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First of 18 heavy bombers retires, Tinker keeps remainder of maintenance

  • Published
  • By Brandice Armstrong
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., --  The first B-52H Stratofortress retired July 24. The aircraft, which was serviced at Tinker, is one of 18 B-52Hs that Air Combat Command officials selected for retirement in 2008. 

Despite the news, the remaining fleet, 76 aircraft, will continue coming to Tinker for programmed depot maintenance and unscheduled repair. The remaining aircraft are expected to stay airborne until 2048. 

"It is sad to see the first one go, but the B-52 is still alive and well," said Carol Clark, 327th Aircraft Sustainment Group Production Logistics Flight chief. "It is just the quantity that is reduced. The remaining fleet will be strong and active for years to come."
Officials said the decision was based on the maximizing the budget for the remaining aircraft. 

"It is easier and cheaper to modify and maintain 76 planes, than to keep all 94 up and running," said Master Sgt. Curtis Jensen, 5th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron production superintendent at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., in a recent Space War article, produced by the Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs office. 

Built by Boeing, the B-52, a strategic bomber, has been used by the Air Force since 1955. The aircraft, which retired July 24, was built in 1961. Known as tail number LA 1023, the aircraft was assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., but parked at Minot AFB, due to storage shortages at Barksdale AFB. 

Upon retirement, LA 1023 was sent to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. Stored as "Type 1000 inviolate storage," the aircraft will be preserved in case it is needed at a later date, Ms. Clark said. 

Tinker officials said as a result of the early retirement, the only noticeable change here will be the number of aircraft arriving at Tinker for maintenance. 

"The retirement decreases the quantity that will flow through the PDM-line each year," Ms. Clark said. "When we had the full 94-size fleet, we had a requirement for 21 to 22 planes per year. Now, with a fleet of 76, our requirement will be 17 per year." 

The B-52 routinely comes to Tinker every four years for PDM. An average PDM visit last 160 to 170 days and in that time, approximately 30,000 labor hours are put into it. 

"The work we do on this airplane is not routine, this airplane comes here to have all the work done to it that the field does not do," said Lt. Col. William "Tol" Singer, 565th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron deputy director, in a May 16 Tinker Take Off article. "They keep the airplane flying day-to-day. We keep the airplane flying decade-to-decade."