Shortly after the World War II, the Air Materiel Command, then still belonging to US Army Air Forces, started looking for a new heavy strategic bomber to improve upon the existing B-29 and B-36 bombers. The new aircraft was to carry 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) of bombs and cruise at 300 miles per hour (260 kn; 480 km/h) at 34,000 feet (10,000 m) with a combat radius of 5,000 miles (4,300 nmi; 8,000 km). Boeing, Consolidated Aircraft, and Glenn L. Martin Company submitted proposals for aircraft meeting those specifications. Boeing initially won the competition to build the new aircraft with it's model 462, but the rapid development of aircraft technology caused the customer, now called US Air Force (USAF) to request multiple redesigns changing the design drastically. One such redesign was done over a weekend in October 1948 in a hotel on the west coast, when Boeing engineers tried to convince a USAF colonel responsible for the B-52 program to green-light the design. The new bomber was initially designed as straight wing six motor turboprop, but the design changed to swept-wing eight motor turbojet. The design of another Boeing bomber, the B-47 Stratojet was a big influence here.
Finally, on 14 February 1951 Boeing was awarded a production contract for thirteen B-52As. The last major design change was a switch from the B-47 style tandem seating to a more conventional side-by-side cockpit, which increased the effectiveness of the copilot and reduced crew fatigue. Both B-52 prototypes featured the original tandem seating arrangement with a framed bubble-type canopy, similar to other bombers of the time, like the B-47 or the B-57.
The second B-52 built - YB-52, serial number 49-0230 made the first B-52 flight on April 15, 1952 - the legend was born.
Initially the serial aircraft - three B-52As and the first B-52Bs were used for testing and training. The raging war in Korea delayed the B-52 Program. USAF accepted its first B-52 in August 1954 and the first B-52Bs were accepted by SAC in June 1955. The next, C-Model had increased gross take-off weight and enlarged external fuel tanks. There were only 35 Model Cs built and they quickly became surplus when the next, model D arrived in the end of 1956. Model D eliminated the capability to mount a manned reconnesaince pod in the bomb bay, instead concentrating on the bomber role - both nuclear and conventional. After the Model Ds were delivered SAC started investigating the low altitude penetration concept. The Model Ds also got equipped with AGM-28 Hound Dog standoff missiles, ADN-20 Quail decoys and AN/ALQ-27 multiband jammers.
Next in line was the Model E, first delivered in December 1957. It differed from the D Model only slightly, with improved electronics and AN/ASQ-38 bombing and navigational system. Crew comfort was increased with redesigned bombardier and navigator stations. It was followed by Model F, again a gradual improvement on the previous version with uprated engines and minor improvements on the water injection system with enlarged water tanks. A substantial improvement compared to the previous B-52 models were the alternators installed to the left-hand engine in every pod in place of the air-driven turbines and alternators (previously installed in the fuselage). Bulges on the engine covers, housing the new alternators allow to distinguish the F Model from other B-52s. First B-52Fs were delivered in June 1958.
With model G a serious redesign was introduced to the B-52 family of aircraft. The G Model featured a so called "wet wing" - internal wing structures used as fuel tanks and a much (2,23m) shorter vertical stabilizer, which is the easiest clue to distingush between "old" and "new" B-52s. With the new tail cme the new gun system: Instead of having a manned gun turret in the tail, four machine guns controlled by the AN/ASG-15 system were operated by the gunner from a station in the cabin with the rest of the flight crew. It was followed by the final, H Model of the B-52. This was the only B-52 model powered by TF-33-P-3 turbofan engines. The installation of the new powerplants offered a decisive improvement in range over the B-52G. Another advantage over the earlier J57 engine was the elimination of need for water injection for extra power at take off. Electronic counter measures and fire control system were also improved. An M61 20mm Gatling cannon was installed in the teil instead of the four 12,7mm machine guns. First B-52H was delivered in May 1961. The final B-52H was delivered on October 26, 1962 after 744 aircraft of the B-52 family were built.
The war in Vietnam raged for centuries. The Vietnamese fought the Chinese, the French and the Japanese. Since 1964, when the so called Tonkin Gulf incident happened the Americans became officially involved in this war (they were inofficially influencing the local politics since at least WWII). Already in 1964 plans were made to also use the B-52 in the Vietnam War. These aircraft, primarily intended for the intercontinental nuclear bomber role was also capable of carrying a large load of conventional bombs - each version could carry 27 500lb or 750lb high explosive bombs internally, although this capability was rarely used, as at the peak of Cold War the SAC was seroius about its nuclear deterrent role and was very reluctant to divert resources from this primary mission. However the USAF saw the potential of the B-52 and was intent on having at leas part of the Stratofortress fleet being used in Vietnam.
Of all the B-52 variants the B-52F was considered best suited to be used in Vietnam in 1964. Under the South Bay program a total of 28 B-52Fs were modified to carry conventional bombs on pylons originally intended for the AGM-28 Hound Dog missiles. The racks installed on these pylons allowed to carry 24 bombs externally in addition to the 27 bombs carried internally - for a total of 51 bombs. Two of the most frequently used bomb types were M117 HE bombs or CBU cluster bombs filled with BLU-3 bomblets. More B-52Fs were later similarily modified under the Sun Bath program.
The first B-52s committed to war in Vietnam were deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam in the beginnig of 1965, but initially it was unclear how exactly to use them. There were plans to task the B-52s with attacks on North Vietnam, but those met a strong opposition from the State Department which maintained that this would represent a major escalation of war and might cause overreaction from China and Soviet Union. Another reason was the possibility of loss of an aircraft and its crew to enemy defences and the consequences of such an event. Another plan, that was eventually implemented was to use the B-52s to support the troops on the ground. It was intended to attack Viet Cong enclaves spread across large areas of jungle. First B-52 mission during the Vietnam War, codenamed Arc Light I took place on 30th of June 1965. Thirty B-52Fs took off from Guam to attack Viet Cong forces at Ben Cat, bout 64 km north of Saigon. That mission went really bad - not only did the bombing hit just empty jungle, as it was inaccurate and the enemy lft the area anyhow, but also two bombers colided on the way due to problems with aerial refuelling, leding to a loss of two aircraft and eight of twelve their crewmen. As a result the air refualling procedures were reviewed and improved.
In November 1965 the use of B-52Fs changed, when the bombers started to fly missions in direct support of ground troops, serving as "flying heavy artillery". In December 1965 B-52Fs also started bombing targets in Laos. Many of such missions were not revealed to the Laotian government.
One of the absurdities of Vietnam War was the swapping of of the roles of USAF aircraft - the B-52s attacked tactical targets in South Vietnam while strategic targets in the North were attacked by tactical fighters of the USAF and US Navy.
In March 1966 the B-52Fs began to be replaced in Vietnam by older B-52Ds which had undergone modifications to increase their conventional bombing capability and ECM protection. The wing pylons were modified in the same way as on the B-52Fs, and the bomb bay underwent the High Density Bombing (HDB) modification , allowing internal carriage of up to 84 Mk.82 or 42 M117 bombs by using new high density "clips". These modifications gave the B-52D a total bomb load of 27 200kg, about 10 000kg more than in the B-52F. Under the Big Belly program a new pre-load system was also developed, with clips of bombs that could be prepared for quick loading, reducing the time necessary to rearm the aircraft. The modified B-52Ds retained their capability of carrying free-fall nuclear bombs and mines.
The B-52s operated in three ship formations called "cells". The lead aircraft flew first, with number two and three behind, staggered to left and right. The distance between the the leader and last aircraft in the cell was about 3,2 km. The bombers were also separated vertically by about 150m. Such formation ensures good mutual ECM protection. A B-52D "Big Belly" cell could drop 324 bombs thus creating a field of destruction that was about 5km long and 3km wide. Bombing the jungle was often criticized as doing nothing more than knocking over trees and killing monkeys, but many times enemy camps and troop concentrations could be hit this way. Such attacks had the advanteage of surprise, thanks to attacking from very high altitude, meaning the attacking aircraft couldn't be seen nor heard from the ground until the first bombs started to explode with the deadly effect of flying shrapnel and massive blast. The B-52s were particularily effective against tunnel complexes, that were a major problem for the US Army forces, and were hard to destroy or counter in any other way.
In April 1966 the B-52Ds flew the first mission north of the DMZ. North Vietnamese SAMs (surface-to-air missiles) fired at the bombers caused the bombing of North Vietnam by B-52s to be halted.
The B-52 operations from Andersen AFB, located more than 4 000km from Saigon were very costly in terms of fuel, time, crew fatigue and stress to the airframes. Therfore USAF started to look for a suitable base closer to the scene of operations. several options were were considered and finally the Royal Thai Navy airfield at Sattahip, Thailand, known as U-Tapao, already used by KC-135 tankers, was selected. On 10th of April 1967 the first three B-52Ds landed at U-Tapao to take part in Operation Poker Dice. Initially U-Tapao was only a forward base and all major maintenance work and mission planning was done at Andersen AFB. By 1969 U-Tapao was developed into a permanent base. The number of B-52Ds based at this base increased from 7 at the beginning of operations to 42.
In 1968 the first major effort for the B-52s was breaking the siege of the Khe Sanh combat base. Operations Niagara Falls and Bugle Call involved so many B-52 missions, that a third B-52 base in the region had to be opened. This was Kadena on Okinawa which was previosly rejected for political reacons so as not to offend the Japanese public opinion. Kadena was about half the distance to Saigon than Andersen and the missions lasted six hours.
In 1969 the BUFFs commenced bombing raids on a new territory - Cambodia. This country was officially neutral, but used by North Vietnam as a supply route and staging area. American commanders in Vietnam wanted to bomb some areas of Cambodia for some time but president Lyndon B. Jonson was against it. The new president, Richard Nixon authorised the bombing, but it was kept secret. Arc Light type strikes against Cambodia began on 18th March 1969 under Operation Menu, and then were expanded under the Operation Freedom Deal.
Apart from Cambodia Arc Light-type strikes were also directed at Laos in an attempt to stop the transfer of supplies from North Vietnam at the entry point of the Ho Chi Minh trail.
In 1970, as part of the "Vietnamization" of the war the sortie rate began to decline. In August 1970 missions from Andersen were ceased and Kadena followed suit in October. The 42 B-52Ds based at U-Tapao could easily cope with the 1000 sorties per month rate. It increased slightly during February and March 1971, when Arc Light missions supported the ARVN offensive known as Lam Son 719.
On 30 March 1972 the North Vietnamese Army equipped with heavy artillery and tanks crossed the DMZ and commenced an offensive into South Vietnam. The ARVN had to fight to retake the territory and was using US air support, including B-52 bombing. In April 1972 newer B-52Gs began to join the older B-52Ds at Andersen AFB to fly the missions over South Vietnam from there. The concentration of B-52s at Andersen was so big, that over one-third of all active aricraft of that type was concentrated there. Over 30 B-52s had to be airborne at any one time, otherwise they wouldn't fit into the parking spaces available on the base.
Bombing of North Vietnam by B-52s were also resumed on 2nd April 1972 as Operation Freedom Train, then renamed to Rolling Thunder Alpha and then to Linebacker. This time the targets were more strategeic in nature and deeper into the North Vietnamese territory.
In December 1972, the U.S. launched a massive aerial bombing campaign over North Vietnam known as Operation Linebacker II, often referred to as the "Christmas Bombing." This campaign aimed to force North Vietnam back to the negotiating table and secure a peace agreement. During this intense period, B-52 bombers flew over 700 sorties, dropping approximately 15,000 tons of bombs on Hanoi, Haiphong, and other key targets. The bombings were highly controversial, drawing criticism for the significant civilian casualties and destruction, but they also succeeded in putting considerable pressure on the North Vietnamese government.
Despite the heavy bombings, the North Vietnamese continued their resistance. However, the pressure from the relentless B-52 raids combined with other military and diplomatic efforts eventually led to the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on January 27, 1973. This agreement marked the end of direct U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, and soon after, American forces, including B-52 units, began to withdraw from the region.
After the signing of the peace accords, the role of B-52s in Southeast Asia diminished. However, they remained on alert and conducted occasional missions in support of South Vietnamese forces until the final U.S. withdrawal in 1973. Bombing missions were also flown against targets in Laos and Cambodia. By March of 1973, all B-52 operations in Vietnam had ceased, and the bombers returned to their bases in the United States and other locations.
The final chapter of B-52 involvement in the Vietnam War came in 1975 during the Fall of Saigon. Although B-52s did not participate directly in the final battles, their previous missions had significantly impacted the war's trajectory. On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, marking the end of the Vietnam War. The B-52 Stratofortress, with its long operational history and formidable bombing capabilities, had left an indelible mark on the conflict, illustrating both the power and the limitations of strategic air power in achieving political and military objectives.
The model in the pictures above shows a B-52D serial number 56-612 operating from Anderson AB, Guam. It wears a special paint scheme of gloss or semigloss black (FS17038 or FS27038) on the undersides and sides of the fuselage and vertical stabilizer, and camouflage pattern similar to the SEA scheme on the top surfases, consisting of patches of dark green (FS34079), SAC bomber green (FS34159) and tan (FS34201). National markings - "stars and bars" - were reduced in size, and markings like walkway borders and serian numbers were red.
| Length: | 47 700 mm |
| Height: | 14 730 mm |
| Wing span: | 56 390 mm |
| Empty weight: | 80 660 kg |
| Maximum takeoff weight: | 204 120 kg |
| Propulsion: | Eight Pratt & Whitney J57-P-19W jet engines with 5382 daN thrust with water injection |
| Armament: | Four .50-cal. AN-M3 machine guns in tail (ARMA MD-9 fire control system) plus up to 32 000 kg of conventional or nuclear bombs |
| Range: | 13 400 km extendable by air refueling |
| Max speed: | 1027 km/h |
| Crew: | 6 people |
