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Posted: 10/7/2011 3:57:32 PM EDT
[#1]
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I used to watch this documentary show called "Wings" (the early version) when it came on late at night while I was living in NM. I watched an episode on the B-52 one night. It showed film from inside the cockpit of a crew on a bombing mission over North Vietnam. Even though the show never said anything, the pilots voice had to be that of Jimmy Stewart's-it was unmistakable. My BIL-an AF officer-told me Gen. Stewart (USAFR) flew combat missions over Vietnam for his "annual training". Can you imagine coming home from that? "How was your two-week camp, honey?" "Ah, just fine. We killed a lot of NVA." There's actually 2 episodes of Wings about the B-52. An older one that focuses on the development and Cold War deterrence of the plane and a more recent one that focuses on the B-52 in Vietnam and Desert Storm. They're both very good. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 4:00:03 PM EDT
[#2]
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Classic D-model, natural metal over Insignia White. Beautiful. Bonus points for four wing-mounted nukes. Not bad for a strategic bomber designed over a weekend in a hotel room. "Quick, somebody run to the hobby shop for some balsa wood! And find me a girl who can type!" Is that how it happened? Is there a book or something to read about this? ––––––-> Headed to Google. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 4:01:14 PM EDT
[#3]
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Too bad Dave-A isn't here to tell us about all of the B-52's shortcomings.  I'm here. It's old. There's probably a reason the airlines aren't using airplanes built in the 50s anymore. I love this argument, "it's old". Do you have any idea how old our tanker fleet (KC-135) is? Do you know when the oldest of the B-52H models (the only model left in service) was built? C-130's? C-5's? T-38's? Our youngest jet here at Minot is 61-040. The oldest is 60-004. When I was at RAF Mildenhall our oldest KC-135R was 57-2605 aka "Too sick to fly". To the guy who was talking about cracking wing spars. We have tons of cracks on this old pig. Depot keeps patching them up. If I remember right the flex range of the wings is 20 feet. I was an SP stationed at Minot from 83-86, walked around all the BUFF's there at one time or another. I was so freaking stoked in Nov 2001 when we invaded Afghanistan to see BUFF's with MT on the tail kicking ass!! |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 4:03:00 PM EDT
[#4]
I've never been able to find it again, but there is an AWESOME video of a red flag exorcise where a F-15 tries to close with and enguage a B-52 after having to make a visual on it, and the B-52 starts SHITTING flares and diving for the deck, making the F-15 have to wave off or eat flares. THe whole time you can hear the F-15 guy sweaaring up a storm about it.
I had no idea they could carry so many. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 4:03:14 PM EDT
[#5]
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Classic D-model, natural metal over Insignia White. Beautiful. Bonus points for four wing-mounted nukes. Look at the way the wings flex under a load while in flight (contrast this with one sitting on the tarmac). What I find amazing is that the wing spars don't crack with all that flexing over time. The engineers at Boeing were at the top of their form. Not bad for a strategic bomber designed over a weekend in a hotel room. I once read that during flight stress testing the wings of a B-52 were bent upward until the wing tips almost touched over the top of the plane.....and they didn't break. 
Awesome bird. That would cause the entire strength community to update their resume's. The 777 wing failed at about 153% Design Limit Load, and that was real close to too strong. In that day, predicting failure was more difficult do to the tools available, but the flexibility you describe is not possible, the internal loads are simply too high. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 4:28:30 PM EDT
[#6]
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Too bad Dave-A isn't here to tell us about all of the B-52's shortcomings. I'm here. It's old. There's probably a reason the airlines aren't using airplanes built in the 50s anymore. I love this argument, "it's old". Do you have any idea how old our tanker fleet (KC-135) is? Do you know when the oldest of the B-52H models (the only model left in service) was built? C-130's? C-5's? T-38's? Our youngest jet here at Minot is 61-040. The oldest is 60-004. When I was at RAF Mildenhall our oldest KC-135R was 57-2605 aka "Too sick to fly". To the guy who was talking about cracking wing spars. We have tons of cracks on this old pig. Depot keeps patching them up. If I remember right the flex range of the wings is 20 feet. This. We had one crack a spar during refuel (over 300k lbs of fuel) in Guam and started pissing everywhere. I think it cracked around Oct '10. They jacked the wings up as if it were flying on the pod jack points, not the normal jacking point by the wing root. Depot welded it enough to fly it back to the states for real repairs. It left around May/Apr '11 |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 4:37:47 PM EDT
[#7]
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I've never been able to find it again, but there is an AWESOME video of a red flag exorcise where a F-15 tries to close with and enguage a B-52 after having to make a visual on it, and the B-52 starts SHITTING flares and diving for the deck, making the F-15 have to wave off or eat flares. THe whole time you can hear the F-15 guy sweaaring up a storm about it. I had no idea they could carry so many. until I can figure out how to imbed, here toy go. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWtQ4lfU2vo&t=2m9s |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 4:43:08 PM EDT
[#8]
Quoted: Thanks buddy!!!!Quoted: I've never been able to find it again, but there is an AWESOME video of a red flag exorcise where a F-15 tries to close with and enguage a B-52 after having to make a visual on it, and the B-52 starts SHITTING flares and diving for the deck, making the F-15 have to wave off or eat flares. THe whole time you can hear the F-15 guy sweaaring up a storm about it. I had no idea they could carry so many. until I can figure out how to imbed, here toy go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWtQ4lfU2vo&t=2m9s I've been wanting to watch it again for awhile!!!  |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 4:45:26 PM EDT
[#9]
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Posted: 10/7/2011 5:03:23 PM EDT
[#11]
Imagine a dozen B-52's coming your way if you were our enemy. FUUUUUCK that. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 5:05:21 PM EDT
[#12]
Awesome video, I hadn't seen that one before. Occasionally I do some work for the B-52 sustainment group in Wichita. It's always cool to have at least a tiny little role in keeping the mighty BUFF flying. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:09:12 PM EDT
[#13]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM2_CBAqd8w&feature=related
I think there are 6 or 7 or these videos.. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:16:05 PM EDT
[#14]
I have a few videos of the B-52 dropping MOP, but you'll just have to use your imagination. It's cool. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:18:05 PM EDT
[#15]
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:22:50 PM EDT
[#16]
Two dropped from a B-2 are even better. The videos are proprietary, despite all the photos all over the internet. That's a pretty good photo to get an idea of the scale; MOP is about 23 feet long. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:27:16 PM EDT
[#17]
They need to do a flight videou with a full load of jadams..... make a smiley face in the desert
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:33:21 PM EDT
[#18]
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:35:27 PM EDT
[#19]
Saw a B-52 do a demo once of carpet bombing. Was pretty cool.
Nixon turned parts of Vietnam into the surface of the moon. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:35:51 PM EDT
[#20]
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The USAF's Newport Research Facility. They got one upside down at Rome Labs as well. Or, at least used to. ETA: Never knew that's what the facility was called. I was stationed at Griffiss for awhile. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:36:38 PM EDT
[#21]
B-52 spells Death to those below it
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:40:27 PM EDT
[#22]
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Didn't he have a generals daughter on board for the hot dogging? NO. And the Wing King wasn't with him either. The Wing King did lose his job, though, as well as the DO's on both the tanker and Buff side of the house. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:51:49 PM EDT
[#23]
The elephant walk has begun. There goes a whole metric FUCKTON of whoop ass! |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 6:56:36 PM EDT
[#24]
How many aircraft were ever shot down with the tail gun the B-52 used to have?
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Posted: 10/7/2011 8:37:07 PM EDT
[#25]
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How many aircraft were ever shot down with the tail gun the B-52 used to have? The BUFF on static display near the north gate of the Air Force Academy has a MIG kill. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 8:40:05 PM EDT
[#26]
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How many aircraft were ever shot down with the tail gun the B-52 used to have? The BUFF on static display near the north gate of the Air Force Academy has a MIG kill. Two. The other one is at Fairchild if I remember correctly. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 8:55:32 PM EDT
[#27]
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How many aircraft were ever shot down with the tail gun the B-52 used to have? The BUFF on static display near the north gate of the Air Force Academy has a MIG kill. Two. The other one is at Fairchild if I remember correctly. I guess that means that fighter cover was doing their job well. I honestly did not think that there had been any kills bu the Stratofortress. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 9:02:31 PM EDT
[#28]
I'm curious as to what their expected survivability rate was if we were to go to war with Russia back in the day. We're they supposed to come in low or high. Surely we would have taken more than a few loses. Still a bad ass plane tho.
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Posted: 10/7/2011 9:05:41 PM EDT
[#29]
Quoted: Great timing for this post.... I just finished reading Flight of the Old Dog. Would love to see some of the things Dale Brown has dreamed up for the B-52 actually flying. Old Dog indeed.  |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 9:07:56 PM EDT
[#30]
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I'm curious as to what their expected survivability rate was if we were to go to war with Russia back in the day. We're they supposed to come in low or high. Surely we would have taken more than a few loses. Still a bad ass plane tho. My dad expected it to be a one way trip should he get the klakson. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 9:13:18 PM EDT
[#31]
When I was a young lad, my father frequently took me to a spot near Castle AFB where we could watch the B-52's take off and land. One of the fondest memories of my childhood.
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Posted: 10/7/2011 9:16:39 PM EDT
[#32]
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They used to fly out of KI Sawyer in the UP years ago. I thought that the big plane was defying gravity, so slow on turns, I expected them to just fall out of the sky. My cousin was a mechanic on them there. I remember a trip to MI in the early 90's. B-52's are LOUD!
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Posted: 10/7/2011 9:19:31 PM EDT
[#33]
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I'm curious as to what their expected survivability rate was if we were to go to war with Russia back in the day. We're they supposed to come in low or high. Surely we would have taken more than a few loses. Still a bad ass plane tho. My dad expected it to be a one way trip should he get the klakson. He was probably right. The BUFF is probably as survivable now as we can make it. Even with all the countermeasures and tactics employed It would be lucky to get to launch range of the ALCM against an enemy with a robust air defense network and a capable air force. If they did make it to launch, chances are that they would not have made it out again. That was the reason for the B-2 program. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 9:21:56 PM EDT
[#34]
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This thread is incredibly easy to masterbate to... As many times as you've posted this, I would think you would have learned how to spell it correctly. |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 9:48:47 PM EDT
[#35]
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I'm curious as to what their expected survivability rate was if we were to go to war with Russia back in the day. We're they supposed to come in low or high. Surely we would have taken more than a few loses. Still a bad ass plane tho. My dad expected it to be a one way trip should he get the klakson. He was probably right. The BUFF is probably as survivable now as we can make it. Even with all the countermeasures and tactics employed It would be lucky to get to launch range of the ALCM against an enemy with a robust air defense network and a capable air force. If they did make it to launch, chances are that they would not have made it out again. That was the reason for the B-2 program. Even then it's just a matter of math. There weren't enough tankers to pick you up for the ride home. And even if you did, where the hell would you go? |
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Posted: 10/7/2011 10:36:29 PM EDT
[#36]
Anything that puts out that much black smoke is automatically cool!
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Posted: 10/8/2011 5:39:12 AM EDT
[#37]
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I'm curious as to what their expected survivability rate was if we were to go to war with Russia back in the day. We're they supposed to come in low or high. Surely we would have taken more than a few loses. Still a bad ass plane tho. My dad expected it to be a one way trip should he get the klakson. He was probably right. The BUFF is probably as survivable now as we can make it. Even with all the countermeasures and tactics employed It would be lucky to get to launch range of the ALCM against an enemy with a robust air defense network and a capable air force. If they did make it to launch, chances are that they would not have made it out again. That was the reason for the B-2 program. Even then it's just a matter of math. There weren't enough tankers to pick you up for the ride home. And even if you did, where the hell would you go? There is that. |
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Posted: 10/8/2011 6:22:56 AM EDT
[#38]
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Classic D-model, natural metal over Insignia White. Beautiful. Bonus points for four wing-mounted nukes. Not bad for a strategic bomber designed over a weekend in a hotel room. "Quick, somebody run to the hobby shop for some balsa wood! And find me a girl who can type!" Is that how it happened? Is there a book or something to read about this? ––––––-> Headed to Google. yes |
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Posted: 10/8/2011 6:48:05 AM EDT
[#39]
Stood underneath one in Mobile AL at the battleship park awhile back.
Awe inspiring in person. |
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Posted: 10/8/2011 7:18:40 AM EDT
[#40]
from the song Peace Dog by The Cult:
B52 baby, way up on the sky Come dropping your loving on me, child. B52 baby, way up on the sky Drop your love on me....tonight! When I was in basic at Ft. Bliss the 52's used to take off from Briggs Army Air Field up over us on the hill. It was bone-shaking when one was over head and just filled the sky. A serious "oooohh woooow, awesome!" moment. |
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Posted: 10/8/2011 7:32:19 AM EDT
[#41]
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Classic D-model, natural metal over Insignia White. Beautiful. Bonus points for four wing-mounted nukes. Not bad for a strategic bomber designed over a weekend in a hotel room. "Quick, somebody run to the hobby shop for some balsa wood! And find me a girl who can type!" Is that how it happened? Is there a book or something to read about this? ––––––-> Headed to Google. yes No. A sketch of the configuration was drawn, and a few hand waving calculations were made before the meeting. That's a long stretch from "design" of an airplane. But it makes a good story. This isn't too far from what happens now when a small team is working. The trick is to keep a lid on creep. The A-12 / SR-71 airplane is another program that gets unwarranted praise for fast design work. Lockheed started working on that configuration around 1958. Production dates do not reflect the date the program started. Simply drawing the loft for that airplane in those days took at least a couple of years with a large team working. |
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Posted: 10/8/2011 7:42:48 AM EDT
[#42]
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm curious as to what their expected survivability rate was if we were to go to war with Russia back in the day. We're they supposed to come in low or high. Surely we would have taken more than a few loses. Still a bad ass plane tho. My dad expected it to be a one way trip should he get the klakson. He was probably right. The BUFF is probably as survivable now as we can make it. Even with all the countermeasures and tactics employed It would be lucky to get to launch range of the ALCM against an enemy with a robust air defense network and a capable air force. If they did make it to launch, chances are that they would not have made it out again. That was the reason for the B-2 program. Even then it's just a matter of math. There weren't enough tankers to pick you up for the ride home. And even if you did, where the hell would you go? This is because most of the tankers would have crashed due to passing ALL of their gas into the outbound BUFFs. That's why we were called TOADs for the longest time. "Take Off And Die." |
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Posted: 10/8/2011 7:49:04 AM EDT
[#43]
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This thread is incredibly easy to masterbate to... As many times as you've posted this, I would think you would have learned how to spell it correctly. He's lost too many brain cells. |
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Posted: 10/8/2011 7:51:44 AM EDT
[#44]
Sure its old, sure its not the best looking plane (arguably...). But it is awesome. Had one from nearby Barksdale AFB scheduled for a flyover at my schools opening football game, but they ran a little late... So they made up for it by passing over the stadium ~1000 ft AGL balls to the wall. Loud, low, and actually quite fast...
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Posted: 10/8/2011 7:54:44 AM EDT
[#45]
Some chilling audio from a Linebacker II mission over Hanoi. The sound of the the distress beepers is haunting.
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Posted: 10/8/2011 8:00:50 AM EDT
[#46]
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B-52: Great airplane, or greatest airplane?
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Potential operational lifespan of 90 years!!! Someday, a B52 pilot could say, "my great- great-grandfather used to fly this very aircraft."  There's one case of three generations of men on the same jet. C-130's have done that, P-3's too. I think the KC-135 might. |
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Posted: 10/8/2011 8:14:07 AM EDT
[#47]
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Some chilling audio from a Linebacker II mission over Hanoi. The sound of the the distress beepers is haunting. Damn, that was a difficult video to listen to. I equate those boys to line warfare in the Civil war. The enemy knows where you are, you cannot hide, and you keep trucking through hoping you dont die. |
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Posted: 10/8/2011 8:20:03 AM EDT
[#48]
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Some chilling audio from a Linebacker II mission over Hanoi. The sound of the the distress beepers is haunting. I was in Viet Nam then. Didn't see any of the fireworks since I was on the coast. Darn it. |
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Posted: 10/8/2011 8:30:08 AM EDT
[#49]
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I'm curious as to what their expected survivability rate was if we were to go to war with Russia back in the day. We're they supposed to come in low or high. Surely we would have taken more than a few loses. Still a bad ass plane tho. There were specific "corridors" that B-52s were to fly through in order to penetrate into Soviet airspace to deliver their ordnance to their designated targets from what I've read. In addition, as I stated in an earlier post, they carried nuclear-armed SRAMs to literally blast their way through Soviet air defense networks en route to their target as well. From what I've heard and read, the flights were all low-level. With all that said, please remember that a German teenager flew his single prop airplane from Germany (IIRC) to land it next to the Kremlin without being detected until he actually landed. Heads rolled for that one, I'm sure. Without looking it up, I believe that was in 1986 or so. That episode didn't speak well for the Soviet air defense "umbrella" that they depicted heavily in Soviet propaganda. I'm confident we would have lost our share of aircraft, but many would have reached their targets and completed the mission-even if it was "one way". The SIOP was all based on timing and redundancy (and of course target priorities). Targets were to be hit multiple times in many if not all cases. The Soviets planned for the same. It was revealed after the end of the Cold War that some U.S. cities were to be hit up to 10 or 15 times "just to be sure" (!). Accuracy of Soviet MIRVs and the ability of Soviet bombers to deliver nuclear ordnance over North America were both in question, hence the redundancy. I believe some aircraft like the FB-111 really were planned as a "one way" missions, not just a contingency in the event of a missing KC-135. There were plans to recover the crews that bailed out and survived. Whether they could have been recovered is pure speculation. |
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Posted: 10/8/2011 8:35:11 AM EDT
[#50]
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Some chilling audio from a Linebacker II mission over Hanoi. The sound of the the distress beepers is haunting. Damn, that was a difficult video to listen to. I equate those boys to line warfare in the Civil war. The enemy knows where you are, you cannot hide, and you keep trucking through hoping you dont die. What's distressing is the USAF flew the same IPs mission after mission. After awhile, the NVA SAM crews used the equivalent of a grease pencil marking on the radar screen in order to more effectively "blind launch" their SAMs hoping for a hit when the B-52s intersected the grease pencil marking. It worked to some degree, apparently. This despite (or perhaps because of) having effective ECM that disrupted the SAMs tracking ability. This was related to me by an AF intel officer. Don't know if it's true or not, but makes sense. |
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