“City of Burkburnett” B-52 static display replaced

  • Published
  • By Josh Wilson
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
Mother Nature has a habit of causing damage. That was the case with the "City of Burkburnett" B-52 static display located at the corner of Missile Road and Avenue E.

The static has fallen victim to the outdoor elements over the years and is now unable to be maintained at levels of historical requirements.

Now it's out with the old and in with the new. A new B-52G has taken its place on the stand, and is sure to provide just as much beauty as the original.

Moving an airplane of this size comes with many challenges as you can imagine. Ben Nattrass, Owner of Worldwide Aircraft Recovery, said the move was challenging due to the size and weight of the planes.  "We've got to be sure the wheels will hold up to the weight once we set the plane down on them. "Nattrass said. "Then comes to hard part of moving something that's been sitting for so long." Nattrass said.

Moving a new plane in same spot as the old one may seem easy, but even the replacement plane move presented obstacles.

"The back wheel axles started shifting on us, so we had to steer from both the front and back simultaneously," Nattrass said.

Once the plane was moved off the standing supports, the removal and replacement process took about three days. Pretty impressive considering the plane weighs in at around 480,000 pounds, has a wingspan of 185 feet and length of 160 feet.

The "City of Burkburnett" B-52 was placed on display in October of 1991. It was originally delivered to the Air Force in July 1957, and saw action in Operation Linebacker II, the bombing campaign over North Vietnam in 1972.

It remained in service until November 1973, when it was delivered to Sheppard Technical Training Center, and used for ground airframe instruction until October 1991, when it was placed at the corner of Missile and Avenue E as a static.

The "City of Burkburnett" was painted on the side to commemorate the close ties of the base with the surrounding communities.

The B-52G that is replacing the "City of Burkburnett" has a similar history. It was delivered to the Air Force in November 1959, and saw action in Operation Linebacker as well. It was dropped from active inventory in July 1991, and served as a maintenance trainer at Sheppard.

The "City of Burkburnett" will be disposed of over the next few weeks by the Navy.