Re: Carpet Bombing and XB-52

["Diego Zampini" <dzampini@hotmail.com>]

John:

>"Nov. 29, 1951 -- The first all-jet bomber, the eight-engine XB-52 is
>rolled out of a Boeing plant in Seattle, Wash., to a nearby hangar in
>early morning darkness."

The "X" usually means "eXperimental" or in simple words, a prototype. It is 
actually possible that the prototypes of the B-52 (the XB-52s) flew in last 
1951. But usually it takes 3-5 years between the first flights of a combat 
flight and the operational deployment. e.g: the prototypes of the F-111 
(called TFX initially) flew for the very fiotst time in 1964, but the 
deployment of the F-111s in Vietnam should wait until March/April 1968. So, 
it is no weird that the XB-52 flew in November 1951 and it should until 1955 
to enter in active duty.
Regards,
Diego.

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