TIL that the oldest aircraft still in use in the United States military was built in 1957.

submitted by

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/57-1419

9
65
1

Log in to comment

Hot Top New Old

I’m surprised the oldest active aircraft isn’t a B52

 reply
17

B-52s were built 1952-1962, but the earlier models were all retired and destroyed when nuclear disarmament treaties capped the number of bombers. Only the final production variant, the H series, from 1960-1962, remain operational.

The C-130 and U-2 families also date back to the 50’s, but again, only later production runs remain in service today. (Though these two planes remained in production much longer than the B-52 or the KC-135.)

 reply
10

Wow. I thought the J was already out but it’s still under development. I floors me that that last H rolled off the line in 1962, which means the airframe has been flying for at least 64 years. Granted some of the avionics have been updated but that’s still crazy.

 reply
3

Is the U2 still used by the military? I thought the remaining ones had moved to research years ago.

I didn’t even consider the 130, but yea, that’s a workhorse too!

 reply
1

when you keep forgetting to upgrade your old units before spending all your gold for the turn

 reply
4

The KC135 and the B52 still do their job well through there is a plan to replace the KC135

 reply
1

The KC-135 Stratotanker was based on the Boeing 367-80, which was a prototype that also led to the development of the Boeing 707

It’s long since been tough to find parts

 reply
2
Insert image