Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress
	A United States Air Force B-52 bomber in-flight
Role	Bomber
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Boeing
First flight	April 1952
Status	Operational ; Active: 58 ; Reserve: 18 ; ANG: 0
Primary user	United States Air Force

The B-52 Stratofortress is a bomber which, with in-air refueling, can fly long distances to reach targets anywhere in the world. The B-52 can carry up to 70000 lbs of bombs and weapons in its large bomb bays, and on wing hard points.

This airplane is one of the most significant in modern aviation history on several levels. It was created in 1948 as a strategic nuclear bomber, and first flew in the early 1950s. The B-52 fought its first war, under the code name of "Arc Light" in Vietnam from 1965 through 1973. The B-52 is a direct ancestor of many of the airliners which have made Boeing Aircraft, one of the most successful privately owned aerospace company in the world. The B-52 will stay in military service until around 2040. It is not clear what will replace it as the United States Air Force's main strategic bomber.

United States Air Force Strategic Bombers

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress Media

XB-52 prototype on flight line (X-4 in foreground; B-36 behind). Note original tandem-seat "bubble" style canopy, similar to Boeing's earlier B-47 Stratojet.
Side view of YB-52 bomber, still fitted with a tandem cockpit, in common with other jet bombers in US service, such as the B-45 Tornado, B-47 Stratojet and Martin B-57 Canberra
B-52H Stratofortress undergoing maintenance to its rudder with its fin folded
First flight of the B-52 Stratofortress on 15 April 1952
B-29 Superfortress Doc, B-17 Flying Fortress Thunderbird, and a B-52 Stratofortress flying in formation at the 2017 Barksdale Air Force Base Airshow
B-52H (AF Ser. No. 61-23), configured at the time as a testbed to investigate structural failures, still flying after its vertical stabilizer sheared off in severe turbulence on 10 January 1964. The aircraft landed safely.
A view of the lower deck of the B-52, dubbed the battle station
A B-52D with anti-flash white on the underside
B-52H bomb bay: AGM-69 SRAM missiles (front) and B28 nuclear bombs (background), as a downloading takes place during Exercise GLOBAL SHIELD '84
Members of the Global Strike Challenge nuclear/conventional load crew team lift a GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition into position during a dry run leading up to the 2012 Air Force Global Strike Command Challenge on Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Aug. 20, 2012.