Fluther: So....why did we skip from B2 to B21?

So....why did we skip from B2 to B21?

Asked by Entropy (4172

) December 3rd, 2022
13 responses
“Great Question” (1

)

USAF just unveiled the B21 Raider, the successor to the B2 and other strategic bombers. But, why was the B2 only #2 when other B’s preceded it of higher number and co-existed with it. And then, we jump right to B21?

Does the guy at the Pentagon in charge of this stuff have dyscalculia or something?

Follow this question

Send to a friend!

Topics: airplanes, bombers

Observing members: 0

Composing members: 0

Answers

Maybe it’s like B 2 point 1?

Jeruba (55824

)“Great Answer” (1

)

It’s just branding, which is also why the B-2 came after the B-52. In this case, the designation is meant to represent its status as the first bomber of the 21st century.

SavoirFaire (28831

)“Great Answer” (3

)

They are all just modern sounding names for the B52 which will keep flying forever.

flutherother (34519

)“Great Answer” (1

)

I thought this was because this is an extenstion of the B2 project – as in B2-variant 1

elbanditoroso (33145

)“Great Answer” (1

)

The B-2 incorporated old technology. The B-21 is obviously a major upgrade.

kritiper (25757

)“Great Answer” (0

)

@flutherother The B-2 and B-21 are stealth bombers, while the B-52 is not. The B-52 is closer to the B-47 (which it replaced) or the B-58 (which it outlasted).

SavoirFaire (28831

)“Great Answer” (3

)

Like Bat 21?

Dutchess_III (46807

)“Great Answer” (0

)

Maybe they tried and failed with B3 through B20.

smudges (10702

)“Great Answer” (1

)

If the B-21 (Raider) was a simple upgrade of the B-2, it would be the B-2B like the B-1 became the B-1B (Lancer.) Or the WWII P-51D (Mustang) was once the P-51A, then P-51B, then P-51C. (In the Korean War, the P-51D became the F-51D.) Even the WWII B-17 (Flying Fortress) went from A to G.

kritiper (25757

)“Great Answer” (1

)

Those letters following the numbers are about different production runs, with each run distinguished (supposedly) by upgrades and improvements. With the fighter planes, the designation went from p for “pursuit” to f for fighter, when the air force became its own service separate from the army.

HP (6425

)“Great Answer” (1

)

How you know all this stuff Stanly?

Dutchess_III (46807

)“Great Answer” (1

)

In my youth I was obsessed with all things military. When I was 5, this huge (for me) red book arrived in our house that I could not effectively carry. It was “Life’s Picture History of World War 2”. That single book was responsible for my learning to read. My parents became alarmed at my insistence on dragging that book around from room to room to the neglect of all else, and they ignored my whining over the fact that I couldn’t climb the stairs to the bedroom with the book in tow. When I suggested we required an upstairs copy, they thought it prudent to drag me before an “expert” for evaluation. His conclusion amounted to my fixation as normal—the big red book as teddy bear substitute. “He’ll outgrow it”. By the time I was 9 or ten, my parents understood the doc was probably mistaken, as my folks concentrated on hiding me from adults in their sphere, lest I steered all conversation toward “war & death”, my derisive nickname as their private joke.

HP (6425

)“Great Answer” (4

)

LOLL!!!!

Dutchess_III (46807

)“Great Answer” (2

Social Question

So....why did we skip from B2 to B21?

Answers

Answer this question

Login

Join

Mobile | Desktop

Send Feedback