The Boeing B-52 “Stratofortress” came to define nuclear tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. With a 185 foot wingspan, this 8 engine behemoth is larger than the entire distance of the Wright Brothers’ original 120 foot flight. The nuclear capabilities of the B-52 ensured that the bomber was a Cold War mainstay. B-52s were used extensively in the 1972 Linebacker II campaign, which dropped 20,000 pounds of conventional bombs on North Vietnam. The B-52 here at the Kansas Aviation Museum flew its last mission over North Vietnam in 1973, and is still painted in the color scheme used for the undeclared wars of Southeast Asia. The plane was permanently grounded as part of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between the US and the USSR. The SALT treaties limited the means by which nuclear bombs could be delivered, such as Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) and heavy bombers. The treaty did not limit the number of nuclear weapons, however. There are still over 12,000 warheads on earth. Though nuclear disarmament has a long way to go, this plane stands as proof that peace treaties between the world’s most militaristic empires are achievable.