Aviation Ancestry - November 2011

Buff: Part V

By Scott Schwartz

This is the final installment of the five-part series about the B-52 Stratofortress.

Their service during operation “Desert Storm” began early on Jan. 16, 1991, when seven of them departed from Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, en route to Saudi Arabia. These aircraft – B-52Gs – were armed with another Boeing product – the AGM-86C Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM).  This was an almost textbook example of the B-52’s new “stand-off” attack capability. While loitering some 500 miles from Baghdad, the B-52Gs launched their cruise missiles, rendezvoused with the fuel tankers (twice), and then flew back to Barkdsdale. The targets were radar installations and power plants. The time spent in the air was more than 34 hours.

And, so began the B-52’s involvement with operation Desert Storm. Still, many of the missions flown by the B-52Gs were reminiscent of those flown during the old Vietnam ARC LIGHT days. Flying at 35,000 feet, the B-52s bombed Iraqi troops, who didn’t realize that they were under attack until the bombs exploded.

A B-52H in flight; note that the tail guns have been removed, as attacks from enemy aircraft are no longer considered to be a threat. (United States Air Force)

There were two main reasons for the switch to high-altitude attacks. One was the high volume of “small-arm” anti-aircraft fire, which was hazardous at low altitude. The other was the nearly complete suppression of SAM radar by escorting F-4G “Wild Weasel” Phantoms. In fact, the latter worked almost too well, for on one occasion, an American high speed anti-radiation missile (“HARM”) – which was supposed to lock on to and destroy enemy radar sites – lost contact with the enemy radar and locked on to the tail-turret radar of a B-52! Striking the B-52, the missile didn’t explode, but it sliced seven feet from the rear of the B-52’s fuselage. Able to make it back to its base in Saudi Arabia, this particular B-52G was repaired just enough to be ferried to the bone yard.

A total of one B-52G was lost during Desert Storm, and this was the result of an accident, not enemy action.

Retirement of the B-52G had begun even as Desert Storm was beginning, and by 1995, there were no more of them in active service. It was replaced by the “newest” B-52 model (its first flight took place in March, 1961) – the B-52H, and the B-52H is the only variant of the Stratofortress in service today.

At first glance, it’s hard to tell the difference between the B-52G and H models; one has to look closely. For starters, the engine cowlings are noticeably wider at the front, in order to house the Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbo-fan engine. The B-52H is the only model to be powered by turbo-fan engines, and each of these engines generate about 5,000 pounds more thrust than the previous B-52’s J57 turbo jet engines. Plus, the newer engines are more fuel efficient, resulting in a 2,500-mile range increase. Instead of the four .50 caliber machine guns in the tail, the B-52H was equipped with a 20 mm Vulcan cannon, which could fire up to 6,000 rounds per minute.

Production of the B-52 ended, when the last B-52H rolled off the assembly line on October 26, 1962. Seven-hundred-forty-four B-52s of all models were built. But the story wasn’t over yet.

The Cold War finally did end. The United States emerged victorious. 1991 saw the Warsaw Pact fade into history. On September 28 of that same year, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) unloaded nuclear weapons from all of its “alert” bombers.  A pattern that had started during the war in Vietnam had continued during Desert Storm – namely the use of SAC aircraft in tactical rather than strategic roles. During Vietnam, SAC’s nuclear mission was still important enough to justify the organization’s existence. But the handwriting was on the wall. Now, the nuclear deterrent role was no longer paramount. The time for a major change in the organization of the Air Force had come; the bombers and reconnaissance aircraft of SAC were absorbed into the newly created Air Combat Command (ACC) on June 1, 1992. The tankers and transport aircraft were acquired by the new Air Mobility Command (AMC).

Perhaps the most interesting change to the B-52’s individually was the removal of the tail gunner as a member of the crew (but not the guns) after Desert Storm. Nevertheless, even the guns were removed from all of the B-52Hs – a metal plate covers the empty space. The gun-laying radar and electronic equipment remaining was not taken out of the aircraft. Presumably, the guns could be re-installed should the need arise.

Despite all of the above, the B-52H saw combat service during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. It remains a versatile combat aircraft, and 85 of them remain in active service at the time that this is being written.

The Air Force plans to keep the B-52 in service through the year 2045. At that point, the B-52 will have been in first line service for more than ninety years.

B-52H specifications:

Length: 159 feet, 4 inches.

Wing span: 185 feet.

Engines: Four Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbo-fan engines.

Top speed: 650 mph.

Service Ceiling: 50, 000 feet.