14. The Air Force is the only military branch to operate the B-52 throughout its history
Other than the two motherships used by NASA, only the United States Air Force has operated the B-52 over its long history. During the peak years of the bomber’s deployment, it could be found at bases across the United States. B-52s flew out of bases in Florida, Louisiana, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and California. In those locations, the maintenance crews and support personnel, as well as the aircrews, found significantly different climate conditions than those of their northern brethren. B-52s also operated from bases in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. They flew from Minot, North Dakota and Ellsworth, South Dakota. In short, B-52s operated from dozens of bases, in all climatic conditions.
Although only the US Air Force has operated the B-52 over its long service life, it has performed missions in support of the other branches of the US military. Its extended range makes the bomber ideal for long searches over water, a mission the US Navy has a long history of performing using Air Force bombers. For example, during World War II in the Pacific, and in the Battle of the Atlantic, the Navy used Consolidated B-24 Liberator long-range heavy bombers for search and rescue missions, reconnaissance, and other tasks not within the reach of their smaller aircraft. In those cases, the Navy took actual ownership of the aircraft and redesignated it with Navy terminology. With the B-52 the Air Force has operated the aircraft in co-operation with the Navy.