Yesterday (April 15), was the 70th anniversary of the first flight of the prototype Boeing XB-52 Stratofortress. Somewhat inaccurately nicknamed “BUFF” (polite version is Big Ugly Fat Fellah), it has become perhaps the oldest weapon in the U.S. armed forces. If, as some sources claim, it will be kept in service into the 2050s, it’ll be a century old. I remember in the early '80s a news story that was investigating concern that the B-52s were too old then, and likely to suffer serious metal fatigue issues. And to think that many of the F-15 Eagles that are now flying are older than the oldest Stratofortresses at that time.
These captions almost always overstate these aircraft, but not here. There are many legendary bombers. The Lancaster, the B-29, the B-24, the Mosquito (the bomber versions), the B-17 and even B1 and B-2. However the B-52 is a class all alone. nearly a century old when phased out, it can do it all with no real peer
Could have been a great video, but someone decided to hire a narrator with 5th grade reading skills. I thought it was a bot at first, but now I think it's just a really bad narrator. He sounds wooden and nervous as hell.
