BOEING B-52 STRATOFORTRESS

Titles: Boeing B-52 Stratofortress No’s 1 to 3

The first B-52 first flew in 1954, and the type has been in continuous service since. Current projections see the aircraft remaining in service until 2040, a remarkable career of nearly 90 years.

It had a remarkable beginning. The original XB-52 design as selected by the USAAF in 1946 was a six-engined straight winged propeller driven heavy bomber. In 1948, Boeing’s Chief Engineer Ed Wells and his team were in Dayton, Ohio when the USAF told them they now wanted a more modern jet-powered aircraft. Over the following weekend, in a Dayton hotel room, the team designed a new eight-engined swept-wing jet bomber, made a scale model out of balsa wood and prepared a 33 page report. This won the USAF approval.

An initial run of 13 B-52A’s was approved. The production version was the B-52B with more weight and larger engines. Originally designed as a high-altitude nuclear bomber, the aircraft has been modified for low-level flight, carriage of cruise missiles, etc. Later versions of the B-52 had increasing power, range and capability. The last version, the only one left in service, was the B-52H with turbofan engines. A total of 744 B-52s were built in Seattle and Wichita between 1952 and 1962.

We offer three titles covering the later variants of the aircraft. The files have been scanned from the original manuals and retain any colour pages unless otherwise stated. Each title is US$9.95.