Sixty-five years after its maiden flight the B-52 still plays a crucial role over the battlefield. Martin Scharenborg and Ramon Wenink visited the 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base to fly with the mighty ‘BUFF’.
307TH BOMB WING
The flagship of the 307th Operations Group high over Louisiana on its way to Lancer Range in Texas. The 307th BW currently flies around 20 B-52Hs assigned to the 93rd BS, 343rd BS and the B-52 FTU at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana.
IT’S A hot and sticky morning at Barksdale AFB, east of Shreveport in Louisiana. Base personnel slowly arrive at the main gate just before sunrise, while on the apron aircrew and technicians are busy preparing their B-52s for an early-morning mission to the Texas bombing ranges. It could be a scene from the 1960s, but this is 2017. Despite pushing 60 years of age, the ‘BUFF’ is far from obsolete and new upgrades will keep it in service until at least 2040.
