.50 Ammo Can "For B52 Aircraft Use Only"

[Charlie Flick]

Guys:

 

I recently bought some pistol ammunition from a pal of mine. He was generous enough to toss in a USGI .50 ammunition can to take it home in. He pointed out something to me on the can that I had not seen before, the legend as seen in the photo below "For B52 Aircraft Use Only." The markings are dated 10-77 and indicate the original contents as being Armor Piercing Incendiary cartridges.

 

 

That got me to thinking about the .50 BMGs used on the B52 aircraft so I looked into that subject a little bit. It turns out that B52s used .50 tail guns in quad mounts through the B52F model. After that the B52H utilized a 20MM gun in place of the .50s. The pic below shows the tail stingers on a B52E. The guns were radar controlled but operated by a tail gunner. By the way, it was also interesting to learn that the tail gunner was the only enlisted man assigned to the B52 aircrew with all of the others being officers.

 

 

There were two confirmed MIG kills by B52 tail gunners during Operation Linebacker II in 1972. They were in B52D aircraft. Tail gunners were discontinued by the Air Force in late 1991 or so, and the remaining B52s rely on other defenses today.

 

A B52D. One of the great aircraft of all time.

 

 

I am wondering why this ammo can is so marked? It does not appear to me to be significantly different from other .50 caliber ammo cans of the same vintage. I wonder why it was necessary to mark these as being specifically for B52 use only?

 

Regards,

Charlie

[Third Herd]

It is markied linked API M8, that would mean no tracers or ball ammunition. Just Armor Piercing Incendiary ammunition.

[Charlie Flick]

From another source I was informed that the B52 use only is due to the fact that the guns can't be cleared while in flight and, therefore, the ammunition and links were made to tighter tolerances to insure proper functioning.

 

Regards,

Charlie

[Taber10]

Sorry, but that picture does NOT appear to be a "D" model B52. The "D" was also called the "tall tail" and I do not believe that this is tall tail pictured. Of course, I could be wrong, as I never maintained the "Ds"--our wing had one previously used but by my time in SAC they just sat and were photographed for "SALT/START talk counts. And while very few SRAM Missiles (AGM-69) were ever carried externally on the B52, the "D" was retired at about the same time--mid 70s--that the SRAM was employed, so no "Ds" were modified to carry the SRAM external pylons. These pylon mounting points were a "modification" of the AGM 28 "Hound Dog" pylon mounting points. There are other "mods" including the small nacelles added right under the cockpit that give the pictured aircraft a much later identity (MDS--Mission, Design, Series). OF course, the other picture, with the tail gunner's position clearly indicated in the tail, is a "D" but we can't see that part of this one. In the later models, esp. G (only model left, I believe) and H, the gunner sits on the lower deck, right next to the "Electronic Warfare Officer" or EWO, which position was later changed to the Defensive Systems Operator and the gunner was eliminated. The guns were radar directed in these models, and the gunner could not actually see what he was shooting--thus no need to add Tracers to the API rounds.

 

Taber

USAF Munitions 1974-2004, SAC/B-52s 1974-1975 (19th Bomb Wing) and 1984-1986 (42rd Bomb Wing-Loring AFB)

[Charlie Flick]

Hello Taber10:

 

Thanks for correcting my misidentification of the B52 in the photo I posted above. I defer to your superior knowledge of this aircraft.

 

Regards,

Charlie

[RustyCanteen]

Charlie,

 

I really enjoyed this thread. Until you posted this can I had no idea such a marking even existed. Very neat!

 

RC

[Leatherwringer]

I just found one yesterday at a garage sale! I had not run across one with the B52 printing before either

 

 

 

[dalbert]

Very informative post. This is an excellent example of why I enjoy this forum.

 

David Albert

[email protected]

[Redleg13a]

The B52 picture is a B52G. Tall tails lasted through the F model; G and H models had the short tails and the G model had the .50 calibers. The H model had a 20mm Gatling gun.

 

I seem to recall seeing those ammo cans marked for B52 use only but it's been a long time since I remember seeing them. Kind of like seeing .30 caliber ammunition boxes marked For Aircraft Use Only.

[Backtheattack]

As dalbert said, very informative. Thank you for this information.