Gallery: All things B-52
After it became operational in 1955, the B-52 remained the main long-range heavy bomber of the US Air Force during the Cold War, and it continues to be an important part of the USAF bomber force today. Nearly 750 were built before production ended in the fall of 1962; 170 of these were B-52Ds.
The B-52 has set numerous records in its many years of service. On January 18, 1957, three B-52Bs completed the first non-stop round-the-world flight by jet aircraft, lasting 45 hours and 19 minutes and requiring only three aerial refuelings. It was also a B-52 that made the first airborne hydrogen bomb drop over Bikini Atoll on May 21, 1956.
In June 1965, B-52s entered combat in Southeast Asia. By August 1973, they had flown 126,615 combat sorties with seventeen B-52s lost to enemy action.
A B-52D at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum, 16 Aug 2018.
Photo: James St. John
A B-52D landing at U-Tapao with a KC-135A in the foreground, 15 Jan 1970.
Photo: USAF
B-52Ds before takeoff, Anderson AFB, Dec 1972
Photo: USAF
M117 750-lb. bombs in front of B-52D, Andersen Air Force Base, during Vietnam War.
Photo: USAF
B-52D 55-0100 during Linebacker II, Dec 1972
Photo: USAF
B-52s on the flight line at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, 22 Aug 2015.
Photo: USAF
B-52D cockpit
Photo: USAF Museum of the Air Force
Capt Jeff Rogers (left) and 1st Lt. Patrick Applegate in the Radar Navigator and Navigator stations of their B-52, 21 Aug 2006.
Photo: USAF
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B-52D Electronic Warfare Officer’s mockup (with classified equipment removed)
Photo: Museum of Aviation, Warner-Robbins AFB, 2021-07-29
B-52H 60-0005, RAF Fairford, July 2007.
Photo: Matt Birch, http://visualapproachimages.com
B-52H 60-0045, RAF Fairford, July 2008.
Photo: Matt Birch, http://visualapproachimages.com
A B-52 approaches a tanker near the North Pole 31 July 2016.
Photo: USAF
A B-52H in Southwest Asia 21 May 2019
Photo: USAF