Posted on 04/26/2015 1:13:04 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse
It was at the vanguard of aviation technology in the 1950s, and it's still going strong today: meet the B-52 Stratofortress.The B-52 heavy bomber continues to show that old doesn't have to mean outdated, even in an era of rapid technological change. Just the opposite: through good maintenance and occasional updates, vintage tech can hold its own against flashier but more expensive, and more finicky, next-generation (and next-next-next-generation, even) designs.
The very first flight of a Boeing B-52 took place 60 years ago this weekend.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnet.com ...
Triple feature with “Strategic Air Command” and “Bombers B-52”.
The article is from 2012
My great-grandfather was born in 1868.
The Santa Fe trail was closed because of Indian raids.
Buffalo still roamed the plains.
Custer was still fighting Indians.
Most the tribes from Mexico to Canada were on the warpath.
The first cattle drives were on the move from Texas.
HE lived long enough to see the B-52A go into service.
And I was probably refueling them in mid air.
I remember as a boy in Northern Maine, running outside whenever one of these behemoths and the earlier B-36’s flew over our house. They used our town as a bombing target. Earlier in WWII I had witnessed a B-26 crash in Portland, Maine, killing 16 people in a trailer park near the airport, and planes were always a danger for us kids.
According to current Air Force projections, the last of the B-52s will be in service after the B-2 fleet is retired. Amazing.
Worked in Boeing Plant 2 in 1966. Lots of them in the giant hangars getting revisions. Awesome birds.
two more years and it can draw social security.
Remindful of "night number 1" of Marine Corps Boot Camp in 1966....in the wee hours, well pre-dawn, a bunch of DI goons came charging into our little hovel, yelling "GET THE F*CK OUTTA THOSE RACKS -- NOW!!".....then proceeded to upend the first four or five rows out the doors - with or without terrified maggots therein.
Same here! I was at U-Tapao in 1969 when it was raining, lightning and thunder something awful! I bought a watermelon from a local boy and was just about to cut it open when BAM! The dirt flew off the screens on our hootch as a blast wave went through, and I thought that it was a very close lightning strike! Then I noticed the sky was a brilliant orange-red, and everyone started running toward the flight line.
There, at the end of the runway, lay a crippled bomber on fire. The blast was one of the bombs going off.
That is as close as I ever want to be to a bomb!
Along the same lines I had the great pleasure of being at my grandparents house on July 21, 1969 when Neil Armstrong step onto the moon.
My grandfather, born in 1901, remarked that as a kid seeing a car was a big deal. And now we have men walking on the moon.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Scary!
I guess I’m a little surprised they have not updates the old style eight jet engines and replaced them with four new style fan jet monsters, like the kind that drive the A380 at 634 mph.
In reality, the B-52 that crashed was practicing moves for airshows. Someone just happened to be filming it when the pilot made his error and crashed. The pilot was known to be a grandstander.
I remember watching a B-52 with one of its engine pods on fire, flying overhead one evening in the late 70’s. It landed safely. The Air Force released a picture the next day. The only thing left of the engines was the pylon.
I watch that movie once a year just for old time’s sake.
Bat
When I saw this for the first time, I thought I really discovered something...but it was old hat to fans of the movie!
My Great Grand Father, Martin Abel McDuffie fought in the War Between the States. He and three Brothers all were in the 18th Alabama. I checked their history and they were one of those outfits who were in all kinds of famous battles.
I was at a shopping center in Bossier City, La home of Barksdale AFB and they were having some kind of exercise. About 10 to 15 B-52s took off right over me. What a sound!
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