B-52 Stratofortress is a heavy military airplane used by the United States Air Force. The B-52 is an 8-engine, jet-powered bomber (airplane used to drop explosives) made by the Boeing Company. B is the U.S. military’s designation for a bomber. The Stratofortress followed earlier Boeing bombers, such as the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-29 Superfortress . In service since 1955, the B-52 is the longest-serving bomber in the U.S. military. It became a symbol of American air power during the Cold War , a period of intense rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II (1939-1945).
Boeing first tested B-52’s in 1952. The planes entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 1955. The B-52 was one of the first U.S. military jets with swept wings. Swept wings angle toward the rear of the aircraft, improving the plane’s handling at high speeds. Today, nearly all modern jets use swept wings. More than 700 B-52’s were built between 1952 and 1962.
The Stratofortress was designed to carry thermonuclear weapons, also called hydrogen bombs or fusion weapons. Thermonuclear weapons are far more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of World War II. During the Cold War, the B-52’s nuclear capabilities helped deter (discourage) a Soviet attack on the United States or its allies.
The massive bomber carries just five crew members, but as much as 70,000 pounds (32,000 kilograms) of bombs. The plane flies at a top speed of about 650 miles (1,050 kilometers) per hour. It can reach a maximum altitude of more than 50,000 feet (15,000 meters). It has a range of more than 8,800 miles (14,200 kilometers). _Aerial refueling—_that is, receiving fuel from another plane while in flight—can give the B-52 unlimited range. Until 1991, B-52 gunners operated heavy machine guns or a rapid-fire cannon in the tail for air-to-air defense. Pilots and aircrew nicknamed the plane “BUFF,” which stood for Big Ugly Fat Fellow.
During the Vietnam War (1957-1975), B-52’s bombed targets in North Vietnam. They also supported U.S. and South Vietnamese troops fighting in South Vietnam. B-52’s continued to deter Soviet attacks until the end of the Cold War in 1991.
B-52’s bombed Iraqi targets during the Gulf War of 1991. In 1999, they bombed targets in Kosovo and Serbia in support of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) peacekeeping mission. During the 2000’s, B-52’s flew combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
See also Air Force, United States ; Bomber ; Nuclear weapon ; Vietnam War .
