Posted on 09/24/2019 1:31:48 PM PDT by C19fan
The B-52H fleet, already nearly 60 years old, has been the recipient of a steady but slow stream of upgrades to keep the planes useful. The Air Force is now committing to flying the bomber into the 2050s, a feat that will require even more improvements.
The U.S. Air Force ordered 102 B-52H bombers during the Cold War, with the first planes delivered in May 1961. The old eight-engined warhorse has been in continuous service ever since, flying combat missions over the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The Air Force plans to keep flying the remaining 76 B-52Hs through 2050, with some almost certainly flying until 2061. The B-52H will be the longest serving warplane in history, serving longer than the newer B-1B and B-2A bombers.
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
The USMC Mameluke Sword was officially adopted in 1825, but were not official uniform items between 1859–1875.
The BUFF has had a good run, and doesn't look like it's quite ready to give up the ghost. The C-130 was adopted in 1956, and I don't believe it's even close to the chopping block either.
Unless I missed it, the story forgot the roll of the B-52 in Vietnam.
How are all the airframes not fatiguing and falling apart? Not that many cycles per year?
USMC mameluke sabers are not the ones made in 1825. The USA McClellan saddles are not the same ones used in 1859.
These B52H aircraft were built in the 1960s … same actual aircraft will be in use until the end. We’re not making new ones.
Cool.
Wow, that tells quite a story!
Same here. They saved our ass a few times.
The C-130 is still in production.
CC
The awesomeness of the B-52 is unquestioned. A platform that is feared. Yet with proliferation of high tech weapons even among goat humpers, is it a wise investment to extend the aircraft’s longevity?
Yep.
When we finally took off the gloves and used B-52’s to bomb Hanoi, we lost a few (16 I think) but it brought them back to the table.
If not for the craven Democrats gutlessness and affinity for Communists in the wake of that 1973 treaty, we might still have a South Vietnam today, much like South Korea.
But they refused to hold up our end of the treaty.
Radio. An Air Force major, a member of one of the alert crews would be jogging on a parallel taxiway, outside of the alert ramp. That would be to my right. Before I could put the radio back on my belt, I could hear the major's shoes against the pavement. In fifteen seconds I could see him.
I stepped only three or four paces sideways before I challenged him and went through the ID/challenge routine---required even though I was notified of the major's proximity. He knew and followed the routine precisely.
Then, saluting, I said, "Sorry to interrupt your jog, Sir." Expecting him to turn and jog away, he didn't, but stayed and chatted for about ten minutes, and seemed to show some appreciation for an eighteen year-old (I enlisted at 17) airman first class.
I asked why those B-52s looked so patched up. He told of one low altitude bombing run, followed by a nose up, full thrust escape, wherein, somewhere, the plane took on anti-aircraft fire. He gave personality to those B-52s when speaking of their capabilities, and "injuries."
At that point in the service I never thought of having such a friendly and instructive chat with a B-52 alert crew officer. It was really an encouraging moment for a kid.
What a great aircraft, too!
Around 1961 we attended a firepower demonstration at Eglin at Range 52. It lasted around two hours and was the most incredible thing I have ever seen.
At the beginning a jet fighter flew right over the stands. At the end a helicopter landed and Airmen began handing out 8X10 glossy B&W photos of the bleachers. I would guess there were several thousand in attendance and there were enough photos that about 20% of those there got one. My Brother got one and you could make out individual people.
One of the interesting things was a C-130 flew in, landed in a brushy field in front of the stands reversed it’s props and stopped very short. It then took off.
My Great-grandfather was born in the year 1868, when Custer made his raid on the Washita. He lived long enough to see the B-52 go into service. I still remember him well.
I was trained, in the USAF, to work on B-52s and KC-135s.
At church this past Sunday, I sat next to a friend who flew B-52 before Vietnam.
My Grandpa McDuffie was born that same year. His Father was a Confederate vet. There was a Confederate veteran from Crestview, FL who lived long enough to be photographed wearing a pilot helmet beside a jet fighter. The pilot was standing beside him.
We lost 19 BUFFs in 11 days during Linebacker II. Some members of the 6 man crew got out but some were lost with all on board.
I remember when my brother built a model of the b52. I took pic of him holding it with blue sky behind it. Around 1964, he joined the Air Force.
What about metal fatigue?
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