B-52 Stratofortress Units in Combat 1955-73

Description

Designed to form the backbone of Strategic Air Command's nuclear deterrent, the B-52 force was brought to higher states of readiness whenever crisis threatened the USA, most notably when Kennedy and Khruschev went eyeball-to-eyeball over Cuba. Soon afterwards, B-52s formed the backbone of the USAF's bombing campaign in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. This book follows the story of the B-52 from its genesis to its first combat missions in June 1965 and through to the briefly sustained but bloodily fought Linebacker II offensive in late 1972. Even after the withdrawal of US forces in 1973, B-52s remained in-theatre, flying training missions mainly from Guam.

Jon Lake's most recent work for Osprey was the Combat Aircraft 35: 'Lancaster Squadrons 1939-45'. Jon Lake is one of Britain's leading journalists and historians, and secretary of the Freelance Aviation Journalists Association. Mark Styling has illustrated a number of books in the Aircraft of the Aces and Combat Aircraft series. He has recently switched mediums from airbrush to Mac art, and has produced some of the best profiles Osprey has used to date.