Boeing B-52D Stratofortress "Lone Star Lady"

One of the biggest lessons learned during World War II was that the United States would not always be able to count on allied nations to base their bombers. England had come very close to being overrun, which had been the impetus behind the B-29 Superfortress and the B-36 Peacemaker. In addition, the weight of nuclear bombs at the time was such that enormous aircraft would be required to carry them. Looking ahead to replacing the B-36, a specification was issued for a plane that could fly 10,000 pounds of ordnance 5,000 miles to a target and back at 300 mph. Boeing was awarded the contract in June of 1946 with its Model 462, a gigantic six-engined aircraft that would carry two crews; it was designated the XB-52. The USAF soon had second thoughts and asked Boeing for a smaller bomber with the exact specifications.

 

This began an arduous process, and the XB-52 went through several different designs, scaling down the design, adding wing sweep, and moving from a piston engine to a turboprop design. The USAF rejected all ideas as there was no overall improvement over the B-36 in terms of speed. After being rejected again on October 21st, 1948, by the USAF’s chief of bomber development, a team of Boeing engineers locked themselves in a hotel room for the weekend, only leaving to buy supplies at a hobby shop. By that Monday, the USAF was given the Model 464-49 and a model to go along with it: a swept-wing bomber powered by eight jets. At last, the USAF was satisfied, and objections to the engines were swept aside by General Curtis LeMay, the head of Strategic Air Command: the engines, he stated, would catch up to the design.

 

Finally, Boeing rolled out the first XB-52 in April of 1952; the USAF had already ordered 13 B-52As by this time, with the only significant change to the design being a switch from B-47 style tandem seating to a more traditional flight deck. So successful was the test program that only three B-52As were built: the Stratofortress, as Boeing had named it, was ordered into total production as the B-52B.

 

While teething problems, such as fuel leaks, plagued the B-52 fleet in the 1950s, it was considered very successful, rapidly replacing the B-36 and then the B-47. It showed its global reach in an around-the-world flight in January of 1957, which quickly broke the previous record set by B-50s. The B-52’s range and loiter times were proven in Operation Chrome Dome and Giant Lance deployments, where bombers from the continental U.S. would fly to points around the Soviet Union, wait at “fail-safe” locations in case of nuclear war, and then return to base. Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was thought that the B-52 force would not survive against Soviet surface-to-air missiles, and B-52s were switched to low-level penetration duties. There was fear that this would overstress the airframe, but the mighty BUFF (Big Ugly Fat Fellow) soldiered on.

 

Though built for nuclear war, the B-52 would instead experience its first combat missions high over the vast jungles of Vietnam. Because the B-52 flew at such a high altitude and was capable of carrying an enormous payload, it was hoped that B-52 strikes could surprise the Viet Cong and destroy them en masse in their jungle strongholds. Codenamed as Operation Arc Light, the first B-52 mission was undertaken by a mix of B-52Es and Fs in June of 1965. To increase payloads even more, the B-52D force was modified under Project Big Belly to carry over a hundred 750-pound bombs for a total payload of 60,000 pounds. These were first used operationally during the Battle of Ia Drang Valley in November of 1965.

 

The effects of Arc Light were mixed: because of both operational restrictions and Rules of Engagement, VC and North Vietnamese Army units would often be gone by the time the B-52s arrived, with the bombs doing little but rearranging the South Vietnamese landscape. When a VC/NVA unit was caught in the open, however, as at Khe Sanh, the results were devastating. Several North Vietnamese divisions were destroyed in Operation Niagara, mass B-52 strikes around the besieged Marine base.

 

While restrictions had prevented B-52s from going into North Vietnam, those restrictions were gradually ended by President Richard Nixon, beginning in 1971. Unlike in South Vietnam, B-52s would be facing a much higher antiaircraft threat over North Vietnam, especially from SAMs and MiG fighters. With this in mind, the B-52D force was equipped with the latest electronic countermeasures under Project Rivet Rambler. The B-52s were sent north during Operation Linebacker (May-October 1972) but on a limited basis; the real test would come during Operation Linebacker II in December of 1972 when the B-52s attacked the city of Hanoi itself. The B-52Ds came off better than the later G models also committed to action: due to their Rivet Rambler ECM, SAM fire control radars had difficulty locking on in the mass of jamming in B-52D cells. Out of the 17 B-52s lost during Operation Linebacker II, only two of them were B-52Ds. As for their effectiveness, by the end of Operation Linebacker II, North Vietnam was effectively rendered defenseless and quickly returned to the negotiation table.

 

Vietnam was the last mission for the “tall-tail” D models. With the B-52Bs out of service and the B-52E/Fs being withdrawn by 1978, the B-52D continued in service until 1982, when it was retired, having hit the end of its airframe life. The B-52s would soldier on, but subsequent wars would be fought by comparatively newer, “short-tail” B-52G/Hs. A total of 28 B-52Ds survive in museums today, including both MiG-killer aircraft.

 

The "Lone Star Lady," known to the USAF as BuNo 55-0067, has had quite the career. First delivered to the 99th Bomb Wing at Westover AFB, Massachusetts, in 1957, it served with several units until it was deployed to Southeast Asia in 1967 for Arc Light missions. It remained in the region until 1970, when 55-0067 returned home and was assigned to the 7th Bomb Wing at Carswell AFB, Texas. Under Operation Bullet Shot, 55-0067 was quickly deployed back to U Tapao, Thailand for Operation Linebacker II, where it flew several missions over Hanoi; it was probably during Linebacker that she got the name "Lone Star Lady." It was one of the last B-52s to leave Southeast Asia, as it did not return to the U.S. until October of 1973, and flew several deployments to Andersen AFB, Guam during the 1970s, still with the 7th BW. "Lone Star Lady" finally called it a career in 1982 when she was retired with the rest of the “tall tails.” In 1984, it was donated to PASM.

 

Prior to my visit, I had seen another picture of "Lone Star Lady" where she looked somewhat faded, but now she looks gorgeous as ever! It is displayed in the Southeast Asia camouflage—the SAC color scheme was slightly different from that of tactical fighters, and the gloss black underside was added for nighttime operations. By the Vietnam era, the voluptuous ladies of World War II and Korea had disappeared, especially from SAC bombers, so the crews had to make do with a map of Texas and some rather groovy titling. A SAC patch is carried on the nose.

 

The B-52 is one of those old-school planes that I’ll never get tired of looking at, and there's something about the “tall tails” that makes the bomber look even more impressive. The object under the left wing is a McDonnell ADM-20 Quail remotely piloted decoy.

Done