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Operation Sun Run: Setting a new high score

From left, U.S. Air Force 1st. Lt. Gustav Klatt, 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Capt. Donald Hawkins, 17th TRS, Capt. Robert Kilpatrick, 17th TRS, Capt. Robert Burkhart, 18th TRS, Capt. Robert Sweet, 17th TRS, and Capt. Ray Schrecengost, 18th TRS, circa 1957. These six pilots were chosen for Operation Sun Run, the Air Force’s attempt to set three official speed records flying between Los Angeles, Calif., and New York, N.Y.; once each way and a round trip. (Photo courtesy of 20th Fighter Wing historian)

Operation Sun Run: Setting a new high score

U.S. Air Force Capt. Robert Kilpatrick, 17th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron RF-101C Voodoo pilot, left, and 1st Lt. Gustav Klatt, 18th TRS RF-101C pilot, center, receive the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal, respectively, from Gen. O. P. Weyland, Tactical Air Command commander, circa 1957. The medals were awarded for the pilots’ contributions during Operation Sun Run, in which they set three official speed records by flying the length of the U.S. (Photo courtesy of 20th Fighter Wing historian)

Operation Sun Run: Setting a new high score

Published Dec. 9, 2016
By Airman 1st Class Kelsey Tucker
20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- On Nov. 27, 1957, six pilots from the 17th and 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadrons assigned to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, rocketed into the history books.

With their new RF-101C Voodoos, an improved version of the RF-101A reconnaissance airframe, those pilots were set to establish three official speed records: from Los Angeles, California, to New York, New York – once each way, and finally a round trip.

“At that time the Air Force was only 10 years old, and this operation was an early endeavor to showcase the capabilities, speed and range of the first supersonic photo reconnaissance aircraft refueling from the first jet tanker,” said Christopher Koonce, 20th Fighter Wing historian. “It was an early display of the three effects of airpower: global vigilance, global reach and global power.”

The pilots participating in Operation Sun Run were: Capt. Robert Sweet, 17th TRS; Capt. Ray Schrecengost, 18th TRS; Capt. Robert Kilpatrick, 17th TRS; Capt. Donald Hawkins, 17th TRS; Capt. Robert Burkhart, 18th TRS; and 1st Lt. Gustav Klatt, 18th TRS. Only four of the pilots made the actual run, with Burkhart and Hawkins acting as backup in case of emergency.

Meticulous planning went into the successful implementation of the operation. The jets were painted brightly for easy identification by official timers, in-flight refueling tests were run, and in early November, the pilots flew their jets to George AFB, California, to begin practicing. In only two months, the crews were ready to go.

It was thanks to the Air Force’s first aerial refueler, the KC-135 Stratotanker, which could refuel at an altitude of 35,000 feet and speed of Mach 0.8, that the RF-101C was able to keep its pace. Without the efforts of the KC-135s and their crews, it would have been impossible for the Sun Run pilots to complete their journeys.

In the end, three new records were set. The first was by Klatt, who established the new speed record from Los Angeles to New York as 3 hours, 7 minutes, 43.63 seconds. The other two, from New York to Los Angeles and a round trip between both, were set by Sweet with times of 3 hours, 36 minutes, 32.33 seconds and 6 hours, 46 minutes, 36.21 seconds, respectively.