GAO: Tactical Aircraft: Changing Conditions Drive Need for New F/A-22 Business Case"

Kevin Brooks wrote:

"Guy Alcala" wrote in message
. ..
Buzzer wrote:

On 18 Mar 2004 22:19:52 GMT, (BUFDRVR) wrote:

I don't believe the B-52's were typically down in the weeds during the
sixties, when the force still included a lot of C, D, and F
models--they
were still doing a lot of higher altitude work. Like in Vietnam.

The terrain avoidance radar was not installed until early 1970's
(1973??). This
is not to say you couldn't fly low visually, but I don't believe low
level was
a common practice until the 70s.

Bomb-nav maintainer might disagree with you about when the TA was
installed. (This is just the earliest date I could find..)
http://www.bombnav.org/guestbook.html
"Did infinite T/A alignment long first then 24hrs short method Dec
1962 Carswell AFB TX."

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/bomber/b-52_hist.htm
"Although the new low level requirement would apply to the other SAC
bombers, it would have its greatest impact upon the B-52. To fly the
new attack profile, the B-52C through H models were modified with a
new terrain avoidance radar, an improved radar altimeter, increased
cooling capacity for sustained low altitude operations, modified
equipment mounts, and a general strengthening of the aircraft's
secondary structures. The goal was to permit reliable, all-weather
operation at 500 feet, to avoid detection, and to minimize encounters
with enemy defenses. Low level training for SAC bomber crews began in
the late 1950's, with actual aircraft modification beginning in 1961."

What the man said. BUFDRVR, pull out your copy of Boyne and look up
"Advanced
Capability Radar" in the index. Boyne says the Hs got them first, but
they were
backfit to the D, F and G.

Actually, Guy, the man said the C models also got it.

Boyne doesn't, which was the source I used. He may have missed or forgotten
them, or FAS may be wrong.

FAS as a source is not
infallible, though in this case it remains unclear a sto which models got it
and when they actually got it. If the aircraft did start getting T/A radars
in 1961, it would have taken some time to outfit the remainder of the fleet,
which IIRC was pretty darned big at that time.

Given SAC's priority at the time, I doubt it would take all that long, as our
ICBM force was still mostly Atlas and Titan, and Polaris was just entering
service.

Your list also does not
include the E models, which continued in service until the '69-70 timeframe.

And it should. Brain fart.

Another interesting item is the fact that throughout the sixties a large
number of B-52's retained the silver upper/anti-flash white lower finishes,
which was hardly a very good scheme for a low altitude penetrator. This all
leads me to suspect that the "everything went to low level at the beginning
of the sixties" bit may be another case similar to the old "all the B-29's
stripped their armament per LeMay's orders" story--only partly correct, in
other words.

The low level seems to have started even earlier, perhaps by 1959 which is when
the first BUFF crashed due to structural failure (horizontal stab) while in low
altitude flight. The ACR allowed them to go somewhat lower in worse conditions
in relative safety. Boyne shows the D (presumably with ACR) capable of going
down to 500 feet, the G/H (presumably with EVS) able to go down to 300 ft.

As an aside, RAF Vulcans went over to low-level from mid-63 on, according to the
only source I have handy, Robert Jackson's "V-Bombers," but didn't get their TA
(book says TF, but I'm sceptical) radars until a couple of years later (trials
in 1966, so after that). There were certainly RAF a/c which received the
low-altitude camo before they got the TA radar (I'm looking at pictures of two).

As to repainting the SAC BUFFs, I wonder how critical it was considered, given
their (presumed) night/bad-weather mission and the availability of Hound Dog
(which doesn't seem to have been camo'ed). I suspect repainting was done when
the next scheduled depot overhaul came around, while the radar could be added at
the base itself or during a short depot visit. Painting a BUFF strikes me as a
bit more of an endeavor than painting a fighter, and those usually had to go
through IRAN to get re-painted. I think the Big Belly Ds used in SEA were the
first to get black undersides, with the SIOP dedicated a/c retaining white
undersides but acquiring camo tops. Now you've got me curious as to when the
first camo BUFF appeared. Bob, any idea when you first saw/worked on one?

Guy