5 Of The Most Advanced Planes Used In The Vietnam War – SlashGear

The B-52 Stratofortress brought a massively advanced update to the earlier B-29 model, which carried out essential bombing missions during World War 2 (including the nuclear ordnance drops over Hiroshima and Nagasaki). The modern B-52 remains an integral feature of American fighting capability, with around 40% of all ordnance dropped by coalition forces during Operation Desert Storm coming from the Stratofortress platform. 

The aircraft can perform reconnaissance missions and nuclear strike capabilities, alongside a range that’s only limited by the physical performance capabilities of its aircrew. Without in-air refueling, the B-52 offers a combat range of more than 8,800 miles, and refueling can improve upon this range significantly.

The aircraft can carry around 70,000 pounds of ordnance, varying from bombs, to mines, to missiles, depending on the mission specifics. It’s flown by a crew of five, and has remained a heavily combat-oriented aircraft in the nearly 80 years since it first entered service in 1955. In 1996, two B-52Hs were launched from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana to strike targets in Baghdad, completing the longest combat mission distance at the time; 34 hours and 16,000 statute miles. 

In Vietnam, B-52s were integral in the bombing missions launched by American forces. The aircraft was used to destroy targets across Vietnam, as well as in Cambodia and Laos. The B-52 played a central role in Operation Linebacker II in 1972, which ultimately spurred on peace talks with North Vietnamese forces.