Balls Eight

It has been asserted that the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress carrying Air Force serial 52-0008 can lay claim to being the airplane that has seen and participated in more history than any other single airplane. For forty-five years the NB-52B was a fixture at Edwards Air Force Base. While the NB-52B is most famous for launching the three North American X-15 rocket planes it continued to serve in the role of launch platform for a multitude of programs until its final mission on November 16 2004. It was the oldest flying B-52 by nearly ten years. The eBook edition has more pictures than the print edition.