The deadliest missions flown by the B-52 bomber

In 1965, the B-52 Stratofortress entered combat in Vietnam under Operation Arc Light. Flying high above the jungle canopy, these modified heavy bombers unleashed 60,000-pound payloads of conventional explosives to completely obliterate hidden Viet Cong bunker complexes.

During Operation Linebacker II in 1972, the US military launched the largest heavy bomber strikes since World War II. Over 11 days, B-52s dropped 15,000 tonnes of ordnance on Hanoi, crippling North Vietnamese infrastructure while losing 15 bombers to surface-to-air missiles.

On the opening night of the 1991 Gulf War, seven B-52s executed Operation Secret Squirrel. Taking off from Louisiana, the crews flew a continuous 35-hour, 14,000-mile mission to launch 35 conventional cruise missiles, devastating critical Iraqi communication networks.

Throughout Operation Desert Storm, B-52s delivered a staggering 40 per cent of all weapons dropped by coalition forces. The bombers executed relentless low-altitude bombing runs, completely breaking the morale and combat effectiveness of the Iraqi Republican Guard.

In 1999, the B-52 transitioned to a lethal standoff role during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Operating safely from airbases in the UK, the heavy bombers launched 78 conventional cruise missiles to systematically dismantle Serbian military targets and power grids.

Following the 9/11 attacks, B-52s deployed to Afghanistan to hunt down militant leaders hidden in the Tora Bora mountains. The aircraft dropped hundreds of precision-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), burying heavily fortified cave networks under tonnes of shattered rock.

In 2016, the heavy bomber was deployed to the Middle East to lead the assault against ISIS strongholds in Iraq and Syria. The USD 84 million aircraft executed hundreds of precision strikes, wiping out militant command centres, weapon caches, and heavily armed convoys.