Why Clyde P. / Boeing B-52H Stratofortress flight from 1962 took the longer route?
The B-52 Stratofortress is a military jet, and specifically a US military jet, which if flown over USSR was very much in risk of being harmed. Thus, it was an intelligent decision to follow a longer route, rather than being a victim of ongoing cold war, following the longer route could have also helped the crew in achieving the longest flight record. Secondly, the B-52 did not have a very good history even before 1962, thus taking precautions was a necessity for the crew, and they did this by choosing to fly over more helpful nations.  Also, aviation was not developed very much in Asia back in 1962 with very few strips of a large distance, to be used in case of emergency.

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