The famous B52 has been the bringer of death and destruction since 1955; and some models are still being used by the US Air Force right up to the present time due to its superior performance at high subsonic speeds and its low operating costs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-52_Stratofortress
It was the mainstay of the US Air Force during the Vietnam War, and there is film archive showing a line of these monsters of the air dropping strings of bombs onto war-time targets. Despite many accidents and some design-failures, this aircraft has withstood the test of time and faults have been corrected and individual models modified in order to carry out particular tasks, depending on the requirements at the time.
Over its many years of useful and faithful service, the B52 has set many records for speeds attained in varying circumstances, as well as distances covered without refuelling.
While on our recent Country Town Tour to the Northern Territory we were shown over the B52.
The four rear cannons were remotely controlled by those in the cockpit, who could see the image taken by a camera, as well as the radar signals, on a screen showing the rear.
Today's models have computer-controlled 'smart' air-to-air missiles which are more accurate and have a much greater range.
What was surprising was the rather limiting area of the bomb bay. Although it was a considerably larger than that of the WWII Lancaster, the plane itself is much larger than a Lancaster. In fact, if you calculate the relative sizes and volumes of the two planes, the Lancaster had a proportionally bigger bomb bay in dimension.
The B52 bomb bay is nonetheless an empty space worthy of a good size chicken coop, although it by no means takes up the whole plane. When you stand next to the plane, the tail goes on forever and the cockpit is a long way away. The Beijing Olympic sprinter Gold Medallist Usain Bolt would have a good go at breaking another world record should he run from tip to tail.
Here are some additional facts from the same Wikipedia page for flight enthusiasts: In December 1965, a number of B-52Ds underwent Big Belly modifications to increase bomb capacity for carpet bombing. While the external payload remained at 24× 500 pound (227 kg) or 750 pound (340 kg) bombs, the internal capacity increased from 27 to 84× 500 pound bombs or from 27 to 42× 750 pound bombs.[The Big Belly modification now created enough capacity for a total of 60,000 pounds (27,215 kg) in 108 bombs.
Thus modified, B-52Ds could carry 22,000 pounds (9,980 kg) more than B-52Fs. Replacing B-52Fs, modified B-52Ds entered combat in April 1966 flying from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
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What was of interest was the giant size of such an aircraft compared to its bomb bay dimensions. The B52 is simple huge, its bomb bay size is limiting, yet its punch is significant.
In a strange sort of way it is a picture of Hosea, the Old Testament prophet. Hosea's heart was huge for the love of his wife, yet his wife prostituted herself to other men which limited their relationship. In spite of this he loved and kept her as his wife as a message to the people showing God's heart toward his children.