The Emblem of the Louisiana State Militia

Louisiana's Military Heritage:

     United States Air Force Aircraft

Seal of the U.S. Air Force

 

SPIRIT OF LOUISIANA

 

Following a tradition similar to that of the Navy's penchant for naming the fleet's capitol ships after the states of the Union, the U.S. Air Force has begun naming its fleet of Stealth bombers in the same fashion.  The SPIRIT OF LOUISIANA (AV-21) is the 21st and—currently—last of the Air Force's B-2A Spirit bomber program.  She is part of the 509th Bomb Wing and is stationed out of Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.

 

The B-2 bomber THE SPIRIT OF LOUISIANA takes off during bombing exercises in the South Pacific in 1998.

B-2 bomber THE SPIRIT OF LOUISIANA (AV-21) is seen here taking off

from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on a 12-hour mission over the

Northern Mariannas Islands during Exercise ISLAND SPIRIT on March 27,

1998.  Official DOD photo by Airman 1st Class Carl Fresia, USAF.

 

 

A flight patch for a member of the SPIRIT OF LOUISIANA's flight crew.

A flight patch for a member of the

SPIRIT OF LOUISIANA's flight crew.

 

 

B-2 bomber THE SPIRIT OF LOUISIANA taxis on the runway during nighttime operations.

The SPIRIT OF LOUISIANA taxis on the runway during nighttime operations.

Official U.S. Air Force photograph.

 

 

Aircraft's Statistics

 

Class / Type

Spirit bomber

Ordered

1993

Delivered

November 10, 1997

Prime Contractor

Northrup Grumman Corporation
Tail Number 93-1008

Contractor Team

Boeing Military Airplanes, Co.

Hughes Radar Systems Group

General Electric Aircraft Engine Group

Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc.
Power Plant Four General Electric F-118 G-100 engines

Thrust

17,300 lbs. per engine

Length

69 ft.

Height

17 ft.

Wingspan

172 ft.

Speed

High subsonic
Ceiling 50,000 ft.
Takeoff Weight (Typical) 336,500 lbs.
Range Intercontinental — 9,600 km (unrefueled)
Armament Conventional or nuclear weapons
Payload 40,000 lbs.
Crew  Two pilots

 

 

 

 

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All information listed above courtesy of U.S. Air Force.
All photos courtesy of U.S. Air Force unless otherwise noted.

 

**Copyright 1997-2006 by Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission**