|
The following information appears at the
top of the poster |
At left, under the SAC Shield
The
Strategic Air Command provided America's deterrent strength. It began
flying the Boeing B-52s in 1955. All Superfortresses were under its
command SAC was inactivated in 1962. The two remaining bomb wings are now
assigned to the Air Combat Command.
At Center
Boeing's
experimental YB-52 Stratofortress first flew in 1952. It was followed by
the XB-52, then three B-52As used for operational testing. The Strategic
Air Command soon began taking deliveries on the B-52B, then later models.
A SAC B-52
bombardment wing originally consisted of three squadrons, each containing
fifteen aircraft. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik
satellite. Fearing a missile attack on its bases, SAC reorganized its B-52
force into Strategic Wings, each containing one squadron of 15 aircraft.
Later, many were redesignated Bombardment Wings. In addition to the wings
shown below were temporary 4-digit strategic wings. There have also been
provisional wings.
744 Stratofortresses were
built. Specially modified “big-belly” D models had enlarged bomb bays and
were used during the Viet Nam War. It was there that the proud plane
acquired the nickname of “Buff” (Big Ugly Fat Fellow). At right is
the greatly changed “G” model that carried Hound Dog missiles. It was
followed by the last model in the series, the “H” which came into service
in 1962. It flies at over at over 600 miles per hour at altitudes in
excess of 50,000 feet. It can carry over 50,000 pounds of bombs and
missiles. It's range exceeds 8,800 miles, but can infinitely extended
through the use of aerial refueling. 102 of the giant “H” models were
built. Forty years later, 94 of the H-models were still in service. Their
airframe has been certified through the year 2040, so they may be around
for many years to come. They are now flown by the 2nd and 5th Bombardment
Wings.
The captions list a wing’s most commonly used name, bases where it was
stationed, years in which the wing flew B-52s, and its squadrons. BS
= Bomb Squadrons; CCTS = Combat Crew Training Squadrons
(P) = Provisional |
|
About the Patches and
Captions |
|
On the following pages are every constituted (1, 2, and 3 digit) wing that
flew B-52s under SAC. The list of units and the information about
each unit has been gleaned from the various appendixes in B-52
Stratofortress by Robert F. Door and Lindsay Peacock. We have
tried to provide an image of the patch in use by each wing during the
period it flew the buffs. |
|
