Greatest Modern Bomber

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Well while I think it is a good bomber, it was not capable of doing what the B-52 was and that is flatten a complete country with just conventional weapons. The Blackjack would have to do it with nuclear. The B-52 had such an awesome payload it could destroy just about anything.

Plus its a BUFF!

 

[CurzonDax]

True. The B-1 and the Blackjack were Nuke bombers, go in low and get out at warp 9. The BUFF is an angel of death. In 'Nam the VC and the NVA hated Arc Light misssions because they flew so high that they never heard the bombers, they only heard the bombs. Also a BUFF is a Boeing product, its hard to kill. In the 1st Gulf War a BUFF got hit several hundred times, lost 3 engines and still flew back all the way to Diego Garcia. By the time it landed the BUFF was on its last legs and on fire. In retrospect (even to the crew now) it was like watching Key Stone cops getting out of thier Dusenberg. Still, according to the book its impossible for a human to go out the cockpit windows and the pilot did it.

But I digress, the B-1 and especially the Blackjack are not as versitile as the BUFF.

:{)

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

The BUFF is an angel of death.

That right there about sums it up.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Like building a freeway overpass over your enemy and lobbing big rocks on him!!!

 

[evangilder]

Big exploding rocks!

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Yep! Here's some B-52 at "Davy Moans"

 

[evangilder]

One hell of a good bird. Like us, they have become cold war relics.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I got to climb up into one at Rammstein AFB at an Airshow. Was pretty amazing to me to be standing in one.

 

[Hellbird]

B-52 is the best people. don't try to deny that.

 

[CurzonDax]

At the Warner Robbins museum they have a BUFF in thier front lawn. When I walked under it the bomb doors were open and I noticed the flight deck door was off. It was risky considering the bomb bay was full of wasp nests but the temptation was too much and I climbed in. I didn't go into the flight deck it self and could see the door to the lower deck. Two observations: it must be a bitch to taxi one of these birds being a storey up and there is not enough money in the galaxy that would make me eject downward in a BUFF, of course unless the BUFF is on fire.

While this BUFF looked great on the outside it was stripped and all corroded in the inside and the deck was a wasp condo.

:{)

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

B-52 is the best people. don't try to deny that.

I think that was the general concensus and no body has been.

 

[LTARaptr]

All I can say is Linebacker1-2 and Rolling Thunder.

 

[CurzonDax]

To me its Arc Light, silent death. I think I read some where that the NVA and the VC considered this the deadliest tactic the US used. In my opinion Operation COBRA IN WWII was a proto-version of this. While it was not as succesful as Bradley wanted it to be, it still must of freaked the hell out of the Whermacht grunts that were under this rain of bombs.

 

[Bullockracing]

Being currently at a base slap full of B-52s, I can honestly say I wouldn't want to go bomb anyone with the rusty truck in the driveway. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the Buff's duty performance history, it's way past it's prime (just ask the guys on the flightline performing absolute miracles just to get one more sortie out of the things) Just like the rusty truck in the driveway, think duct tape in bailing wire...

 

[davparlr]

Well the B-2 is my pride and joy. 20 years of my life was spent working on that plane. From proposal to bombs on target. But how can you compete with a plane that has been effective (although missions have gotten less threatening) for half of the time that airplanes have been flying. The B-2 has a long way to go before it could challenge the B-52. A B-52 is available at certain times for going into at March Air Museum in Riverside, Ca.

Still gotta vote for the B-2.

 

[syscom3]

When I checke dout that B52 at the March AFB museum, I was awe struck on the size of the bomb bay. You could have fit a small truck into it.

 

[davparlr]

When I checke dout that B52 at the March AFB museum, I was awe struck on the size of the bomb bay. You could have fit a small truck into it.

It's a great dump truck. What does it carry, 70k lbs of ordinance? What, 10 B-17s? When they are overhead, the ground shakes. It is effective. The only problem is calling it modern.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

There's a B-52 mounted "on a pole" at the US Air Force Academy. I'm told its the largest mounted aircraft in the world!

 

[Gnomey]

How did they manage to get it to stay on the pole, it would look out of place on a pole in my opinion but still cool.

 

[loomaluftwaffe]

yeah