When the Air Force lost one of its bombers in 2016, it started a chain of events that made “Wise Guy” only the second B-52H ever to be taken from AMARG for active service.
Taken on Mar. 9, 2021 the interesting video in this post features B-52H Stratofortress “Wise Guy”, the second of its type to be resurrected from the boneyard of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB), Tucson, AZ, landing at Minot AFB, ND. According to Alert5 it will be assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing.
As explained by Master Sgt. Ted Daigle, 307th Bomb Wing, in the article Wise Guy back in the sky, when the Air Force lost one of its bombers in 2016, it started a chain of events that made “Wise Guy” only the second B-52H ever to be taken from AMARG for active service. The first, nicknamed “Ghost Rider,” was brought at Barksdale in 2015, also by members of the 307th and 2nd Bomb Wings.
With more than 17,000 flight hours in its history and more than a decade baking in the desert, getting Wise Guy air worthy required help from multiple sources: the bomber in fact had a team of 13 to 20 maintainers working on it at any given time.
“The jet had cracks in the rear landing gear and was missing two engines,” Master Sgt. Steven Sorge, a 307th Maintenance Squadron fuels system mechanic said. “It also needed all its fuels cells and hoses replaced, as well as its tires.”
Once maintainers has completed the necessary repairs, they ran multiple tests on the engines, landing gear, fuel and egress systems to ensure the jet was flight worthy.
From there, it was all up to the air crew to get the bomber to Barksdale. The three man crew, with more than 10,000 flying hours between them, flew the B-52H low and slow all the way to Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB), Louisiana, on May 14, 2020 to begin the next phase of its life protecting U.S. interests at home and abroad.
Fully restoring the jet required 550 personnel across multiple maintenance disciplines and cost approximately $30 million, according to guidance release by Air Force Global Strike Command.
On Oct. 26, 2012, Boeing marked 50 years since it had delivered its last B-52 Stratofortress to the U.S. Air Force. H-model bomber 61-040 had been assigned to Minot Air Force Base, N.D., where it remained in active service. Modern engineering analyses showed the B-52’s expected lifespan extending beyond 2040.
Photo credit: Airman 1st Class Jesse Jenny / U.S. Air Force
