B-52 stratofortress
(DVD)

Narrator, Greg Sterbner.

It has flown for nearly fifty years, and is projected to remain in service until 2045. With a range of 8,000 miles and the ability to carry 70,000 pounds of bombs, it is the most lethal aircraft in the world.HEAVY METAL goes from the Ohio hotel where the B-52 was first conceived to the skies over Afghanistan and interviews military planners, pilots, crewmembers and aviation experts to chronicle the history of this extraordinary plane. Revisit the decades when a fleet of B-52s remained aloft 24 hours a day, armed with nuclear warheads and just two hours away from the Soviet Union, as a key component of America's Cold War deterrence strategy. Fly in missions from Vietnam, when the Stratofortress was first exposed to fire from surface-to-air missiles, to the Gulf War and beyond, and tour the cockpit with the men who have piloted the B-52 through the years.