MY FATHER FLEW AS THE ELECTRONIC WARFARE OFFICER AS CAPTAIN OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ON THE L-16 B52 BOMBERS. REST IN PEACE DADđŞ˝đşđ˛âď¸đš
APRIL 8, 2026 YESTERDAY I FELT MY FATHER CLOSE TO ME AS I DROVE PARADISE CANYON ROAD HERE IN RUIDOSO AFTER RETURNING FROM ALAMOGORDO. I AM BAPTIZED AND NO LONGER AN ORGAN DONOR. I AM JENNIFER LYNN HOLLIS AND A TOTAL DNR.Â
Just saw one of these up close on the ground at Tinker. One flap of the B-52 is larger than the wing area of the F-35. Absolutely freaking massive. I was also very surprised at how big the bomb bay wasnât given the size of the plane. 3-4 pallet stacks could fit in it, and thatâs about it.
The logic was that in the era of missiles, guns wouldnât help much, no? But was the Vulcan capable of stopping SAM or air-to-air missiles? If so, then keeping it would have made sense
with advances in engines, could 2 of the engine pylons be removed and other pylongs upgraded with newer engines, or is the engineering changes be too much?
Possible with $$$. There have been a few upgrade proposals over the years with real analysis by the engine companies and airframes. Â But would be a costly, new development.Â
Toured one at an airshow. Don't let size confuse you, it's a tight small space fuselage, not roomy at all. Several lost over Vietnam to SAMS. Equal number lost to aircraft accidents. Incredible jammer capability. Very long legs.
Strangely odd proportions compared to modern jet liners. The nose is too short and the fuselage aft of the wings is too long because of that. Perhaps the nose is short or the tail too long to balance the weight of eight engines extending forward of the CG.
I was going to say the wing Chord looks wider than current airliners until I remembered the A380.
SlowPreparation385@reddit
MY FATHER FLEW AS THE ELECTRONIC WARFARE OFFICER AS CAPTAIN OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ON THE L-16 B52 BOMBERS. REST IN PEACE DADđŞ˝đşđ˛âď¸đš
SlowPreparation385@reddit
APRIL 8, 2026 YESTERDAY I FELT MY FATHER CLOSE TO ME AS I DROVE PARADISE CANYON ROAD HERE IN RUIDOSO AFTER RETURNING FROM ALAMOGORDO. I AM BAPTIZED AND NO LONGER AN ORGAN DONOR. I AM JENNIFER LYNN HOLLIS AND A TOTAL DNR.Â
I-LOVE-TURTLES666@reddit
Whatâs on the right elevator?
Ranger207@reddit
It's the outline of where you can walk on it
RobK64AK@reddit
Wondering the same thing.
I-LOVE-TURTLES666@reddit
My guess is some sort of UHF antenna
abstractmodulemusic@reddit
A poor attempt at drawing a cartoon cat is my best guess
CasualObserverNine@reddit
It looks oddly delicate.
g3nerallycurious@reddit
Just saw one of these up close on the ground at Tinker. One flap of the B-52 is larger than the wing area of the F-35. Absolutely freaking massive. I was also very surprised at how big the bomb bay wasnât given the size of the plane. 3-4 pallet stacks could fit in it, and thatâs about it.
KnifeNovice789@reddit
Seriously with that slim fuselage and those huge wings and engines. Looks like the wings would just tear right off!
DouglasPRthesecond@reddit
Wait until you see the humongous landing gear
osmia-lignaria@reddit
that's exactly what i thought!! funny looking thing
Soggy-Avocado918@reddit
USAF: We need a bomber that can lose seven engines and still land.
Hermitcraft7@reddit
If there's any reason to hate the USAF it's that the B-52H had a M61 Vulcan as the tail gun and they removed it post 1991.
Soggy-Avocado918@reddit
The logic was that in the era of missiles, guns wouldnât help much, no? But was the Vulcan capable of stopping SAM or air-to-air missiles? If so, then keeping it would have made sense
Hermitcraft7@reddit
You're right, it does actually make complete sense because they replaced it with a Radio Electronic Warfare suite, but it's so much less cooler lol
rob189@reddit
And part of the tail structure.
cars10gelbmesser@reddit
That elevator is massive.
FoximaCentauri@reddit
This aircraft looks like business, more than any other
30yearCurse@reddit
with advances in engines, could 2 of the engine pylons be removed and other pylongs upgraded with newer engines, or is the engineering changes be too much?
polloloco-rb67@reddit
Possible with $$$. There have been a few upgrade proposals over the years with real analysis by the engine companies and airframes. Â But would be a costly, new development.Â
Useful-Material4368@reddit
Toured one at an airshow. Don't let size confuse you, it's a tight small space fuselage, not roomy at all. Several lost over Vietnam to SAMS. Equal number lost to aircraft accidents. Incredible jammer capability. Very long legs.
The BUFF. USAF legend.
catonic@reddit
Nothing else has that wing shape, it's wing all the way to the end to hold all the fuel possible.
DullMind2023@reddit
And note the external fuel tanks on the wind ends!
DullMind2023@reddit
USAF doesnât put worn out tires on the wings?
StellarJayZ@reddit
It's an interesting body plane. Huge wings, a lot of engines, long skinny body.
truthhurts2222222@reddit
It's kind of annoying how it's to carry the GBU MOP but a smaller plane like the B-2 can
SneakyFire23@reddit
It was designed as a nuclear bomber 75 years ago, I'm going to go ahead and forgive that lack of planning haha
kingtacticool@reddit
I refuse to believe they are incapable of modifying the bomb bays on the 52 to be able to handle the MOP.
wre_x@reddit
Whatâs the reason for such a thin fuselage?
phryan@reddit
Bombs are dense, at least compared to passengers and cargo.
Worked_Idiot@reddit
I feel like passengers have become significantly more dense in recent years.
krodders@reddit
Only need to fit two rows of seats, and some fairly slim ordnance. Slimmer fuselage = less drag = longer missions
The 3-4-3 seating arrangement was rejected during the proposal stage
vartiverti@reddit
It has a crew of 10?
krodders@reddit
Or rather, two seats or less per row - some facetiousness was intended
vartiverti@reddit
So being clueless and still confused I looked it up.
5 and the summary explained the roles to me and it makes sense to this layman.
10 just sounded wild, even if they swapped over in âshiftsâ.
Thank you though; I now have the knowledge.
cost2coast@reddit
It has to be able to fit between the wings
whateverandok@reddit
Love it. Gonna rebuild some models soon
Adonitologica@reddit
Almost reminds me of those overhead bomber shots in Europe, WWII
Lake_Effect_11134@reddit
Was about to say, if someone told me this was a scanned negative from over Hanoi, I would have believed them.
planespotterhvn@reddit
Strangely odd proportions compared to modern jet liners. The nose is too short and the fuselage aft of the wings is too long because of that. Perhaps the nose is short or the tail too long to balance the weight of eight engines extending forward of the CG. I was going to say the wing Chord looks wider than current airliners until I remembered the A380.
greatlakesailors@reddit
That's the 50,000 ft service ceiling and 6000+ fpm climb rate dictating the wing proportions.
TopHatInc@reddit
The B-52 also has a high angle of wing incidence where the aircraft maintains a nose down attitude in straight and level flight.
WillOfHope@reddit
Well to be fair, Airplane design has come a long way in.. checks notes 73 years
drinkplentyofwater@reddit
and its one job is to carry a very heavy payload right in the middle of its body instead of a bunch of little ones spread throughout the cabin
Rustique@reddit
What is bare you calling a little payload!? Well!?
drinkplentyofwater@reddit
huh
NoteClassic@reddit
Only if we could make space for a couple of more engines there
Humdaak_9000@reddit
Why am I expecting it to make racist jokes?
SneakyFire23@reddit
"I'm a combat photographer, just smile and wait for the flash" - Grandpa BUFF
smelody-poop@reddit
Grandpa is from a different era. You have to give him a pass.
Humdaak_9000@reddit
Two kinds of people voting on this: people who watch HLC and people who desperately need to watch HLC.
Jamminnav@reddit
Itâs not racist - it wants EVERYBODY off its lawn
CPTMotrin@reddit
About the only side that canât hurt you.
Isme1@reddit
Pretty cool shot. Looks like it could be overhead Vietnam circa late 1960s or Louisiana circa 2025.
truthhurts2222222@reddit
The Flying Coathanger
ItsmeWillyP@reddit
Tin roof...rusted.
GeraintLlanfrechfa@reddit
Seen from this pov, it should be called the flying pencil instead of the 757 :)
Hankman66@reddit
Death from above! â ď¸
ency6171@reddit
Can she operate on 4 engines like 2-engined airliner does with 1 after V1? Or perhaps even less?
DayOneDude@reddit
Cool.
Quirky-Property-7537@reddit
Beautifully ugly!
DeaconBlue47@reddit
Legendary design.
Miserable-Lawyer-233@reddit
outrageous wing to fuselage ratio
NewChapter25@reddit
Looks dangerous asf
Wolframite__@reddit
Boy why you so wing
MBAdk@reddit
When Johnny Comes Marching Home.mp3
Dr_Trogdor@reddit
If someone told me the word gnarly was invented to describe that thing I would believe them.
davesbrown@reddit
Looks clean, did they BUFF it out?
Rozfather@reddit
I adore this plane.
Designer_Buy_1650@reddit
Great pic!!! Thanks.
AdExciting337@reddit
Freakin Awesome shot
ALE-YEA@reddit
Hell yeah