Inside The Largest & Most Powerful US Bomber Aircraft

The B-52 Stratofortress refuses to die. The B-58 Hustler was supposed to replace it—retired after eleven years. The B-1B Lancer was supposed to replace it retiring now. The B-2 Spirit was supposed to replace it also retiring. Meanwhile, the B-52 keeps flying. The last one was built in 1962. It will still be dropping bombs in 2050.
This episode follows the complete operational cycle of America's oldest bomber. Watch technicians mate GPS-guided weapons to rotary launchers designed for Cold War nuclear missiles. See ground crews jumpstart eight engines using explosive cartridges—a technique that gets bombers airborne in under ten minutes. Go inside the two-deck cockpit where four crew members eject upward and two eject downward through hatches in the floor.
Then witness the landing that makes the B-52 unlike any aircraft ever built. Its swiveling landing gear lets the bomber touch down sideways in crosswinds, fuselage pointed one direction, wheels rolling another. This feature was classified for years.
The B-52 carries 70,000 pounds of ordnance. It can fly for 24 hours without landing. And it costs less to maintain than either bomber designed to replace it. Here's why it outlasts everything.

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