Just after the Second World War, when Boeing initiated its first design studies on a turboprop bomber, no one expected the aircraft to stay operational for well over fifty years. With US Air Force demands for ever higher performance, the company managed to design an aircraft that should not have been a reality for another ten years given the technology of the day. Thanks to the advent of the Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet engine, Boeing's new addition to the 'Fortress' line, the XB-52 Stratofortress, emerged with the bomb load and performance asked for.

The XB-52 was rolled out at Seattle on 20 November 1951, followed by the YB-52 on 15 March 1952. So impressed was the Air Force that it ordered 500 of the bombers before either prototype had flown, showing an immense amount of faith in the design considering how expensive it was. That taxpayers' money has seldom been so well spent is borne out by the Stratofort's forming the backbone of American nuclear deterrence since the mid-1950s. Through continual modifications and adaptations to different roles, the aircraft has remained available when hopes for replacement have been dashed over and over again.

Arms and Armor Press

Jefrey L. Ethell. B-52 Stratofortress