7 December 1955

Aviation, , , , , , ,
Boeing B-52D-1-BW Stratofortress 55-0049 is rolled out of Wichita Plant II, 12:40 p.m., 7 December 1955. Three B-47 Stratojets are in the background. (Unattributed)

7 December 1955: At approximately 12:40 p.m., the first Wichita-built Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, B-52D-1-BW 55-0049, (MSN 464001) was rolled out of Plant II.

55-0049 made its first flight 14 May 1956, and was delivered to the Air Force on 26 June of that year.

On 26 September 1958, 55-0049 set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world records for speed.¹

The record-setting Stratofortress was sent The Boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona, 4 October 1978. It was later scrapped.

Boeing B-52D-1-BW Stratofortress 55-0049 (the first Wichita-built B-52) in flight. This is the same type bomber that set two world records 26 September 1958. (U.S. Air Force)

¹ FAI Record File Numbers 8498, 8499 (see This Day in Aviation, 26 September 1958)

© 2022, Bryan R. Swopes

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2 thoughts on “7 December 1955”

  1. I don’t think this is “Plant II”. Boeing plant 2 was in Seattle, and USAF Plant 2 was near Kansas City.

    1. Thank you, Greg. Wichita was Boeing Plant 2 (referred to as “Plant II” in a contemporary newspaper article). Also known as Air Force Plant 17.

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