Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Syzygyone on September 20, 2001, 12:50:00 PM
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From CNN: "Among the aircraft being deployed are F-15E and F-16 fighters and B-52 bombers
Are 52s still active in the inventory? What ordinance, Cruise missles?
:confused:
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Rollin' Thunder, baby ;)
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52's are still active and they have combination loadouts of dumb bombs and cruise missles.
There are a few still on nuclear status as well I believe.
There are still lots of them at the bone yard in AZ available for refit and return to duty. Quite a few of the ones on Nuclear duty were cut up as part of the SALT agreement but the conventional buffs are still kicking there.
Mav
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B-52s are still in the arsenal. There just isn't a plane that can replace them right now.
Their primary role is dropping massive ammounts of conventional bombs. Cruise missiles would be a secondary role. A b-52 can carry 12 cruise missiles externally if memory serves me correctly. It can also carry some 128 500lb bombs... or was it 1000 lb bombs? Can't remember anymore.
The B-1 is primarily a cruise missile launching platform, though it was retrofitted to handle conventional bombs some time ago. It definately excells at the former though... being specificially designed using cruise missile rotary launchers as its main platform.
The B-2 is one I don't really know about. My initial impressions is that it too would be a cruise missile launching platform over a gp bomb dropper.
I really don't know if we'd have a huge need for the B-52 to drop anything but cruise missiles in Afghanistan... strategically speaking. There really isn't an entire army to try to demoralize. My money says the conventional weapons are going to be delivered by F-117, F-15E and F/A-18 fighters as opposed to bombers.
AKDejaVu
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I worked in and on the B2 for a few years.
just to give you an Idea of how large the two weapons bays are... You can fit about 4 small cars(similar to a maxima) in each bay ;)
Cant tell ya much more than that :D
not allowed...
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i helped restore the one at travis afb. used to sit up there for hours 0 it's an oven in those things. b52s rock, i love em.
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B-52's will be in the inventory at least another 20 years - maybe more. There is talk of redesigning them with four engines.
Interesting trivia - the bomb release mechanism in the B-52 is the next upgrade of the one in the B-29. It has not changed since 1953. I guess when you got it right...
- Yoj
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(http://www.lizking.com/b52small.jpg)
My brothers B52 doing a fly by of a successful (the blackened area mid-ship) training attack on a target ship. Harpoon, if I remember right, from 50 miles away, just after they converted from nuclear alert forces.
[ 09-21-2001: Message edited by: Gadfly ]
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Did you know that there is not one original rivet on any currently active B52 that was there when it was produced? Every part has been replaced by spares over the last 40 years..and yep, they'll be around another 40..when you enter my office at home, you are greeted with a 'Nam verison 1/72 scale B52 I made about 10 years ago. Besides the Black Widow, the B52 is my 2nd favorite A/C.(not that you care...)
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B-52s usually operate out of RAF Fairford in the UK. I'm not sure if the new runway at Fairford has been completed yet so I haven't a clue where they'd operate from.
Regards
Nexx
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Here is another interesting fact. At that time(early 80s), there were an estimated 5,000#s of dead wires in each plane from updated avionics. Just cut em off at the ends and leave em in there.
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I can't remember for sure but I beleive this was a B52 on display at the Texas air show last Con.
It is freaking huge! This is Rafbader and me
(http://www.davehales.com/b52b.jpg)
this is Rafbader and LLB in one of the mongo huge bombays. Looked like this one bay could hold 6 cruise missiles.
(http://www.davehales.com/b52a.jpg)
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Hey Gadfly,
You got a bigger version of that pic? Really nice <S>
TTFN
snafu
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Originally posted by Replicant:
B-52s usually operate out of RAF Fairford in the UK. I'm not sure if the new runway at Fairford has been completed yet so I haven't a clue where they'd operate from.
Regards
Nexx
I was at RAF fairford for desert storm. The B52H (model deployed) will hold 52 500 lb bombs or CBU87's or CBU89's. They will operate out of Diego Garcia.
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Disco'd, did they have a ladder up to the window? Its funny seeing analog mixed with digital stuff in the cockpits, (It's 1960, no! its 2001 !~)
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No, Snafu, I have the 8x10, but I have lost the original full size scan, Damnit(and my scanner couldn't cut the upgrade).
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Rip, I built an Old Dawg mod on a 1/72 H(?) model, but it didn't survive a move. I modeled it deep into the book too, with wing, engine and tail damage. I spent about 2 months on the damaged engine, alone. It was my favorite model for years.
Flight of the Old Dawg is still the best systems management sim I've seen, crude though it was(is).
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Originally posted by Gadfly:
Rip, I built an Old Dawg mod on a 1/72 H(?) model, but it didn't survive a move. I modeled it deep into the book too, with wing, engine and tail damage. I spent about 2 months on the damaged engine, alone. It was my favorite model for years.
Flight of the Old Dawg is still the best systems management sim I've seen, crude though it was(is).
Flight of the Old Dog was an excellent read. Dale Brown has wrote some other good ones too.
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Here is the larger scan, I found it on an old zip disk.
http://www.lizking.com/B52.jpg (http://www.lizking.com/B52.jpg)
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Went I was in the Intel, I got a report telling that the B52s would be re-engined with 4 Rolls Royce engines and life extend till 2020, it was 5 years ago.
A B52 with 4 engines, that will feel/look strange :(
oh and B52 is still the only one who can clean a 500m by 2Km parcell :D
[ 09-23-2001: Message edited by: SFRT - Frenchy ]
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Can they convert someting like a c-17 or c-5 cargo into a bomber? why or why not?
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They are slower and bigger targerts then B-52 :) cost would be way to much and you don't want your bomber to be C-5, there is a reason why they called FRED. (Freaking rediculas econamical disaster)
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Well, they dropped 10,000 pound WW2 "Blockbusters" out the rear of C-130's in Desert Storm....
impressed the Republican Guard, I think.
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Cargo plane/bomber. No difference in plane, just mission. If you are going to drop stuff, it helps to be able to aim it(unless you have 50 year old blockbusters to play with).
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I'm curious what the plan is to replace these B52s with?
Part of that decision has to be based on what kind of wars will be fought in the future and against who? A problem of course because it never actually works out that way. You end up fighting something 180 degrees different than what you planned for.
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Why would you have to replace them? Just overhaul them.
Really... there isn't much else we need to do in that arena that isn't covered already. The advent of smart bombs, cruise missiles and stealth technology has relegated the heavy bomber to a less surgical role. Of course, there is nothing that can replace it as far as shear capacity goes, so it remains.
Really... why would you have to replace it?
AKDejaVu