions in
North Vietnam. He returned to the United States in February 1967 and was
assigned briefly as an instructor pilot in the undergraduate pilot training
program at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. The general was selected to
attend the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in April 1967.
After graduation in August 1968 he was assigned to the Bomber/Transport Branch,
Flight Test Operations, Air Force Systems Command, at Edwards. During this
assignment he was instrumental in the completion of test programs such as the
B-52G/H powered flight control system, C-1 19G/K performance testing, B-66 AIMS
programs, FB-111 Category II testing, and advance tanker refueling
investigations. From August 1972 to July 1978 he served with Strategic Air
Command's 4200th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Edwards as a pilot
representing SAC in initial operational test and evaluation of the B-1 weapons
system. After completing Air War College in June 1979, he became
commander of the 4007th Combat Crew Training Squadron, Plattsburgh Air Force
Base, N.Y., and was responsible for all FB-111 flight crew training. In
November 1980 General Larson was assigned as chief, Advanced Concepts Division,
Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, at Strategic Air Command
headquarters, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. In August 1981 he became executive
officer to SAC's commander in chief. The general was assigned as vice commander
of the 380th Bombardment Wing at Plattsburgh in May 1982 and took command of
the wing in June 1983. While its commander, the wing was awarded the Saunders
Trophy for best SAC air refueling performance, the Fairchild Trophy for best
SAC bombing performance and the Omaha Trophy for best SAC wing. In June 1985 he
returned to SAC headquarters as assistant deputy chief of staff for plans, and
became deputy chief of staff for plans in September 1987. He assumed his
present duties in August 1988.
The general is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flying
hours in 38 different Air Force aircraft. His military decorations and awards
include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service
Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with six oak leaf clusters, Air
Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Presidential Unit Citation with
oak leaf cluster, and Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with three oak leaf
clusters. He is a member of the Air Force Association, Order of the Daedalians,
Society of Experimental Test Pilots, National Eagle Scout Association and the
Association of Graduates, U.S. Air Force Academy.
Colonel Charles Bock, Jr. After graduating from pilot training
in 1951, Bock flew 51 combat missions in the Korean War with the 90th Bomb
Squadron, according to the Iowa Aviation
Museum. Following the war, he attended the Test Pilot School at
Edwards Air Force Base, graduating in 1954. He was assigned to Flight Test
Operations at Edwards for the next six years and flew and tested many of the
new airplanes coming into the Air Force fleet. Bock again went into combat
during the Vietnam War, flying 52 combat missions with the 35th Tactical
Fighter Wing, according to the museum’s web site. Afterward, he returned to
flight testing at After retiring from the Air Force in 1973, Bock joined
Rockwell International Corp. as chief test pilot for the B-1 bomber program. Among
his many accomplishments, he brought a Convair B-58 Hustler — the first
operational jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight — from the factory to Edward’s
Flight Test Center for a year of testing. He served as a B-50 launch pilot for
the Bell X-2 “Starbuster” and as the B-52 launch pilot for all of the first
captive and launch flights of the X-15, according to the museum’s web site. Edwards,
where he flew and tested new aircraft including the SR-71 Blackbird strategic
reconnaissance aircraft.