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THE 456th FIGHTER INTERCEPTOR SQUADRON |
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THE PROTECTORS OF S. A. C. |
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The Boeing RB-52B Stratofortress |
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RB-52B The RB-52B, though also usable as a normal bomber, was designed as a reconnaissance variant of the B-52B. In its reconnaissance role, a large Module/Reconnaissance Capsule was designed and procured which could be loaded into the bomb bay, completely filling the space. This pressurized Module included provisions for two additional crew members and would equip the RB-52B for photo reconnaissance, electronic intelligence gathering, weather data gathering or general observations. One of these Capsules was installed on RB-52B S/N 52-8716 for an unsuccessful training mission on Nov. 30, 1956 (see photo and caption below). Although they were retained in Air Force inventory these Capsules were ever employed operationally.
Without the reconnaissance pod in the bomb bay, the RB-52B was essentially the same as the standard B-52B and could perform the same bombing missions. A total of 50 B models were ordered with 27 being built as RB-52 dual role aircraft and the other 23 as single role bombers.
There was disagreement within the USAF general staff over whether the B-52 should be primarily a bomber or a reconnaissance plane. The order for 13 B-52As was split into an order for only three A models and the other 10 for B-52Bs. The contract for the 10 B models was amended to include seven more aircraft and later changed to an RB-52B order. The Strategic Air Command and its commander, Gen. Curtis LeMay, wanted the B-52 as a bomber and fought against the reconnaissance variant. Although the reconnaissance version was built in slightly greater numbers than the bomber, the fact that the RB-52B could easily and quickly be converted for bombing missions satisfied SAC when they started taking delivery of the aircraft in June 1955.
The B-52B and RB-52Bs were the first versions in the B-52 series to actually go into operational service. The 93rd Bomb Wing at Castle Air Force Base, Calif., was the first unit to get the B model and used them initially for transition crew training. Other wings receiving B models included the 95th, 99th and 22nd. The B model was retired from operational service in the mid-1960s, but one NB-52B (S/N 52-0008) was modified for use as a carrier aircraft (mothership) for the X-15 and Lifting Body flight research programs. This aircraft is still in use at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Type Number built/
convertedRemarks RB-52B 27 Reconnaissance bomber version
Serial numbers: 52-0004 to 52-0013; 52-8710 to 52-8716; 53-0366 to 53-0372; 53-0377 to 53-0379
Boeing Model 464-201-3
SPECIFICATIONS:
Span: 185 ft.
Length: 156 ft. 7 in.
Height: 48 ft. 4 in.
Weight: 420,000 lbs. gross
Armament: Two 20mm cannons in the tail barbette and up to 43,000 lbs. of bombs (bomber role); 24 M-120 photoflash bombs (photo reconnaissance role)
Engines: Eight Pratt & Whitney J57-P-1W turbojets (or -1WA or -1WB) of 10,000 lbs. thrust each dry, 11,000 lbs. thrust each wet (water injection); later some B models fitted with J57-P-19W, -29W or -29WA
Crew: Six for bomber missions and up to eight for reconnaissance missions (pilot, copilot, electronic warfare officer, navigator, bombardier/radar navigator, tail gunner, plus two more specialist crewmembers for reconnaissance/data gathering missions)
PERFORMANCE:
Maximum speed: 630 mph/546 knots at 20,000 ft.
Cruising speed: 525 mph
Range: 3,600 miles combat radius at combat weight of 272,000 lbs. (without in-flight refueling); 7,350 miles maximum ferry range
Service ceiling: 47,000 ft. at combat weight of 272,000 lbs.
The RB-52B Stratofortress
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RB-52B By any comparison you wish to make, the B-52 must be one of the great bombers of all time. Certainly when you consider the longevity of the aircraft and the number of occasions it has been used for combat sorties, the B-52 is way ahead of any other jet bomber and the aircraft still soldiers on, showing no sign of being ready for retirement.
Designed to replace the huge Convair B-36 strategic bomber, the prototype YB-52 first flew on 15 Apr 52. However, before the bomber was actually ordered, USAF HQ had come to the decision that SAC didn't actually need a long-range bomber and wanted all the B-52's built as reconnaissance aircraft. SAC on the other hand wanted the aircraft to act as a bomber and as a reconnaissance aircraft using a pod carried in the cavernous bomb bay. In Oct 51 USAF HQ decided that the new aircraft would be built as RB-52 reconnaissance aircraft, but as they would carry their reconnaissance equipment in the bomb bay pod, SAC's view had actually prevailed. Only 3 B-52A's were built and they acted as evaluation aircraft.
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RB-52B A total of 50 B-52B's were built, 23 were pure bomber aircraft, the other 27 were dual-capable RB-52B's and the first aircraft was delivered on 29 Jun 55 with the last arriving in Aug 56. For a reconnaissance sortie, a large two-man pressurised capsule was winched into the bomb bay - a process that usually took about 4 hours. In case of an emergency, the capsule was provided with two downward-firing ejector seats and it could be configured for ELINT or photographic duties. For an ELINT mission the pod carried an AN/APR-14 low-frequency radar receiver, two AN/APR-9 high-frequency radr receivers, four AN/APA-11A pulse analysers, three AN/ARR-88 panoramic receivers and an AN/ANQ-1A wire recorder. For a photographic sortie the capsule carried four K-38 cameras plus one T-11 or K-36 vertical camera - the pod was also capable of carrying three T-11 cartographic cameras.
The next version of the aircraft was the B-52C which first flew on 9 Mar 56. A total of 33 B-52C's were built and all the aircraft were compatible with the bomb-bay reconnaissance capsule, although the aircraft were never designated RB-52C's. Little, if any information has been released about the operations undertaken with the RB-52B's, but life cannot have been particularly comfortable for the two 'ravens' carried in the capsule - then again, if they had previously served on RB-47's, they would be fairly well accustomed to that form of transportation. The accommodation and working conditions on the RC-135 must have seemed palatial in comparison.
The idea of using a B-52 as the worlds largest airborne jamming platform emerged during Operation Allied Force over the former republic of Yugoslavia, when the Supreme Allied Commander, a micro manager of the highest order called General Wesley Clark, issued an urgent request for additional jamming aircraft to supplement the over-stretched EA-6B Prowler fleet. The plan involved a rapid fit of ALQ-99 pods to the B-52 and by the end of the hostilities the design was finalised and the modification of an aircraft was underway. The concept of an EB-52H never actually made it into service during the conflict and many believed a B-1B or an EF/A-18G 'Growler', which could actually accompany a strike package, would do the job as well, nevertheless the concept of an EB-52 was soon reconsidered.
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RB-52B Since the premature retirement of the EF-111A Raven in 1998, the USAF has been forced to rely on the Grumman EA-6B Prowler for jamming support. Since 1998, and in particular following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the USA, the need for EW support aircraft has increased significantly, as US and coalition forces have been engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq. The net result has been that the aging Prowlers have been in high demand and often simply have not been available.
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RB-52B To address this shortfall in Jul 04 it was finally decided to re-equip 16 B-52H strategic bombers to enable them to act as stand-off jammers. The aircraft will be known as the EB-52H and will have their obsolescent AN/ALR-20A Electronic Countermeasures Receiver System and AN/ALR-46 Radar Warning Receiver replaced as part of a general $48 millions Situational Awareness Defensive Improvement (SADI) programme. Then the aircraft’s ECM system will be enhanced and their two underwing fuel tanks will be replaced with two 30ft ECM antenna pods. The aircraft’s electrical system will also be strengthened to enable it to cope with the additional demands of high power jamming and the EW pods will fully integrated into the aircrafts systems and managed by the current electronic navigator’s / EW position.
The system proposed for the B-52 was known as the Stand Off Jammer System (SOJS) and it was hoped that the first systems would be operational sometime between 2010-12. However, as so often happens with complex systems that are planned to meet a multitude of different goals, requirement creep began and as a consequence costs started a continual rise from $1 billion to $7 billion. Eventually the inevitable happened and in early 2006 the SOJS was cancelled completely.
However, the requirement for a powerful stand-off jammer remained and eventually in Oct 2007 the USAF started to seek preliminary approval for a new $3.1 billion stand-off jammer programme known as the Core Component Jammer (CCJ). This time, having learnt the lessons from the failure of the SOJS, the CCJ will will focus on low-frequency, early warning radar and communications systems, utilising long-range, phased-array, 40ft long jamming pods mounted on the wingtips of the B-52. Boeing and Northrop are favourites to win the contract and would use existing knowledge and technologies to keep costs down.
Hopefully the companies that win the contract for the CCJ will realise that this time the programme must succeed; and that they, along with the USAF, will need to keep the programme requirements in check and also a tight hand on the costs - if they don't there is every chance the CCJ will suffer the same fate as the SOJS. On 23 Jun 08 Boeing received a $15 million contract to complete aircraft intergeation studies for the new phased-array wingtip pod that will form the main element of the CCJ, as well as other advanced equipment. Provided the programme goes ahead as currently planned, 34 aircraft will be modified to carry the CCJ equipment, however, as the USAF plan to buy only 24 sets of equipment, this means that only a couple of dozen aircraft will be available at any one time.
It says something about the USAF’s lack of effective forward planning and the poor appreciation of the long-term need for effective EW, that they have had to resort to using a 43 years old aircraft for this vital task. Nevertheless, along with the many other roles it has undertaken in its long career, the EB-52 will become a very effective stand –off jammer, where it’s long endurance and range will enable it to provide much needed EW support and it will still retain the ability to launch cruise missiles or drop conventional weapons from their vast bomb bay. The EB-52H’s will be based at Barksdale and Minot AFBs and are planned to be operational from 2018.
The Boeing RB-52B / B-52B
Joe Baugher
The B-52B was the first truly operational version of the Stratofortress. The B-52B was outwardly identical to the B-52A, but featured an enhanced reconnaissance capability and was fitted with a bombing/navigation system. A total of 50 were built, with 23 being pure bomber B-52Bs and 27 being dual-capable reconnaissance/bomber RB-52Bs. All of them were built at Seattle.
Letter Contract AF33(038)-21096 of February 1951 originally specified 13 B-52As but was changed on June 9, 1952 to include only 3 B-52As, with the remainder to be delivered as B-52Bs. Another seven aircraft were added to the contract at this time. As it turned out, all 17 of these aircraft were actually completed as RB-52Bs. Serials were 52-0004/0013 and 52-8710/8716
Further B-52Bs were ordered later. Letter Contract AF33(600)-22119 was initially drawn up in September of 1952 and formally signed on April 15, 1953. The contract called for 43 RB-52Bs. In April 1954, the contract was amended and the number of RB-52Bs was cut to 33, with the remaining ten machines to be completed as B-52Cs. As it turned out, only ten of these aircraft were actually built as RB-52Bs, with the rest being delivered as B-52Bs. Serials were 53-0366/0398.
The RB-52B had been the result of an earlier disagreement among Air Force officers about what the true role of the B-52 should be--a pure bomber or a pure reconnaissance aircraft. Although bearing an R prefix, the RB-52B could be reconfigured in a matter of hours for either a reconnaissance or a bombardment mission. The RB-52Bs carried out its reconnaissance mission via a two-man pressurized capsule installed in the bomb bay which could perform electronic countermeasures or photographic reconnaissance work. Downward-firing ejector seats were provided for the crew in the case of an inflight emergency. Equipment inside the capsule could be optimized for different types of intelligence-gathering missions and included long-focal length and panoramic camers, plus photoflash bombs, mapping radars, receivers, pulse analyzers and recorders. For search operations, the pod had one AN/APR-14 low-frequency radar receiver and two AN/APR-9 high-frequency radar receivers. Each station had two AN/APA-11A pulse analyzers. The station also had three AN/ARR-88 panoramic receivers and all electronic data was recorded on an AN/ANQ-1A wire recorder. Photographic equipment could include 4 K-38 cameras at the multi-camera station plus one T-11 or K-36 at the vertical camera station. The pod could also carry three T-11 cartographic cameras. The reconfiguring of the aircraft was a fairly straightforward process and the pod could usually be installed in about four hours.
At the beginning, the engines of the B-52B/RB-52B were J57-P-1W, -1WA or -1WB turbojets with water injection, the same engines which had powered the B-52A. These were rated at 10,000 lb.s.t. dry and 11,000 lb.s.t. with water injection. About half of the B-52B/RB-52Bs were delivered with these engines. In the meantime, there were attempts to correct problems which had been encountered with the water injection system. These efforts were expected to lead to the J57-P-9W engine with titanium compressor blades. Unfortunately, problems with the manufacture of the blades forced a return to steel blades in the J57-P-29W and J57-P-29WA engines which were installed in the bulk of the remaining B-52B/RB-52Bs. The -29W was rated at 10,500 lb.s.t dry and 11,000 lb.s.t wet. The -29WA had twice the water flow rate as the -29W, and had a 12,100 lb.s.t wet rating. The problems with the titanium blades were finally overcome in the summer of 1956, which led to the J57-P-19W version, which was installed in the final five aircraft delivered.
The first B-52B took off on its maiden flight in December of 1954. The first B-52B (52-8711) was delivered to the 93rd Bombardment Wing at Castle AFB in California on June 29, 1955. Over the next few months, the 93rd BW traded in its B-47s for B-52Bs, and changed its name to the 93rd Bombardment Wing (Heavy). The 93rd BW was declared combat ready on March 12, 1956, but its primary mission was the training of future B-52 crews. The initial teething troubles with the B-52 were not nearly as severe as those encountered with the early B-47. However there were difficulties with the fuel system, imperfect water injection pumps, faulty alternators, and especially with deficient bombing and fire control systems.
The B-52B had originally been intended to carry the MA-2 bombing/navigation system, which combined an optical bombsight, a radar presentation of target, and an automatic computer, together with radar modifications designed for use in a high-speed aircraft. However, the development of this package had been delayed. Consequently, SAC had decided to equip some of the early production B-52 aircraft with the Sperry K-3A system that was used by the B-36. Unfortunately, at heights of 45,000 feet where the B-52B typically operated, the K-3A system was found to be almost totally ineffective--poor resolution qualities and a loss of definition made it almost impossible to identify targets with any degree of certainty. The Philco Corporation developed a temporary fix in which power output was increased by about 50 percent, but this was not really much of a solution and things really did not improve very much until the IBM MA-6A system was finally available during the latter stages of the B-model production run.
There were also problems experienced with the fire control system for the tail-mounted defensive armament. Nine of the first ten RB-52Bs (52-004/008 and 52-010/013 used a A-3A fire control system which operated a quartet of 0.50-inch machine guns. However, one early RB-52B (52-0009) was fitted with the alternative MD-5 fire control system which incorporated a pair of M24A-1 20-mm cannon. This system was adopted as standard equipment on the remaining 17 RB-52Bs and 16 B-52Bs (52-8710/8716 and 53-0366/0391). However, the new system proved to offer no real improvement, and the last seven B-52Bs reverted to the original system of four machine guns with a supposedly improved A-3A fire control system. However, in reality, many of the problems remained.
The original electrical system of the B-52 consisted of four air turbine-driven 60 KVA alternators furnishing 200/115 volt three-phase 400 cycle alternating current. The first fatal B-52 crash in February 1956 was blamed on a faulty alternator. This caused the immediate grounding of 20 B-52Bs and the halting in delivery of further B-52Bs while the problem was addressed. In mid-May, deliveries were resumed, but the alternator problem later reappeared.
In July 1956, there was another temporary grounding of the B-52B fleet, this time because of fuel system and hydraulic pack deficiencies. Although this grounding did not last long, the 93rd BW's training program was adversely affected, and by mid-year there were still no combat-ready B-52 crews.
The last B-52B was delivered in August of 1956.
A program known as Sunflower brought 7 early B-52Bs up to B-52C standards. B-52Bs also went through many other modifications in subsequent programs such as Harvest Moon, Blue Band, and Quickclip, which were initially intended for the benefit of subsequent B-52 models.
Serials of B-52B/RB-52B
52-004/006 Boeing RB-52B-5-BO Stratofortress c/n 16494/16496 52-007/013 Boeing RB-52B-10-BO Stratofortress c/n 16497/16503 52-8710/8715 Boeing RB-52B-15-BO Stratofortress c/n 16838/16843 52-8716 Boeing RB-52B-20-BO Stratofortress c/n 16844 53-366/372 Boeing RB-52B-25-BO Stratofortress c/n 16845/16851 53-373/376 Boeing B-52B-25-BO Stratofortress c/n 16852/16855 53-377/379 Boeing RB-52B-30-BO Stratofortress c/n 16856/16858 53-380/387 Boeing B-52B-30-BO Stratofortress c/n 16859/16866 53-388/398 Boeing B-52B-35-BO Stratofortress c/n 16867/16877
Engines: Eight Pratt & Whitney J57-P-1W, -1WA, or -1WB turbojets, each rated at 11,400 lb.s.t with water injection. Later, Eight Pratt & Whitney J57-P-29W or -29WA turbojets, each rated at 10,500 lb.s.t dry and 12,100 lb.s.t. with water injection. Last five were fitted with eight Pratt & Whitney J57-P-19W turbojets, each rated at 10,500 lb.s.t dry and 12,100 lb.s.t. with water injection. Performance: Maximum speed 630 mph at 19,800 feet, 598 mph at 35,000 feet, 571 mph at 45,750 feet. Cruising speed 523 mph Service ceiling at combat weight 47,300 feet. Initial climb rate 4750 feet per minute. Combat radius 3590 miles with 10,000 pound bombload. Ferry range 7343 miles. Takeoff ground run 8200 feet. Takeoff over a 50-foot obstacle 10,500 feet. Dimensions: Length 156 feet 6.9 inches, wingspan 185 feet 0 inches, height 48 feet 3.6 inches, wing area 4000 square feet. Weights: 164,081 pounds empty, 272,000 pounds combat, 420,000 pounds maximum takeoff. Armament: Two 20-mm M24A1 cannon with 400 rpg or four 0.50-inch M3 machine guns with 600 rpg in tail turret. Maximum offensive payload 43,000 pounds.
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