B-52 Proves Value Time and Again in Combat
Although the B-52 was the mainstay of the U.S. Air Force's nuclear-deterrent force for more than 30 years, it never flew the combat mission for which it was designed: dropping nuclear weapons.
Like its Boeing predecessors, the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-29 Superfortress, the B-52 became famous for delivering conventional weapons on tactical and strategic targets.
Vietnam War
The B-52 first saw service as a conventional bomber during the Vietnam War. On June 18, 1965, 30 B-52Fs flying from Anderson Air Force Base on the island of Guam hit Viet Cong positions in South Vietnam.
D, F and G versions of the B-52 participated in the war. The F model was the first of the series to go into combat, but the D model bore the brunt of the missions, flying as airborne artillery in support of U.S. ground forces.
Most of the Strategic Air Command's B-52Ds were modified to carry more than 100 conventional bombs in their bomb bays and on pylons under their wings. Flying at 30,000 feet, the B-52s were astonishingly effective in attacking targets. Enemy forces rarely saw or heard the planes until bombs starting exploding around them.
B-52s also operated from Kadena Air Base on Okinawa and U Tapao Air Base in Thailand.
In what many consider the Stratofortress's finest hour, during Operation Linebacker II in December 1972, B-52s conducted an intense bombardment of North Vietnam. Eleven days of maximum effort missions finally forced the enemy back to the peace table, and the United States was able to extricate itself from the war.
Persian Gulf War
Twenty-five years after its first missions over Southeast Asia, B-52s played a major role in Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War.
On January 16, 1991, seven Strategic Air Command B-52Gs took off from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and headed toward the Persian Gulf. They flew a round trip of more than 14,000 miles, remaining aloft for 35 hours. The launch of their conventionally armed cruise missiles at Iraqi high-priority targets was one of the opening salvos of the campaign. According to Air Force records, the mission was the longest in its history up to that time. The mission also saw the first combat use of the Boeing AGM-86C CALCM conventional cruise missile.
Most B-52 missions flown during the Gulf War were staged from the British atoll of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The only version of the Stratofortress to be involved was the G. During the Gulf War, B-52Gs carried conventional bombs as well as cruise missiles. They delivered about 40 percent of all the weapons dropped by coalition forces and flew approximately 1,620 combat sorties.
Operation Southern Watch
The B-52H made its combat debut on Sept. 3, 1996, during Operation Southern Watch. A pair of B-52Hs from the Air Force's 2nd Bomb Wing launched 13 CALCMs against targets in southern Iraq. The attack originated from Guam, with the aircraft refueling four times in midair.
Operation Allied Force
The B-52's flexibility was again evident during Operation Allied Force. B-52Hs opened NATO's air campaign in the Balkans on March 24,1999, by launching CALCM cruise missiles at military targets throughout Yugoslavia. Later the bombers transitioned to delivering general-purpose weapons on Serbian army positions and staging areas.
Operation Enduring Freedom
On October 7, 2001, Operation Enduring Freedom began with air attacks against al Qaeda and Taliban targets throughout Afghanistan.
B-52H bombers flying from Diego Garcia carried out daily and nightly missions. These were the first air-combat missions in which the heavy bombers loitered above the ground action and delivered pinpoint close-air support on the request of friendly forces on the ground.
The B-52H arsenal included the Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, for precise hits on aim points. Operation Enduring Freedom also saw the first combat use of the Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser. This weapon uses a tail kit attached to a cluster bomb unit to adjust the bomb's flight path for wind changes. B-52s also participated in psychological warfare operations by using their M129 leaflet dispensers.