Boeing B-52 Stratofortress Facts for Kids

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.

Images for kids

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 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, B-17 Flying Fortress and B-52 Stratofortress flying in formation at the 2017 Barksdale Air Force Base Airshow
B-52H (AF Ser. No. 61-0023), 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 under side
USAF B-52H Stratofortress engines
Three B-52Bs of the 93rd Bomb Wing prepare to depart March AFB for Castle AFB, California, after their record-setting round-the-world flight in 1957.
Southerly route of the Operation Chrome Dome airborne nuclear alert
B-52F dropping bombs on Vietnam
Tail armament of a B-52G at Hill Aerospace Museum; this is a post-Vietnam model with the tail-gunner in the forward crew compartment, while earlier models used the traditional tail gunner's position.
B-52H modified to carry two Lockheed D-21B drones
Retired B-52s are stored at the 309th AMARG (formerly AMARC), a desert storage facility often called the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan AFB near Tucson, Arizona.
A B-52H Stratofortress of the 2nd Bomb Wing takes off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam
B-52 taking off from Tinker AFB
B-52 at the Australian airshow, 2011
NB-52A carrying an X-15
NASA's NB-52B Balls 8 (lower) and its replacement B-52H on the flight line at Edwards Air Force Base in 2004
B-52D dropping 500-lb bombs
B-52G on static display at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia
A static B-52G that resides at Griffiss International Airport (formerly Griffiss AFB). Also pictured is an AGM-86 ALCM cruise missile.
One of the two MK 39 nuclear bombs involved in the 1961 Goldsboro crash after soft landing with parachute deployed. The weapon was recovered intact after three of the four stages of the arming sequence were completed.
The thermonuclear bomb that fell into the sea recovered off Palomares, Almería, 1966
Boeing B-52H Stratofortress 3-view drawing
B-52H profile, circa 1987
Boeing B-52H static display with weapons, Barksdale AFB 2006. A second B-52H can be seen in flight in the background

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress facts for kids

Images for kids

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