Operation Chrome Dome was a United States Air Force Cold War-era mission from 1961 to 1968 in which B-52 strategic bomber aircraft armed with thermonuclear weapons remained on continuous airborne alert, flying routes that put them in positions to attack targets in the Soviet Union if they were ordered to do so.

Apr 24, 2013 · Two Broken Arrow incidents involved the B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber fleet. Back in 1955, when it entered the operational service with the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC), the...

On 21 January 1968, an aircraft accident, sometimes known as the Thule affair or Thule accident (/ ˈ t uː l i /; Danish: Thuleulykken), involving a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52 bomber occurred near Thule Air Base in the Danish territory of Greenland.

Built to carry nuclear weapons for Cold War –era deterrence missions, the B-52 Stratofortress replaced the Convair B-36 Peacemaker.

Mar 26, 2023 · A 1960 Strategic Air Command training video familiarized B-52 crews with the devastating effects of nuclear weapons and how to navigate through a nuclear battlefield.

Oct 20, 2017 · On January 7, 1971 a fireball erupted over the Little Traverse Bay caused by the crash of a Boeing B-52 Model C. Along with the fireball, a sonic boom carried the remembrance of “Hiram 16”, the call sign for the nine member flight crew that died in the tragic event.

Aug 23, 2024 · Broken Arrows, such as the 1959 Hardinsburg B-52 crash, represent nuclear incidents without starting wars. Cleanup efforts after 1966 Palomares and 1968 Thule Air Base accidents ensured minimal radioactive material contamination.

Oct 3, 2019 · First flying in 1952, the B-52 Stratofortress formed the backbone of the US Strategic Air Command for much of the Cold War.

In October 1957, the Air Force implemented an "alert" strategy for the B-52 force. A third of the force, including both bombers and their supporting Boeing KC-135 tankers, was to be always available for takeoff on a live nuclear attack mission within 15 minutes.

In the opening days of the Gulf War in January 1991, seven B-52s conducted the longest strike mission in history to date: a 35-hour, nonstop flight totaling 14,000 miles. During the war, the B-52 was used to attack ground forces as it had in the Vietnam War.