Boeing B-52D Stratofortress (USA)
Visit us on:
Museum Hours:
April 1- September 30
9:00am - 5:00pm
October 1 - March 31
10:00am - 4:00pm
The museum is open
daily year round (weather permitting),
except for the following days:
New Year's Day,
Easter,
Thanksgiving and
Christmas Day.
Specifications
Country of Origin:
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United States
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Manufacturer:
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Boeing Airplane Company
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Role/Function:
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Bomber
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Serial Number:
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56-0612
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Model Number/Mk #:
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Model 464-67
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Crew:
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6
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Power Plant:
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8 - Pratt & Whitney J-57-P-19W turbojet engines w/12,100 lbs. of thrust each.
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Maximum Speed:
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606 mph
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Cruising Speed:
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n/a
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Service Ceiling:
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50,000+ ft.
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Range:
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7,856 mi.
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Weights:
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Empty: 80,750 lbs.
Maximum: 450,000 lbs.
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Wing Span:
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185 ft.
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Length:
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156 ft. 7 in.
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Height:
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48 ft. 4 in.
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Wing Area:
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n/a
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Armament:
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4 - .50 cal machine guns in tail. Conventional: 84 - 500 lbs. or 42 - 750 lbs. internally, plus 24 - 500 lb. or 750 lbs bombs externally. Nuclear: 2 - AGM-28 Hound Dog missiles and internal nuclear payload.
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Cost:
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n/a
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Number Built:
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744
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# in Current Service:
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The B-52H made its first flight March 6, 1961, and is still in service.
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No aircraft is more associated with strategic bombing than the B-52 Stratofortress. It entered service in 1955 and stood as a vital part of America's nuclear deterrent until the end of the Cold War.
The B-52 was and is not strictly a nuclear bomber. It is quite effective as a conventional bomber as well. B-52s served in the skies over Vietnam, flying from bases in Thailand and Guam.
The B-52 participated several important bombing campaigns that took place during the Vietnam Conflict. They were code named Rolling Thunder, Arc Light, Linebacker 1, and Linebacker II. During these campaigns B-52s bombed strategic and tactical targets in both South and North Vietnam. B-52s again saw combat in Iraq in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The last production model, the B-52H, has recently been used in Afghanistan. It has more powerful engines and has been modernized in many other respects.
Throughout the 1950s, the B-52 chalked up numerous distance and speed records. It cut the round-the-world speed record in half, and in January 1962, it flew 12,500 miles nonstop from Japan to Spain without refueling. This flight alone broke 11 distance and speed records. The B-52s saw active duty in the Vietnam War, were used in the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and over Afghanistan in 2001.
The B-52s of Castle Air Force Base were involved in Desert Storm and flew bombing missions against the Republican Guard using the carpet bombing technique. Their contribution helped bring the conflict to a quick conclusion.
The aircraft on display at Castle Air Museum is a "D" model of the Stratofortress which served on active duty from 1957 until 1982. It served with the Strategic Air Command for its entire career and saw combat in the skies over Vietnam. For a time, it was stationed at U-Tapao Air Base in Thailand and at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam. It last served with the 93rd Bomb Wing at Castle Air Force Base, Atwater, California. Located under the wing of the aircraft on display is one AGM-28 Hound Dog missile.
On the web at: www.stratofortress.org
B-52 Incident
January 10, 1964, started out as a typical day for the flight test group at Boeing's Wichita plant. Pilot Chuck Fisher took off in a B-52H with a three-man Boeing crew, flying a low-level profile to obtain structural data.
Over Colorado, cruising 500 feet above the mountainous terrain, the B-52 encountered some turbulence. Fisher climbed to 14,300 feet looking for smoother air. At this point the typical day ended. The bomber flew into clear-air turbulence. It felt as if the plane had been placed in a giant high-speed elevator, shoved up and down, and hit by a heavy blow on its right side.
Fisher told the crew to prepare to abandon the plane. He slowed the aircraft and dropped to about 5,000 feet to make it easier to bail out. But then Fisher regained some control. He climbed slowly to 16,000 feet to put some safety room between the plane and the ground. He informed Wichita about what was happening. Although control was difficult, Fisher said he believed he could get the plane back in one piece.
Response to the situation at Wichita, and elsewhere, was immediate. An emergency control center was set up in the office of Wichita's director of flight test. Key Boeing engineers and other specialists were summoned to provide their expertise. Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control centers at Denver and Kansas City cleared the air around the troubled plane. A Strategic Air Command B-52 in the area maintained radio contact with the crew of the Wichita B-52.
As Fisher got closer to Wichita, a Boeing chase plane flew up to meet him and to visually report the damage. When Dale Felix, flying an F-100 fighter, came alongside Fisher's B-52, he couldn't believe what he saw: The B-52's vertical tail was gone.
Felix broke the news to Fisher and those gathered in the control center. There was no panic. Everyone on the plane and in the control center knew they could be called upon at any time for just such a situation. In the emergency control center, the engineers began making calculations and suggesting the best way to get the plane down safely. The Air Force was also lending assistance. A B-52, just taking off for a routine flight, was used to test the various flight configurations suggested by the specialists before Fisher had to try them.
As high gusty winds rolled into Wichita, the decision was made to divert the B-52 to Blytheville Air Force Base in Northeastern Arkansas. Boeing specialists from the emergency control center took off in a KC-135 and accompanied Fisher to Blytheville, serving as an airborne control center.
Six hours after the incident first occurred, Fisher and his crew brought in the damaged B-52 for a safe landing.
"I'm very proud of this crew and this airplane," Fisher said. "Also we had a lot people helping us, and we're very thankful for that."
"The B-52," Fisher said, "is the finest airplane I ever flew."
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The Castle Air Museum is chartered by the Department of Education and operated by the Castle Air Museum Foundation, Inc., a private not-for-profit corporation,
tax-exempt under IRS Code 501 (c)(3). The mission of the Museum is to preserve military aviation history for future generations.
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