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It's onwards and upwards for the B-52

As a cost saving measure, top Pentagon officials have decided to extend the life of the United States Air Force's bomber fleet by another 40 years. Instead they will concentrate on developing new fighter aircraft.

It means the Boeing-built B-52, which has become a mainstay of Uncle Sam's arsenal since the early 1950s, may remain in the skies until 2044. By then the current crop, which rolled off the production line in the early 1960s, will be airborne octogenarians.

(For a first-hand account of what it's like to fly a B-52 click here)

Depending on which side of the fence you sit, the B-52 is probably the most glorious/notorious modern-day military aeroplane.

It was designed with "power projection" in mind or, in layman's terms, says the BBC's Defence Correspondent Mark Laity, "to get there the fastest with the mostest".

That meant flying long distances, at altitudes up to 17,000 meters where the craft could reach 595mph (or Mach 0.9). Mid-air refuelling has further enhanced its range and in 1993 seven B-52s flew non-stop from Louisiana in the US to Iraq and back.

A thrilled air force colonel later remarked: "Any banana republic can have an air force with F-15s, F-16s. But only a super-power has a long-range bomber."

Its connection with America's menacing 1950s war machine was lampooned in the Stanley Kubrick cold war spoof film, Dr Strangelove, and played for laughs by the American new wave pop group the B-52s.

Designed in 1948, as a replacement for the B-29 (the plane that dropped the Hiroshima bomb), the B-52, also called the Stratofortress, was a plane for the Cold War generation.

It has been described as an Armageddon plane. When the world lived under the threat of nuclear catastrophe, the B-52 was the craft that would drop the nuclear bomb on Moscow.

Its dark, brooding, ominous appearance, complete with then revolutionary swept-back wings and the thunderous roar of eight jet engines, fitted the bill perfectly.

Appearances aren't deceptive

If looks could kill, the B-52 was a threatening as the payload it carried.

Bryan Bender, Washington bureau chief with Jane's Defence Weekly, is certain the psychological factor was played to its full potential.

"There's no mistaking the message it has for our enemies, that the big, bad USA is here and you'd better not mess," says Mr Bender.

It is a testament of the paranoia that once gripped the American establishment, that the initial fleet of B-52s spent their first 10 years continuously traversing the US skies so as not to be caught on the ground during a surprise attack.

Thankfully, it never came to that. But the Stratofortress has seen plenty of active service.

In the 1960s it was modified to carry more than 18,000kg of bombs and set about carpet-bombing the Vietnam countryside, after ground troops had failed to thwart the Vietcong.

It took to the skies of the Middle East during the Gulf War of 1991 and was again deployed for the American air strikes on Baghdad last December. A fleet of seven are currently on stand-by at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, awaiting developments in Kosovo.

Troubled successors

Its iconic status notwithstanding, what sets the B-52 apart from its successors is its reliability.

The B-1, which was commissioned as its supersonic replacement by President Richard Nixon in 1970, was dogged by design flaws and safety faults. It finally flew into combat for the first time during the strikes on Iraq last year.

The B-2 "stealth bomber" has been more successful, but only just. With development costs running at about $2bn per plane (21 have been built) and claims that its radar-deflecting paint is compromised by rain, it's not exactly been a smooth run.

Of the 744 B-52s built, taking in eight different versions, only 76 remain active. Hundreds were scrapped as part of the Start - Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty - struck between Mikhail Gorbachev and George Bush in 1991.

The advent of guided missiles means strategic bombers have diminished in importance, says Mr Bender. The B-52s that are left have been adapted accordingly, and now have the ability to launch Cruise missiles and "smart" bombs.

Engines have been replaced and they have also undergone extensive refits in electronics, avionics and communications systems he says.

"By 2040 almost the only thing left of the original aircraft will be the airframe."

Relevant Stories

Bombers fly in for Kosovo force (21 Feb 99 | Europe)
US launches air strikes (17 Dec 98 | LATEST NEWS)
Military facts and figures (13 Nov 98 | Middle East)

Internet Links

USAF - B-52 facts
The Stratofortress Association
B-52 milestones
Historic Wings - B-52 picture gallery

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