"B-52" - US bomber. History of creation

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

"B-52" is a bomber produced by the American corporation Boeing in the 50s of the last century. It was originally designed to deliver two thermonuclear bombs anywhere in the Soviet Union. To this day, it remains the main aircraft in the arsenal of long-range aviation of the American Air Force.

History of Creation

B-52 Stratofortress is the military brainchild of one of the largest aircraft manufacturing corporations in the world - the American Boeing Company. In Russian, its full name is translated as "air fortress". Its development began in the 1950s, when the company began producing the second generation of military aircraft, namely bombers. The aircraft was intended to replace two obsolete models: B-36 and B-47. The author of the first model was Convair, the second - Boeing.

US authorities decided to replace piston bombers and announced a competition among design bureaus to create a jet strategic aircraft. The competition was announced after the end of World War II, in 1946. Three companies took part in the competition - Douglas joined the already named ones. CostsIt should be noted that at that time, none of the top military leadership believed in the possibility of the appearance of a heavy jet aircraft, and even with a flight range exceeding 13 thousand kilometers. Nevertheless, scientists, designers and businessmen began to refute these prejudices with enthusiasm. Their task was to create not just a bomber, but a strategic and ultra-long-range missile carrier.

Beginning the task, everyone understood what the "B-52" (bomber) should become. How was this completely new aircraft for its time created, what were the inventors guided by? Convair, based on its piston B-36, believed to achieve the task by installing jet engines and an arrow-shaped wing. The second participant, Douglas, designed a fundamentally new machine, a feature of which was to be turboprop engines. Boeing has decided to work with its B-47 medium bomber and improve its performance to a strategic level.

Boeing Engineering

The group that took up the development of the project under the working title "Model 464" included six leading specialists who worked on the B-47 in almost the same composition. The group began preliminary development of the B-52 aircraft. The bomber, the characteristics of which significantly exceeded those that were available in the aircraft created by the company earlier, required new approaches and solutions. In particular, it was clear that the required flight mileage, as well as the estimated weapon weight of 4.5 tons, would entailincrease in take-off weight of the machine up to 150 tons. This is twice the figure of the previous generation aircraft. In addition, the speed, according to the terms of reference, should reach 960 km/h.

To solve the tasks set, the company began to use J-57 turbojet engines. Their thrust was 3.4 tons. It was decided to install eight such engines. United in four complexes, they were installed on the wings of the aircraft with the help of huge pylons protruding in front of the wings. At the same time, for maximum longitudinal stability, the keel of the aircraft was designed quite high. For fuel, the volume of which was supposed to be sufficient for intercontinental flight, the space inside the wing was increased to an area of 371.6 square meters. m.

US authorities were satisfied with the B-52 developed by the Boeing Corporation. The American bomber was approved in 1947, and the company received a government order, signing a contract for two prototypes.

Tests

The first prototype, which was given the designation "XB-52" by the military, was ready at the end of November 1951. However, while the car was being prepared for the first tests, they managed to damage it. In order not to damage the company's reputation, we decided not to name the true reasons for the return of the aircraft to the factory. The suspension of testing was explained by the need to install additional equipment. As a result, the right of the first flight passed to the second car, designated by the military as "YB-52". It was completed in mid-March 1952.

Flight tests began in mid-April"B-52". The bomber was equipped with a chassis of the so-called bicycle type, which is a rather curious design. The chassis consisted of four two-wheeled racks (separate niches for each of them were installed in the fuselage of the aircraft), were equipped with hydraulic control and automatic braking. In addition, the designers removed the dependence of the machine on weather conditions during takeoff and landing by the fact that the design of the landing gear wheels made it possible to install them at an angle to the center axis of the aircraft body. Thus, having received information about the speed and direction of the wind, the pilots, using the calculation table, could position the wheels so that the aircraft moved sideways when running along the runway. It was this technical feature that attracted the attention of the public during the official performance two years later.

When the tests were over, the machine officially received the name "B-52 Stratofortress", which means "air fortress". However, the impressions of the test pilots were not particularly enthusiastic. A lot of trouble during the flight was delivered by fuel tanks in the cavities of the wings - they constantly leaked. I had to contrive to fix the leak during flights.

A lot of questions were raised by the crew's ejection system: it was possible to safely leave the plane by catapult only from a height of three hundred meters. The shooter was located in the tail section, a toilet and an electric stove were installed in his cockpit. During the flight, the gunner was actually isolated from the crew and kept only radio contact with him. Accordingly, if she refused, the specialisthad no idea what was going on with the plane. Once this was the cause of the incident with the "B-52". The bomber during a flight in a thunderstorm was in a stream of descending air. The shooter, having decided that the plane was falling, ejected, while he was forced to throw off the machine gun mount. The pilots discovered his absence already on the ground.

Serial modifications

"B-52", a Stratofortress bomber, entered the assembly line in 1955. The first modification produced by the series - "B-52A" - entered the strategic aviation in June. The aircraft were used for retraining of crews, as well as for testing the process of refueling aircraft in the air. After a short time, "B-52V" came out. A total of fifty aircraft of this modification were produced. Machines of this series were fully prepared for sorties with conventional and nuclear weapons on board. To do this, they were equipped with more advanced engines with a thrust of 4, 62 thousand tons and an aiming and navigation system. To demonstrate the power of the B-52 (bomber) went on a non-stop flight around the world, simulating a targeted nuclear strike along the way.

The demonstration raid involved six aircraft that took off from the airfield of the military base Castle (California) at one in the afternoon on January 16, 1957. During the flight with a total length of 39.2 thousand kilometers, the B-52 strategic bomber had to go through the refueling procedure (in August), and four times. However, not all aircraft managed to doway. A few hours later, one missile carrier made an emergency landing in England. An unexpected engine failure caused the failure of another aircraft, which crash-landed in Labrador. The remaining three cars after less than two days landed at an air base near Los Angeles. Due to bad weather at their destination, they arrived half an hour late.

The route, which included a flight over Newfoundland, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Ceylon, Malaysia (a conditional combat target was located here), the Philippines, the island of Guam and the Castle base, took 45 hours and 19 minutes. The flight took place at a variable altitude of 10.7-15.2 thousand meters at a speed of 865 km/h. When approaching a conditional combat target, the speed was increased to 965 km/h. Refueling was carried out by aircraft flying over the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. To enhance the effect, refueling took place both day and night, and in any weather. Before the start of the process, the missile carriers lowered their altitude, while the speed was 400-480 km/h.

It is worth noting that the first round-the-world flight was made by a B-50 aircraft in 1949 and took 94 hours.

The planes of the third series - "B-52S" - were equipped with engines of even greater thrust - 5.4 tons. A total of 35 cars were produced in 1956. Thanks to the replacement of pneumatic starters with powder ones, it was possible to reduce the winding period of all engines five times - from half an hour to six minutes. In addition, the possibilities of using weapons have been expanded. On the "B-52" (bomber, missile carrier) installed newstrategic cruise missiles codenamed "hound dog". When taking off on combat alert, to reduce the length of the takeoff run, the pilots could use turbojet rocket engines as an accelerator. Then, in flight, the rockets were refueled from the tanks.

Losses

In the early 1960s, the use of aircraft for its intended purpose was started. "B-52" - a bomber, a super altitude missile carrier - was intended for the delivery of nuclear weapons to any point in the Soviet Union. The first test reconnaissance flights began along the state borders of the USSR. It should be understood that the accident of such an aircraft, stuffed with nuclear warheads, could easily arrange another Hiroshima. Meanwhile, emergency situations with the B-52 happened with enviable regularity. Accidents involving nuclear weapons are codenamed "broken arrow". Most of the accidents with these aircraft occurred over the territory of the United States, as well as in the skies of friendly countries.

So, in 1958, the first accident occurred in the state of North Carolina, when a pilot mistakenly dropped a bomb on the roof of an apartment building. As a result, six people were injured by shrapnel. In 1961, the plane itself crashed in the same state, the bomb exploded on impact. A year later, in the same state, in the city of Goldsboro, a bomber with two Hound Dog missiles crashed.

The first tragedy outside the United States occurred in 1966, when a patrol missile carrier collided with"KS-135" in the sky over Spain. One rocket crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, three more fell on the village of Palomares. Because of the triggered detonator, the entire village was contaminated with plutonium. The last officially published accident occurred off the coast of Greenland in 1968, when a burning plane did not reach the airfield and crashed to the bottom of the bay. As a result, an area of six square kilometers was contaminated.

Last modifications

From 1956 to 1983, five more modifications were created. The B-52D series was produced in the amount of 101 aircraft. In this series, the keel was shortened, and the aiming system was also improved. In the next modification - E - only a hundred aircraft were produced. The roof has been reinforced. In addition, the designers have installed equipment that allows you to fly at low altitudes. More economical engines were installed on the F series, which included 89 aircraft. One of them had a tragic fate. In 1961, during the exercises, a conditional attack of a fighter aircraft of the B-52F series was worked out. The fighter pilot mistakenly fired a missile and shot down the bomber. All three crew members were killed. After this episode, the planes were removed from such exercises.

The largest number of missile carriers came out in the next B-52 series. The G bombers were produced in the amount of 193 units over the course of four years from 1958. Engine thrust was increased to 6.34 tons, more capacious jet fuel tanks were added. The last series - H - was produced until 1962, a total of 102aircraft. Engine thrust was already 7, 71 tons. Efficiency of fuel consumption made it possible to increase the flight distance by 2.7 thousand kilometers - up to 16.7 thousand kilometers. This plane set a world record for the number of hours of flight without refueling: 20.17 thousand kilometers were covered in 22 hours and 9 minutes. And in 2006, a missile carrier of this modification flew seven hours on synthetic fuel.

From 1965 to 1984, B/C/D/F "B-52" series aircraft were taken out of service by the US Army. With the end of the Cold War, which became a consequence of the collapse of the Soviet Union, they were removed from combat duty. Thus, by 1992, 159 G and H modification bombers remained in the active army. The armaments agreements with Russia led to a total reduction of these bombers. In 2008, the remaining H series machines also began to be reduced. At the moment, 68 missile carriers remain in the army, which will be in service until 2040. It may turn out that these aircraft will become record holders for the duration of use. Bombers have been involved in almost all US military clashes.

Features

"B-52" is a jet strategic missile carrier equipped with eight engines. It is piloted by six crew members. Among the main technical characteristics are the wingspan, which is 56.39 meters, the length of the hull is 49.05 meters, and the height is 12.4 meters. With the latest modification, a takeoff weight of up to 221.5 was achieved.tons. The thrust of each engine is 7.71 tons. The acceleration distance of the aircraft is 2.9 thousand meters. The maximum speed that the bomber develops is 1013 km / h. It has a combat radius of 7,730 kilometers.

A six-barreled 20-mm cannon is installed on board the missile carrier, which is located in the tail of the aircraft. "Air Fortress" is designed for a combat load in the form of bombs up to 31.5 tons. In addition, the missile carrier is equipped with the most modern equipment for the successful conduct of electronic warfare. In particular, it is equipped with noise and misinformation interference equipment, dipole reflectors and infrared trap equipment.

At the beginning of this year, US representatives spread information about new modifications of the B-52. The bomber, the drop system of which was characterized by point throwing only on the external suspension of shells, was now equipped with a more "intelligent" system. As follows from the official announcement, precision-guided munitions will now also be placed in bomb bays. The installation of the new system will increase the capacity of the aircraft by at least 50%. In addition, this will remove "smart" bombs from external suspensions, which will reduce fuel consumption by 15%, and will also help to keep information about what kind of weapon the bomber carries in secret from the enemy.

The $24.6 million contract was awarded to Boeing early last year. It is planned that the new system will be put into service in 2016. Also in the plans of the military to adapt the "B-52"under drones.

Aviation "grandfathers"

The American "B-52" is a bomber that from the first day of its existence was constantly compared with the Soviet strategic aircraft of the same class Tu-95. Experts of the military aviation industry dubbed both aircraft "grandfathers of long-range aviation." Both machines have been in the air forces of both countries for more than 60 years, undergoing only regular modernization. The US military calls the Russian rival, no matter how trite, a bear. The debate about whose car is better and by what indicators continues to this day. Military experts note that both aircraft have gone through an evolutionary path from a simple bomber to a strategic missile carrier. The machines are similar in a number of other characteristics, for example, both have a flight range of more than ten thousand kilometers. Moreover, the territory of the enemy is reached by both machines in any case, not even in a straight line of movement. At the same time, the American B-52 develops great speed. The bomber, compared to the Tu-95, accelerates to 1,000 km/h, the maximum speed of the "carcass" reaches 850 km/h.

However, there are a number of characteristics in which the domestic car is significantly superior to its overseas rival. These indicators, in particular, include increased efficiency of engines - at least twice. According to experts, with a flight range of 10-12 thousand km, the American B-52 bomber spends 160-170 tons of aviation fuel, whilewhile a Russian aircraft will only take 80 tons to cover the same distance.

Domestic military experts speak unflatteringly about engines. According to them, the advantage of the Tu-95 is that all four engines are equipped with counter-rotating propellers. Thus, with their reliability, they provide the domestic missile carrier with superiority over the B-52. The US bomber is equipped with eight engines, but they cause a lot of problems and have rather weak performance. According to experts, this is evidenced by the losses of overseas military air units. So, it is known that out of 740 vehicles produced and delivered to the army, they managed to lose 120 aircraft. Moreover, it was the American B-52 bomber that caused the loss of several thermonuclear bombs, which have not been found to this day. Some claim the bombs were lost in Greenland and the Portuguese coast.

Missile equipment details

The armed forces of all countries, and even more so the leading powers such as Russia and the United States, which are the largest arms manufacturers, participate in covert and sometimes open competitions. Aviation is one of the areas of constant rivalry. To be the king of the sky - what could be more prestigious for the military field? Russian and American bombers are constantly compared. For example, the Americans have repeatedly cited data confirming the superiority of their car over the domestic one in terms of missile and bombload almost several times.

Russian experts tend to treat such statements with a fair amount of skepticism. Military experts see no reason to unconditionally trust the other side, since it is this data that is used as a tool for manipulation. To be fair, only the crew commander has a complete idea of the number of guns he has on board. It is worth noting that the world's largest thermonuclear munition was dropped by a Russian aircraft. The power of the dropped bomb was equal to 50 million tons of TNT, the blast wave circled the Earth three times during the experiment. The charges were dropped on the territory of Novaya Zemlya.

Rising from the Ashes

"B-52" - the bomber (see photo in the article) will return to the ranks of the US Air Force. The news about this was circulated in early March 2015. The B-52N returned to the fighting ranks, bearing the name "Ghost Rider" (Ghost Rider), which was decommissioned seven years ago. It was released in 1962 and completed its flying career in 2008. Since then, he was in Tucson (Arizona) in the so-called aircraft graveyard. It is designed to replace a damaged similar machine. Repair of the aircraft took several months. He successfully passed the flight test, during which he covered more than 1.6 thousand kilometers. After that, he was deployed to an air base in Louisiana. Repair work and final testing will be completed here.

It is worth noting that this is the first time in US military history that a decommissioned B-52 is returned to active combat formation. As the Air Force explained,it will replace a similar aircraft that burned down at the base, its repair would cost much more.