The first A model was also the first B-52 to feature a redesigned cockpit (side-by-side seating).
Serial numbered (appropriately enough) 52-001…
…the A model took flight in 1954.
A weight and balance sheet from one of 52-001’s test flights.
Last of the three A’s was 52-003 later used by NASA.
A few years earlier, 52-003 is seen screeching over a Seattle neighborhood in late 1954.
Looking out the right side…
…and the left. Mt. Rainier is seen thousands of feet below.
Inflight photo of 52-001.
This time it’s 52-002. There are one or two differences in the cockpit configuration between 001 and 002.
Judging by the clean slate, this has been a successful flight.
The Jive Bomber 
I remember one night in Saigon in 1970 hearing a roar and looking up I saw the silhouette of a B-52 low on approach to Tan Son Nhut, I guess diverting with damage and unable to make it back to Guam. I don’t ever recall seeing a B-52 at Tan Son Nhut.
LikeLike