B-52s were designed and built to do a job reliably. They did, with very few bells and whistles, and no creature comforts. It was a time of war, cold war with the commies, and Korea's hot war with the commies. Only five years after WW II and the Military-Industrial Complex Ike warned us about 10 years later was feeling their way along, not knowing how much they could get away with yet. No way an aircraft that bare bones could make it to production today in this country. We wouldn't want our Brass to be embarrassed at the international air show cocktail parties.
