![]() The B-52 completed sixty years of continuous service with its original operator in 2015. Superior performance at high subsonic speeds and relatively low operating costs have kept them in service despite the advent of later, more advanced strategic bombers, including the Mach 2+ B-58 Hustler, the canceled Mach 3 B-70 Valkyrie, the variable-geometry B-1 Lancer, and the stealth B-2 Spirit. The bombers flew under the Strategic Air Command (SAC) until it was disestablished in 1992 and its aircraft absorbed into the Air Combat Command (ACC) in 2010, all B-52 Stratofortresses were transferred from the ACC to the newly created Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). As of June 2019, 58 are in active service, 18 in reserve, and approximately 12 more aircraft in long-term storage. The B-52 has been in service with the USAF since 1955. The B-52's official name Stratofortress is rarely used informally, the aircraft has become commonly referred to as the BUFF (Big Ugly Fat Fella). A veteran of several wars, the B-52 has dropped only conventional munitions in combat. Built to carry nuclear weapons for Cold War-era deterrence missions, the B-52 Stratofortress replaced the Convair B-36 Peacemaker. ![]() The B-52 took its maiden flight in April 1952. The bomber is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) of weapons, and has a typical combat range of more than 8,800 miles (14,080 km) without aerial refueling.īeginning with the successful contract bid in June 1946, the B-52 design evolved from a straight wing aircraft powered by six turboprop engines to the final prototype YB-52 with eight turbojet engines and swept wings. It has been operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. However, vision was limited and most groups did without the extra weight of this gun.The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. In some models, the radio room contained a machine gun, which fired out of the roof to the rear. On either side, racks hold bombs on the way to the target.īehind the bomb bay sits the radio compartment, home of the radio operator (position #5), a technical sergeant in charge of the multiple radio communication and navigation devices on board the plane. Heading back from the cockpit, we walk through the bomb bay along a narrow aluminum catwalk. The bombardier operated the right cheek gun in the B-17F, the nose gun in the later B-17F models, and the chin turret guns in the B-17G. The togglier released the bomb on the signal of the lead aircraft in the formation but did not operate the Norden. Later in the war, fewer bombardiers were trained, and a “togglier” served in most planes. He operated the Norden bombsight, a complicated piece of machinery that took into account the plane’s speed, wind speed and direction, and drift to more precisely hit the target. A lieutenant, the bombardier was responsible for loading the bombs on the ground, arming the bombs in flight, and most importantly, for accurately aiming and dropping the bombs. The bombardier also served in the nose compartment (position #2). In combat, the navigator was responsible for the left cheek gun (in the B-17F) and for both cheek guns in later models of the B-17F and in the B-17G. ![]() Although B-17s flew in large formations, each plane had to be able to find its way to the target and home if separated from the group. The navigator, a lieutenant, sat at a desk at position #3, where he carefully charted the plane’s position and course using dead reckoning, pilotage, radio aids, and even celestial navigation. The nose compartment was separated from the cockpit by a narrow crawlway. Close-up view of nose of Collings Foundation B-17G Nine-O-Nine, Buchanan Field, Concord, CA, June 2013 (Photo: Sarah Sundin)
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