"Six turning and four burning" was the expression by the crew for this beast. It had 6 turning engines and 4 jet engines. They were used by the US Air Force from 1949 to 1959.
It became a long-range nuclear bomber to oppose the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
I was too young at the time to realize it was carrying a Thermonuclear bomb. Scary. I took this photo at the USAF Museum at Castle Air Force Base located in Atwater, CA. last weekend. The active base closed in l995. I lived in the next town over from Atwater when I was very young, and I remember the rumble and roar as the B-52's constantly flew over our house every day. They were just a little smaller than this one. Quite exciting to see.
While we on holiday in Guam in 1972 the B52's used to start from there to go and bomb Vietnam. Such a horrific noise and a sad capital in history.