Air-and-Space.com: B-52 Stratofortress

NB-52B 52-0008 with the X-15-1 Serial 56-6670 at the 1960 Edwards AFB Open House on May 17. Joe Walker had made the first Mach 3 X-15 flight in it on May 12, breaking Mel Apt's speed record, set in the X-2 in 1955. The orange dayglo paint on the tail can be seen to be peeling and within a short time it was removed, along with the dayglo on the engine intakes. Dayglo was used extensively on the aircraft operated from Edwards AFB in that era because orange wreckage is much easier to spot in the desert than aluminum, which tends to mirror the color of its surroundings. (Photo by Richard Lockett, Sr.) Go to more photos of the 1960 Edwards AFB Airshow.

B-52G refuels from a Boeing KC-135A at the 1960 Edwards AFB Open House. The undersides of the Stratofortress were painted white to reflect the destructively intense light from nuclear explosions. The top of the B-52 and the entire stratotanker remained unpainted. (Photo by Richard Lockett, Sr.)

NB-52A 52-0003 taxis along the flightline at the 1960 Edwards AFB Open House. The NB-52A carried the name "The High and Mighty One" and nose art depicting an eagle dropping an X-15 from its talons. It survives in the Pima Air Museum near Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Richard Lockett, Sr.)

Aubrey Grey, a former B-52 crewman, has kindly provided this photograph of

NB-52D, Serial 56-0620 at El Centro NAS circa 1968. The plane was stationed at Kirtland AFB at the time, where it spent its whole operational life dropping dummy nukes It can be seen in storage at AMARC in 1989.

The first B-52C built 53-0399, flies by the 1970 Edwards AFB Open House on May 19. This Stratofortress had been intended for use as the launch plane for glide flight tests of the X-20 Dyna-Soar program. The aircraft is not bare-metal but has been painted with aluminum paint. (Photo by Richard Lockett, Sr.)

I was still shooting with a Kodak Instamatic in January 1972 when I shot this unidentified B-52D against the moon at sunset at March AFB. Stratofortresses were flying combat missions over Viet Nam at the time. Photographer: Brian Lockett.

B-52H 61-0036 on static display at the Davis-Monthan AFB Open House on March 16, 1975. It carries the standard Strategic Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) camouflage of three tone green (FS-34079, FS-34159, FS-34201) over gloss white. Even the nose radome is white.

B-52H 61-0036 at Davis-Monthan AFB on March 16, 1975. TF-33 fanjet engines were introduced on the B-52H.

B-52H 61-0036 at Davis-Monthan AFB on March 16, 1975. An M61 Vulcan six-barrel gatling gun replaced the four machine gun turret of previous models.

NB-52E 57-0119 parked next to the General Electric contractor hangar at Edwards Air Force Base on November 13, 1977. It was bailed to GE for tests of the TF39 and CF6 engines. The test engines were mounted on the inner starboard pylon. Note the lack of external fuel tanks. It was later towed to the south end of Rogers dry lake in 1980 and broken up in 1991. Photogapher: Richard Lockett.

NB-52E 57-0119 at Edwards Air Force Base on November 13, 1977. Photogapher: Richard Lockett.

B-52D, 56-0612 on approach to land at March AFB on February 23, 1978. It sports the standard Southeast Asia (SEA) over specular (gloss) black undersides. Making the airplane hard to see against the night sky had become more important than reflecting the light of nuclear explosions. The B-52D could be configured to carry 84 iron bombs internally and 24 on external racks. Photographer: Brian Lockett.

You can buy prints up to 10.63 inches by 16 inches or 5-inch by 7-inch greeting cards of this photograph.

B-52G, Serial 58-0247, at Edwards AFB on October 28, 1979. Close examination will reveal the rarely seen AGM-109 version of the Tomahawk cruise missile. The nose radome on this Stratofortress is buff colored. Photographer: Brian Lockett.

This B-52G 58-0204 on static display at the 1979 Edwards AFB Open House on October 28 has a most unusual weapons load of both AGM-86 and AGM-109 cruise missiles. Photographer: Brian Lockett.

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Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

2020 calendar

You can buy a 2020 calendar featuring my photographs of Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses.

Boeing B-52G Stratofortresses
of the 93rd Bomb Wing
at Castle Air Force Base

2020 calendar

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:

Balls Eight: Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress Mothership

2020 calendar

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:

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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

More B-52 Stratofortress photographs:

Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses displays.

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

Links:

B-52 tail gunners should make a point of visiting Gunner's Web Site.

Check out some stories that convey the feel of being a crew member on a B-52 in a way that only someone who has been there can. Phil Rowe was a D-model crewman and he has assembled some of his personal stories on his web site. He has also flown on B-58 Hustlers and RF-4C Phantoms.

The B-52 Stratofortress Association is dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of this magnificent airplane and the men and women who designed, tested, built, maintained and flew her in three wars - two hot, one cold.