Tag Archives: B-52A

5 August 1954

Aviation, , , , , , , , , ,
The first production B-52A takes off from Boeing Field, 5 August 1954. (Boeing)

5 August 1954: The first production Boeing B-52A Stratofortress, B-52A-1-BO 52-001, made its first flight from Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington.

Boeing B-52A Stratofortress 52-001 rollout, 18 March 1954. (Boeing)

The B-52A differed from the XB-52 and YB-52 in that its cockpit was arranged for side-by-side seating, rather than the B-47-type tandem arrangement of the prototypes. It also had an inflight refueling system allowing it to receive fuel from an airborne KC-97 tanker.

Boeing B-52A Stratofortress 52-001 takes off from Boeing Field, 4 August 1954. (U.S. Air Force 021001-O-9999G-015)

52-001 was used as a service test aircraft along with sister ships 52-002 and 52-003. It was used to test the shorter vertical fin of the B-52G.  It was permanently grounded at Chanute Air Force Base in the early 1960s.

Boeing B-52A-1-BO Stratofortress 52-001 during its first flight, 5 August 1954. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2020, Bryan R. Swopes