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Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum

The Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum (WOR) is located on the former grounds of Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. The museum, which opened in 1994, is housed in the Hangar #1 built in 1939. The museum preserves the history of Lowry AFB's operations from 1938 to 1994 in its collection and research library. Features of the museum's collection include an Alexander Eaglerock biplane built in Englewood and a B-1A Lancer bomber.

Overview

The Wings Museum is open seven days a week and provides services, aircraft collections, a variety of exhibit rooms and cases, hands-on exhibits, and open cockpit demonstrations hosted by trained volunteers and Civil Air Patrol Cadets. Traveling exhibits and loans offer unique perspectives on military aviation. Such an exhibit was the Francis Gary Powers Memorial, which told his story as a U-2 spy pilot and included displays of memorabilia and photographs of the late U.S. Air Force and civilian aviator.

During the summers, the Museum hosts weekly Space Camp events tailored to different age brackets of children. The children experience the basics of the theory of flight, computer flight simulators, hand-built aircraft exercises, and guided tours of aircraft and cockpits. Activities are supervised by trained staff and volunteers at all times.

The Museum hosts multiple annual events, such as a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber Fly-in and rides at the local general aviation Centennial Airport. The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) provides the B-17, senior pilots and crew, a traveling gift store, and paid flights with reservations.

Other events include the Annual Gala, a formal affair for fund-raising; silent auctions; and visits by nationally-renowned aviators as Burt Rutan and Gen. Chuck Yeager. Annual events are also held for the local Lowry community, Buckley AFB, Colorado National Guard and on Veterans Day and other holidays.

The Wings Museum also provides over of special event space for formal gatherings, Presidential engagements, antique shows, arts and crafts expos, company parties, educational programs, local sporting venues, concerts, and military ceremonies.

The Museum holds joint events with the Colorado Aviation Historical Society and shares aircraft restoration techniques with other Colorado aviation museums. See the list of museums in the Wikipedia Articles and External Links Sections.

Aircraft collections

The museum holds over three dozen aircraft in its collection.

Military

Previously exhibited

Civilian

Exhibits and displays

Education and services

  • Adventures of Flight educational program for kids of all ages.
  • Summer Space Camp program for kids, including space sciences.
  • The Technical Aircraft Modeling Services (TAMS) featuring the Kirkham-Anderson Collection of Modeling magazines, drawings, publications, and books.
  • The Technical Research Library Services.

Aircraft gallery

Detailed aircraft history

B-52B Stratofortress s/n 52-005 (previously RB-52B) 

 Source: Museum files, USAF History Office Maxwell AFB, Joe Baugher's Website

The B-52B was the first truly operational version of the venerable Stratofortresses. The RB-52B was nearly visibly identical to the B-52A, but the primary mission was to be an enhanced reconnaissance aircraft with a new bombing/navigation system. A few odd-shape panels and sensors protruded from the rear section as it sloped upward to the tail. A total of 50 were built, with 23 being pure bomber B-52Bs and 27 being dual-capable reconnaissance/bomber RB-52Bs.

Wings Museum’s B-52B, 52-005, was from the February 1951 contract, as an RB-52B. While at Castle AFB, 005's nickname was know as "Balls 5", went through the conversion to a full bomber. It arrived at Lowry AFB in 1966, as a B-52B, to be assigned to Lowry Technical Training Center as a weapons trainer (GB-52B) and was featured in an air show that summer, before Lowry’s runways were permanently closed that year. Lowry was the premier training site for B-52 ordnance loading and unloading. For 11 years prior, it flew training and live nuclear flights during the Cold War.

Similar to its ‘little brother’ bomber, the medium range B-47 Stratojet, downward-firing ejection seats were provided for the bombardier and navigator, in the case of an in-flight emergency. General LeMay insisted that the tandem seats, again similar to the B-47, as demonstrated in the XB-52, was NOT to be the design and the side by side seating arrangement prevailed. The engines of the B/RB versions were turbojets, J-57s, with water injection, the same engines that had powered the B-52A, and also the F-100C,Ds and the F-102A. Great improvements in engine design and increase in thrust occurred in later versions.

The first B-52B took off on its maiden flight in December 1954. The “Strat” had a complex bombing/navigation system, which combined an optical bombsight, a radar presentation of target, and an automatic computer, together with radar modifications designed for use in a high-speed aircraft. The bomber included a fire control system for the tail-mounted defensive armament. This B-52B used an A-3A fire control system, which operated a quartet of 0.50-inch machine guns. The last B-52B was delivered in August 1956.

The first change of Balls-5 was in September 1955, when it was converted from the RB to the B, at Edwards AFB. Improvement programs known as Sunflower brought 7 early B-52Bs up to B-52C standards. New Cs and later versions had the Big Belly Modifications. B-52Bs also went through many other modifications in subsequent programs such as Harvest Moon, Blue Band, and Quickclip, which were initially intended for the benefit of subsequent B-52 models. Cold War and training flights with nuclear status were continued.

Historical Dates

  • March 3, 1955 -- RB-52B S/N 52-005 Boeing Co. Seattle, Washington delivered to USAF
  • Mar 1955 -- To 6515th Maintenance Group (Air Research and Development Command), Edwards AFB, California
  • Sep 1955 -- Modified to B-52B configuration
  • Oct 1955 -- To 93d Bombardment Wing (Strategic Air Command) 330th Bomb Squadron, Castle AFB, CA
  • Feb 1966 -- To Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona for storage
  • Jun 1966 -- To 3415th Maintenance & Supply Group, (Air Training Command), Lowry AFB, Denver, Colorado
  • Oct 1975 -- To Lowry Technical Training Center (LTTC), Lowry AFB, Denver, CO, modified to GB-52B as weapons trainer
  • Apr 1982 -- Dropped from inventory, remained at LTTC
  • Circa 1984 -- Loaned to Lowry AFB Heritage Museum, Lowry AFB
  • Dec 1994 -- Loaned to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, Lowry Campus, Denver, CO (museum name change).

Factoids

In June 1959, the sister ship of our Double 0-5, serial number 52-008, "Balls 8", was transferred to NASA, where it served alongside the NB-52A, 52-003, as a mother ship for the X-15 rocket plane and with the Lifting Body project (early research for the Shuttle Program). It was credited with 140 of the 199 X-15 flights. It was still active with NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards AFB up until retirement in November 2004, where 003 retired in the 90s. 008 retired as the gate guard at the entrance to Edwards AFB and 003 retired to Pima Air Museum, Tucson, Arizona.

Specifications of Boeing B-52B/RB-52B Stratofortress

Manufacturer/Model:

  • Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington
  • Model 464-67

Engines:

  • Eight Pratt & Whitney J57-P-1W, -1WA, or -1WB turbojets, each rated at 11,400 lb.s.t with water injection
  • Later, -29W/-29WA turbojets rated at 12,100 lb.s.t. (static thrust)

Performance:

  • Maximum speed at 19,800 feet, at 35,000 feet, at 45,750 feet
  • Cruising speed Service ceiling at combat weight 47,300 feet
  • Initial climb rate 4750 feet per minute
  • Combat radius with 10,000 pound bomb-load
  • Ferry range
  • Takeoff ground run ranges from 8200 feet to 10,500 feet

Dimensions:

  • Length 156 feet 6.9 inches
  • Wingspan 185 feet 0 inches
  • Height 48 feet 3.6 inches
  • Wing area

Weights:

  • 164,081 pounds empty
  • 272,000 pounds combat
  • 420,000 pounds maximum takeoff

Armament:

  • Two 20 mm M24A1 cannon with 400 rpg or four 0.50-inch M3 machine guns with 600 rpg in tail turret
  • Maximum offensive payload 43,000 pounds (internal and external) with two bomb bays

External Stores:

  • 2 inboard wing hard points for bombs, guided cruise-like nuclear bombs, or guided missiles
  • 2 outboard wing fuel tanks

Avionics:

  • Offensive radar navigation and bombing system
  • Defensive radar warning and fire control system for cannons and electronic countermeasures
  • Reconnaissance system of cameras, and wide range radio listening and recording equipment.

References

External links

See also

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Last updated on Friday September 12, 2008 at 23:37:45 PDT (GMT -0700)
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