B-52G Stratofortress - Valparaiso, FL
N 30° 27.935 W 086° 33.694
16R E 542086 N 3370458
B-52G 58-0185, "El Lobo II", was first assigned to the 4135th Strategic Wing, Strategic Air Command, Eglin AFB, FL.
Waymark Code: WMH0Q8
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 05/03/2013
Views: 7
B-52G S/N 58-0185, "El Lobo II", was first assigned to the 4135th Strategic Wing, Strategic Air Command, Eglin AFB, September 1959. It was last assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, during which time it flew missions in Desert Storm. The bomber arrived at Eglin on 16 July 1991 and was moved to the museum a month later.
The Boeing B-52 was conceived in early 1946 in response to an Army Air Force request for a large bomber capable of carrying a 10,000-pound bomb load 5,000 miles at 300+ mph (450+ mph top speed). The original Boeing design was powered by six Wright turboprop engines because the jet engine consumed too much fuel to meet the range requirement. Approval for a mockup design was granted by the USAF on Sept. 30, 1947, just 12 days after becoming a separate service. About 13 months later, however, the turboprop design was dropped in favor of one with jet engines. Six months later, in March 1949, the design was modified again with a lengthened fuselage required, partly, to accommodate additional fuel cells and increase the range.
The B-52G was a designed to reduce the overall aircraft weight in an effort to improve performance. The most obvious change was the redesigned tail. About eight feet of the vertical stabilizer was removed and the chord (width) was increased. The wing was extensively modified also. The seal-sealing bladder-type fuel cells were removed and the wing itself was sealed for fuel (wet wing). The tail gunner's position was moved from the tail turret to a remote firing station in the forward crew compartment.
Boeing (Wichita) built all 193 B-52Gs with the first aircraft rolling out of the production plant in the summer of 1958. The G model was capable of carrying two AGM-28 "Hound Dog" missiles like the F model, but it was also equipped to carry the GAM-87 "Skybolt" and later the Air Launched Cruise Missile and the Short Range Attack Missile.
The B-52G was used extensively in the 1991 during Operation Desert Storm before being phased out of operational service in 1994.
Type of Aircraft: (make/model): B-52G Stratofortress
Tail Number: (S/N): 58-0185
Construction:: original aircraft
Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): USAF Armament Museum
inside / outside: outside
Access restrictions:
The plane is one of 25 located outside the USAF Armament Museum just off Eglin AFB. There is no fence around the museum so the outdoor planes are accessible every day.
Other Information:: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)
Tell why you are visiting this waymark along with any other interesting facts or personal experiences about the aircraft not already mentioned.