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Posted on 12/08/2001 6:44:38 AM PST by Pharmboy

December 8, 2001

THINK TANK
The Psychological Punch of the B-52 Bomber

By LAURENCE ZUCKERMAN

Movie Review | 'B-52': The 50-Year History of a Killing Machine (December 5, 2001)

At Davis-Mothan Air Force Base in the Arizona desert, a five-ton steel blade hangs high in the air, suspended from a crane. Suddenly the blade drops like a guillotine and slices through the fuselage of a B- 52 bomber. The process is then repeated.

The exercise, which is featured in the new documentary "B-52," helped persuade the filmmaker Hartmut Bitomsky to embark on the project after he was urged to look into the subject by the artist Ben Nicholson.

The destruction of the B-52's was mandated by the 1991 strategic arms reduction treaty, which committed the United States to reducing its ability to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union. But the B-52 Stratofortress, as Boeing has always called it, is by no means retired, as its prominent role in the war in Afghanistan attests. In fact, it is the longevity and versatility of the giant bomber, which started flying in 1952 and is expected to remain in service until 2037, that is so fascinating.

Mr. Bitomsky, a German who is dean of the film and video department at the California Institute of the Arts, calls the B-52 a modern equivalent of a cathedral: a product of this nation's excess wealth. It is also a cultural phenomenon, inspiring both the name of a rock band and major films (including the 1964 classic "Dr. Strangelove") while stirring the imaginations of generations of cold warriors and antiwar protesters.

The plane was designed by Boeing in a fitful weekend in 1948 after Curtis LeMay, the imperious Air Force general, insisted that he needed a new heavy bomber that could drop several nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union in one pass.

The B-52 was one of the first jet bombers and the first large airplane to have swept-back wings, enabling it to fly 650 miles an hour. The design subsequently helped Boeing become the leading maker of civilian passenger jets.

The first two B-52's rolled off the assembly line in 1951 and 1952 and look basically the same as the last one, built in 1962. Forty feet high, 185 feet wide and with four engines under each wing, the plane can fly as high as 50,000 feet and go nearly 9,000 miles. The first version could carry 54,000 pounds of conventional bombs or four nuclear bombs.

While the exterior of the airplane has not changed, it has had three major overhauls so far. Wags in the military-industrial complex praise Boeing for being the only contractor to sell the same plane to the Air Force three times.

From its first flight, the B-52 was recognized by the Air Force as an awesome weapon beyond anything available to the Soviet Union or any other country. From that perspective, it also packed a tremendous psychological punch.

In the 1960's the plane was modified so it could fly as low as 300 feet. People who have seen a B-52 from the ground at that altitude retain vivid memories of the experience. When you deploy the B-52, said a former navigator interviewed by Mr. Bitomsky, "the other side knows you are serious."

Other than a few atmospheric tests in the 1950's, the B-52 never had to perform its principal job: deliver a nuclear weapon. The specter of B-52's circling the globe 24-hours a day within minutes of striking the Soviet Union was part of the deterrent that prevented nuclear war for more than 40 years.

"The whole cold war was a strange kind of truce," said Mr. Bitomsky, whose film is showing at the Film Forum in Manhattan until Dec. 18. "They would threaten each other and increase the armaments."

But the B-52 never proved decisive in a cold war conflict. It dropped tons of conventional bombs with devastating effect during the Vietnam War and became a notorious symbol for opponents of the war. Mr. Bitomsky focuses on the bombing in December 1972 when waves of B-52's attacked Hanoi for 12 days, killing thousands.

But the offensive did not break the will of the North Vietnamese, and President Richard M. Nixon soon stepped up his efforts to withdraw from Vietnam.

Paradoxically, the B-52 appears to have been more effective since the cold war, in the Persian Gulf war, Kosovo and now in Afghanistan. About 95 of the 744 built are still flying. Each can carry 70,000 pounds of various bombs, mines and missiles, including nuclear-armed cruise missiles.

The Pentagon has been generally satisfied with the performance of the B-52 in Afghanistan. But conventional bombing, even with modern targeting devices, is still prone to error, as was seen this week when three members of the Special Forces were killed by an American bomb in Afghanistan.

Nevertheless, there are no plans to retire the bomber anytime soon. Every four years, each B-52 goes to Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, where it is taken apart, repaired and put back together. Boeing has proposed putting new engines on the B-52, a project it said would cost $1.3 billion but save taxpayers money over the long run because of cheaper spare parts. The Pentagon has not decided whether Boeing will succeed in selling it the plane a fourth time.

Some experts doubt that the B-52 will last until 2037, but Mr. Bitomsky quotes officials who predict it will outlive the B-1 and B-2 bombers, both relative youngsters that were built in the 1980's. That would ensure that the B-52, which can now be flown by the grandchildren of its original crews, will be around long enough to be celebrated or reviled by at least one more generation.

Some experts doubt that the B-52 will last until 2037, but Mr. Bitomsky quotes officials who predict it will outlive the B-1 and B-2 bombers, both relative youngsters that were built in the 1980's. That would ensure that the B-52, which can now be flown by the grandchildren of its original crews, will be around long enough to be celebrated or reviled by at least one more generation.

This reminds me of the "Seapower" series they had on the People's Broadcasting Serivce a few weeks ago. Nelson's flagship, Victory, was, what, 50?, 90?, years old at the time of Trafalgar?

If it works, don't mess with it, I suppose.

Of course, all things must pass; eventually they invented steam, right? :-)

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