George Schairer and Team

Boeing began designing a new strategic bomber for the United States Air Force in 1946. 2 years later, after many design changes to accommodate evolving performance requirements, Boeing’s aerodynamics chief, George Schairer, and fellow engineers Art Carlsen, Vaughn Blumenthal, Ed Wells, Bob Withington and Maynard Pennell, produced the near-final design of the B-52 in a 5-day marathon session at the Hotel Van Cleve in Dayton Ohio.

 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

Nearly 70 years after its first flight, the B-52 Stratofortress continues to fly with the USAF, the only air force ever to operate it. In Western popular culture, the B-52 is a true icon — of the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and of America’s super power status. Now being flown by the grandsons and granddaughters of its original pilots, the B-52 is scheduled to continue in service until the 2050s.

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