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One of the key upgrades to the B-52 that made it so versatile in conventional campaigns was the Big Belly modifications. As early as 1963, the Air Force Chief of Staff, General Lemay (of SAC fame) directed a review of conventional warfare capability of the BUFF. The predecessor of Air Force Material Command called the project Second Look, which evaluated bombing accuracy with 750 and 1,000-lb bombs of general purpose, biological or chemical types as well as cluster bombs. The review led to developing “clip-in” racks that held more bombs and made them easier and quicker to load. Such capability would come into its own in June 1965, when the BUFFs dropped their first conventional bombs in combat over Southeast Asia in close air support missions, a mission never anticipated by the BUFF’s designers.
The B-52 could be loaded with 27 bombs on internal carriage within the bomb bays, and an additional 24 on underwing pylons, 12 per wing. With Big Belly clip-ins, the 27 internal load became a whopping 84 500-lb or 42 750-lb bombs. The modifications were only done to B-52Ds, and they retained their as-designed mission to deliver nuclear gravity bombs. When modified, the bomb load became a staggering 60,000 lbs; this was some 22,000 lbs more than the B-52F. The Big Belly modification program not only enable the BUFFs to carry clip-ins, it also extended to the bomb builders and the special racks they could pre-load. When loading the aircraft, the clip-in was quickly installed, akin to the super-sized equivalent of inserting a fresh magazine into a gun. In 1969-1971, the Big Belly D’s were further adapted to carry aerial mines.
To find this cache, calculate the coordinates from the information in this listing.
N 48° 19.ABC W 101° 19.DEF
A= Year Air Force Chief of Staff directed a review of B-52 conventional warfare capability, XXXN, A=(N)
B= Heaviest weight class bombs evaluated in Project Second Look, N,XXX lbs, B=(N+5)
C= Quantity of bombs on internal carriage within the bomb bays, pre-Big Belly, NX bombs, C=(Nx4)
D= Amount of Big Belly bomb load increase over B-52F, XN,XXX lbs, D=(N-2)
E= Maximum load of 500-lb bombs in Big Belly B-52Ds, NX bombs, E=(N/2)
F= Initial year in which Big Belly B-52Ds were adapted to carry aerial mines, XXXN, F=(N-1)
Dorr, R. & Peacock, L. (1995). Boeing’s Cold War Warrior: B-52 Stratofortress. London, UK; Osprey Aerospace.
Tagg, L. (2004). Development of the B-52: The Wright Field Story. History Office, Aeronautical Systems Center, AFMC: Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.