Yep, the Buff will probably still be trucking along when many planes now flying are replaced.
In fact they need to tool up and make improved models of it and the A-10.
The B 52 is ranked as the best bomber of all time. As far as longevity? It blows other planes out of the water. It's been around since 1955!
Given all that is going on between us and Iran, I hope we don't need them.
foathog wrote:
The B 52 is ranked as the best bomber of all time. As far as longevity? It blows other planes out of the water. It's been around since 1955!
I saw a bit on TV about it, and they showed a father/son combo that piloted the B-52. I'd be concerned flying something that old and that big.
There is a video on YouTube talking about how one B-52 could take out all of North Korea. They can carry a lot of destructive force via cruise missiles... nuclear ones.
foathog wrote:
The B 52 is ranked as the best bomber of all time. As far as longevity? It blows other planes out of the water. It's been around since 1955!
The U-2 is still flying missions. First flight -- August 1, 1955.
tschuler wrote:
The U-2 is still flying missions. First flight -- August 1, 1955.
how many bombs has it dropped? LOL
robertjerl wrote:
Yep, the Buff will probably still be trucking along when many planes now flying are replaced.
In fact they need to tool up and make improved models of it and the A-10.
The only way to improve the A10 is to make it invisible!
foathog wrote:
how many bombs has it dropped? LOL
The question should be...
How many American soldiers lives has the U-2 saved because of the real time battle intelligence it has collected over it's life time and reported intelligence in real time to the troops on the ground?
tschuler wrote:
The question should be...
How many American soldiers lives has the U-2 saved because of the real time battle intelligence it has collected over it's life time and reported intelligence in real time to the troops on the ground?
Between the U2, SR-71 and for decades the RF-101C followed by the RF-4 varients there were a lot of people who found out how much truth there is in "You can run, but you can't hide." Then add in satellites and of course eyes and boots on the ground it makes life rough for bad guys. They have to become cavemen or moles to stay out of sight.
jerryc41 wrote:
I saw a bit on TV about it, and they showed a father/son combo that piloted the B-52. I'd be concerned flying something that old and that big.
Granted we don't have to worry about falling out of the sky but at the railway museum where I am in the operations dept we regularly run streetcars and trains over 100 years old.
As to planes, the DC-3/C-47 went into regular production in 1935 and today aprx 300 are still flying with air museums, private owners and even as working aircraft in a few spots around the world. In Vietnam we regularly saw what appeared to be new ones with Air America (aka Air CIA) markings. At the time the only known factory making new ones was a Soviet plant that had been making then since WWII under a lend lease type deal. So maybe someone was buying them and then transferring them to Air America. That or someone somewhere was doing a really great job of refurbishing a lot of them. We even heard stories of Air America planes doing bombing runs with pallets of explosives etc pushed out the door over a target.
Sirsnapalot wrote:
The only way to improve the A10 is to make it invisible!
A bit more power would help. The original design only had the 30mm cannon but the Air Force insisted on all the hard points for bombs and missiles, but the same engine. Leaving it a bit under powered for its weight.
I read somewhere that the Air Force didn't even want the plane. Mud Moving didn't appeal to the fighter jocks and it wasn't big enough for the bomber types. But Congress more or less shoved it down their throats with a threat to let the Army have it and put them back in the fixed wing combat plane business.
jerryc41 wrote:
I saw a bit on TV about it, and they showed a father/son combo that piloted the B-52. I'd be concerned flying something that old and that big.
On the otherhand, the Russian bomber nicknamed The Bear is a four prop plance but is still one of their major long range bombers.
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