Chanute Air Museum

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered, strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1955. The USAF has had B-52s in active service since 1955, initially with the Strategic Air Command (SAC), with all aircraft later absorbed into the Air Combat Command (ACC) following SAC's disestablishment in 1992. Superior performance at high subsonic speeds and relatively low operating costs have kept the B-52 in service despite proposals to replace it with the Mach 3 XB-70 Valkyrie, supersonic B-1B Lancer and stealthy B-2 Spirit

Built to carry nuclear weapons for Cold War-era deterrence missions, the B-52 Stratofortress replaced the Convair B-36. Although a veteran of a number of wars, the Stratofortress has dropped only conventional munitions in actual combat. With the longest unrefueled range of any contemporary bomber, the B-52 carries up to 70,000 pounds of weapons.

In informal circumstances, the official name Stratofortress was rarely used; personnel involved with the aircraft most commonly referred to it as BUFF (Big Ugly Fat F.....).   The more polite version of this is often quoted as Big Ugly Fat Fellow.

Operational History

First flying in December 1954, B-52B, AF Serial Number 52-8711, entered operational service with 93rd Heavy Bombardment Wing at Castle Air Force Base, California, on 29 June 1955. The wing became operational on 12 March 1956.

In a demonstration of the B-52s global reach, on 16–18 January 1957, three B-52Bs made a nonstop flight around the world during Operation Power Flite, covering 24,325 statute miles (21,145 nm) in 45 hours 19 minutes (536.8 smph) with several in-flight refuelings by KC-97s. The 93rd Bomb Wing received the Mackay Trophy for their accomplishment.

During this time, at the Strategic Air Command's peak strength in 1963, 650 B-52s were in operation in 42 squadrons at 38 air bases.

Vietnam War

With the escalating situation in Southeast Asia, the United States commenced Operation Rolling Thunder, and the first combat mission of Operation Arc Light was flown by B-52Fs on 18 June 1965, when thirty bombers of the 9th and 441st Bombardment Squadrons struck a communist stronghold near Ben Cat in South Vietnam. The first wave of bombers arrived too early at a designated rendezvous point, and while maneuvering to maintain station, two B-52s collided, resulting in the loss of both bombers and their eight crewmen. The remaining bombers, minus one more which turned back due to mechanical problems, continued on towards the target, which was bombed successfully.

In December 1965, a number of B-52Ds underwent Big Belly modifications to increase bomb capacity for carpet bombings. While the external payload remained at 24× 500 pound or 750 pound bombs, the internal capacity increased from 27 to 84× 500 pound bombs or from 27 to 42× 750 pound bombs.[5] The Big Belly modification now created enough capacity for a total of 60,000 pounds in 108 bombs. Thus modified, B-52Ds could carry 22,000 pounds more than B-52Fs.[6] Replacing B-52Fs, modified B-52Ds entered combat in April 1966 flying from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. Each bombing mission lasted ten to 12 hours with an aerial refueling by KC-135 Stratotankers. In spring 1967, the aircraft began flying from U Tapao Airfield in Thailand which had the advantage of not requiring in-flight refueling.[5] These missions lasted only 2 to 3 hours.

On 22 November 1972, a B-52D (55-0110) from U-Tapao was hit by a SAM while on a raid over Vinh air field if the south of North Viet Nam. The crew was forced to abandon the damaged aircraft over Thailand. This was the first B-52 to be destroyed by hostile fire in Vietnam.

The zenith of B-52 attacks in Vietnam was Operation Linebacker II which consisted of waves of B-52s (mostly D models, but some Gs without jamming equipment and with a smaller bomb load). Over 12 days B-52s flew 729 sorties, dropping 15,237 tons of bombs on Hanoi, Haiphong, and other targets.

Thirty-four B-52s were lost in Vietnam, in the course of flying 126,615 combat sorties. Of these, 18 were shot down or damaged beyond repair by ground fire (including surface-to-air missiles). Two B-52Fs were lost in a midair collision during the first Arc Light mission. Seven B-52Gs were lost during Linebacker II, six to SAMs and one to structural failure. B-52D tail gunners were credited with shooting down two MiG-21 "Fishbeds"; during Linebacker II.

Cold War

During the Cold War, B-52s performed airborne alert duty under code names such as Head Start, Chrome Dome, Hard Head, Round Robin, and Giant Lance. Bombers loitered near points outside the Soviet Union to provide rapid first strike or retaliation capability in case of nuclear war.

The G and H models were used for nuclear standby ("alert") duty as part of the United States' nuclear triad. This triad was the combination of nuclear-armed land-based missiles, submarine-based missiles and manned bombers. The B-1B Lancer which was intended to supplant the B-52, replaced only the older models and the supersonic FB-111.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the B-52Gs were destroyed per the terms of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). AMARG was tasked with eliminating 365 B-52 bombers. The progress of this task was to be verified by Russia via satellite and first-person inspection at the AMARG facility. Initially, the B-52s were chopped into pieces with a 13,000 pound guillotine.

Gulf war and later

On 16 February 1991 a flight of B-52Gs launching from and returning to Barksdale AFB, in Louisiana, struck targets inside Iraq. This was at the time the longest distance combat mission in history: 35 hours and 14,000 statute miles round trip. Over the next months, B-52Gs operating from bases in the United Kingdom, Spain and on the island of Diego Garcia flew low level bombing missions. The B-52s moved to high level missions after Coalition forces ensured air superiority and were able to suppress air defense systems capable of reaching bombers at a higher altitude. B-52s were an important part of the air war during Operation Desert Storm as they could be employed with impunity. The conventional strikes were carried out by three bombers dropping 153,750 pound bombs at a time, covering an area one and a half miles long by one mile wide. The bombings demoralized the defending Iraqi troops, and they could be induced to surrender rather than be destroyed. Flying approximately 1620 sorties in the Gulf War, B-52s delivered 40% of the weapons dropped by coalition forces, while suffering only one aircraft loss, with several receiving minor damage from enemy action.

On 2–3 September 1996, two B-52H struck Baghdad power stations and communications facilities with 13 AGM-86C air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM) as part of Operation Desert Strike, a 34-hour, 16,000 statute mile round trip mission from Andersen AFB, on Guam—the longest distance ever flown for a combat mission. Only two days prior, the crews had completed a 17-hour flight from Louisiana to Guam.

The B-52 also contributed to the US success in Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 (Afghanistan/Southwest Asia), providing the ability to loiter high above the battlefield and provide Close Air Support (CAS) through the use of precision guided munitions, a mission which previously would have been restricted to fighter and ground attack aircraft.

B-52s also played a role in Operation Iraqi Freedom, which commenced on 20 March 2003 (Iraq/Southwest Asia). On the night of 21 March 2003, B-52Hs launched at least 100 AGM-86 Air-to-Ground Missiles

In September 2006, the B-52 became one of the first US military aircraft to fly using 'alternative' fuel. Syntroleum Corporation, a leader in Fischer-Tropsch process (FT) technology, announced that its Ultra-Clean jet fuel had been successfully tested in a B-52. It took off from Edwards Air Force Base with a 50/50 blend of FT and traditional JP-8 jet fuel which was burned in two of the eight engines on the aircraft. This marked the first time that FT jet fuel was tested in a military flight demo, and is the first of several planned test flights.

On 15 December 2006, a B-52 took off from Edwards with the synthetic fuel blend powering all eight engines, the first time an Air Force aircraft was completely powered by the mixture.

On 8 August 2007, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne certified the B-52H as fully approved to use the FT blend, marking the formal conclusion of the test program.

Future of the B-52

The Air Force intends to keep the B-52 in service until at least 2040, an unprecedented length of service for a military aircraft. The USAF continues to rely on the B-52 because it remains an effective and economical heavy bomber, particularly in the type of missions that have been conducted since the end of the Cold War, mainly against nations that have limited air defense capabilities. The B-52's capacity to "loiter" for extended periods over (or even well outside) the battlefield, while delivering precision standoff and direct fire munitions, has been a valuable asset in conflicts such as Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

The speed and stealth of the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit have only been useful until enemy air defenses were destroyed, a task that has been swiftly achieved in recent conflicts. The B-52 boasts the highest mission capable rate of the three types of heavy bombers operated by the USAF. Whereas the B-1 averages a 53% ready rate, and the B-2 achieved a 26%, the B-52 averages 80%.

Production numbers
Variant          Produced         Entered Service
XB-52           2    (1 redesignated EB-52)