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picture below.) 
Old B-52 Stratofortresses, like other United States military aircraft, go to Davis-Monthan AFB near Tucson, Arizona to be retired, to the facility once known as the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC), and now known as the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC) .
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress tail turret at MASDC on November 12, 1973.
The SAC Badge adorning Boeing B-52E Stratofortress 57-0120 at MASDC on November 12, 1973.
Boeing B-52E Stratofortress 57-0105 at MASDC on November 12, 1973
Boeing NB-52A Stratofortress 52-0003 at MASDC on November 12, 1973
Close-up of the X-15 pylon on the Boeing NB-52A Stratofortress 52-0003 at MASDC on November 12, 1973
Boeing NB-52A Stratofortress 52-0003 at MASDC on November 12, 1973
Although the NB-52A had been retired four years earlier, the liquid oxygen system had been kept pressurized with nitrogen gas to prevent corrosion and allow for its return to service if the NB-52B needed replacing.
B-52E
Stratofortresses in the contractors' area of MASDC on April 27,
1975. 57-0710, 56-0711 and 57-0127 and a host of others have had
many of the more easily removable companents salvaged already.
Photographer: Brian Lockett.
The SAC badge on B-52E, 56-0709 had seen better
days by April 27, 1975. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
By December 30, 1981, B-52F, Serial 57-0177, was
retired, along with all other B-52E and B-52F model
Stratofortresses. This Stratofortress had been painted aluminum
over gloss white by the end of its career. Photographer: Brian
Lockett.
Parts of over two dozen B-52E and B-52F Stratofortresses can
be seen in this picture of the reclamation area of the Military
Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC) on December 30,
1981. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
By December 30, 1981, the supply of spare B-52 main landing gear was
augmented by removing a diagonal pair of main gear bogies from
57-0105 and many other Stratofortresses. 57-0105 wears Strategic
Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) camouflage over anti-flash
white. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
Windows and radomes of B-52E, 57-0115 have been coated
with spray latex, or "spraylat". It is applied with a
black layer underneath to opaque the windows for protection from
sunlight, and a white outer layer to reflect sunlight and keep
temperatures down inside the airplane. Photographer: Brian
Lockett.
B-52E, 57-0108
is still relatively intact on December 30, 1981. The old Navy
gooney birds in the foreground have not fared as well.
Photographer: Brian Lockett.
B-52E,
56-0651 is wearing patched and fading SIOP camouflage on a cloudy
December 19, 1984. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
B-52F, Serial
57-0039, is seen here in November 24, 1986. It had been joined by
the black-tailed B-52D fleet, which had also been relegated to
AMARC at that time. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
I couldn't quite read the last digit of the serial number of this
B-52C wearing SIOP
camouflage, but it starts 54-040. It shares the field with
Lockheed P-2 Neptunes on November 24, 1986. Photographer: Brian
Lockett.
B-52E 57-0132 and over a dozen Stratofortesses in storage in AMARC on November 24, 1986.
NB-52D 56-0620 was the only D model not camouflaged. It was sitting on "celebrity row" at AMARC on September 9, 1989. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
NB-52DNB-52D 56-0620 spent its whole operational life at the AFSWC at Kirtland dropping dummy nukes. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
Aubrey Grey, a former B-52 crewman, has kindly
provided this photograph of NB-52D,
56-0620 at El Centro NAS circa 1968. The plane was stationed at
Kirtland AFB at the time. 
B-52E,
56-0636 sat next to the Boeing 367-8790 prototype of the 707 on
celebrity row on September 9, 1989. It lacked the right inboard
engine nacelle becuse it had been used as the testbed for the
Pratt & Whitney JT-9D engine for the 747. The two J57s were
replaced by a single engine with more thrust than the four
engines on the other side of the airplane put together.
Photographer: Brian Lockett.
One of the most colorful of the
Stratofortresses was the NB-52E
Control Configured Vehicle (CCV), Serial 56-0632, which had been
operated by the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory. It was
already retired to AMARC on September 9, 1989, when this picture
was taken. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
Giant Jet Airplanes |
||||||
| First Flight | Wing Span | Length | Wing Area (ft2) | Gross Weight (lbs) | Engines | |
| Boeing 777-9 | 2018 |
235ft 5in |
251ft 9in |
5,025 |
775,000 |
2 × 105,000 lb General Electric GE9X-105B1A |
| Scaled Composites Model 351 Stratolaunch | 2018 |
385ft |
238ft |
? |
1,300,000 |
6 × 56,750 lb Pratt & Whitney PW4056 |
| Boeing 747-8 Jumbo Jet | 2010 |
224ft,07in |
250ft,02in |
5,960 |
975,000 |
4 x 66,500 GEnx-2B67 |
| Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner | 2009 |
197ft, 03in |
206ft |
3,501 |
545,000 |
2 x 71,000 lb General Electric GEnx or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 |
| Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner | 2009 |
197ft, 03in |
186ft |
3,501 |
502,500 |
2 x 64,000 lb General Electric GEnx or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 |
| Airbus A380 | 2005 |
261ft,10in |
239ft,06in |
9,100 |
1,235,000 |
4 x 84,000 lb RR Trent 900 or Engine Alliance GP-7200 |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 2003 |
212ft,07in |
242ft,04in |
4,700 |
775,000 |
2 x 115,300 lb GE90-115B |
| Airbus A340-600 | 2001 |
208ft,02in |
247ft,01in |
4,729 |
811,300 |
4 x 56,000 lb RR Trent 556 |
| Boeing 777-200 | 1994 |
209ft,01in |
199ft,11in |
4,605 |
545,000 |
2 x 74,000 lb PW4074, GE90-75B, or RR Trent 875 |
| Airbus A330-300 | 1992 |
197ft,10in |
208ft,10in |
3,892 |
507,000 |
2 x 51,590 lb GE CF6-80E, PW4000, or RR Trent 700 |
| Boeing 747-400 Jumbo Jet | 1988 |
211ft,05in |
231ft,10in |
5,650 |
833,000 |
4 x 45,000 PW4062 or GE CF6-80C2B1F |
| Antonov An-225 Mryia | 1988 |
290ft,00in |
275ft,07in |
10,280 |
1,300,000 |
6 x 51,590 lb DT-18T |
| Antonov An-124 Ruslan | 1984 |
240ft,00in |
227ft,00in |
6,760 |
890,000 |
4 x 51,590 lb DT-18T |
| Tupolev 160 Blackjack | 1981 | 182ft, 09in | 177ft, 06in | 3,660 | 606,000 | 4 x 50,900 lb NK-321 |
| Lockheed C-5A Galaxy | 1968 |
222ft,08in |
247ft,10in |
6,200 |
769,000 |
4 x 50,000 lb GE TF-39 |
| Boeing 747-100 Jumbo Jet | 1968 |
195ft,08in |
231ft,04in |
5,500 |
850,000 |
4 x 50,000 lb P&W JT9D |
| Antonov An-22 Antheus | 1965 |
211ft,04in |
189ft,07in |
3,713 |
550,000 |
4 x 15,000 shp Kuznetsov NK-12MV |
| North American XB-70A Valkyrie | 1964 |
105ft,00in |
189ft,00in |
6,297 |
530,000 |
6 x 33,000,lb J-93 |
| Boeing B-52 Stratofortress | 1952 |
185ft,00in |
157ft,07in |
4,000 |
450,000 |
8 x 8,000 lb J-57 |
| Convair YB-60 | 1952 |
206ft,05in |
175ft,02in |
5,239 |
410,000 |
8 x 8,000 lb J-57 |
Boeing B-52
Stratofortresses displays.
You can buy a 2020 calendar featuring my photographs of Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses.
A dozen photos of Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses in flight.
Stratofortresses pictured include:
B-52D 56-0612, March Air Force Base, February 23, 1978;
B-52H 60-0050, Edwards Air Force Base, November 9, 1986, October 9, 1999, September 16, 2009;
B-52G 58-0183, Saline Valley, October 25, 1989;
B-52G 57-6519, Edwards Air Force Base, October 29, 1989;
B-52G 59-2565, Castle Air Force Base, September 17, 1992;
B-52H 60-0008, Nellis Air Force Base, April 25, 1997;
B-52H 61-0023, Nellis Air Force Base, February 1, 2002;
NASA NB-52B 52-0008/X-43A Hyper-X, Edwards Air Force Base, November 16, 2004;
B-52H 60-0026, Naval Air Station Pt Mugu, March 29, 2007;
and Rockwell B-1B Lancer 85-0068, Edwards Air Force Base, October 9, 1999
Put a copy of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress: 2020 calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $14.95.
You can buy a 2020 calendar featuring my photographs of Boeing B-52G Stratofortresses of the 93rd Bomb Wing at Castle Air Force Base.
A dozen photos of Boeing B-52G Stratofortresses of the 93rd Bomb Wing flying at Castle Air Force Base in 1992 and 1993. Stratofortresses pictured include:
B-52G 57-6473
B-52G 58-0214
B-52G 58-0258
B-52G 59-2565
B-52G 59-5888
Put a copy of the Boeing B-52G Stratofortresses of the 93rd Bomb Wing at Castle Air Force Base: 2020 calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $14.95.
You can buy a 2020 calendar featuring photographs of the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress Mothership that launched the X-15s in the 1960s and continued launching research vehicles until 2004.
It has been asserted that the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress, carrying Air Force serial 52-0008, can lay claim to being the airplane that has seen and participated in more history than any other single airplane. This calendar features a dozen pictures of the NB-52B carrying some of the research vehicles that it launched over the years. Photo sources: Air Force, NASA, Richard Lockett, Brian Lockett:
North American X-15-1, 1960
North American X-15-3, 1963
North American X-15A-2, 1967
Northrop HL-10, 1969
Martin-Mariettta X-24A, 1970
Northrop M2-F3, 1972
Martin-Mariettta X-24B, 1973
Orbital Sciences Pegasus, 1989
Supersonic Supercruise, 1995
X-38 V-131R, 2000
X-43A Hyper-X, 2004
Put a copy of the Balls Eight: Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress Mothership: 2020 calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $14.95.
Books about
B-52 Stratofortresses available from 
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress by Tony Thornborough
B-52 Stratofortress : Boeing's Cold War Warrior
by Robert F. Dorr, Lindsay Peacock
B-52 Stratofortress in Action by Larry Davis
B-52 Walk Around by Lou Drendel
Boeing B-47, B-52 and the Avro Vulcan by Stewart Wilson (Legends of the Air Series Vol 5)
Boeing B-52 : A Documentary History by Walter J. Boyne
Usaf Plus Fifteen : A Photo History 1947-62 by
Menard. Full color photos of Air Force aircraft from 1947 to
1962.
Books about
the Strategic Air Command available from 
America's Shield : The Story of the Strategic Air
Command and Its People
Big Bombers : Strategic Air Command's B-52S, Swingwings, and Stealth by Robert F. Dorr, Jim Benson
Peace Was Their Profession : SAC : A Tribute by
Mike Hill, John M. Campbell, Donna Campbell
SAC, the Strategic Air Command by Richard Gibson Hubler
Send a message to Brian.
