The B-52's development and five decades of service, from the Cold War and Vietnam to the Gulf Wars and Afghanistan, are featured in this comprehensive and heavily illustrated history.

Boeing's mighty B-52 Stratofortress has seen continuous operational service with the United States Air Force since the type was introduced in 1957. The aircraft has been upgraded several times and has assumed many different new roles since it was originally conceived and then provided the key airborne platform for America's strategic nuclear force. It is predicted that it will serve as a front-line aircraft until 2040. Apart from the formidable threat it provided during the long years of the 'Cold War', the aircraft has played a significant part in all US overseas operations since Vietnam. The more recent include Desert Storm in 1991, the Balkan conflict, Afghanistan and the liberation of Iraq. Over 700 were built and around 80 remain in service. This book includes chapters on Concept Requirement, Design and Development, Production, Evolution and Variant Models, Operational Tasking, Operational History (with first-hand accounts from crews), Weapons and Equipment Carried, Flying the Aircraft and Current Service Operations. t will be highly illustrated with many original shots taken aboard B-52s, together with archive material and also color profiles.

With the ending of the Cold War (1946-1991), the B-52's traditional combat role became redundant, and the USAF looked for new ways to use the machine. The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in August 1990 gave the B-52 the chance to prove its worth in the new world order, and Stratofortress crews flying the B-52G seized the opportunity with both hands. This book explains how, flying from bases in the Indian Ocean, Britain, Spain and Saudi Arabia, the B-52G was at the forefront of the campaign to free Kuwait of Saddam's forces and dropped the first bombs of Operation Desert Storm (1990-1991).

The famous B-52 Stratofortress has been in service with the USAF for more than 65 years and its iconic shape is known and recognized all over the world. Yet the B-52 and its predecessor, the B-47 Stratojet, started out looking very different indeed. Each aircraft was the end product of a lengthy design process which saw numerous configurations studied - with plenty of diversions taken and missteps made along the way. In Boeing B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress: Origins and Evolution, aerospace engineer Scott Lowther reviews and explains the many different projects put forward for these two iconic aircraft, including a wide variety of rare and forgotten designs. Providing full-page diagrams, a wealth of new artwork and accurate data, the book will be useful for model makers interested in new and unique projects, aerospace engineers curious about the process of design evolution and those interested in these fascinating aircraft.

More than any other weapon system, the legendary Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is the embodiment of US military power. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the B-52 has been its longevity. It first flew in 1952 and entered operational service with the US Air Force in 1955. Boeing delivered the last B-52 in 1962. Five decades later, the B-52 remains in front-line service, most recently taking part in combat over Afghanistan and Iraq. Even more amazingly, current plans are for the B-52 to remain in service until 2040. This volume is packed with historical and recent photographs of the B-52, including some that were released by the US Air Force and its contractors just for use in the book. As part of his research, the author flew on a B-52 training mission, and the flight report in this volume is the most detailed description of a B-52 mission ever published.

Discusses history of the B-52 Stratofortress warplane and its use in the military campaigns in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Conceived in 1948, first flown in 1952 and projected still to be in front-line service in the 21st century, the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is one of the most extraordinary aircraft in history. Here is the book to do justice to the story of the development and operational career of this legendary bomber. The book features a comprehensive history of the development of the U.S. heavy bomber, and intensive discussion of the Boeing B-47 and its effect upon the B-52 design, and perhaps more important than either of these today, the enormous number of modifications and changes which have kept the aircraft viable. The important contributions of the Strategic Air Command, with its concepts of the dedicated crew, rigorous training and ceaseless evaluation is well covered, and special attention is given to the B-52's role in the Vietnamese conflict. The book is reinforced with over 200 photographs and drawings, and includes a comprehensive set of appendices. The material for the book was derived almost entirely from the primary sources--the men who designed, built, flew, maintained and improved them and the documents created at the time. The author, a former B-52 and B-47 pilot himself, conveys the spirit of the B-52--the men and the missions behind the hardware, as well as a superbly detailed analysis of the aircraft itself.

An icon of the Cold War, Boeing's mighty B-52 is without a doubt the most famous jet bomber ever built, having now served for almost 40 years. The last in the line of Boeing 'heavies', the Stratofortress has gone on to break all records for longevity, firstly with Strategic Air Command, and more recently with Air Combat Command. This volume details the whole B-52 story, from its inception as the ultimate conventional 'Cold War warrior', through testing times over south-east Asia, to its extensive role in the Gulf conflict. Crewmembers from all four decades have provided an oral history of the 'Buff' both in war and peace within this authoritative volume. Detailed squadron histories, full technical specifications, production listings and never before published photographs make this book the work of reference on the USAF's most 'senior' combat aircraft.

First flown in 1952, the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress became the ultimate expression of Cold War very heavy bomber design. The last of the famous ‘Fortress’ series of aircraft produced by the legendary Seattle-based company, the B-52 was created over a weekend in a hotel suite in Ohio, resulting in a design that gave America’s post-war Strategic Air Command, led by General Curtis Le May, an additional nuclear-capable edge. The B-52 was almost as big as Convair’s B-36 Peacemaker, the largest serial-produced piston-powered aircraft ever built. The B-52 could carry a very similar bomb load, but flew it further, higher and faster. The turbojet-powered B-52 utilized techniques Boeing had learned from the Model 450 B-47 Stratojet and was designed to meet the Strategic Air Command’s ever-changing needs in the nuclear age. Like its predecessors, Boeing’s B-52 proved to be a highly flexible aircraft, capable of carrying increasing payloads, meaning it has remained in service well beyond its expected lifespan. Over the decades the B-52 gradually become a strategic and tactical airborne platform capable of delivering evermore deadly attacks against targets in various environments, from jungle to arid mountains. The B-52 had become the universal tool for commanders on the ground and a symbol of American military power, capable of striking a target anywhere in the world – as evidenced by its deployment in, for example, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. Such was its potency, that the USAF and Boeing had developed an aeroplane of such importance that it now seems impossible to discuss conventional air power without including the B-52. This Flight Craft title offers the aviation enthusiast, historian and modeller an exciting selection of B-52-related resources through photographs, illustrations and excellent showcase examples to help build their own versions of this fearsome military aircraft.

The B-52's development and five decades of service, from the Cold War and Vietnam to the Gulf Wars and Afghanistan, are featured in this comprehensive and heavily illustrated history.