XB-52 prototype on flight line ( X-4 in foreground; B-36 behind). Note original tandem-seat " bubble " style canopy, similar to Boeing's earlier B-47 Stratojet .
Side view of YB-52 bomber, still fitted with a tandem cockpit, in common with other jet bombers in US service, such as the B-45 Tornado , B-47 Stratojet and Martin B-57 Canberra
B-52H Stratofortress undergoing maintenance to its rudder with its fin folded
First flight of the B-52 Stratofortress on 15 April 1952
B-29 Superfortress Doc , B-17 Flying Fortress Thunderbird , and a B-52 Stratofortress flying in formation at the 2017 Barksdale Air Force Base Airshow
B-52H (AF Ser. No. 61-23), configured at the time as a testbed to investigate structural failures, still flying after its vertical stabilizer sheared off in severe turbulence on 10 January 1964. The aircraft landed safely. [ 102 ]
A view of the lower deck of the B-52, dubbed the battle station
A B-52D with anti-flash white on the underside.
B-52H bomb bay: AGM-69 SRAM missiles (front, white) and B28 nuclear bombs (background, gray), as a downloading takes place during Exercise GLOBAL SHIELD '84.
Members of the Global Strike Challenge nuclear/conventional load crew team lift a GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition into position during a dry run leading up to the 2012 Air Force Global Strike Command Challenge on Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, Aug. 20, 2012.
USAF B-52H Stratofortress TF33 turbofan engines
Three B-52Bs of the 93rd Bomb Wing prepare to depart March Air Force Base for Castle Air Force Base, California, after their record-setting round-the-world flight in 1957.
Soviet specialists inspect the wreckage of the B-52 Stratofortress shot down near Hanoi on 23 December 1972
B-52F dropping bombs on Vietnam
Tail armament of a B-52D, the model used on both occasions that a B-52 scored an aerial victory. In later models, the tail gunner was moved from the conventional position to the forward crew compartment before being removed altogether.
B-52H modified to carry two Lockheed D-21 B drones
Retired B-52s are stored at the 309th AMARG (formerly AMARC), a desert storage facility often called the "Boneyard" at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base , near Tucson , Arizona. [ 199 ]
A B-52H of the 2nd Bomb Wing takes off from Andersen Air Force Base , Guam .
B-52 Crew Chief SSgt Figueroa stenciling completed bombing sorties on B-52H (61–0010) during Operation Inherent Resolve , in part of the Military intervention against ISIL at Al Udeid Air Base , in Qatar
B-52H "Ghost Rider" leaving the "bone yard"
B-52 "Wise Guy" leaving the "bone yard"
B-52H Stratofortress with AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles during the 2026 Iran war , March 4, 2026
NASA's NB-52B Balls 8 (lower) and its replacement B-52H on the flight line at Edwards Air Force Base in 2004
B-52D dropping 500-lb bombs
Boeing NB-52E during the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory-Boeing Control Configured Vehicles program 061128-F-1234S-001
B-52G on static display at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton , Virginia
A static B-52G that resides at Griffiss International Airport (formerly Griffiss Air Force Base). Also pictured is an AGM-86 ALCM cruise missile.
A Boeing B-52H Stratofortress in flight over the Persian Gulf
Dryden NB-52B launch aircraft
Boeing NB-52B "Balls 8" at Dryden Flight Research Center
One of the two MK 39 nuclear bombs involved in the 1961 Goldsboro crash after soft landing with parachute deployed. The weapon was recovered intact after three of the four stages of the arming sequence were completed.
The thermonuclear bomb that fell into the sea recovered off Palomares, Almería , 1966
B-52H profile, circa 1987
Boeing B-52H static display with weapons, Barksdale Air Force Base 2006. A second B-52H can be seen in flight in the background.
A B-52H Stratofortress and munitions are displayed in front of the Base Operations building at Minot Air Force Base
![B-52H (AF Ser. No. 61-23), configured at the time as a testbed to investigate structural failures, still flying after its vertical stabilizer sheared off in severe turbulence on 10 January 1964. The aircraft landed safely. [ 102 ]](https://cdn-gta-images.antwen.cn/earth-online/commons/8/8d/Boeing_B-52_with_no_vertical_stabilizer.jpg)
![Retired B-52s are stored at the 309th AMARG (formerly AMARC), a desert storage facility often called the "Boneyard" at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base , near Tucson , Arizona. [ 199 ]](https://cdn-gta-images.antwen.cn/earth-online/commons/c/c1/B52sdestroyed.jpg)
