Warbird Information Exchange

Landing parachute hatch...I think.

I used to sit on the west side of Carswell AFB and watch the BUFFs fly. Always loved seeing them nose low climb out (center of gravity ahead of center of lift...I think.

"B-52 flies unlike other aircraft. It takes off nose-low or level, a consequence of the tandem arrangement of its landing gear. This looks strange to most people, who are used to seeing aircraft take off nose-high. Since this requires a high wing incidence angle, the B-52 flies nose-down in cruise."

regards,

t~

The open hatch on the H model of the BUFF is the drag chute. We held off using the drag chute unless it was needed due to the runway RCR, weights, etc, as it saved the maintenance troops a lot of work. If the chute has been deployed, then the hatch stays open until it a freshly packed chute is put back in. Regarding the nose low attitute of the aircraft: If I recall, a "perfect" landing in the BUFF was when the rear mains touched while the front mains were about 6 inches off of the runway. Catching the front mains first resulted in a pretty good bouncing action. The aircraft has a crosswind crab landing gear, meaning you set the angle of the main gear in relation to your forward direction depending on the crosswind component. The aircraft is landed in a crab direction, no wing low technique, as the wing tips would hit. By the way, in the G model, the wings flexed from full down to full up about 18 feet. On a heavy weight aircraft, we would taxi out with both tip gears on the taxiway. When we came back, many, many hours later, the tip gear would be about 14 feet up in the air, so high you could not touch the bottom of them. Just a small imbalance of fuel in the wings would cause one wing to ride low and one to ride high on taxi-in, fairly embarrassing to the co-pilot, as it was his job to run the fuel panel. We had no flight engineer.

The basic gun system on the D and the G is the same, with the addition of optics for the D gunner. He could use visual aids to acquire targets pretty well. Both the D and G jettisoned the spent ammo casings, which could be tracked on our own search radar as they fell out of the aircraft. The H stored its spent casings. By the way, you can see how the tail of the G has been extended about 6 or 10 feet. This was to add ECM capabilities, but caused some jamming problems for the gunners as it also extended the flex ammo feed chutes. Or so we were told.

The tracking radar for the guns is under the radar on the turret itself, and the top radome on the G holds the search radar. The clamshells for the turret were quick released, Dzus fasteners.

Somone had commented on how the KC-135A was louder than the B-52Gs due to water injection. The G also used water injection, about 1,200 gallons, and used the same basic engine as the Strato-Bladder, Pratt & Whitney J-57s, straight turbojets. The tankers were louder because they lacked the sonic supressors in the exhaust portion of the engines we had on the BUFF. I have no idea why the tankers did not have these, but they were definitely louder with four engines than the BUFF's eight, in my opinion. The H uses the TF-33, military version of the JT-3D, turbofan, no water.

Craig

Heh heh. No doubt the As were louder than the J-57 x8 BUFs. Something I guess we'll never see again is the site of a BLACK sky after a full Tanker and BUF MITO (all water injected takeoffs, as you mention). I've got a video somebody else shot that I really need to have transferred to DVD which shows a memorable MITO off Barksdale's Runway 33 ... a B-52 purt near loses it (and I ain't kidding) - he slips and slides at low level like he's a Cessna caught up in all that jet wash. I showed it to some 8AF Stan/Eval folks and they whooped and hollered when they saw it. I'm quite sure that happened all the time (you may have even 'ridden' a wave or two), but rarely on film.

Wade

PS: Yes, the Hs glide by now with hardly a whisper during transitions. The only time they seem loud from the ground is when directly overhead and on takeoff - but even then it ain't nuthin' compared to the old loud and proud J-57 with water! Visiting relatives to our house were always amazed -

"GEEZUSKRIST! DID YOU HEAR THAT?"

"Hear what?"

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somebody farted!!

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!