(All images: low res screenshot via YouTube, junkyardjets.net)
The mighty Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is one of the most successful and longstanding strategic bombers in history, introduced in 1955 and still in service today. But despite its formidable weapons-load and feared reputation, the stripped-out B-52 in this video by Junkyard Jets (see below) is no match to the mechanical digger tasked with tearing its aluminium carcass apart for scrap.
Ready for recycling, the faded, gutted hulk of Boeing B-52G (construction number 59-2578) stands in the corner of a Texas airfield, a mechanical digger poised to tear into its aluminium skin.
Redundant wiring and splintered metal mark the severing of the aircraft’s wing from its fuselage. All reusable components, including eight powerful engines, have been removed prior to scrapping, leaving little more than an empty shell.
The B-52 remains standing on its fuselage-mounted undercarriage despite following the removal of its port wing. With the fin already removed, the digger begins gouging away at the tail-planes.
Working its way around the battered bomber’s deceased remains, the starboard wing has collapsed to the ground and the cockpit section severed from the fuselage. Due to arms limitation treaties with Russia, as well as the scrap metal value of retired ‘BUFF’s’, the majority of older model B-52s have now been recycled.
Like an mighty mechanical animal picking over its prey, the digger deals the last blows to the once proud bomber. Its fuselage all but destroyed, little remains beyond the starboard wing. Watch the video in full below. See more at Junkyard Jets.
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