The B-52 started life in 1948 as a design for a turboprop successor to
the Boeing B-50. The introduction of the reliable and efficient
Pratt & Whitney J57 turobojet in 1949 changed the design to a turbojet
bomber.
The prototype XB-52 first flew in 1952. The first two prototypes
had tandom-seating like the B-47; however, all
production models have the more familiar side-by-side seating as directed
by then SAC Commander General Curtis LeMay.
The B-52 saw extensive service in Vietnam and
again during Operation Desert Storm. Replacement bombers,
the North American B-70, the Rockwell B-1 and Northrop B-2 have not
brought the venerable B-52 Stratofortress to retirement. The
existing fleet's structural life is estimated to last beyond 2040.
