100 Years

[Jolly]

The BUFF...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2020/06/02/five-reasons-the-air-forces-b-52-bomber-will-be-the-first-jet-ever-to-stay-in-service-for-100-years/#5be45ef65ee6

[George K]

"Its range today is stated at 8,800 miles when cruising at 525 miles per hour with a 35-ton bombload, but it can be refueled in the air to fly much farther."

Wow.

[jon-nyc]

My dad worked on them in the late 50s and early 60s.

He was a cog in LeMay's SAC.

[Jolly]

@George-K said in 100 Years:

"Its range today is stated at 8,800 miles when cruising at 525 miles per hour with a 35-ton bombload, but it can be refueled in the air to fly much farther."

Wow.

Common for them to take off from Shreveport and drop ordnance in Afghanistan.

[Copper]

@Jolly said in 100 Years:

Common

They do have a lifespan.

I worked with a guy in the 70s who got blown out of a B52 over Hanoi many years before and ended up in the Hilton.

I worked with an instructor a couple years ago who launched the first cruise missiles of Desert Storm from his B52. He went on to fly the first B2 mission, from Whiteman AFB Missouri to Kosovo and back -non-stop.