05-21-2003, 12:44 PM
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Am I really here?
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Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: near Chicago
Posts: 3,025
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Re: #1744
#1755
Quote:
Originally posted by pantyfanatic
I am not an aircraft enthusiast, but I question what year the B-52 came into production. Didn’t think we had it during WWII. Not even sure we had it in Korea>
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It probably was not available for Korea, no.
1951 US Airforce Orders B- 52 Bomber The US Airforce ordered production models of the B-52 Bomber from Boeing. The B-52 was set to replace the B-36 Bomber. It has eight engines and a total bomb load of 50,000 pounds. The B-52 can fly non-stop for a total of 15,000 miles.
The plane took its first flight on April 15, 1952. The huge plane had a 48-foot (five-story) (15-meter) dorsal fin and its wings had an area of 4,000 square feet (372 square meters). As test pilot Tex Johnson fired up the engines that, according to a reporter, sounded like a "piercing cry," the watching crowd was worried that the test would fail. But for nearly three hours, the plane performed admirably, and its first test was a success, as were subsequent tests. The air force ordered more B-52s.
The first batch was delivered to SAC in 1954.
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