Why This Obsolete Bomber Will Outlive EVERYTHING 

Other Aircraft: "The B-52 is obsolete." The B-52: "I will be the flyover aircraft for your retirement ceremony."

Something crazy is that the time jump between the B-52 entering service and the present day is longer than the jump from the wright flyer to the B-52.

One retired B-52 pilot had lost his favorite tobacco pipe “somewhere” on his bomber. Even though his faithful crew tore the plane apart they couldn’t find it. 25 years later his granddaughter returned it to him wrapped up as a birthday present. Believe it or not she was assigned to the same B-52 as her grandfather and found it!

This plane is like an old truck. You're not sure of its intentions, you're not sure if it's been reliable but it's here and it does the job

Just imagine in the future you're a Space Force pilot in your highly advance space craft orbiting Mars and you see a 200 years old bomber somehow propelling itself in the vacuum with it's jet engine wondering how the hell is the thing is still in service

Don’t forget the C-130, a cargo plane from the 50’s that’ll also live forever. My dad always said “when they retire the last C-17, the crew will fly home on a C-130.”

My dad built these in the late 50s . It's crazy to think he had a hand in the greatest bomber ever. Rip Dad

It’s amazing to think that some of the people who helped design aircraft during the First World War, or could remember the first flight of the Wright Brothers, probably had a hand in designing and building the B-52 bomber. An aircraft that will probably still be in service when the first humans walk on Mars. Truly an amazing piece of aviation, and American history.

There is a key reason the B-52 continues in service: It’s effectively a flying truck chassis that can be put into a wide range of roles with different payloads. The ballistic missile effectively rendered the strategic bomber role obsolete decades ago, but the capacity of the B-52 to carry out a wide range of other mission types has kept it alive while several generations of other bombers have come and gone.

B-52 is like that piece of gear on your character that is way under the character level, but has such a useful unique effect that there's nothing newer that's overall better.

on that nuke crash. Do you think the people making the nuke questioned the need for 4 triggering mechanisms? I can imagine one engineer asking another why they need a fourth and the other being adamant that they add a 4th only for them to say told you so 50 years later when it gets declassified.

I'm an old Air Force pilot and loved the engineering of the B-52 and the C-130 Hercules. Both were invaluable in Vietnam. But the real take-away from this video is about maintenance: if you replace the parts in your car prospectively, as the Air Force has done with these planes, you will never have to buy a new one until the parts are no longer made. I bought a 1997 Ford Expedition new and maintained it the Air Force way. It still runs like new, and I haven't had a car payment in 22 years.

In 2070, after first contact with the Vulcans, Warp nacelles were fit to the B-52 to facilitate defense operations from the Moon.

One of the coolest parts of the BUFF is that a man flew the same jet his grandfather, and father flew.

My dad was a B-52 pilot during Vietnam War and the plane has outlived him and may outlast me

From a US Air Force Vet. The B-52 bomber has never been obsolete! It is the biggest and most powerful bomber ever. And with its ability to carry various payloads long distances and continue to get major upgrades it will be in service for a very long time !

It’s not obsolete. It’s just an incredibly adaptable design that has allowed the Air Force to consistently add/replace various parts and instruments, thus allowing the aircraft to last for a very long time, and with more upgrades in the works, including a recent engine replacement project, the aircraft will still continue to fly for hopefully another 25+ years. In short, not obsolete, just a design that can stand the test of time. Hints why I sometimes call it “The Brick”

It seems that the USSR's greatest defense against Operation Chrome Dome was the B-52.

I live in Louisiana and close to Barksdale AFB and couldn’t count how many B52 I’ve seen fly over but it’s still one hell of a sight everytime.

1:19 you can hear him try to hold his laugh in

I think people often confuse old with obsolete. If something still does the job it is far from obsolete

17:14 as an aircraft mechanic, that is a *massive* depot operation. You're effectively rebuilding the airplane from the ground up (the wings are pretty vital.)

"Giant Flying Dump Trucks" is the greatest description of a heavy bomber I have ever heard. Nicely done.

yeah thats the thing with grandpa buff, he can drop anything. the moment someone says: the enemy is that way, he just destoys "that way".

It should be noted that the airframes of bombers like the B-52 don't age anywhere as rapidly as the airframes of commercial passenger jets. Airline companies try to keep their jets flying in the air as much as possible because a parked jet is a jet that isn't making money for the airline. The B-52's, on the other hand, spend many more hours parked on the ground and only fly for training missions and combat.

I flew the B-52 in the early 70's. I didn't think then, nor do I think now, that it was a particularly dangerous aircraft to fly (outside of combat missions, of course). We did have equipment problems, though. We had a fire in the forward equipment bay (the radar dish). And I remember a fire in a cable bundle on a new equipment installation. Had a bird strike on the front window due to low level flight. It was my impression that most of the accidents with the aircraft were due to "crew error".

As habitual line crosser states, the buff is eternal. Long live Grandpa Buff.

Great video and very informative. I also enjoyed reading the comments from all the vets that flew or were around them. Good peak into history.

The B52 is capable of flying much higher than 50,000', but the official ceiling is listed there because the USAF regulations state that if you are flying above 50,000', you need a pressure suit (those space suit things you see U2 and SR71 crews wear). I've heard more than one ex-B52 crewmember hint that they would fly higher, but in that "wink and a nudge" kind of way.

Brings back memories as a refueler in the Air Force during the 80’s while at Castle AFB. Took me 2 hrs to fully refill a single BUFF. Close to 40000 gallons of JP4. If I was in good terms with the pump house operator who supplies fuel from the storage tanks, he’d go against tech orders and switch to two pumps to increase fuel supply volume to my hose cart and refill of a BUFF would take 1 hour. Remember those freezing winter temperatures on the flightline as I worked nights. Wind howling. Standing in front of the diesel APU exhaust just to stay warm during refueling. Great conversations bullshitting on our mics with the crew chief and ops working the tank controls in the cockpit during the long hours. Now I’m closing in on 60 and would not trade those memories of my enlistment for anything.

I love how even in cyberpunk they are joking about it still flying

I swear the Air Force gives their aircraft the most funny nicknames ever

The fact that the engineers that work on her are by now almost dead while their creation is still here as a proof of their amazing work. Congratulations to every people that make her, queen of the sky alongside Concorde

If the bomber outlasts just about every competing bomber… is it really obsolete?

To be fair, the vertical stabilizer didn't just fall off... the B52 lost its vertical stabilizer when it hit clear-air turbulence. Thst lasted for 9 seconds. Too much stress for most any airframe. AND 1:41 that crash was due to a pilot intentionally crashing the plane. You can find that story on RU-vid

@1:40 that footage is actually not from an airframe mishap but a pilot that wanted to fly it like it was a fighter and had a very hazardous attitude. Happened at Fairchild AFB during an airshow.

The B-52 was a "standoff missile carrier" over 50 years ago. It was clear, even then, that attempting to penetrate enemy anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems was problematic. So the way the B-52 is being used today, as a long ranged missile carrier, is nothing new.

Long as the B-52 can carry modern stand off cruise missiles, she will never be "obsolete".

My grandpa was a B-52 captain for a while, first in the ‘Nam, and then was part of Operation Chrome Dome, he definitely swore by these things

The idea that the enginges require the use of protective kit is so bad ass, could you imagine how awesome it would be to start one of those up!

"The B-52 Stratofortress was truly a 'F•CKER' " *I'M DYING AT THIS PART 😂*

It's an amazing warbird. One terrifying factoid: its wings "flap". It was a marvel of technology in the early 50s, and its intercontinental range was the key factor that converted the hydrogen bomb from a crazy science project into a weapon of war (much like what the B-29 had done with the original fission weapons). However, it was still the early 1950s and they were still working with riveted aluminum and EARLY turbojets. The engineering required to get under the weight targets while still hitting durability requirements (see video) was astonishing, but it lead to compromises. One result of that is that the wing structure could not be all that rigid- making one as stiff as a B-2 or B-1 or B-21 would've required advanced composites and titanium alloys that were still decades away. So they built wings designed to flex a bit. It is apparently very disconcerting to people who aren't familiar with the aircraft, but one of those things that you just get used to.

This is kinda the paradox to the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” cuz they’re constantly fixing it and now it’s the best thing flying.

Apparently when the last of them retire they will have been in service for almost if not 100 years a a phenomenal achievement for keeping them around for so long

Have a soft spot for BUFFs. Back in the early 80’s as an USAF AutoTrack Radar Specialist, 1CEVG, we had many electronic war games and radar bomb scoring runs with these big critters. It was an awesome site to see these huge planes flying sometimes what looked like treetop level. So low at time the tracking radar would break full auto lock going through the trees. ECM capability of these things couldn’t be fully utilized during training runs due to the havoc they would create on civilian electronic equipment. It was sad seeing them being chopped up after the service they performed for so long. Thanks so much for this video! Long live the BUFF!

Something worth mentioning is that the buff was extremely instrumental in the space program and the overall development of air launched systems. The X-15 rode on a B-52 to great success and without the B-52, we probably would have never made it to the moon.

"I call it a super-duper missile." God, I love that man... 😄

3:53 this is why you dont deprive the hard working troops of sleep. Absolute insane how they function and no wonder no one wants to enlist and feels bitter.

It's worth noting that the KC-135 that did so much of that in flight refueling is only 4 years younger than the B-52, and is only now being replaced, which will take many more years.

B-52 should be thought of more as a flying missile frigate than a bomber.

The amount of accidental nuke crashes/drops is insane

The department of defense loves this plane so much they would rather adapt the plane to the new modern bombs than build more new types of bombers. Long live BUFF

“I’ve failed over and over again. And that is why I succeed.” - Michael Jordan Also, definitely BUFF. At least, that is what I thought after minute 2.

Kind of reminds me of my little crew vehicle in Kerbal Space Program. It was truly awful, but I needed it, so I kept using it, until I figured out all the problems, and now it's the design I'm most proud of, and that I trust the most.

Great video! You explained everything so clearly.

Wow, I never knew the B-52 had so many early 'teething pains'. I had only ever considered their successful Vietnam/post-Vietnam/current use.

Back in the mid-1970's I was in Air Force air defense radar and sometimes we would have B-52's show up to practice being intercepted by our F-101B's and F-106's. The first thing they did was call us up on frequency about an hour beforehand and give us an ECM request, a list of all the frequencies they wanted to use against our interceptors. We would then call our local ATC Region Control Center and pass on the request. They would check to see if it would harm any essential ATC radar systems in the area and get back to us with what they had approved. We would then call up the B-52 and pass it on to them. No way could the B-52 use all the electronic warfare resources they had because it would electronically blind radar sites everywhere around us. It really was an amazing airplane and keeps getting better.

I like how you just gave up the censuring 2 minutes in.

3:48 wow that was close

Seeing a B52 in real life causes a combination of feelings of majesty at its size and design and also astonishment at the amount of crap that comes out of its engines

There are stories of 4 generations of families serving on the B-52, great grandparents, grandparents, parents, and now children

4:05 did he said yuba city California what a coincidence that just so happens to be the city I was living right next to

You're such a great history teller, be proud!

I love how he blured the word "fu**er" everything except one😂😂

In the Museum of Flight in Seattle, the Boeing exhibit includes a silver 14-inch balsa model of what is unmistakably a Stratofortress. It was built in a Dayton hotel room one weekend in 1948 as part of a Boeing technical proposal for an eight-jet-engine bomber. The Air Force liked what it saw and the result was the B-52. Best visual-aid bang for the buck ever.

The first 52 i remember was 1962. Tben a 52 flying at about 500 ft caused the bus I was on to drift on the highway in Kansas in 80. As a young Army 2lt it startled me. Still does now.

Imagine ejecting from a plane knowing you’ll hit the ground at the same time as the two nukes you just escaped from.

America has three ways of naming things: M1 M11311172F "High Altitude Air Assault And Attack Munition " aka "HAAAAAM" or "Super duper missile"

Absolutely love this plane. I was born on Barksdale AFB, my dad was on BUFF crews for 11 years. We moved away for a decade or so, then moved back so he could work with Global Strike. I’ll always have a soft spot for the BUFF. I sure miss hearing them fly around.

Former B52 crew chief out of Barksdale AFB. I sure do miss that old boy. Crawling from the front to the back was always quite an adventure. The tail gunner is no longer an option but that was pretty cool. While refueling on the ground you could listen to everything in the air. Military and commercial.

How did I miss that press conference? 😂 “the super duper missile” 😂

We were really hard on the B-52s road hard and put up wet. Every time one took off it wouldn’t land for almost 30 hours and they did that for years. In a very harsh environment. If it doesn’t fall apart when you kick the tire it’s a miracle.

I was a in first grader when my dad was stationed at a SAC base. I can still feel and hear those B-52's taking off 60 years ago. It is unbelievable that they will out live me.

5:40 wait wait wait hold up. We nuked Spain? Why have I not heard of this before?

That tail didn't fall off, it was shot off and the BUFF still brought its crew home.

I love how incredibly old weapons like the B-52 and browning M2 are still very useful and nowhere near retirement in this modern day and age

The B52 will outlive us all. Personally love the family story of Capt David Welsh. Grandfather flew the BUFF in Vietnam, his dad flew it in in the 80s. At this rate if he has a son, he'll get a chance.

imagine using a 100 year old plane , damn that's gonna be cool in the 2050's

B.U.F.F. Gotta love it! I was on a ship in Guam in 1967 or 8, we were moored right under the flight path and I remember those monsters flying over us 24/7 as they took off with streams of black smoke pouring out of the engines, the sky lit with their landing lights on their way to Vietnam, one every 30 seconds (or so it seemed), non-stop. And stretching back behind them were a constant stream of others coming in to land and refuel/rearm. The total sight of so many huge bombers all in the sky at once was mesmerising at night. My wife and I went to the Atomic Museum in New Mexico, USA and I took her picture standing under one of the engines, she looks so tiny with the bulk of the aircraft filling the frame. What a machine!🇦🇺

I don't know why but I laughed so hard at 2:00 . Something about how you censored F***** twice in the video beforehand made it totally unexpected when you just said the full name 🤣

Over 90% of the B-52 fleet have been retired. The ones still in service were the latest model and have been majorly upgraded.

Can you imagine if a nuke ACCIDENTALLY goes off in the States? Goodbye nuclear space engines!

Truly a plane of a legacy, history rolled into one bird. In my years of Air Force career, I was pleased to have met many legacy people, like General Stewart, the father of sac. The many grandsons granddaughter of the first flight.. to the designer of the B2. B52, B22. Notice I put the b2 before the b52.. cause he designed built the b2 first .. inside truth and fact .. I started my career in the icbm moved to the b52 and saw the first b2 .. absolutely a wonder of my life . Buff .. ooh served in 91 in support and ground desert storm . Watched as she did her job very well . I salute u and too those that serve her now .

What's interesting, years back someone like Discovery Channel, Nat Geo, or one of them ranked the B-52 as the #1 bomber of all time because of its modularity (aka they could easily gut the interior and upgrade it). Also, from what I recall, I thought only 2 bombers were in the air at any given time

I was in the Air Force from 1979 - 1983. Stationed at Mather AFB it was mainly an ATC base ( air training command ) with a SAC wing located at the base. Which meant there were B52's taking off and landing there all day long. What I remember most about them is that they were without a doubt one of the loudest and I mean loudest planes I have ever heard taking off as well as landing. The fact that they've been around this long even though they've had their problems means at some point there doing something right. Very right. I tip my cap off to these noisy fu....rs.

It’s so fun to watch a video of a plane I’ve worked on. I wish I could remember which plane I welded on because that almost never happens on the flightline

Excellently researched and professionally presented.

famous engineering quote: if you keep fixing it you eventually run out of problems

Damn. This bomber was introduced before I was born, and will almost certainly outlive ME. Too bad we can't make more of these.

Stand salute, to one of the greatest planes on the planet. Its still a honor to see them. I have more faith in the B52 than todays planes.

1:59 The way he said it made me chuckle.

2:00 uncensored😬😬🔫🔫👍👍

The B52H Stratofortress is a beautiful bomber, I want it to remain operational for many more decades, and never need to be replaced from the b21 raider.

I worked on the G models for a couple of years in the early 80's. I hated having to deal with wiring problems as the wiring had been TCTO'd to death (Time Compliance Technical Order, AKA modifications) and the wiring going into connectors was brittle and difficult to work with.

I was stationed in the 50s where these B-52s passed overhead only a few miles from takeoff. What a noise! The girls on our station packed the parachutes for them. Sounds like they were needed.

No aircraft is 100% safe to operate and all carry inherent risks. The first half of this clip implies that the B-52 had a high accident/mishap rate, but compared to other aircraft in the US inventory over the years, the accident to flight hour ratio of the B-52 is not markedly higher than most

Well that was unexpected 😂 1:14

The buff getting it's tail cut off made me cry

3:14 good God! Look at that thing just spewing out the co2 while it hikes its skirt up and trots towards the end of the runway.

The B-52 is not obsolete. It has upgraded electronics for self-defense and stealth. New engines use less fuel and have more power. It will be around for many years.