|
Air Power
Boeing B-52 "Stratofortress"
 |
(This is the "short story")
The B-52H BUFF [Big Ugly Fat Fellow] is the primary nuclear roled bomber in the USAF inventory. It provides the only Air Launch Cruise Missile carriage in the USAF. The B-52H also provides theater CINCs with a long range strike capability. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,000 meters). It can carry nuclear or conventional ordnance with worldwide precision navigation capability.
With a gross weight of 488 000 pounds, the B-52H is even today one of the heaviest offensive military aircraft operated by any nation in the world. Maximum speed of the B-52H is 639 miles per hour at 20,700 feet, or a Mach number of 0.91, and cruising speed is 525 miles per hour. Mission radius is 4,480 miles with a weapons load of 10,000 pounds. Many other combinations of payload and range are, of course, possible. Range is, of course, greatly increased by in-flight refueling.
The B-52 was originally designed for high-altitude weapons delivery over the target. Like the B-47, however, the increasing effectiveness of enemy antiaircraft defenses required the development of low-altitude high-speed penetration tactics for the B-52. Again like the B-47, the B-52 has suffered from its share of structural fatigue problems. To cure these problems, many modifications have been made to the aircraft during its long-lived career.
A total of 744 B-52s were built with the last, a B-52H, delivered in October 1962. Only the H model is still in the Air Force inventory and all are assigned to Air Combat Command. The first of 102 B-52H's was delivered to Strategic Air Command in May 1961. The H model can carry up to 20 air launched cruise missiles. In addition, it can carry the conventional cruise missile which was launched from B-52G models during Desert Storm.
Today, 94 B-52H's are all that remain of 744 Stratofortresses built in the '50s and '60s. As part of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, signed by the United States and Russia, B-52 C/D/E/F/G aircrews flew their planes' final missions to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Commonly known as the "Boneyard," the center became the last stop - but not a resting ground - for many of the old SAC warriors. The bombers, some still wearing faded "Peace is our Profession" emblems, were placed deep inside the sprawling complex, like sacrificial lambs awaiting slaughter. Then stripped of all usable parts, the bombers - which helped end two wars and kept the mighty Soviet Bear in check - were unceremoniously ripped into five pieces by a 13,000-pound steel blade. The modern-day guillotine crashed down four times on each plane, severing the mammoth wings and leaving the fuselage in three pieces. The battered remains sat there for three months, until orbiting Russian satellites confirmed nothing was left but 90 tons of junk.
Barksdale AFB, LA and Minot AFB, ND serves as B-52 Main Operating Bases (MOB). Training missions are flown from both MOBs. Barksdale AFB and Minot AFB normally supports 57 and 36 aircraft respectively on-station.
Specifications
|
| Primary Function: |
Heavy bomber |
| Contractor: |
Boeing Military Airplane Co. |
| Power Plant: |
Eight Pratt & Whitney engines TF33-P-3/103 turbofan |
| Thrust: |
Each engine up to 17,000 pounds (7,650 kilograms) |
| Length: |
159 feet, 4 inches (48.5 meters) |
| Height: |
40 feet, 8 inches (12.4 meters) |
| Wingspan: |
185 feet (56.4 meters) |
| Speed: |
650 miles per hour (Mach 0.86) |
| Ceiling: |
50,000 feet (15,151.5 meters) |
| Weight: |
Approximately 185,000 pounds empty (83,250 kilograms) |
| Maximum Takeoff Weight: |
488,000 pounds (219,600 kilograms) |
| Range: |
Unrefueled 8,800 miles (7,652 nautical miles) |
Armament:
NOTE: The B-52 can carry 27 internal weapons. Authoritative sources diverge as to maximum munition loads, with some suggesting as many as 51 smaller munitions and 30 larger munitions, while others suggest maximum loads of 45 and 24, respectively.
- The Heavy Stores Adaptor Beam [HSAB] external pylon can carry only 9 weapons which limits the total carry to 45 (18 external).
- The AGM-28 pylon could carry lighter weapons like the MK-82 and can carry 12 weapons on each pylon, for a total of 24 external weapons, for a the total of 51. However, the AGM-28 pylon is no longer used, so the B-52 currently carries on HSABs, limiting the external load to 18 bombs, or a total of 45 bombs.
|
Approximately 70,000 pounds (31,500 kilograms) mixed ordnance -- bombs, mines and missiles.
NUCLEAR
20 ALCM
12 SRAM [ext]
12 ACM [ext]
2 B53 [int]
8 B-61 Mod11 [int]
8 B-83 [int]
|
CONVENTIONAL
51 CBU-52 (27 int, 18 ext)
51 CBU-58 (27 int, 18 ext)
51 CBU-71 (27 int, 18 ext)
30 CBU 87 (6 int, 18 ext)
30 CBU 89 (6 int, 18 ext)
30 CBU 97 (6 int, 18 ext)
51 M117
18 Mk 20 (ext)
51 Mk 36
8 Mk 41
12 Mk 52
8 Mk 55
8 Mk 56
51 Mk 59
8 Mk 60 (CapTor)
51 Mk. 62
8 Mk. 64
8 Mk 65
51 MK 82
18 MK 84 (ext)
|
PRECISION
18 JDAM (12 ext)
30 WCMD (16 ext)
8 AGM-84 Harpoon
20 AGM-86C CALCM
8 AGM-142 Popeye [3 ext]
18 AGM-154 JSOW (12 ext)
12 AGM-158 JASSSM [ext]
12 TSSAM
|
|
| Systems |
- AN/ALQ-117 PAVE MINT active countermeasures set
- AN/ALQ-122 false target generator [Motorola]
- AN/ALQ-153 tail warning set [Northrop Grumman]
- AN/ALQ-155 jammer Power Management System [Northrop Grumman]
- AN/ALQ-172(V)2 electronic countermeasures system [ITT]
- AN/ALR-20A Panoramic countermeasures radar warning receiver
- AN/ALR-46 digital warning receiver [Litton]
- AN/ALT-32 noise jammer
- 12 AN/ALE-20 infra-red flare dispensers
- 6 AN/ALE-24 chaff dispensers
- AN/ANS-136 Inertial Navigation Set
- AN/APN-224 Radar Altimeter
- AN/ASN-134 Heading Reference
- AN/APQ-156 Strategic Radar
- AN/ASQ-175 Control Display Set
- AN/AYK-17 Digital Data Display
- AN/AYQ-10 Ballistics Computer
- AN/AAQ-6 FLIR Electro-optical viewing system
- AN/AVQ-22 Low-light TV Electro-optical viewing system
- AN/ARC-210 VHF/UHF communications
- AN/ARC-310 HF radio communications
- CRM-114 Discriminator
|
| Crew: |
Five (aircraft commander, pilot, radar navigator, navigator and electronic warfare officer) |
| Accommodations: |
Six ejection seats |
| Unit Cost: |
$30 million |
| Date Deployed: |
February 1955 |
| Inventory: |
44 combat-coded
Active force, 85; ANG, 0; Reserve, 9 |
All information and photos Copyright of
Global Security.OrgSandy's and Jolly Green Giants
The Bravest of the Brave
Rescue Through The Eyes of a Misty
By Don Shepperd, Misty 34
"Courage" is a core competency often ascribed to the military. Its synonym "bravery" is always associated with fighter pilots by the fighter pilots themselves and hopefully still by women at bars. Employing "if-then" logic - "if" all Mistys are fighter pilots (and God knows we all were, sorry are!)..."then" ipso facto all Mistys were/are brave - God willed it so.
In my case it was a little less complicated: When I was growing up, I was a pimpled kid with a penchant for heavy machinery. All I was interested in was fast women, fast cars and fast airplanes. Along came my wife - there went the fast women and fast cars - all that was left was fast airplanes - that's how I became a fighter pilot and thus was granted the mantle of bravery.
We Mistys were legendary for bravery - certainly in fighter pilot lore - this was usually because of our high loss rate. It could be intellectually argued that our reputation for bravery was due to incompetence, stupidity and lack of judgment - we preferred to think our buddies were right, and we were just brave.
If the truth be known we weren't brave at all. In fact, at least half the time we were victims trapped by circumstance in the backseat; buried under cameras and maps; slightly pissed that we couldn't be in the front seat; and totally at the mercy of a front seater whom we thought was rough, overly-aggressive and with whom we had very little karma. Most of us vowed during several missions that we would beat the shit out of the front seater as soon as we got back on the ground - the long ride home to Phu Cat usually provided time to cool down.
This is where I learned the true meaning of bravery:
Ed Risinger was returning home to Phu Cat and called the tower about 75 miles out. "Phu Cat, has Misty 31 (the first afternoon mission) departed?"
"Negative, Misty. He's in the arming area," was the reply.
"Roger. Have him come up tower freq."
"Misty 31's up."
"Misty 31 this is Misty 11. There's an F-4 down in the Ashau Valley. The Sandys and Jollys and Misty 21 are with him, but the bad guys are all around and he's about to get captured. Get up there as quick as you can. They need help!"
"Rog!" we knew our business and didn't need anymore info. We were airborne ASAP and pushed max mil throttle all the way to the Ashau. When we arrived, things were in a mess. Two Sandys, two helos and Fio in Misty 21 were working the RESCAP. The F-4 backseater was down on the side of a mountain overlooking the valley. He had a broken leg. One Jolly Green was maneuvering to pick him up. The front seater was OK, but down in the middle of the valley. His collapsed chute was clearly visible and the NVA had him surrounded. He was calling for ordnance to be put right next to his chute and said the bad guys were all around and coming closer.
Just before we arrived an Army Huey tried to land and pick up the front seater and was shot down. He managed to limp over the closest hill and set down on fire about a mile south of the downed front seater. The second helo landed to pick up the crew of four.
Before we could get a word in edgewise, a two-place Army Loach arrived and informed Sandy Lead he was going in to pick up the front seater.
"Be careful," warned Sandy Lead. "It's really hot and we've already lost an F-4 and a Huey. The Huey's down about a mile to the south. I don't think you should go in there!" Since the Loach operated on VHF, we couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, but it was evident the Loach was going to ignore Sandy Lead. "OK. We'll try to cover you," replied Sandy.
We watched as the Loach made an approach to the downed pilot's chute. He was hit several times, pulled off smoking and headed south towards the downed Huey. He sat down hard by the burning Huey. "Great - now we got two helos and two pilots down," I thought.
"Jolly Two, turn around and go back. We got a Loach down now by the Huey. Pick em up," commanded Sandy Lead. The second Jolly Green had just lifted off, after rescuing the Huey crew. Now, he turned around and maneuvered to pick up the pilots from the downed Loach.
"Sandy Lead, Misty 31's with you. All in sight. We got Willy Petes and 20 mike, mike."
"Rog. Fall in behind Misty 21's pattern. He's working north-south. We're working east- west. The pilot is 50 meters west of the chute. We need ordnance all around him. THEY'RE CLOSING-IN!"
We fell into a tight north-south pattern behind Jim Fiorelli. No briefing was necessary. We tried to time it so a Misty was rolling-in just as a Sandy pulled-off, in order that max ordnance was exploding in the face of the gomers.
"Jolly One's in a hover. PJ's going down." The lead Jolly was now in a hover about one mile east of the action to rescue the back seater and a PJ was being lowered on the hoist to assist the injured pilot.
On my first pass I launched a rocket which hit a few meters north of the chute. I then squeezed the trigger to fire the guns. "GOOD - BUT CLOSER!" yelled the front seater on his survival radio. "PUT IT ON ME! HURRY! THEY'RE ALL AROUND! CLOSER!!!"
We continued the daisy-chain, alternating A-1s with CBUs and bombs, and the two Mistys with rockets and 20mm. On my second pass the guns jammed. "F***! S***! Hate!" I yelled and banged my fist on the instrument panel. "Goddamned cheapshit low-bidder concept !" I recycled the switches and tried every trick, to no avail. We continued to make passes until we ran out of rockets and with jammed guns I dove right to treetop level and hit the AB just above the chute. "We might not kill 'em, but maybe we'll deafen em," I thought.
On downwind leg on one of my patterns I glanced towards the hovering helo that was picking up the back seater. "Jesus Christ! LOOK AT THAT!" I shouted. The hovering helo was being hit repeatedly by gunfire.
"We're picking up some hits," said the Jolly pilot calmly. We'll be out in a couple of minutes." He was cool as ice.
"No shit!" I thought. We continued our passes over the downed pilot and on each downwind I looked at the hovering helo. I watched him on four patterns, and although I didn't count, I'm sure he was hit 20-30 times just while I was watching. He had a Hispanic disease - Cojones Grandes!
I wish I could report that all came out well. We were not that lucky. Jolly Two rescued the Huey and Loach crews and Jolly One picked up the back seater and probably 100 hits. The last thing the front seater said was, "They got me. I'm breaking my radio. See you after the war."
As I reflect on the subject of bravery, I recall that no one wanted to be a helo pilot. I don't remember any UPT class where the DGs selected helos. It is said there is something unnatural about having your wings swing in a circle above your head while flying. We all opted for fast jets, glory and the reputation for bravery...but I know who owns the title "bravest of the brave" - JOLLY GREEN PILOTS! - hands down, bar none, no contest! Second place goes to the F-4 front seater who asked to put bombs all over him and said dejectedly, "...I'm breaking my radio. See you after the war." Third place is awarded to the gomers who marched through our bombs and bullets to capture him - Damn them!
Postscript: I don't remember his name, but the front seater came back after the war. He was a POW for five long years. Today the pilot AFSC with the highest retention rate is helo pilots. God bless them!
