Airmen who serve as structural maintenance journeymen apply the Apocalypse II nose art to a B-1B Lancer at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, on April 27, 2026. The bomber, formerly nicknamed Rage, was pulled from the boneyard and brought back to flying condition over nearly two years of work. (William Neal/U.S. Air Force)
A revitalized B-1B Lancer brought out of storage — with a new name and nose art that pays homage to a World War II bombing crew shot down over Burma — is ready for action in the Middle East if needed.
The Apocalypse II is back in the fleet as the flagship Lancer for the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, the Air Force said in a statement on Wednesday.
The dedication ceremony at Dyess last month marked the jet’s return to combat capability after nearly two years of restoration work, which included replacement of more than 500 components and a complete system overhaul, Air Force officials said.
The bomber, previously nicknamed Rage, was one of 17 B-1Bs retired in 2021 and sent to the “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., according to the Air Force.
The service later returned the bomber to service to replace another aircraft undergoing extensive structural repairs, a decision made to meet the congressionally mandated fleet of 45 B-1Bs.
The B-1B is a long-range, multirole bomber that carries the largest payload of precision and unguided munitions in the Air Force inventory.
The jets were used to conduct long-range strikes deep inside Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command said in early March.
At one point, 21 Lancers were deployed to RAF Fairford, where they had been flying regular missions before a ceasefire was agreed to last month, Air and Space Forces Magazine reported, citing local spotters and flight-tracking data.
The 567th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron poses with a B-1B Lancer at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, on April 20, 2026. The squadron’s depot work was central to the nearly two-year effort to bring the bomber, now renamed Apocalypse II, back from the boneyard and into the operational fleet. (Courtney Landsberger/U.S. Air Force)
Refurbishment of the jet began in July 2024 at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., where more than 200 airmen and civilians from the 567th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron worked on the aircraft.
Pilots from Tinker’s 10th Flight Test Squadron conducted flight tests in the aircraft in a stripped, bare-metal finish over Oklahoma in February. Then the aircraft went to the paint facility, the Air Force said.
At Dyess, the jet received new Apocalypse II nose art honoring the crew of a B-24J Liberator named the Apocalypse, which was shot down on Dec. 1, 1942, over Burma.
The 436th Bombardment Squadron original crew included pilot 2nd Lt. John E. McLauchlen Jr., radio operator Tech. Sgt. Harold L. Seifreid and gunner Staff Sgt. Frank J. Tedone.
During a bombing mission targeting the Insein Railroad Yard north of Rangoon, their plane was struck by anti-aircraft fire and entered a steep dive.
For decades, the men were listed as missing, according to the Air Force. Through recent DNA analysis, McLauchlen was accounted for and interred in July 2024, and Tedone’s remains were identified for burial at Arlington National Cemetery in spring 2025. Seifreid remains memorialized on the Walls of the Missing in the Philippines.
“This aircraft is now more than a tail number. It carries the weight of history. It embodies the spirit of warriors,” Air Force Col. Seth Spanier, the 7th Bomb Wing commander, said during the jet’s dedication ceremony last month. “This aircraft, and the name it now carries, sends a clear message to any adversary: We honor our past. We are masters of our present. And we will always be ready for the future.”
The Air Force plans to invest nearly $1.7 billion to continue modernizing the B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers over the next five years, Air and Space Forces Magazine reported last month.
The service had previously said it wanted to retire those aircraft before the B-21 Raider comes fully online.
