Originally Posted by nglitz

Just stumbled on to this thread as I usually don't frequent the open discussions. I flew B-52Gs and a few D models for most of the seventies. Griffiss AFB in upstate NY, Guam for some jungle visits and dropped into a few other stateside bases. We did indeed (and still do) have crosswind landing gear. Unlike most airplanes with heavily loaded main gear & lightly loaded nose or tail wheels, the four main gear (two tires each) on a buf are all fairly equally loaded. All four castor pretty freely and will take up the crab in a landing. We also have little training wheels out near the tip to keep from dragging the tip tanks so the "wing low" method is out. There's a big knob in the center console right behind the autopilot controls that can preposition the gear to a crab. It can be done on the ground to plan on a takeoff crab or in the air to prepare for a landing crab. Great fun to swivel it back & forth while taxiing at a strange base & see the people staring at a sideways airplane. IIRC 30 degrees of crab was about the limit. I was lucky enough to never need that much.