Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

Our Tribute to the B-52

This section of Planes Of The Past is meant to be a tribute to those at Boeing who designed & built the B-52, the Air Force crews who fly her, and those who have worked tirelessly to preserve this groundbreaking airplane and its history.

YB-52 lands at Rogers Dry Lake in 1953 during flight testing Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

B-52 History

In June of 1946, Boeing was issued a letter of contract for $1.7 million to build a full-scale mock-up of the new XB-52 and do preliminary engineering and testing. After considerable work between Boeing and the Air Force, the YB-52 first flew on April 15, 1952.

The eight-engine B-52A first flew in 1954, and the B model entered service in 1955. The first of 102 B-52H's was delivered to the Strategic Air Command in May 1961. Production lines were in Seattle and Wichita, Kansas.

The B-52 has now been in active service with the US Air Force since 1955, originally an integral part of the Strategic Air Command. It replaced the Convair B-36 Peacemaker as the Air Force's heavy bomber, and remains in service today.

Capabilities

The B-52 is capable of dropping or launching the widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory. This includes gravity bombs, cluster bombs, precision guided missiles and joint direct attack munitions.

The H model can carry up to 20 air launched cruise missiles. In addition, it can carry the conventional cruise missile that was launched in several contingencies during the 1990s, starting with Operation Desert Storm and culminating with Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Production History and Active Service

A total of 742 B-52s were built with the last, a B-52H S/N 61-0040, delivered in October 1962. 

About 85 B-52 aircraft are still on active duty. Only the H model is still in the Air Force inventory and is assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, N.D. and the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, La., which fall under Air Force Global Strike Command. The aircraft is also assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command's 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale.

B-52 Specifications

B-52H in flight in the early 1960s Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

Wingspan: 185 feet
Length: 159 feet, 4 inches
Height: 40 feet, 8 inches
Weight: Approximately 185,000 pounds
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 488,000 pounds
Fuel Capacity: 312,197 pounds  
Payload: 70,000 pounds
Speed: 650 miles per hour (Mach 0.86)
Range: 8,800 miles
Ceiling: 50,000 feet

B-52 Surviving Aircraft

A total of 39 B-52 Superfortress aircraft have been preserved and are on display in aviation museums and airparks in the United States. Photos of several of these are shown below, including the aircraft at the Castle Air Museum, the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, the Museum of Nuclear Energy in Albuquerque, and the Charles B. Hall Airpark at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City.

B-52 Photos Courtesy of the Author

Boeing B-52D Stratofortress S/N 56-0612 at the Castle Air Museum

B-52G Stratofortress, S/N 58-0183, on display at PIMA Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ

Nose of B-52G Stratofortress "Valkyrie", Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ

NB-52A Stratofortress S/N 52-0003 at the Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ

B-52D Stratofortress S/N 55-00067 on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ

B-52B Stratofortress S/N 0-20013 on display at the Museum of Nuclear Energy, Albuquerque, New Mexico

B-52D Stratofortress S/N 56-695 at the Charles B. Hall Airpark at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Boeing B-52D Stratofortress S/N 56-695 on display at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

B-52D Stratofortress S/N 56-695 at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Nose art "Hoosier Hot Shot" from a B-52G Stratofortress, on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona (photo by the PlanesOfThePast Staff, October 2012)

B-52 Photos Courtesy of the U. S. Air Force

Boeing XB-52 in test flight (photo by the U.S. Air Force)

Boeing YB-52 in test flight (photo by the U.S. Air Force)

Boeing RB-52B Stratofortress (photo by the U.S. Air Force)

Boeing B-52C Stratofortress (photo by the U.S. Air Force)

U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52D Stratofortress S/N 550049 (photo by the U.S. Air Force)

Boeing B-52E Stratofortress S/N 560631(photo by the U.S. Air Force)

USAF Boeing B-52F Stratofortress S/N 70162 on a bombing run (photo by the U.S. Air Force)

Boeing B-52G Stratofortress (photo by the U.S. Air Force)

Boeing B-52H takeoff (photo by the U.S. Air Force)

Boeing B-52 in-air refueling by a KC-135 Stratotanker (photo by the U.S. Air Force)

Boeing B-52 in flight (photo by the U.S. Air Force)

Boeing B-52 static display at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs (photo by the U.S. Air Force)