In 1947, the United States Air Force introduced the B-52 bomber, a massive aircraft (its wingspan was 185 feet and it weighed 450,000 pounds) designed to carry thermonuclear weapons at high altitudes while employing a minimum of personnel. Throughout the Cold War, the B-52 became the symbol of America's nuclear capability and the workhorse of the Strategic Air Command, but as America's intense rivalry with the Soviet Union and China became a thing of the past, the massive planes became obsolete, and are now a symbol of a bygone era in both military aviation and political gamesmanship. B-52 is a documentary that offers an exhaustive look at the history of this fighting jet and the role it played in American defense, from its initial design and use to its abandonment by the U.S.A.F., including interviews with pilots who flew them and tales of close calls where accidents with the bombers very nearly caused a nuclear disaster.