..:: India Strategic ::. Military Aviation: Youngest Boeing B-52 Stratofortress Achieves 50 Years of Service

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Editorial

Youngest Boeing B-52 Stratofortress Achieves 50 Years of Service

Published: October 2012

Wichita, Kan. The last of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers marked 50 years of service Oct 26, 2012, and the US Air Force says that it is going to use this bomber fleet for another 30 years, beyond 2040 at least.

Boeing delivered the last – and the youngest – B 52 aircraft this day to the U.S. Air Force. The H-model bomber 61-040 was assigned to Minot Air Force Base, N.D., where it remains in active service.

Boeing built 744 B-52s, in eight different models, from 1952 to 1962. The Air Force fleet today comprises 76 H-models -- two test aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and 74 operational aircraft that are assigned to Minot and to Barksdale Air Force Base, La. All the H-models were built in Wichita.

The Boeing B-52 has been the backbone of the United States' manned strategic bomber force for nearly 60 years. Modern engineering analyses show the B-52's expected life span extending beyond 2040.

Photo Credit: USAF Photo