BOEING B-52 STRATOFORTRESS

Storia, sviluppo e impiego del Boeing B-52 Superfortress dalla sua nascita nel 1946 all’entrata in servizio nel 1955 con l’USAF agli 85 esemplari ancora oggi in servizio. Le missioni compiute durante la Guerra Fredda, in Vietnam con l’Operazione Rolling Thunder, in Medio Oriente durante l’Operazione Tempesta nel Deserto e anche in Afghanistan. 

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress began life at the Boeing Aircraft Corporation in 1946 and was the answer that General Curtis LeMay was looking for: a huge bomber. The B-52 entered service with the USAF in 1955 and is still in active service. The B-52 had forged a successful career during the Cold War and was on constant alert against a Soviet nuclear threat. The B-52 was bloodied in the Vietnam War of which Operation Rolling Thunder became one of the monumental programmes in USAF history. Also, the B-52 saw action in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom and Afghanistan. During her operational career, the B-52 has been refined and revised with a number of improvements to her huge airframe and cockpit. Of a total of 744 that were built, eighty-five of the ‘H’ variant remain in service. Her armament capacity is immense and after sixty years of service and many battle scars later, she remains as the Boeing B-52: Warrior Queen of the USAF.