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B-52 Stratofortress
Feb 24, 2021 10:25:15 #
Great memories. I worked on them and flew on them at 3 different bases (Homestead, Wright Patterson, Blytheville) during my 20 years in the Air Force. Brings back some memories of both work and flight.
Feb 24, 2021 10:40:24 #
whfowle
Loc: Tampa first, now Albuquerque
While the original B-52 came into service in the early 50's, the current B-52H started service in 1961. There were 102 made between 1961 and 1963 but the fleet is now somewhere between 50-75 still flying. They have been in an almost continual upgrade for many years and the current planes are still a very creditable threat. They have the largest bomb load of any bomber and have an unrefueled range of 8,800 miles. Even more when you consider in flight refueling. The JT3D/TF33 engines have been hard to maintain and really are out of date by modern jet engine standards. The RFP was issued in May 2020 with entries from Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce and General Electric. The competition is expected to be very intense as there are billions to be made here.
Feb 24, 2021 10:58:25 #
Feb 24, 2021 11:49:43 #
I have 6000 hr in the BUFF. All at K I Sawyer AFB, Michigan. Not only do they need new engines but they also need new wing spars. When I got out in 1981, they were approved to fly with 1/2 inch cracks in the spars. I was on the Round The World non-stop flight during the Iranian Hostage Crises. That was my longest flight, 42.5 hr. I was lucky, I am only 5'6" tall and was short enough to be abe to stand up without ducking in the crew cabin. I don't miss those long flights at all.
Feb 24, 2021 12:04:19 #
singleshot
Loc: Georgia
This old bird has been around a long time, not near so long as I have but still awhile. She was operational but still in her infancy when I was flying. We were still struggling with in flight refueling her older brother, the B-47. Her durability is an example of "American made" when we need to.
Feb 24, 2021 12:14:10 #
quixdraw wrote:
Nice. Don't know if you caught it, but they are putting improved engines on these and expect them to remain in effective use for a long time. Perfect heavy bomber.
I read the same thing. They'll literally be flying antiques before they're retired for good...if ever. Of course all their engines, electronics and many other parts have been periodically upgraded and this will continue into the future so it's really just the airframe that remains the same. They're like the DC-3's that are still flying over 90 years after their birth. DC-3's the perfect combination of performance, cost and capability such that they still turn a profit.
Feb 24, 2021 12:47:28 #
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Feb 24, 2021 12:54:45 #
Beautiful shot of that old lady. Amazing the staying power she has, but I guess there's nothing else that can do what she can.
Feb 24, 2021 13:19:38 #
TheShoe
Loc: Lacey, WA
JFCoupe wrote:
In the early 1960s and as a kid in Spokane, WA I frequently saw the B-52s flying out of Fairchild SAC AFB. They are amazing planes.
One day I looked up just as the landing gear doors dropped open. In a cold war environment for a second I was waiting for bombs to come tumbling out. It was a real relief when I saw the landing gear coming down.
One day I looked up just as the landing gear doors dropped open. In a cold war environment for a second I was waiting for bombs to come tumbling out. It was a real relief when I saw the landing gear coming down.
When I was 12 the family moved from Joplin to Wichita. We lived near the Boeing Wichita plant which shared the McConnell AFB runway. There was a place on Pawnee Ave. where you were up close and personal with the end of the runway. When one of those beasts was taking off, you would swear that there was no way that it could achieve flight. With the plane coming at you with the flaps down, the wings flexing, and the outriggers preventing the wings from hitting the ground it was an awesome experience, both sight and sound.
Feb 24, 2021 13:31:39 #
744 of these magnificent aircraft were built. As of June 2019 58 were in service, 18 in reserve and 12 in long term storage. The Air Force anticipates using the B-52 into the 2040s, when the airplane will be 90 years old. The newest B-52 currently in service is about 57 years old. (Actor James Stewart flew his last combat mission in a B-52 as a reserve brigadier general in 1966. He was also a B-24 squadron commander in Europe during WWII.)
Feb 24, 2021 15:13:51 #
Rob48 wrote:
Great New England Airshow; Westover ARB, Chicopee, MA
I was bomb nav in D models, always like to see BUFF pictures.
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Feb 24, 2021 15:55:36 #
waite-s wrote:
I was bomb nav in D models, always like to see BUFF pictures.
I was on the ground in Nam, saw the B-52 Arc light effects.
Ammunition stores and deeply dug
enemy trenches and tunnels we re
primary B-52 targets in support of
Operation Cedar Falls, conducted du ring 8-26 January 1967. Cedar Fal ls
involved a concentrated ground assault upon an enemy stronghold covering 25 square miles of the Iron Triangle, 20 miles northwest of Saigon.
Fifteen B-52 strikes hit a tunnel system
that, at places, was 12 to 20 feet beneath the earth's surface. Many of the
tunnels were destroyed and there
were numerous secondary explosions
of enemy ammunition stores. Cedar
Falls resulted in 720 enemy killed, the
majority of them by Seventh Air Force
and B-52 air strikes. In this operation,
the heavy bombers demonstrated that
the enemy could no longer regard any
fortified area as a sanctuary safe from
attack.
Derry
Feb 24, 2021 16:08:28 #
tshift wrote:
Amazing how GOD gave us something so beautiful and yet SO very deadly!! Thanks
Tom
Tom
Strange, I thought it was William E. Boeing who "gave us" the deadly bombers that helped win WWII and, finally, the awesome BUF.
Feb 24, 2021 16:37:56 #
Nice set. I had a flyover by my house on Friday (practice runs) and then on Sunday. My pics are similar.
Feb 24, 2021 20:21:36 #
Just after HS graduation in May and before receiving orders to report to boot camp in October 1955, I
worked at Boing in final assembly on the B-52. We all loved that aircraft at the time and all these years
later I still do. Every time I saw one over the years I thought maybe that baby has some of my rivets in it.
worked at Boing in final assembly on the B-52. We all loved that aircraft at the time and all these years
later I still do. Every time I saw one over the years I thought maybe that baby has some of my rivets in it.
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