When the first B-52 bomber took flight onJune 29, 1955, at Castle Air Force Base, Calif., for Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMays Strategic Air Command, little did they know that it would offer a century of service.
The eight-engine aircraft which earned the nickname BUFF or Big Ugly Fat Fer, played akey rolefrom the Cold War and the Vietnam War, to Desert Storm and the Global War on Terror, and even over Ukraine.
When flown ina pair of cells or a group of three B-52s in formation and loaded with 1,000-pound bombs, the bombers could leave behind a swath of destruction a mile long and a half mile wide.
The Air Force now operates 76 of them, with two returning to service from long-term storage at an Arizona facilityknown as the boneyard.
It took two decades of debate for the B-52 upgrade plan to reach this point, but the Air Force has finally decided toextend the service lifeof the B-52 through the 2040s, with new engines, upgraded avionics, defensive gear, brakes, sensors and ejection seats, National Interest reported.
You know what they say, go big, or go home, and thats what the USAF plans to do, if they can get Congress to loosen its purse strings.
The Air Force has estimated the cost of B-52 service-life extension including the re-engining other capability improvements at around US$32 billion.
Pratt & Whitney, General Electric and Rolls-Royce all have proposed engine types for the B-52 effort. The Air Force said it would test new engines on two B-52s as early as 2022, select a contractor before 2026 and complete the re-engining project before 2034.
If all goes as planned, the re-engined, enhanced bombers could receive the new designation B-52J.
If Air Force plans hold up, the B-52 will be approaching nearly a century of service by 2050, reporter John Tirpak of Air Force magazine wrote.
To keep the airplane flying, the service plans to equip each B-52 with new engines, which are expected to be so much more maintainer-friendly and efficient that theyll pay for themselves in just 10 years.
The B-52 was also featured prominently in the classic 1964 Cold War filmDr. Strangelove, where a rogue Air Force Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper (played superbly by actor Sterling Hayden), sends an entire fleet of bombers to attack Russia, on the basis of Wing Attack Plan R.
The latter being an attack plan which could be launched without presidential approval, if Washington had already been hit and destroyed.
Director Stanley Kubrick had originally planned the film as a drama, but the more he and writer Terry Southern explored the subject, the more it lended to comedy.
Add the genius of British actor Peter Sellers, who played three roles in the film, and Slim Pickens as the bold B-52 major, bent on getting to the primary target, and you have a classic film that still holds up today.
The scene showing Pickens, playing the part of Major Kong, revealing the contents of a post-nuclear survival kit during their mission to bomb the Soviet Union remains one of the most epic bits of comedic cinema.
While the Air Force denied that such a thing could happen, we only have to look at the revelations from the newly published book Peril, by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, which revealed that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, broke the chain of command to prevent an unhinged President Trump from starting a war with China.
Interestingly, in 1966, famed Hollywood actor and World War II veteran Air Force Reserve Big. Gen. Jimmy Stewart, flew his final combat mission on board a B-52 over Vietnam a 12 hour, 50 minute Arc Light bombing mission with the 736th Bombardment Squadron, 454th Bombardment Wing.
Stewart flew20 dangerous combat missionsas a B-24 command pilot, wing commander or squadron commander, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters, The Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm.
From the 1950s through the late 1960s, LeMay, a hard driving taskmaster who to this day faces ethical questions over his devastating fire bombing of Tokyo during the Second World War (killing 100,000 and leaving one million homeless), instituted a policy of keeping B-52s in the air 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
This way, the fleet would never be caught on the ground. After the late 60s, nuclear-equipped B-52s were kept fully loaded and ready to fly, with crews on alert and within running range of the plane until the Cold War ended in 1991.
In spite of its size, the huge bomber turned out to be remarkably flexible. Flying at speeds over 400 mph at an altitude of just 500 feet, it could evade radar, fly along the contours of the ground, and deliver its weapons.
LeMay successfully pushed for the development of larger tanker planes and greater in-flight refueling capacity that would give his bombers an unprecedented global reach.
Whats it like to fly the BUFF?
Well, for starters, the Cold War-era ship is far older than its pilots.
Operating the B-52 is like flying a museum, says 27-year-old Carlos Espino (call sign Loko) who is based at Barksdale Air Force Base in northwestern Louisiana.
Its a brick I would say its like wrestling.
His squadron, the 20th, are known as the Buccaneers. The patch on his right shoulder shows a pirate throwing a bomb, Popular Science reported.
It has a lot of redundant systems, Espino adds. So if one system fails, theres plenty of other systems to back it up.
The most challenging maneuver, he says, is precisely lining the aircraft up with a tanker in the sky to accept morefuel. At the end of air refueling, youre literally sweating.
The plane may be large its 185-footwingspanand 159-foot length make it bigger than a 737, and smaller than a747 but the space for the crew is cozy.
Behind and below the cockpit is a small submarine-like compartment, sometimes illuminated in red, where two others sit: a radar navigator and an aircraft navigator.
If anything happens that requires an airborne evacuation from the jet,ejection seatsblast downwards rather than upwards, which is only safe if the plane is more than 250 feet off the deck.
Right behind that, is a urinal, but ideally, no onepoopson a B-52, even if the mission drags on for hours. Imodium can help.
What makes the BUFF so enduring is the way it was first designed, says General Timothy Ray, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command.
When they built the B-52 in the early 1960s, you could do some precision engineering and precision manufacturing, but back then the efficiency wasnt the driver, he explains.
In other words, they dont build bombers like they used to.
Giving each B-52 eight new engines and other upgrades requires a budget of about US$130 million per plane, Ray says.
The new B-21 Raider will be even pricier to buy, which is why the fleet of tomorrow would be a mix of vintage and new. Whats more, the B-52 is a metal bird thats already in the hand, which is another reason to keep it running.
This is real, Ray says, whereas the B-21 is in parts getting put together right now.
In 2018, the Air Forceannouncedit would retire its 62 1980s-vintage B-1Bs bombers and 20 newer B-2 stealth bombers no later than the 2040s, while the updated B-52s would continue to operate alongside at least 100 new B-21 stealth bombers.
Despite their age, the B-52s have high mission-capable rates, can carry a huge diversity of weapons, and can perform effectively, Tirpak wrote.
Even in a higher-end fight, the B-52 can still launch missiles from well outside enemy air defenses. It is the only US bomber that can launch nuclear cruise missiles, and it will be the initial platform for the new Long-Range Stand-Off missile.
Essentially, one lone B-52 can carry out the destruction of a couple dozen Hiroshimas, an impact of apocalyptic proportions.
The B-52H still flies with the same Pratt & Whitney-made TF-33 engines that have powered the type since 1962, but modern engines which are much more reliable and cheaper to operate, Tirpak says.
The goal in replacing the engines is to improve the B-52s fuel-efficiency by at least 20% while maintaining its ceiling and take-off performance.
A B-52H with TF-33 engines can also carry 35 tons of bombs and missiles as far as 4,500 miles without aerial refueling at a top speed of 650 mph.
By comparison,the B-17G, Americas bombing workhorse of WWII, could only carry about 9,600 pounds of bombs on missions.
What was it like for the other side?
Many years have passed since Vu Duy Thanh heard the train of death rumbling through the sky above, that dreadful drone of the American B-52s, as 1,000-pound bombs whistled down on his hometown of Haiphong.
You do not forget this sound, ever, Vu Duy Thanh told the Los Angeles Times.
North Vietnamese people, we know what is B-52.
Truong Nhu Tang, a Viet Cong survivor of bombing along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, has similar memories.
He pressed himself against a bunker floor during his first B-52 attack, feeling as though he had been caught in the apocalypse.
The terror was complete, he later wrote in memoirs.
During most of the Vietnam War, B-52s dropped their bombs from an altitude of 35,000 feet or more. At that height, the planes could not be heard and were nearly impossible to shoot down.
Most of the B-52 losses were planes shot while flying low during the massive 1972 Christmas bombings of Hanoi and Haiphong.
And while the bombing strikes would level acres of jungle and leave bomb craters that were 30 meters in diameter and 20 meters deep, it would not stop the flow of North Vietnamese troops, ammunition and supplies.
The earth shakes first, said Liem Huu Nguyen, a former air traffic controller whose village about 50 miles from Hue was leveled by B-52s in 1972.
The sounds come after. I never saw the planes.
Sources: National Interest, USO.org, Air Force magazine, IMDB.com, HistoryOnTheNet.com, Business Insider, Popular Science, The White House, We Are The Mighty, Wikipedia, Los Angeles Times
Read more:
Mighty BUFF: The bomber that just won't die - Asia Times
- Choosing Regular Food to Extend Longevity - CounterPunch.org - CounterPunch - April 18th, 2024 [April 18th, 2024]
- "I love the club, I'm really happy here" - Manchester United star opens up on life at club amid contract extension uncertainty - Sportskeeda - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Life Extension review - 7 facts you should know [APRIL 2022] - February 5th, 2023 [February 5th, 2023]
- Biomedical Research & Longevity Society - Wikipedia - January 27th, 2023 [January 27th, 2023]
- NAD+ Cell Regenerator and Resveratrol Elite - Life Extension - December 26th, 2022 [December 26th, 2022]
- FLORASSIST GI with Phage Technology - Life Extension - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- Magnesium Citrate 100 mg, 100 capsules - Life Extension - November 5th, 2022 [November 5th, 2022]
- AMPK Metabolic Activator, 30 tablets - Life Extension - November 5th, 2022 [November 5th, 2022]
- Germany nuclear plants life extension approved by Cabinet - DW (English) - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Biohacking: What is it, types and hacks to try for beginners - Medical News Today - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- 'Biggest day of my life': Kevin Porter Jr., Rockets react to extension - Rockets Wire - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Postharvest quality solution for tomatoes-on-the-vine - hortidaily.com - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- JZZ Technologies, Inc. and Subsidiary LION Development Group, Enter into JV Agreement with affiliate of Hospitality Development Group, Inc. of Florida... - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- 'I love the city': QB Zach Collaros inks 3-year contract extension to stay with Blue Bombers through 2025 - CBC.ca - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- MSU-led team studying expansion of controlled environment culinary herb production across US - Michigan State University - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- 60 seconds with...Wayne Dunn, Babcock International - Professional Engineering - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Wind energy operators must address these 5 areas to exploit the full value of monitoring - Windpower Engineering - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Extension shares tips for practicing fire safety in the fall - The Hartselle Enquirer - Hartselle Enquirer - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- FIRST Robotics Prepares to Extend Its Reach to More Vermont Students - Seven Days - October 19th, 2022 [October 19th, 2022]
- Plant Life Cycles - Penn State Extension - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- FDA Authorizes Shelf Life Extension for Certain Lots of Paxlovid - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- EDF considers extending life of two UK nuclear plants due to energy crisis - The Guardian - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Rittenbach among Extension team professionals honored - Jamestown Sun | News, weather, sports from Jamestown North Dakota - The Jamestown Sun - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- What is the circular economy and why is it essential for real sustainability? - Schroders - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- 44 national and international NGOs call for renewal and expansion of truce in Yemen [EN/AR] - Yemen - ReliefWeb - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- University City Townhomes residents now have until end of the year to find new low-income housing - The Philadelphia Inquirer - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- New Eskom board: Business groups happy with mix of skills - News24 - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Full circle on the farm: Penn State alum returns to help educate Pa. growers - Pennsylvania State University - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Task Force: Blacks are owed hundreds of thousands - CalMatters - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- ProLynx appoints Richard King as Chief Executive Officer and Chris Ehrlich as Board Director - GlobeNewswire - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Analysis: Behind Trump's media deal, a vote where only yes will do - Reuters - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Evusheld long-acting antibody combination approved in the EU for the treatment of COVID-19 | Antibodies | News Channels - PipelineReview.com - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Action Hampshire get behind Sustainable Future Fund to reduce waste in business - Hampshire Chronicle - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Living the dream - Farm Progress - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Teck and Agnico Eagle Announce Agreement on the San Nicols Copper-Zinc Project located in Zacatecas, Mexico - PR Newswire - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Most actively traded companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange - Winnipeg Free Press - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Giants Urged to Give Extension to 24-Year-Old Defender - Heavy.com - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Russias MiG-31 Fighter That Fired Hypersonic Missiles On Ukraine Conducted Drills In The Stratosphere - EurAsian Times - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Jaguar Mining Reports Confirmed Continuity of Mineralization at Pilar Gold Mine - Life of Mine Extension Drilling to Follow - Yahoo Finance - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Easy meals, life-saving knife skills part of West Texas Fair & Rodeo Spotlight Kitchen - Abilene Reporter-News - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Beyond Bulletproof: Why Billionaires Are Chasing Everlasting Health - Newsweek - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Did California Truly Extend the Life of Diablo Canyon? Only Time Will Tell. - JD Supra - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Youth Mental Health First Aid Trainings Offered This Fall - Iowa State University - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Finland to Extend Validity of Residence Permits for Ukrainian Refugees Under Temporary Protection - SchengenVisaInfo.com - SchengenVisaInfo.com - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- Wildfire Smoke's Affect on Potato Crops Being Studied - University of Idaho - September 14th, 2022 [September 14th, 2022]
- National Weather Service Northern Indiana radar will be down beginning Monday for upgrades - WANE - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Renault Trucks Will Give New Life to Old Parts - Ward's Auto - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Stop the stigma and step in - Farm Progress - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Empire Wind and WCS Announce Extension of Historic Near Real-Time Acoustic Marine Monitoring Project In New York Bight - Business Wire - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Media Advisory: Chalk River Laboratories Officially Breaks Ground on One of the Largest Nuclear Research Facilities Ever Constructed in Canada -... - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- PFAS pilot study gets yet another extension, scope and cost of another project reduced - wausaupilotandreview.com - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Predators extend deal with Bally Sports South - Awful Announcing - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- WWYDW: Reactions to the Canucks' J.T. Miller extension - Canucks Army - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- NASA's Artemis rocket makers explain that it's a marathon and a sprint - The Register - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Food supply chains are susceptible to fraud and adulteration more than ever, warns Kerry - Food Ingredients First - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Reprieve for The White Lady as iconic food truck gets 12-month licence extension - Stuff - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Gypsy Moth Biology & Life Cycle - University of Illinois Extension - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- AgriLife's Johanna Hicks and Team Honored at 2022 National Health Outreach Conference - frontporchnewstexas.com - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- Harmony Gold to maintain dividends despite facing two years of heavy capital bills - Miningmx - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- Malaysian, Thai companies ink MOU to explore cooperation in Mechanised Infantry Fighting Vehicle life extension programme - The Edge Markets MY - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- Coveris previews new packaging solutions targeting enhanced performance and recyclability - Packaging Europe - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- KPF and heatherwick studio to extend singapore airport as cluster of lush 'neighborhoods' - Designboom - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- Understanding Tax Liens. Could the IRS seize your car? - finehomesandliving.com - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- Extension of Legacy Trail in Tyler to continue - Tyler Morning Telegraph - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- KRUG: Extension learning opportunities around the corner - Hays Post - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Half-Life 2 VR is coming, here's how you can get it - Win.gg - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Transplant technology: United Therapeutics 3D-printing of human organs focused on every breath you take - Manchester Ink Link - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Serena Williams Interview on Leaving Tennis and Her Legacy - TIME - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Thousands of photos captured by everyday Australians reveal the secrets of our marine life as oceans warm - The Conversation - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Empathy and Solidarity: On Alejandro Varela's The Town of Babylon - lareviewofbooks - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- How many people continue their stay in the UK or apply to stay permanently? - GOV.UK - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Anti-Aging Conference and Olympia Weekend Set for Back-to-Back Weekends in Vegas - Muscle & Fitness - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- A son steps aboard the Eagle and into his father's world - Journal Inquirer - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Class to teach healthy living for those with chronic conditions - The Maryville Forum - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- New application for disinfection of fresh-cut fruits by means ozone in the packaging - hortidaily.com - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Meatless Meats and Smokeless Smokes - Equities News - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Command & Control Success: Fireground Commander: Understanding the Impact - Firehouse - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Five Ways This Survey About Maine's Wellness is Absolutely Bogus - WJBQ - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- Center for Advanced Innovation in Agriculture, Virginia Cooperative Extension help Virginia Tech showcase its land-grant mission at 2022 Virginia Ag... - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- Anti-ageing tips: Here's how to rewind your biological clock - Hindustan Times - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]