Aviapedia

B-52 getting old

By osuorsa | September 2, 2006 on 1:49 pm | In # Avia news |

The legendary B-52 Stratofortress is to be the longest living active duty military plane in history. At the time its even much older than the men who maintain it.

The B-52 was initially designed to carry a nuclear bomb to the Soviet Union in the height of cold war. The bomber made its maiden flight in 1954 and got into service next year. Since then it has been involved nearly every single conflict the US has fought after Vietnam war. The US is planning to serve it to 2040s then being in service for nearly 90 years!

The age gives some ‘charm’ for this old lady but with the age comes ‘wrinkles’ and a lot of work to maintain these planes. To keep them in line with modern threats the B-52s have been constantly updated with new systems and modern high-accuracy weapons. The invest for the advanced systems is really needed for the B-52 to defeat the technological advances of adversaries.

For the men who have worked with the B-52 its like a lady with some ‘refinements’ of the modern era. And like Sergeant McLeod of the 5th. BW puts it - “When you’re with an aircraft for a while, you have a bond. It’s kind of like a person. You talk to it. You feel it. They all act different. They look the same, but they’re not all the same. It doesn’t matter how old she is. She’s still flying good”.

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How about Tu-95?

Comment by Jack-Pilot — September 4, 2006 #
Jack-Pilot’s right. The Tu-95 made it’s first flight on November 12, 1952, but didn’t get issued until 1954. Interesting I must say

Comment by Brian — September 5, 2006 #
Anyway, the Tu-95 now in service are much newer. The Tu-95MS version appeared in the 80´s. And the aircraft now flying with the Russian air force aren´t upgrade of old ones, they were built at that time. So Tu-95 now flying are about 20 years old, or less.

Comment by Carlo — September 7, 2006 #
The last new built B 52s rolled of the production line back in the 60’s

Comment by Munzy — November 8, 2006 #
A replacement for the B-52 has not been developed yet thats why it will retire in 2040.

Comment by arc — January 15, 2007 #