Sunday, February 28, 2010

February 2010 Enjoy your day by visiting the Lone Star Flight Museum at Scholes Field on Galveston Island Texas - Roland Dressler











To have fun... I visit the Lone Star Flight Museum next to Moody Gardens
at Scholes Field on Galveston Island
They are open every day 9:00AM to 5:00PM
In the parking lot you can see a North American F-100 Super Sabre
It survived IKE
Still standing on static display
This type aircraft was a jet fighter that served with the USAF from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979.

F-100 Super Sabre military supersonic jet fighters have an empty weight of 20,638 lbs and a max weight of 38,048 lbs.
Super Sabre Fighters used one Pratt & Whitney J57-P-21A producing 11,700 lbs of thrust
It's afterburner it produced 17,000 lbs of thrust.

F-100 Fighters had a cruise speed of 587 mph and a max speed of 877 mph making it a supersonic military jet fighter.
It's maximum climb rate was 19,000 feet per minute
Designed to replace the F-86, the F-100 was first flown on May 25th, 1953.
Easily recognizable by its oblong nose inlet the F-100 was the USAF's first operational aircraft capable of flying faster than the speed of sound.
Variants featured advances like in-flight refueling, extra fuel drop tanks, improvements in aerodynamics, weapons delivery, electronic bombing, and nuclear weapons capability.
As a fighter-bomber, armament consisted of four 20-mm cannons and up to 6000 pounds of external ordnances such as bombs and rocket pods.
Often referred to as "the Hun", for "one hundred"
The Super Sabre made its combat debut in Vietnam where it attacked targets such as bridges, river barges, and road junctions.
A few more notes: Fighter - Bomber with nuclear bomb capability
F-100C was considered an excellent platform for nuclear toss bombing because of its high top speed. .. delivering ordnance and munitions with a 99.5% reliability rate
The C-model was a "step up" in most respects, incorporating the ground attack feature to make it a true fighter-bomber - in effect, a multi-role performer to an extent.
Armament could now go beyond the standard cannon armament and a few bombs - nuclear munitions and High Velocity Aircraft Rockets (HVAR) could now be carried in addition to external fuel tanks if needed.
The AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-ground missile was added to the mix.
A 335-gallon fuel tank was introduced.
The Pratt & Whitney J57-P-7 was also improved with more power output.The F-100D became the definitive Super Sabre, produced in no fewer than 1,274 examples.
Instead of it being a conversion fighter-bomber model, the D-model was designed from the outset as a dedicated fighter-bomber platform.
Key features included in-flight refueling, ECM (Electronic Counter Measures) equipment, larger wing and tail surfaces, an autopilot system and a "buddy" refueling system - allowing one F-100 to refuel another.
Additional flaps became standard in this model to accommodate for the longer landing distances inherent in this heavier aircraft.
A 450-gallon external fuel tank option was also introduced. Like the C-model before it, the D-model could sport the AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-surface missile.
The F-100F followed the D-model. This particular model was introduced as a two-seat trainer in the hopes of curtailing the appalling accident rates encountered with the F-100.
As a pioneer of Mach 1 flight, it was without question that the aircraft would see a few bumps in the road.
The F-100F was developed from a single-seat F-100C model known as the TF-100C and 339 F-models were delivered to the USAF.
The prototype trainer first flew in July of 1957.
Unfortunately, the trainer did little in the way to bring the accident numbers down to acceptable status.
These F-100F models took on the designation of TF-100.
The F-100 would, however, find itself a home in the "Wild Weasel" role - and anti-radar version of the Super Sabre that utilized the two-pilot configuration to good effect.
Despite its origins in the C-model, the F-model was more akin to the D-model, retaining its new wing design and, thus, its external munitions capability.
USAF F-100F "Wild Weasels" proved effective in the Vietnam War and were distinguished from their two-seat trainers by the appearance of angled antennas protruding from the underside of the nose intake and the trailing edge of the vertical tail fin.
The QF-100 was the designation used for target drones represented by the F-100 series.
As can be assumed, distinct designations per model type are noted as such - the QF-100D represents the F-100D in target drone form, etc...The RF-100A "Slick Chick" represented six F-100A conversion models in tactical reconnaissance forms.
These aircraft saw their M39 cannon systems and ammunition stores removed in favor of five reconnaissance scanning cameras.
Additionally, the aircraft was fitted with up to four external fuel tanks to get the most out of their operational range.
ArmamentAs standard, all combat Super Sabres carried a battery of 4 x Pontiac M39E automatic cannons.
These cannons were based upon the World War 2-era German Mauser MG213C 30mm cannon but with a higher rate-of-fire in a 20mm form, with projectiles fed from a revolving gas-operated cylinder type arrangement.
The cannons were allocated to a position underneath the cockpit and intake duct work.
The weapons were in a staggered formation, two to a side.
Spent ammunition casings were forcibly ejected away from the aircraft to reduce any damage to the underside.
Between 200 and 275 rounds of ammunition could be carried as needed.
Aiming was assisted by the A4 gyro-computing gun sight in the cockpit.
Weapons varied slightly from model to model.
The C-model, as noted above, introduced true fighter-bomber characteristics, especially with their new six-hardpoint wings.
Despite slight differences between models, all F-100 Super Sabres were cleared to use two missile types - the AIM-9B Sidewinder short-range, air-to-air missile and the AGM-12B Bullpup, an air-to-surface missile.
Later Wild Weasel derivatives were sporting the AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation/anti-radar missile systems.
F-100's could also carry conventional bomb loadouts of varying weights as well as high velocity 5" rockets.
Bomb and rocket aiming was handled by the A4 gun sight as well.
Perhaps most important to the Super Sabre - considering its introduction into a Cold War-dominated world - was the ability for the aircraft to carry and release nuclear-tipped missiles.
Types cleared for use included the B28, B43, B57, B61 an MK7 munitions.
Both the D- and F-models made use of the Low-Altitude Bombing System (LABS).
In essence, this allowed the Super Sabre to "toss" ordnance onto a target.
The F-100 could fly at speed above the trees and then immediately pull up to release its ordnance.
While the aircraft continued on its way, the falling ordnance would follow its gravitational path, or trajectory, towards the target.
Some F-100 Super Sabres were showcased in a "ZEL" (Zero-Length Launch System) program testing the aircraft out with rocket-assisted take-offs.
These aircraft would have been stationed throughout NATO countries across Europe and be a first-response element against the impending Soviet invasion.
As airborne Soviet nuclear missiles represented NATO air forces with a limited window to which launch their aircraft, the program was deemed a requirement though it never fully materialized for one reason or another.
Vietnam War...by war's end, 242 F-100 Super Sabres had been lost in Vietnam, as the F-100 was progressively replaced by the F-4 Phantom II and the F-105 Thunderchief.
The Hun had logged 360,283 combat sorties during the war and its wartime operations came to end on 31 July 1971.
Go visit the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston , Texas!
You'll have a good time & take lots of pictures!!!
Roland Dressler

Post Holiday December going into January 2010 - Roland Dressler














I shot these between Christmas '09 and New Years '10
Worked all through the Holidays
Only 40 Hours a week
3 twelve hour days and a four hour day.
12's were a little rough
By the time you reached your four hour day, things were getting a little fuzzy around the edges.
We had great weather - a dry winter with lots of sunshine
I always try to shoot pictures looking towards the sun light
Wearing my Snowman neck tie but not a snowman in sight...not even frost
Things have changed alot in one month
Warmer days, already mowed some grass on my lawn and less stress.
No more 12 hour days with 4 hour day kicked in to keep you on your toes.
Now I do a 14 to 16 hour day working for myself
Better rewards, less stress & a lot more fun!
Most people work 40 hours a week at a job they don't like to buy things they don't need.
To break out of this self-limiting lifestyle you have to take a big gamble
You bet that you can build & sell a better "Mouse Trap"
That you can do it while preserving what is most important in life.
Your health & your relationships
Family..., your Wife and Children need you to be healthy and happy while you "Bring Home the Bacon!"
How to Conquer Stress?
Tension & Tensions of our modern world really take a toll on our health
Be aware of what causes emotional wear and tear ...learn how to minimize it.
"That really makes my blood boil"
"She ( or He ) is really a pain in the neck"
These thoughts are your built in "Friend or Foe" identifiers
Stress is your enemy...it's gonna get you if you don't minimize it quickly
Recognitions of the cause and effect connections between between emotions and physical reactions.
"My stomach is tied up in knots,"
"Blood boiling"
"Pain in the neck"
"Stomach spasms & cramps"
These are prompted by accelerated heart beat and rise in blood pressure.
All are symptoms of the same thing...Stress
Prolonged nervous tension or pressure or emotional upset?
Will produce stress
Medically and biologically , stress is a state in which a chain of glandular and hormonal reactions take place to help the body adapt to its physical and emotional environment.
Not all of these are necessarily destructive
They make it possible for you to accomplish difficult tasks, withstand physical and emotional shock, cope with trying situations, combat disease, heal damaged body tissue, they enable you to perform a superhuman feat in a crisis or to do something simple as adjust to extreme changes in weather.
But when these adjustment demands on the body are extreme or continual , the body's adaptive mechanisms may break down and you can become ill - even die.
Emotions can cause physical symptoms
Doctors and Medical Researchers investigating hormones and body chemistry have begun to understand how destructive stress can be.
An alarming list of illnesses can be directly or indirectly traced to Stress.
Colitis
Asthma
Heart Disease
Ulcers
Gout
High Blood Pressure
Headaches
Rashes
Constipation
Infections
Muscle spasms


Pyramid @ Moody Gardens on Galveston Island Texas Gulf Coast - Roland Dressler





A couple weeks ago I was out early running errands.
The morning light was perfect for taking pictures.
I took these before my coffee...still waking up.
Looking towards the sun while shooting with one hand.
Roland Dressler


Saturday, February 27, 2010

Full Moon over Cemetary @ 43rd Street & Broadway in Galveston Texas 27 Feb 10 Unexpected Lunar Event at The Sleeping Place - Roland Dressler








































































Driving into Galveston saturday night.
Crossed over causeway & saw the full moon.
For some reason I had not noticed the Moon was getting full until tonight.
Had my camera with me & stopped next to Broadway Cemetary to shoot pictures of the Moon.
I always wanted to explore this old cemetary
But was always doing something like going to work or working on my house.
Drove past this place a million times without stopping
Late night...early morning...middle of the day, didn't stop until tonight.
My old Hewlett Packard Digital Camera from the 1990's still works great!
Eats up four AA Batteries mighty quick
Heavy as a brick
Takes great pics
"Click!"
Not really... the ancient HP C-30 makes a "Beep"
Roland Dressler







Friday, February 26, 2010

Vintage 1959 HO Scale Model Kit Steam Locomotive General Civil War era Train Railroad for sale from the Roland Dressler Collection Galveston Texas


















Vintage 1950's Model Train Kit


Made in 1959


Rosebud Kitmaster










Vintage 1959 Rosebud Kitmaster HO Scale Steam Locomotive Model Kit Train Railroad Authentic Collectible Americana Hobby


You can email me at rolanddressler@gmail.com


No Export outside U.S.A. No International Sales at this time.


Free Shipping in U.S.A.Price: $9.99


Partialy assembled plastic Model kit in open box


( missing one of the 4 big drive wheels )


Written in blue ink on box is : To Ricky with Love from "Aunty C"


This model kit was produced in 1959


ROSEBUD Kitmaster Plastic Scale Models Kit # 3


Made in England


Authentic Model with Moving Parts


Can be used on OO & HO Gauge Tracks


EARLY AMERICAN GENERAL


Rosebud Kitmaster kits of predominately British and European prototypes were, and still are, esteemed by countless model railroaders.


Kitmaster was the model railroad line of Rosebud Dolls Ltd, of England’s Nene Plastics.


In 1959 they released their first dozen Kitmaster models.


All but one was OO scale (1/76), the standard scale in England.


All were locomotives, representing nine British types, and one American, Italian, and Swiss engine.


These spanned locomotive development from the first 'modern' locomotive, Stephenson's Rocket of 1829, to the modern “Deltic” diesel-electric then under development in England.


Nine were steam locos, two were diesels, and an electric Swiss engine.


Kitmaster's box art was quite stunning.


Well-rendered subjects caught the eye with colorful dynamic depictions of the trains in action.


Colorful brochures in each box advertised the other models available.


Another color pamphlet showed Humbrol railroad paints.


Over the next three years Kitmaster was very busy.


Twenty-two kits of locomotives and passenger cars were engineered and issued.

Though most were OO scale, the "Royal Scot" series was another departure from continuity, prepared in TT scale.


Even this was a double departure from continuity as TT is 1/120 scale (2.5mm/ scale foot) almost everywhere in the world except the UK.


There it is actually TT3, or 3mm/scale foot, 1:101 scale! “Kitmaster came late to the conclusion that non-British prototypes should be in 3.5mm (HO scale, 1/87) rather than 4.0mm (OO scale), but they did concede this with their final locomotive release – the New York Central Hudson.


Their earlier mistaken idea had been that “collectors” would want to build a complete collection of models all to a constant scale of 4mm to the foot.


Of course, the “Collectors” were far out-numbered by the modelers who wanted their Continental prototypes modeled in the universally-accepted HO scale.


Whilst the first Kitmaster US loco was indeed HO (The General) this was only because Rosebud had shamelessly ripped off an existing kit by US-based Advanced Molding Corporation in their 1957 Trailblazers series.


After that, they returned to a “constant scale” of 1/76th.


Ironically, it was Airfix Products Ltd who pioneered “Constant Scale” with their 1/72nd scale aircraft line.


In trying to adopt the techniques of their main competitor, Rosebud sowed the seeds of their own destruction – the OO continental kits failed to sell, clogged the warehouse and never recovered their tooling costs, ultimately contributing to the financial meltdown that demanded a sell off to – none other than Messrs. Airfix!


Rosebud Kitmaster Ltd. was liquidated during 1962, and Airfix bought up the remains of the company.”*


Tragically, most of the Kitmaster plans, blueprints, original artwork, archives and marketing material were trashed--literally.


Some was rescued by employees.


Artifacts have been preserved in a museum, and by Kitmaster enthusiasts.


I collect & build 1/72 scale model airplane Kits


Wanted plastic model Airplane kits


Any Scale


Unbuilt


Open box kits O.K.


Please contact Roland Dressler




Cell: 409.750.3688


Any Scale



Tuesday, February 23, 2010

eBay auction # 170450652034 HINDENBURG ZEPPELIN 1/720 MODEL KIT REVELL OLYMPIA Model Kit #04802 German Blimp Airship Roland Dressler







It's the Hindenburg in 1/720 scale
I collect and build 1/72 scale model airplane kits
This model kit is for sale on eBay.com
ebay auction # 170450652034
Started 2-23-10
LUFTSCHIFF LZ 129 HINDENBURG

1/720 SCALE

Revell Kit # 04802

Skill Level 3

Ages 10 years old to Adult

c.1995 Revell Monogram

Made in Korea

Printed in Germany

An unassembled plastic model kit

Length: 35.2 cm

Model details:Very finely detailed external skin

Separate rudder

Exact reproduction of the control gondola

Display stand

Four finely detailed engine gondolas

Mooringmast

Colorful decals for the Olympia version of the LZ129

Photo #1 is of Kit in box

Photo #2 is what kit looks like after you build it
I collect & build 1/72 scale model Airplane kits
Wanted: Plastic Model Airplane Kits
Any scale
Unbuilt
Open box kits O.K.
Please contact Roland Dressler
Cell: 409.750.3688

USAF BOEING B-52G Stratofortress 1/144 Harpoon Missiles eBay Auction # 17045665098 Maritime Patrol Attack Bomber Revell Kit # 4583 Roland Dressler






















One of my favorite Bomber's ...the B-52G in 1/144 scale
I collect 1/72 scale model airplane kits
USAF BOEING B-52 STRATOFORTRESS
1/144 HARPOON MISSILES
eBay Auction # 170450665098
Photo #1 is of unassembled kit in factory sealed Box

Photo #2 is of view showing Harpoon Missiles after you assemble kit

This is the underside of the mighty BUFF.
Not a lot to see here, except for the landing gear bays and a better view of the plane's heavy anti-ship armament

This model kit is still in factory sealed box

B-52G STRATOFORTRESS

1/144 Scale

Revell Kit # 4583

copyright 1990

Made in Korea

( This kit was released in 1990, before the BUFF returned to war in the Gulf a year later. )

( As a result, it is armed for maritime patrol/attack with twelve AGM-84 Harpoon missiles )

An unassembled plastic model kit

Length: 13 1/4 inches long ( 33.7 cm )

Detail Features:

Continuously upgraded B-52G remains a sophisticated multipurpose weapons system in the U.S. aresenal.

Latest ECM and SATCOM fairings

Equipped with Harpoon anti-ship Missiles

( Armed for maritime patrol/attack with twelve AGM-84 Harpoon missiles. )

Four twin engine jet pods

( Four double P&W J57-P-43WB engine pods with the compressor faces and exhaust nozzles well defined )

Detailed landing gear

Molded in dark green & clear plastic

( It has good surface detail and the proportions are excellent )

Decals for two SAC versions
USAF-76490, an aircraft based at Rome New York's Griffiss AFB, similar to a machine that visited the London International Airshow in 1991
There are not too may military aircraft where one can have a grandfather and grandson flying the same type in active service, but the B-52 (along with the KC-135 and C-130) is one of those few that can have that claim to fame.
Sure, the early B-52s are gone to the scrap yard and those still in service are the 'new' planes
(built in 1961-2),
but even then we are talking about 40 year old airframes.
To make things even more amazing, they are scheduled to be around during their 50th year!
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress or "How I learned To Love The Bomber": the airplanes that wouldn't die
The two decades beginning in the late-1930s saw the rise and fall of the manned bomber as the strategic weapon of choice.
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, and Boeing B-29 Superfortress significantly influenced the outcome of World War II.
Initiated in 1941, the Convair B-36 program resulted in arguably the first true intercontinental aircraft.
That bomber, which made its maiden flight in 1946, was, perhaps, the ultimate development of a piston-engine airplane, but at the beginning of the jet age, it was intolerably slow.
The Strategic Air Command (SAC) considered the B-36 an interim bomber pending the delivery of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, which began entering the operational force in 1955.
However, despite being 50-percent faster than the B-36, the B-52 was still not fast enough for General Curtis E. LeMay, commander of SAC. In LeMay's mind, the BUFF was just the second interim bomber.

The Air Force continued to investigate faster concepts, and the Convair B-58 Hustler became the first supersonic bomber.
Magnificent as it was, the B-58 was at best a medium bomber--like the Boeing B-47 Stratojet--and lacked true intercontinental range.
Because of the complexity of a machine designed to fly at sustained speeds of Mach 2, the Hustler was also a maintenance nightmare, and its tenure was very short.
What LeMay really wanted was an aircraft with all the capabilities of the B-36 or B-52 combined with the speed of the B-58.
A wide variety of alternatives were studied, including aircraft using exotic boron-based fuels (WS-110A) and atomic-power (WS-125A), but none seemed feasible.
In the midst of all of this, the Air Force was investigating even more advanced bombardment concepts, boost-glide vehicles that flew at 10,000-15,000 mph and achieved global range via suborbital flight paths.
These revolutionary concepts, such as the MX-2276 and System 118P (BoMi and Robo), were so futuristic that the Air Force could not ignore them, and a great deal of time and money would be expended before the ideas were ultimately abandoned.

During the late-1950s, while engineers tried to figure out how to make a heavy bomber fast enough for LeMay, SAC had more immediate needs--replacing the early model BUFFs--and embarked on the development of the 'Improved B-52'
(what became the B-52G/H).
It had become obvious that a Mach 3 bomber would not be available before 1965, so the Air Force expected the Improved B-52 to stay in service until 1970.
As it turned out, they only missed by half a century.
Of course, the Mach 3 bomber did come.
North American engineers applied some engineering voodoo to an exotic stainless-steel honeycomb airframe and created the B-70 Valkyrie.
This incredible delta-wing airplane largely satisfied the requirements for speed and range laid down by LeMay.
However, politics eliminated any hope of a production program and the B-70 dwindled to only two prototypes intended as much to provide data for the American Supersonic Transport Program as to worry the Soviet Union.
In the meantime, however, workable Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) had been developed, and the concept of the manned bomber was declared obsolete, replaced by ICBMs named:
Atlas,
Titan,
and Minuteman.
The B-70 proved it was possible for a half-million-pound airplane to fly at sustained speeds of Mach 3 at 70,000 ft., but by the time it did, nobody really cared.
The B-52, however, soldiered on.

The Mission

The B-52 was designed for a singular purpose--high altitude nuclear strike against the Soviet Union.
Like all American bombers of the era, it had a limited ability to wage conventional war, but this was not a primary design motivation.
Unfortunately, by the time the B-52 was entering service, it was becoming obvious that surface-to-air missiles would soon make high-altitude penetration of enemy airspace difficult, a fear graphically demonstrated on May 1, 1960 when a Lockheed U-2 flown by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over Sverdlovsk.
Since the missiles had denied the stratosphere to the bombers, SAC switched to low-altitude penetration to minimize the chance of being detected by radar.
The problem was that the early model B-52s were not designed to withstand the punishment of high-speed low-level flight, and soon developed structural problems.
This was largely solved by the B-52E, which came from the factory with structural improvements intended to survive the new tactics.
Many of the earlier B-52Ds were then modified to much the same standard.

Other D-models, however, were tasked with fighting a different type of war, one its designers had never foreseen.
Most of the bombers developed after World War II had not seen combat--the B-36, B-45, B-47, and B-50 never dropped a bomb in anger, tacit testimony to their high deterrence value.
For almost a decade, it seemed as if the B-52 might be as lucky.
Unfortunately, by 1965 it was becoming obvious that a heavy bomber was needed in the war-torn skies over Southeast Asia.
Initially, some B-52Fs were used since these airplanes had been modified in early-1964 to carry additional conventional bombs on external wing pylons (resulting in 27 bombs internally and 24 on the wing racks).

However, SAC was not enthusiastic about committing the F-models to a limited conflict since they were structurally capable of the low-level nuclear deterrence mission.
At the time, most of the B-52Ds were not, and they became the primary conventional bomber over Southeast Asia.
A special 'Big Belly' modification increased the capacity of the bomb bay from 27 iron bombs to 84, and a further 24 could be carried on modified wing pylons, much like the F-models.
Oddly, the B-52Gs that would participate later in the conflict did not have either modification, and were limited to carrying 27 bombs in the bomb bay--hardly worth the risk of flights over the most heavily defended airspace on the planet.
These defenses were, in many ways, similar to what would have been encountered during attacks on the Soviet Union--SA-2 surface-to-air missiles and MiG-21 fighter/interceptors.
The defenders and the B-52s each took a toll on the other, and nobody escaped unscathed.

From mid-1965 onward, the B-52 would lead a somewhat schizophrenic existence.
Some airplanes would be optimized for low-level nuclear strike while others would be equipped to drop conventional ordnance.
All airplanes could do either mission, although not with the complete inventory of weapons.
For the next 30 years, the ordnance available to the BUFF continued to become more diverse, and soon encompassed weapons that had not even been dreamed of by its original designers.
First came the GAM-77 (AGM-28) Hound Dog cruise missile on most models, then the stillborn GAM-87 Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile intended as the primary armament of the B-52H.
Smaller AGM-69 short-range attack missiles (SRAM) would allow the G and H-models to take out a dozen or more targets during a single mission, followed by much more sophisticated AGM-86 air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM).
When the ALCM capability was added to 98 B-52Gs, the aircraft received a distinctive leading edge root fairing that allowed them to be identified as "cruise missile carriers" by Soviet satellites as required under the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II).
The H-models did not receive the fairing since it was felt that the TF33 engine nacelles were distinctive enough to allow their identification.
Toward the end of its career, AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles and mines allowed the G-models to perform in a maritime patrol role.

Earlier strategic bombers seldom served for more than a decade before they were retired from active service.
The early-model B-52s fared somewhat better, with the first B-52Cs and Es being retired during 1970 and the F-models following by 1978.
Because of their conventional weapons capability, some D-models remained in service until 1983.
It should be noted that despite the conventional munitions modifications--and ugly green and black camouflage scheme--the D-models were still fully capable of performing nuclear strikes and continued to stand alert until their retirement.
The G-model soldiered on, mostly as cruise-missile carriers and maritime patrol aircraft until the final aircraft was retired in 1994.

By the end of the 20th century, the B-52 should have been a distant memory except in museums.
In fact, by the year 2000, almost 50 years after the type's first flight, a few B-52s had been displayed in museums for more than 30 years, while others were still standing nuclear alert.
Of the 742 airplanes originally built, only 96 H-models remained in service; 15 had been lost in combat, at least 35 were in museums, and the rest had been either lost in accidents or scrapped.
The remaining BUFFs were being transformed to carry a new generation of smart weapons.
The 21st Century
By the mid-1980s, the Air Force was intending to use the B-52G for conventional and maritime missions, with the B-52H performing the nuclear standoff role using cruise missiles.
However, the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) severely restricted the number of cruise-missile capable aircraft on each side, and the B-52Gs were soon retired in strict compliance with the new edict.
Beginning in 1994, the Conventional Enhancement Modification program provided the B-52H with an improved conventional warfare capability that included Harpoon anti-ship missiles and other weapons that had been fitted to the B-52Gs.
Later, the H-models were upgraded with Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation along with a Mil-Std-1760 data bus to prepare for a new generation of weapons such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW), and Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD).
I collect & build 1/72 scale model airplane kits
I buy model airplane kits
Any scale Unbuilt
Open box kits ok
You can contact Roland Dressler
Cell: 409.750.3688
Thank you for reading at my blog

Vintage Schwinn Bicycles 1963 Schwinn Fiesta & Retro Beach Cruiser Bike Woman's Bikes for Sale from Roland Dressler Collection Galveston Texas













































I am selling these old Schwinn Bicycles
The Pink & White 1963 Schwinn Fiesta is $175.
The Black Retro Schwinn Beach Cruiser is $125.
Roland Dressler
Cell 409.750.3688
I collect & build 1/72nd scale Model Airplane Kits
Am buying model airplane kits
Any Scale
Unbuilt
Open Box Kits O.K.