Originally Posted by pdf27

Source on that is private comments by a former B-52 groundcrewman. It didn't particularly surprise me though - official figures quote a maximum speed of 550kts at 20,000ft, or about 0.95 Mach. 20,000ft is implausibly low for maxiumum speed to be measured at for a jet aircraft - the official figures note "limited by structure". Move up to a more normal operating height of 40-50,000ft and that structural limit pretty much goes away due to reduced air density. The thrust figures used are also for "military power" - again, suggesting that more power was available.

I have the Flight Manuals and the Operating Data Manuals for the type. Without revealing what the actual figures are, suffice it to say that they were (and are) firmly sub-sonic. The actual altitude for maximum performance depends on which country or even service you belong to. For the US Navy and Marine Corps it is 36,089 feet. For the USAF 36,090 feet, while the laid back Brits make do with 36,100 feet!


1957 or later, correct?

Armament Pracice camp, late summer 1958. Good deduction!

It would have been pretty much obselescent by then, as the last were retired in February 1959. Incidentally, their combat ceiling was rated at 40,000ft or so with their service ceiling (rate at which climb drops to 100 fpm) at around 30,000ft. At least, that's what the official numbers say