This document tracks the changes to the appearance of the two Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses that were modified to carry and launch the North American X-15 rocket planes. The two NB-52s went on to launch the X-15A-2, Northrop HL-10, Northrop M2-F2, and Martin-Marietta X-24A. The NB-52A retired in October 1969, but the NB-52B soldiered on until November 2004, launching a wide variety of unmanned research vehicles and parachute test devices. The appearance of the NB-52s changed many times over the years. These changes are illustrated in this document. There are fourten sets of illustrations for the NB-52A and eighteen sets of illustrations for the NB-52B. The Stratofortress motherships are popular subjects for modelers. Their special missions capture the imagination. The liberal application of DayGlo orange, DayGlo red, and yellow makes them a couple of the most colorful B-52s. This document will help modelers to reproduce the correct appearance of either Stratofortress for any particular mission.

It has been asserted that the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress, carrying Air Force serial 52-0008, can lay claim to being the airplane that has seen and participated in more history than any other single airplane. For forty-five years, the NB-52B was a fixture at Edwards Air Force Base. While the NB-52B is most famous for launching the three North American X-15 rocket planes, it continued to serve in the role of launch platform for a multitude of programs until its final mission on November 16, 2004. It was the oldest flying B-52 by nearly ten years. The book is 200 pages long. It contains 246 color photographs, 89 black and white photographs, and 2 other illustrations.

The P-85 Goblin was the only airplane that ever flew which was designed from scratch to be operated entirely from another airplane. The development of the B-36 by the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation of Fort Worth, Texas resulted in a requirement for fighter protection for the bomber at distances from any friendly base that far exceeded the range of currently available escort fighter airplanes. Due to the inability of contemporary fighters to escort B-36 bombers all the way to their targets, the Army Air Corps initiated Project MX-472, Unconventional Fighter Design Studies, on December 3, 1942. The primary objective of the project was the development of a suitable method of protecting the B-36 on long-range bombing missions. The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation designed the P-85 Goblin to fit entirely within the confines of the bomb bay of the B-36. The little fighter was just fifteen feet long with a wing sapn of twenty-one feet.

During and after World War II, aircraft designers were faced with the problem of increasing the range of strategic bombers. Dr. Richard Vogt, a German immigrant to the United States, proposed that floating wing panels carrying fuel tanks could be attached to the wing tips of an airplane with hinges to extend its range. The floating wing panels would support their own weight, without increasing the load on the airplane's wings. The Air Force initiated a project to simulate floating wing panels with a piloted light plane that coupled to a larger airplane in flight. Soon the scope of the project expanded to explore the possibility of towing fighters coupled to the wing tips of bombers.

Reprints of the Air Force Flight and Maintenance Handbooks for the Convair GRB-36D FICON carrier aircraft. It contains: Utility Flight Handbook USAF Series GRB-36D-III/RF-84F Composite Aircraft Utility Flight Handbook GRB-36D-III FICON Aircraft Supplemental Handbook Maintenance Instructions USAF Series GRB-36D-III Aircraft

Project FICON (Fighter conveyer): In the early 1950s, the Air Force conducted a series of experiments to establish the feasibility of carrying, launching, and retrieving jet reconnaissance airplanes from giant Convair RB-36 bombers. It was hoped that the bombers would carry the reconnaissance jets to the perimeter of the Soviet Union and then release them to penetrate the air defenses. Tests of the concept were conducted in 1952 and 1953 with a Republic F-84E Thunderjet and the YF-84F Thunderstreak prototype. Twenty-six Republic RF-84F Thunderflashes and ten Convair GRB-36D carriers were modified for the project. In 1955, a squadron of carriers was established at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. A squadron of parasites was established at nearby Larson Air Force Base. Training operations began in December 1955, but the composite aircraft system faced competition from the Boeing RB-52B, Lockheed U-2, and the development of aerial refueling.