Linebacker in the BUF(F)

Crews who flew the B-52 in Southeast Asia called the aircraft BUF, for the "Big, Ugly, F...." This was modified at the urging of Strategic Air command to BUFF, meaning a more genteel "Big Ugly Friendly Fellow." The last two words have also been heard as "Flying Fellow" and "Fat Fellow."

Operating virtually unopposed against the Vietcong in South Vietnam from 1965 to the early 1970s, the B-52s were to prove themselves conclusively in 1972. For eleven days in December, they penetrated the strongest air defense network ever encountered in the history of aerial warfare to bomb military targest in Hanoi and Haiphong, North Vietnam.

Code named Linebacker II, this operation brought North Vietnamese intransigence to an end, returned them to the bargaining table and ended the Vietnam War - bringing the P.O.W.s home. The B-52s continued to do their job during Desert Storm and helped bring that war to an early conclusion as well.

"For 'Linebacker in the BUF(F),' I chose B-52D 55-0094 - seen at sundown, eastbound from U Tapao, Thailand, to its target in Hanoi. The venerable old girl shows her age, her wings flexing as she rides the track of the lower B-52's condensation trail.

"I knew her well, for on November 27, 1968, I flew a mission in her from Thailand to Mu Gia Pass, North Vietnam. 094 stands today, retired to static display on the ramp at McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, Kansas."