# B-52 stratofortress: why EIGHT engines? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 8, 2021, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441 "2021-02-08T11:23:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/61 "2021-02-14T02:26:59Z")
Well…looks like the B-52 can potentially fly until the year 2097 if need be. > **[General Electric Wants To Keep America's B-52s In The Air Until 2097 (At Least)](https://jalopnik.com/general-electric-wants-to-keep-americas-b-52s-in-the-ai-1844107214)** > > The B-52 Stratofortress ain’t new. The first one flew nearly seventy years ago in 1952. The last ones were built ten years later. But just because it’s already been around for decades doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a lot more fight left in it. At least... ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/62 "2021-02-14T03:46:59Z")
Captain’s Log, Stardate 43125.8. In preparation for the decommissioning ceremony for the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D, we have the exceptional honor of being escorted by one of the newly re-engined Federation ships…the B-52X. First flown April 15th 1952, the B-52 has been in continuous service, undergoing multiple upgrades during its lifetime. The B-52X is now expected to serve up to stardate 53000.0 and beyond if no suitable replacement is available at that time. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/KCbkjVV.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/eUttod1) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/63 "2021-02-14T04:46:25Z")
**Johnny** , you _totally_ win the thread by several megatons worth. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/64 "2021-02-14T04:48:39Z")
I stole it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/65 "2021-02-14T11:51:20Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > **Johnny** , you _totally_ win the thread by several megatons worth Hear hear. I wish I myself had the answer to the question. So many other planes have been decommissioned. What singles out the B-52H as being potentially airworthy until **135 years** after the last ones were built?! ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/66 "2021-02-14T18:18:48Z")
I explained why several posts up. Looks like Dale Brown’s [Old Dog](https://www.amazon.com/Flight-Old-Dog-Dale-Brown/dp/1441856331) could be a reality… 👍 They are heavily overbuilt compared to AC designed today, and aircraft maintenance essentially tears the plane down and rebuilds it during depot level periodic inspections. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/67 "2021-02-14T20:32:47Z")
I wish there was a better way to give kudos to a great post so: 👍 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/68 "2021-02-15T01:47:06Z")
There are still [at least 172 DC-3s licensed to fly](https://simpleflying.com/dc-3-operation/), and given the number of intact models I’ve seen in museums, there are probably a lot more that could be made flyable without much effort. The last DC3/C-47 came off the assembly line in 1945. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/69 "2021-02-15T02:18:15Z")
The DC3, as I remember, did not have a pressurized cabin (note the square windows in pictures). So it wasn’t subject to the same cyclic stress. Also, IMHO, being new in the shift from timber to metal structure, it was over-engineered. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/70 "2021-02-15T02:25:45Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Also, IMHO, being new in the shift from timber to metal structure, it was over-engineered. The B-52 is also overengineered. That’s why they’re both still flying. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/71 "2021-02-15T02:38:22Z")
As to pressurization, the only part of a B-52H that’s pressurised is the cockpit. So from the windshields after for about 20 feet. The whole rest of the airplane is not. I too am surprised they’ve held up as well as they have. The vertical tails started breaking off the D models back in the mid 1960s, so first the tails were all replaced then later the D-models were all scrapped. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/72 "2021-02-15T07:01:57Z")
Wasn’t there an aft-gunner position? Was that unpressurized? (I really do not know) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/73 "2021-02-15T07:38:32Z")
When I say, “I really do not know” in this context I mean I do not know if the tail gunner position was pressurized. I do know there was a [tail-gunner in the original design.](https://www.google.com/search?q=b+52+tail+gunner&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS868US868&sxsrf=ALeKk00ucWr4us-3bLAVFudvCd7rt9acvA:1613374423009&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiX0v2KsOvuAhWBcc0KHXp6ACgQ_AUoAXoECCcQAw&biw=2560&bih=1329) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/74 "2021-02-15T12:57:14Z")
The early models had a pressurized tail gunner compartment. All those jets have long since been chopped up. The surviving B-52H model has a tail gun. But the gunner sits facing aft right behind the aircraft commander in the cockpit at the front of the jet. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/75 "2021-02-16T01:03:41Z")
They are gone. " General [George Lee Butler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lee_Butler) announced that the gunner position on B-52 crews would be eliminated, and the gun turrets permanently deactivated, commencing on 1 October 1991." Related to a US anti-radiation missile HARM locking onto the radar from the tail gun. [Boeing B-52 Stratofortress - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-52_Stratofortress) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/76 "2021-02-16T01:14:27Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > One of the problems with the Aerospace-industrial complex is that they seem to be incapable of designing a low-tech aircraft. No doubt there’s a few exceptions out there, but it seems that every new Air Force plane has to have all the latest gizmos, bells and whistles. One of the reasons is because modern military aircraft are designed by government committees, and each person wants the plane to have a “special” feature (which will later show up on the person’s resume). So then you end up with a plane that can do everything & anything, resulting in massive cost overruns and delayed schedules (e.g. F-35). And that’s why Skunk Works was so successful… Lockheed kept the government at bay. The government gave Lockheed _general_ specs in the beginning, and then Lockheed came up with the final product. (That’s a gross oversimplification, but you get the idea.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/77 "2021-02-16T19:32:42Z")
Why the difference in square and round windows in a pressurized fusalage? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/78 "2021-02-16T19:48:39Z")
The square has corners that concentrate stress, such as the recurring stretching and relaxing of the skin during climbing to altitude and descending. That concentration accumulates stress which becomes localized accelerated metal fatigue, and before you know it the window blows out (taking large chunks of hull with it) and [wrecks the plane](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/79 "2021-02-17T13:45:13Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The early models had a pressurized tail gunner compartment. All those jets have long since been chopped up. Was there any way to get from the tail gunner’s compartment to the main cabin? If not, that would have been a seriously lonely job. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441/80 "2021-02-17T14:53:10Z")
IIRC the answers are “No” and “Yes”. The earlier B-29 & B-36 had crawl tunnels between the various aft gunner positions and the cockpit area. But not the B-52. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-52-stratofortress-why-eight-engines/932441.md?page=5)