B-52 50th Anniversary
B-52 Timeline
| The Forties | |
|---|---|
| Feb 13, 1946 | The U.S Army Air Force issues basic requirements for a new long-range, heavy bomber. |
| June 28, 1946 | Boeing awarded engineering study and preliminary design contract for turboprop-powered B-52 bomber. |
| Oct. 25, 1948 | Boeing presents the Air Force with a proposal for B-52s powered by eight jets engines. |
| Jan. 26, 1949 | The Air Force informs Boeing that work can proceed on two experimental, jet-powered B-52s under the original contract. |
| The Fifties | |
| April 15, 1952 | YB-52 prototype makes first flight in Seattle. |
| Sept. 28, 1953 | Boeing's Wichita plant announced as second source for B-52 production. |
| Aug. 5, 1954 | B-52A first flight. |
| Jan. 25, 1955 | B-52B first flight. |
| June 29, 1955 | First B-52B for the Air Force's Strategic Air Command is delivered to 93rd Bomb Wing at Castle Air Force Base, Calif. |
| March 9, 1956 | B-52C first flight. |
| May 14, 1956 | First Wichita-built B-52, a D model, makes first flight. |
| Sept. 28, 1956 | First Seattle-built B-52D makes first flight. |
| Dec. 6, 1956 | B-52 wins National Aeronautic Association's Collier Trophy for 1955. |
| Jan. 18, 1957 | Three B-52Bs fly around the world in 45 hours and 19 minutes, averaging 530 mph over the 24,325-mile course. This cuts the previous record in half. |
| Oct. 3, 1957 | B-52E makes first flight in Seattle. |
| Oct. 17, 1957 | B-52E makes first flight in Wichita. |
| May 6, 1958 | B-52F makes first flight in Seattle. |
| May 14, 1958 | B-52F makes first flight in Wichita. |
| Oct. 27, 1958 | B-52G makes first flight in Wichita. |
| Feb. 25, 1959 | Last Seattle-built B-52, an F model, is delivered. |
| April 23, 1959 | First test flight of North American Aviation's AGM-28A Hound Dog supersonic air-to-surface missiles from B-52. |
| Sept. 17, 1959 | NASA's X-15 research rocket plane makes its first powered flight, carried aloft and released from an NB-52A. |
| The Sixties | |
| Feb. 1960 | The McDonnell Aircraft GAM-72 Quail decoy missile goes into service on B-52Gs at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. |
| March 16, 1961 | B-52H makes first flight in Wichita. |
| May 9, 1961 | First B-52H is delivered to 379th Bomb Wing at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Mich. |
| Oct. 26, 1962 | Last B-52 (B-52H, tail number 61-040) is delivered by the Wichita plant to the 4136th Strategic Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D. |
| June 18, 1965 | Strategic Air Command B-52s strike targets in Vietnam for the first time. |
| The Seventies | |
| Sept. 15, 1972 | Boeing AGM-69A Short-Range Attack Missiles, or SRAMs, become operational on B-52s with the 42nd Bomb Wing at Loring Air Force Base, Maine. |
| Dec. 18, 1972 | Staff Sgt. Samuel Turner becomes first B-52 gunner to shoot down an enemy aircraft when he hits a North Vietnamese MiG-21 during Operation Linebacker II. |
| June 24, 1973 | First B-52H with Electo-Optical Viewing System, or EVS, to enhance vision when flying at low level at night is delivered. |
| Aug. 15, 1973 | Strategic Air Command B-52s fly final mission in Southeast Asia. |
| Feb. 21, 1974 | First B-52H equipped with Phase VI Electronic Counter Measures, or ECM, to upgrade defensive avionics system is delivered. |
| Dec. 7, 1979 | First B-52G arrives in Wichita to receive computer-controlled Offensive Avionics Systems, or OAS, upgrade. |
| The Eighties | |
| Jan. 11, 1981 | First Boeing AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missiles, or ALCM, are delivered for carriage on B-52G under-wing pylons. |
| June 10, 1982 | Strategic Air Command's first all-female KC-135 Stratotanker crew refuels a B-52 during a five-hour training mission. |
| June 30, 1985 | McDonnell Douglas AGM-84D Harpoon anti-ship missiles are added to 30 B-52Gs. |
| June 30, 1987 | The AGM-129A Advanced Cruise Missile, or ACM, is added to B-52 arsenal. |
| Jan. 1988 | Boeing AGM-86C Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missiles, or CALCM, declared operational on B-52Gs. |
| The Nineties | |
| Jan. 16, 1991 | Operation Desert Storm: Air operations begin when seven B-52Gs take off from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and head for the combat zone. After hitting targets in Iraq, the B-52s return to Barksdale, thus flying the longest air combat mission in history up to that time. The mission also sees first combat use of CALCM. |
| Sept. 1991 | Strategic Air Command's B-52 ground nuclear alert status is ended. |
| Oct. 1, 1991 | B-52 gunner position eliminated. |
| Sept. 30, 1992 | The Boeing Common Strategic Rotary Launcher Integration, or CSRLI, modification is completed for B-52H fleet. The launcher is fitted inside the bomb bay and can carry up to eight AGM-86 cruise missiles. |
| Feb. 15, 1994 | Boeing Wichita receives initial development contract to integrate precision-guided munitions (Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser and Joint Direct Attack Munition) on B-52Hs. |
| May 16, 1994 | Due to retirement of the B-52G, the "Rapid Eight" modification program begins to provide the B-52H with guided-missile capability. |
| Aug. 24, 1994 | Start of Conventional Enhancement Modification, or CEM, program. This gives the B-52H fleet capability for delivery of a new generation of precision-guided conventional weapons. Included in the upgrade is the addition of a Global Positioning System. |
| March 8, 1995 | B-52H successfully launches AGM-142A Have Nap electro/optical guided missile. |
| July 25, 1995 | The first live shot of Harpoon missile from B-52H using the Harpoon Aircraft Command Launch Control Set , or HACLCS. |
| Sept. 3, 1996 | Operation Desert Strike was the B-52 missions flown in support of the larger U.S. effort called Operation Southern Watch. |
| Sept. 1998 | Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, is declared operational for use on B-52H. JDAM uses Global Positioning System for precise hits on aim points. |
| March 24,1999 | Operation Allied Force: B-52Hs open NATO's air campaign in the Balkans by launching CALCM cruise missiles at military targets throughout Yugoslavia. Later the bombers transition to delivering general-purpose weapons on Serbian army positions and staging areas. |
| June 1999 | Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser, or WCMD, declared operational for use on B-52H. WCMD uses a tail kit attached to a cluster bomb unit to adjust the bomb's flight path for wind changes. |
| Dec. 23, 1999 | The B-52H Avionics Midlife Improvement, or AMI, program is initiated to modernize offensive avionics processors and navigation systems on the Stratofortress. |
| The 21st Century | |
| April 1, 2000 | Situational Awareness Defensive Improvements, or SADI, program is initiated to upgrade defense systems for the B-52H fleet. |
| Oct. 7, 2001 | Operation Enduring Freedom: B-52H bombers take part in initial air attacks. The B-52H arsenal included JDAM and WCMD precision-strike weapons, AGM-142 Have Nap guided missiles, GBU-28 laser guided bombs and MK-82 general-purpose bombs. The B-52s were the first to use the WCMD in combat. They also participated in psychological warfare operations using their M129 leaflet dispensers. |
| November 2001 | AGM-86D CALCM Penetrator is declared operational on the B-52H. The penetrating warhead allows the missile to destroy buried or reinforced targets from standoff ranges of hundreds of miles. |
| Jan. 31, 2002 | B-52 nominated for National Aeronautic Association's 2001 Collier Trophy. |
| April 15, 2002 | 50th anniversary of B-52 first flight. |