On June 25, 1963 I flew as 3rd Pilot on a B-52G from Minot AFB, N.D.. The flight was in support of SAC's Airborne Alert and lasted 23 hours and 35 minutes. My association with the B-52 goes back to 1951 when I was a Draftsman at Boeing Plant #2 in Seattle, Wa. The XB-52 testing was complete and they were doing the test flying of the YB-52. The department I was assigned to was responsible for the design of the airframe that would house the fuel tanks located behind the upper crew compartment. The design was for the B-52A Model that had switched the cockpit from a tandem arrangement similar to the B-47 to a side by side seating.
Image
B-52 Stratofortress (Buff) Details
Aircraft/Missile Information
Model Boeing B-52H Stratofortress Length 160.89 ft | 49.04 m Width 185.10 ft | 56.42 m Height 40.68 ft | 12.40 m Engine(s) 8 x Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3 turbofan engines generating 17,000lbs of standard thrust each. Empty Weight 172,743 lbs | 78,355 kg MTOW 487,993 lbs | 221,350 kg Max Speed 595 mph | 958 km/h | 517 kts Max Range 10,000 miles | 16,093 km Ceiling 54,954 ft | 16,750 m | 10.4 miles Climb Rate Not Available Hardpoints 2 Armament Mission-specific armament can include any of the following:
20 x AGM-86B ALCM cruise missiles (internal) 20 x AGM-129 cruise missiles (internal) 2 x AGM-86B ALCMs cruise missile (external) 2 x AGM-129 cruise missiles (external) Free Fall Nuclear Bombs 12 x AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles 12 x AGM-142A air-to-surface missiles AGM-86C CALCM cruise missiles JDAMs
Up to 51,570lbs (340kg) class bombs or mines Accommodations 6 Operators United States of America