B-52

also called Stratofortress, U.S. long-range heavy bomber, designed in 1948 and first flown in 1952. Though originally intended to be an atomic-bomb carrier capable of reaching the Soviet Union, it proved adaptable to a number of missions, and some B-52s were thus expected to remain in service for the rest of the 20th century. The B-52 has a wingspan of 185 feet (56 m) and a length of 160 feet 10.9 inches (49 m). It is powered by eight jet engines mounted under the wings in four twin pods. The plane's maximum speed at 55,000 feet (17,000 m) is Mach 0.9 (595 miles per hour, or 960 km/h); at only a few hundred feet above the ground, it can fly at Mach 0.5 (375 miles per hour, or 600 km/h). It carries a crew of six, and its sole defensive armament is a remotely controlled gun turret in the tail. Between 1952 and 1962, the Boeing Company built 744 B-52s in a total of eight versions. Of these, the D, G, and H were the most significant. During the Vietnam War, B-52Ds were modified to carry more than 40,000 pounds (18,000 kg) of bombs in their bomb bay and on pylons under the wings. The B-52G, also used to attack North Vietnam, contained extra fuel tanks that gave it a range of more than 10,000 miles (16,000 km). The B-52H switched from turbojet engines to more efficient turbofans. As nuclear-weapons carriers, the G and H were equipped in the 1980s with air-launched cruise missiles, while the B-52G was also fitted with antiship missiles for maritime patrol. The huge airframe of the B-52 has allowed it to be retrofitted with highly sophisticated navigational, weapons-control, and electronic-countermeasures systems.