Boeing b-52

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is one of the most reliable warplanes in the United States arsenal. It has been in front-line service ever since its introduction in 1955 to the US Strategic Air Command as a nuclear deterrent to the USSR. Nuclear-armed B-52s would take off from Washington State at the height of the Cold War. They would fly over the US-Canadian border, refueling over Newfoundland, fly along the edge of Baffin Island and turn around at 89 degrees north. Sealed in each cockpit was information need in case of a retaliatory nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. The B-52s would refuel again over Alaska and head south along the Pacific Ocean/Canadian border. 24 hours after taking off, the bombers would land in Washington State. Fortunately the call never came for the B-52s to turn towards the Soviet Union to deliver the weapons of mass destruction. But in the 1960s, ICBMs and submarine launched ballistic missiles replaced the B-52 as a nuclear deterrent. Instead, the big bomber became a conventional bomber. Carrying up to 60,000 lbs of conventional bombs, the B-52 served notably in Vietnam, striking the Ho Chi Minh Trail during Rolling Thunder and leveling huge areas of Hanoi and Haiphong during Operation Linebacker. The B-52 was still serving during the Gulf War.

The bomber is affectionately as the BUFF-- "big ugly fat fella"-- to its crews, though this abbreviation can also be spelt out in a profane form.

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

Type: Long range conventional/nuclear bomber

Powerplant: Eight Pratt & Whitney J57-43WB turbojets,each with 13,750 lbs of thrust

Performance: Top speed-650 mph

Dimensions: Length- 161 ft. Wingspan- 185 ft

Crew: 6

Armament: Four .50 caliber M3 machine guns, 20,000 lb. bombload, 12 AGM-69A SRAM missiles