Hello,
Today’s suggestion is for the Boeing B-52D Stratofortress with the ‘Big Belly’ modification which saw extensive service throughout the Vietnam War and the Cold War as a whole. This is a massive strategic bomber whose origins trace back to the closing months of WWII, culminating in an airframe that still flies to this day and is estimated to continue doing so until 2050 when funding is exhausted.
In the waning months of WWII, the USAAC began drawing up specifications for a bomber that would replace the B-29 - they wanted a strategic bomber that could fly farther, faster, and carry more bombs to the target area. Although Convair had already submitted their design for the B-36 Peacemaker which was put into production, with the advent of surface-to-air missiles it became clear that future bombers would need to be purely jet powered. This strategy did not last, as bomber interceptors and SAM defenses such as the S-75 Dvina (NATO: SA-2 Guideline) could even shoot down the U-2 spyplanes as was witnessed in 1960 when Francis Gary Powers was shot down observing the Soviet Union. The problem was even more complicated when war broke out between the United States and North Vietnam, as the S-75 was being supplied to NVA forces along with Mig-21 fighters which were carefully concealed by the jungle to avoid surprise attacks.
So flying higher makes you more vulnerable, you cannot fly faster than a missile, and the cruise missiles of the day are unreliable so standoff attacks are out of the question. More importantly, you don’t even know where the enemy is. The solution - fly in low and drop more bombs.
Boeing was awarded the contract to build the B-52 shortly after the end of WW2, but the project was plagued by the demands of the day. The USAAC which was reformed into the USAF and SAC kept changing the requirements for the project, and Boeing’s engineers worked feverishly to meet these demands. The original turboprop configuration was rejected for an all-jet arrangement with eight J57 engines in four dual engine pods, two under each wing. The wings were swept back dramatically to allow for higher top speeds, and the dorsal stabilizer was extended to mitigate ‘Dutch rolling’ at high speeds. When Curtiss Lemay first inspected the YB-52 testbed, he ridiculed the tandem bubble canopy and demanded a side-by-side flight deck, which was implemented on the XB-52. The B-52 could also take advantage of new aerial refueling methods, which extended its service range far beyond the original design. SAC commanders often noted that the B-52 was only limited by the will of the crew, who could rotate with relief pilots and have a nap in the cabin bunks on long missions - a much needed upgrade from the days of WW2. Finally, all B-52’s would be fitted with tail guns - the last heavy bombers of their kind to be fitted with defensive weapons. A through F models were fitted with a quad mount Browning M3 .50 caliber machine gun, while G and H models were fitted with a 20mm M61A1 Vulcan rotary cannon. All tail guns were removed from B-52’s following Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
(Author edit, 11/29/23)
For defense against air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, the B-52D was equipped with the AN/ALT-13 ECM barrage transmitter, later upgrading to ALT-15 and ALT-28 sets to increase effectiveness. The barrage transmitters were built by Hallicrafters - a not insignificant radio company during the Second World War which was acquired by Northrop in 1966. The ECM generators were installed in the bomb bay and ran to a transmitter just above the gunner station in the tail, which allowed the crew to ward off radar-guided anti-air missiles while the flares distracted infrared guided missiles.
From 1960 onward, B-52’s could also be equipped with anywhere from two to eight ADM-20 Quail - a decoy cruise missile which used a radar repeater or chaff dispensers to confuse ground operators and minimize the chance of enemies locking on to a bomber. By 1971, the Quail was no longer considered a credible decoy due to improvements in radar sophistication, and the last ADM-20 was removed from the USAF inventory in 1978.
The majority of B-52 casualties in Vietnam came from the S-75 Dvina, which could be switched from automatic radar targeting to MCLOS (Manually Controlled Line of Sight) and steered by the operator on the ground. Even when the operator did not have LOS, VPAF MiG pilots could report the B-52’s position to the ground operator, allowing them to hit the bomber even without radar lock or LOS.
Technical Specifications of B-52D Stratofortress from NMUSAF fact sheet:
Armament: Four defensive .50 cal machine guns in tail, 2-8 ADM-20 Quail decoy missiles, two AGM-28 Hound Dog cruise missiles on external pylons (1.45 MT each), four GAM-87 Skybolt Air Launched Ballistic Missiles (1 MT each), twelve AGM-69 Short Ranged Attack Missiles on underwing pylons with a further six mounted on a rotary launcher in the bomb bay (200 KT each) or 43,000 lbs of conventional or nuclear bombs mounted on underwing pylons and in the internal bomb bay.
Engines: Eight Pratt & Whitney J57’s of 12,100 lbs thrust each
Maximum speed: 638 mph (1027 km/h, 0.83 Mach)
Range: 8,338 miles (without aerial refuelling)
Service ceiling: 49,400ft (15 km)
Maximum gross weight: 450,000 lbs
-NMUSAF
Pictures courtesy of Roberta_Morgan, 5/16/18
National Museum of the United States Air Force, Southeast Asia Gallery, Dayton, Ohio.
Sources:
Baugher, Joe. Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, 2000, Boeing B-52D Stratofortress.
“Boeing B-52D Stratofortress.” National Museum of the United States Air ForceTM, www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195815/boeing-b-52d-stratofortress/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2023.
Lombardi, Michael. Strategic Airpower: The History of Bombers. Boeing Press, 2014.
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