home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
U.S. Attack Planes & Bombers
/
AMPC_AG.bin
/
attack
/
mox011.doc
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1980-01-03
|
3KB
|
53 lines
BOEING B-52H STRATOFORTRESS
Wingspan: 185 ft.
Length: 160 ft., 11 in.
Height: 40 ft., 8 in.
Weight: 488,000 lbs.
Engines: Eight Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3 turbofans
Engine thrust: 13,750 lbs.
Operating altitude: 55,000 ft.
Top speed: 595 mph
Maximum range: 10,145 miles
Date of service: 1954
Known familiarly as the "Big Ugly Flat Fellow" (BUFF), the B-52 is a far
different plane than the B-52 of three generations ago. Once a high-
altitude strategic bomber only, today's B-52 can conduct numerous missions.
Electro-optical viewing systems permit low-level B-52 missions under
virtually any condition combined with the advanced terrain-avoidance
radar system. With the long-range capabilities of the B-52, it is possible
for the BUFF to launch cruise missiles thousands of miles from its base.
Development of the B-52 Stratofortress began in the late 1940s when the
United States Air Force foresaw the need for an all-jet bomber that could
carry both nuclear and conventional bombs more than 4,000 miles. The B-52
made its first test flight in 1952 and entered into service in 1954 with
the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command. With the exception
of a few B-52s used in training, all 744 Stratofortresses built by Boeing
between 1951 and 1963, served with the Strategic Air Command.
Two of the prototypes, the B-52As through B-52Fs had tall tails. The
B-52Gs and B-52Fs were built with low tails. The H model is powered by eight
turbofans engines instead of the eight turbojet engines of the previous
models. The turbofans deliver an aggregate of 110,000 pounds of thrust,
versus 80,000 pounds of thrust from the turbojets of the B-52A through B-52G
models.
In 1957, as a demonstration of their intercontinental capabilities, three
B-52s flew non-stop (with aerial refuleing) 24,325 miles around the world.
Five years later, a B-52H flew 12,532 miles nonstop without refueling, set-
ting a distance record that stood until the flight of the Voyager 25 years
later.
In 1965, B-52s went to Vietnam to conduct bombing raids on suspected Viet
Cong strongholds. In 1972, the B-52s played a key role in an 11 day bomb-
ing mission against North Vietnam which forced that government to return to
the Paris negotiation table, helping lead the way to a cease fire. Since
1984, only the low-tailed B-52G and B-52H have remained in service. These
were the planes that served in Operation Desert Storm.