Boeing today marks 50 years since the company delivered its last B-52 Stratofortress to the U.S. Air Force. H-model bomber 61-04...
Boeing today marks 50 years since the company delivered its last B-52 Stratofortress to the U.S. Air Force. H-model bomber 61-040 was assigned to Minot Air Force Base, N.D., where it remains in active service.
Boeing built 744 B-52s, in eight different models, from 1952 to 1962. The Air Force fleet today comprises 76 H-models -- two test aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and 74 operational aircraft that are assigned to Minot and to Barksdale Air Force Base, La. All the H-models were built in Wichita.
The Boeing B-52 has been the backbone of the United States'manned strategic bomber force for nearly 60 years. Modern engineering analyses show the B-52's expected life span extending beyond 2040.
The B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, strategic heavy bomber capable of dropping or launching the widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory. The latest version, the B-52H, can carry up to 20 air-launched cruise missiles.
Used for strategic attack, air interdiction, offensive counter-air and maritime operations, its capabilities include:
Carrying nuclear or precision-guided conventional ordnance, including gravity bombs, cluster bombs, precision guided missiles and joint direct attack munitions
Delivering approximately 70,000 pounds of mixed payload, both internally and on external pylons
Combat range exceeding 8,800 miles (7,652 nautical miles) unrefueled -- can be refueled aerially
High subsonic speeds up to 650 miles per hour, or Mach 0.86.
