I worked on the K series bomb/navigation system on B-47s at Hunter AFB in Savannah back in the late 50's. I can remember climbing up that rickety ladder into the airplane many times. It was really tight inside, not much room for any of the crew. Had to lay on my back and slide under the radar scope to adjust it. Most times we also had to change out "computers" but in those days they were analog computers, using cams and followers rather than digital types. Some of those computers were so big it took two of us to slide them out the side of the plane to replace them. It was an experience I'll never forget. As part of SAC, we also had frequent "alerts" when we were practicing to send the aircraft off "to war." Watching this video brought back a lot of memories - all in all, mostly good ones.
My neighbor told me yesterday after cutting his grass he was an electrician for b47 bombers and I came here to see what it was like and I gaurantee he did the same stuff as you from what he was telling me thats what he did too! It's cool to hear from someone else what they did and the stories are starting to make sense now
Привет! Я прочитал ваши воспоминания и меня тоже удивило как можно стратегическом бомбардировщике оставить так мало места, чтобы даже нельзя было встать в полный рост и размяться😭 Причем был уже опыт в B-29, 50, 36.. Техническая эксплуатация вообще крайне затруднительна.. У наших Ту-16 было намного больше места. Также я читал, что в SAC технический состав всегда имел при себе оружие на аэродромах, во времена генерала Кертиса Лемея
Became crew chief of B-47 at Lake Charles 1954, after 2 years of crewing a B-29 it was like going on retirement, wonderful aircraft most people don't appreciate the strides made in the first 50 years of flight. Bill K. Long Island
Hey Bill, I grew up in New Rochelle just across Long Island Sound from you. I read in a comment here that the co-pilot seat could swivel around and face to the rear so the co-pilot could fire his tail cannon in case of Mig attack from the rear. I have never heard that before. Sorry, I meant his 6 o'Clock. Hey I was Army not Air Force haha. Bill D. New Rochelle
The speed of progress was just insane during these times. Crazy that just 2 1/2 years before this thing first flew we were still flying B-17s in combat over Germany.
Hmm, memories. My dad flew the B-47 for a year or so when Castle AFB, 93rd BW I think, transitioned from the B-50 to the B-52. This was like 1953 to 1955 time frame. All I remember about the airplane from a personnel view point was that when dad took me out there and hoisted me up so I could sit in the pilots seat was that is was hotter'n a two dollar pistol up under that canopy. Painfully loud and the B-52 was more so. And if I remember right the B-47 had a cat walk that would get you back to the bomb bay, I could be wrong and be remembering the B-52 which does have such a cat walk. I was like 4 years old when dad was flying the B-47 so cut me some slack please. And the last B-47 I saw flying was late spring early summer of 1969 when I was in Boot Camp at Orlando Florida. It came over the training center headed into McCoy AFB trailing it's drogue chute ( Smaller than the Drag chute). A hell of an airplane but a demanding one. Dad really liked it, said it was like flying a six engine fighter.
I know Castle AFB well from my Air Force days. It's a civilian airport now, but very little traffic. The outdoor air museum is expanded from what it was when the base was active. Whenever I see that exit gate next to what used to be the base operations building it brings back memories of walking through it back in 1963. That was the exit from the SAC ramp.
I worked on the RB-47s in the mid 60s in SAC out of Forbes. Was hardly ever home with all the tdys. Enjoyed working on the RBs on the autopilot and compass systems along the AH (astrotracker)tracker. The RBs were sent to Tuscon early 1977. Believe the 55th Weather still had one for a spell. Remember how loud they were on TO with water at Upper Heyford early the morning in the high humidity, rattled windows for miles. Enjoyed the photos some of the copilots had of Migs off their wingtips with their cameras in hand as well.
Incontestablement une belle machine et pour cause c'est un Boeing! Il est bruyant , et lorsqu'il est prêt à décoller , alors ont sent les vibrations , et la fumée est de la partie , pas sûr que les écolos apprécieraient de nos jours? Cela dit , J'ais eût la chance de les voire à Dakar , où ils étaient venu pour ravitailler avant de repartir pour le Vietnam . J'étais surpris car les pilotes étaient pas assis côte à côte , mais l'un derrière l'autre comme dans un avion de chasse et le reste de l'équipage était en bas . Il y avait l'opérateur armement et le bombardier .cet avion est une réussite et a inspiré les jets commerciaux d'aujourd'hui surtout ceux de Boeing. Ose espérer qu'il en reste dans quelques musées aux states .
Je me suis régalé à regarder les vidéos des B36, B29, B70, B52, B1B B2, X15, SR71, de belles machines , et j'espère voire un jour les B35 et B49. , J'ais aussi eût la chance de voire le P61 Black Widdow merci à vous et longue vie , et merci à ceux qui restaurent ces machines. 😮😊😊
I was a crew chief out of Lake Charles I will never forget, I hopped a ride on a refueling mission, I was sitting in the hole freezing to death and 4 feet away sweat was running down the arm of the A/C as he was flying the refuel... 1954
William is it true that when they were refueling jet bombers with propeller driven KC-97 tankers they had to do it in a shallow dive so the tanker could be flying fast enough to be above the Jet bombers slowest stall speed?
A beautiful and extremely impressive bird. Truly revolutionary and a world beater. An old friend of the family flew in them and said that, though this video didn't mention that tank selection was also used to trim in pitch, more than any other plane he flew, the entire flight really did consist of managing fuel. Perfectly understandable when some of the assigned missions were one way! Uncle Hank passed a few years back but he always felt that the B-47 should have been modernized and upgraded with four turbo fans along with or instead of the B-52 when they switched to low level attack profiles. Most of the money used on the B-58, F-111 and even the B-1 would possibly have been better spent on SuperStratojets. The B-47's quirks were manageable and knowledge would have improved the control systems in a comprehensive upgrade. Throw in a structure redesigned for low level flight, those modern engines, and the explosion of inflight refueling and a modern take on the ol' 47 would still be a mighty impressive medium/heavy attack aircraft.
Great picture. My dad helped build the 47s at the Wichita Boeing plant. We could hear them run up the jets at our house, guess we were 5 or 6 miles from the plant. Boeing gave my dad a crhome plated 47 like the one on the desk, except the bottom art is an ash tray. I've got it now and intend on passing it on to my kids when the time comes. Super plane for the short time it flew.
Yes, children, once long ago it was socially acceptable to smoke in public. And that's the same Reed Hadley of "Zorro's Fighting Legion" (1939). I remember going through radar lead-in-school at Davis Monthan AFB in early 1969 as a brand-new navigator headed for the F-4 backseat. They were retiring the B-47s and it seemed like there were hundreds of them just arrived at the boneyard. A year or so later I stopped at D-M again, and this time it was covered with B-58s, lined up on the ramps like mahjong tiles.
My brother flew 7 yrs in the B-47, Forbes AFB, then Warner Robins Ga. B-52s 5 yrs, then Bunker Hill Indiana B-58s 1955 to 1967 He may have know your Dad. Maj. Galen Dultmeier A/C commander.
My father was a navigator in the B-47 at Schilling AFB in Salina, Kansas in 1955-56. He loved the B-47 but told me about some mishaps with the plane. One pilot landed a B-47 on the taxiway at night and another one overshot the runway!
B-52 training videos are hard to find. There's a complete B-52 flight manual on our B-52 DVD. If you haven't watched it yet, see "The B-52: Vietnam - 4258th Strategic Wing operations out of U Tapao Air Base, Thailand," also on my channel. Sorry, nothing on the KC-135.
This plane with its blooms of white smoke jet power assist takeoffs made it one of our favorite. Then Jimmy Stewart amps it's popularity with us! (I can't believe I love everything Aviation, when I crashed on landing, my first plane flight. My dad cut me free of seatbelt while I was hanging upside down!)
My Grandfather hated this plane so much that he resigned his commission and went to NCO status (he regained officer status in Missile Systems). That was serious and no mean feat as He was a Tuskeegee Airman and had to go through hell to become a navigator and black officer. He said he rather die with nobility being shot down (and he flew in quite a few different makes of aircraft), than die because he was in a crappy plane. He resides in OKC now and when we went to Tinker AFB we took him to one that was on static display and you could still see the grief come over him from flying in that plane. He said "Beautiful bird, but deadly!".
So much for the "Luftwaffe 1946" legend. If the Jerries could have pushed ahead with the designs eventually nicked by the Anglo-yanks, most probably their airmen would all be dead before having the chance to fight für Heimat und Führer! Those beautiful, badass-looking early big jets were real death-traps. EVERYTHING had to be learnt from scratch.....
Lol. At about 11:58 the guy basically says, "Hey, fellas, this thing isn't a deathtrap. If you die, it's going to be your fault." And yet, history and hindsight suggest something a bit different about the B47. Also, I loved the "The mission plan for this aircraft is simple...your primary goal is to survive each flight. Good luck."
Loved the video; watched the entire thing! As an "old" Avionics/Instrument person, I never had the chance to work a B-47 - however, one of my favorite planes. The Instrument panel sure looked familiar! Worked all of those old systems, many, many hours. Loved the crew chiefs, in the vid. They work their butts off, get no respect. The "drivers", in the vid, are typical of "drivers" throughout the USAF - "I'm here, is the plane ready?" ha. but true. The grunts make it happen! N-6395T
My impression is that it could break the sound barrier without much difficulty in a shallow dive, but would experience severe handling problems doing so.
I was NAS Miramar, Navy ET-R2, 70-74, maintained GCA and TACAN. Got to see one of these pass through there in the early seventies, "'don't know why." Unfortunately I was "straight arrow" back then, we were not allowed to have cameras on the flight line, even though I never was involved with ANYTHING classified LOL. So no, I did not get photos
Beautiful piece of Aluminum. One thing they didn't say was that the co-pilot was also the gunner. It had double 20mm turret in the tail and the co-pilots seat could rotate 180 degrees were he could use the radar gun sight.
The B-47 was the first jet Boeing designed. And because they were uncertain how stiff to make the wings then they designed its wings with lots of flexibility. If they made it too stiff it might possibly break in two in turbulence. It was therefore made so flexible that the wingtips were 17' higher at cruise than when the plane was on the ground. I as a USAFA cadet was given an orientation ride in one in 1958. The walkway mentioned in other posts here ran along the left side below the level of the A/C and copilot and ran from somewhere in the rear to the bombardier/navigator's nest in the nose. All three crewmembers had ejection seats, but I had nothing. I just sat on the floor of the walkway abeam and below the pilots for T/O and landing. I was also told that my way out of the plane during flight was through the entry door on the left side of the fuselage ahead of the wing. After the ride was over I asked the crew what my chances had been had I been forced to exit through the entry door inflight. The answer was that nobody who had gone out that door inflight had survived. Since the navigator did not want to bomb Sacramento for grade, he allowed me to bomb Sacramento for fun using the K system, which was a great learning experience. The AF got rid of the plane because of its lack of range. And this was before the day of the KC-97 and KC-135 tankers, which might have changed things. It's a shame because it outran all the fighters of its era numbered below 100. The modus operandi was to tanker up out of radar range of the Soviet Union at high altitude, then descend to low altitude to avoid radar. The bombs had spikes on their noses to impale the bomb in the ground for awhile before detonating in order to let the crew survive. The Aircraft Commander did the flying, while the copilot handled the fuel and tail guns, two 20mm cannon with a rate of fire of about 600 rpm each. His seat could be made to face rearward in combat. Since the A/C did all the T/Os and landings, the copitots were taken out periodically and allowed to land the plane. They had to have 3 landings each 90 days to stay current.
Thank you sir for all that interesting information. I would love to have seen Jimmy Stewart's co-pilot turn his seat to face rearward to simulate defending from a MIG attack in the film " Strategic Air Command ".
No, as the video said, it has a "critical mach number (less than mach 1.0 the speed of sound). The air passing over the wing which has camber (causes the air to speed up) is actually going faster than the aircraft (as shown on the mach meter). If the critical nr. is, say, .83 Mach nr. that means the airflow over the wing is higher, but LESS than 1.0. If you exceed your critical Mach nr you will get "Mach Tuck", (nose drops). Could lose control. New planes have sys to correct for this.
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A friend of mine who ended up with more than 15,000 hours as pilot in command of buffs started out in be 47's and said that it was a pilot's airplane. A lot of guys he flew 47's with not capable of flying the buff. He said that a lot of those people in his words ended up getting screwed in the fighters.
I would like to have seen what the fellas standing on the hardstand playing pocket pool with their hands in their pockets would do if it was General Curtis LeMay who climbed down out of the cockpit of that B-47.
The B-47 was sluggish on takeoffs and, came in too hot on landing. If a pilot didn't take off and go around the plane had a tendency for the wing to slide and cartwheel. Avionics, as with much of vacuum tube technology was a constant problem for the entire operational history of the aircraft. 203 of the B-47's were lost with total deaths of 464. This number represents about 10% of total aircraft production. Still the B-47 incorporated most if not all modern technology in jet production at the time. Swept wing design, engines in nacelles pods, near super sonic speed, superior operating altitude. It provided us with a technological advantage over the Russians for most of it's operational life time.
John Carraway, no, the out-rigger wheels are not "stupid" nor is balancing on two center-line wheels "dumb". This is a time proven design that has worked well with the U-2. Every aircraft design is unique. This particular design did not lend itself well to the more traditional tricycle arrangement. And, if you look at the B-52, this time proven aircraft doesn't use conventional gear either.
Interesting comments from former pilots. LABS immelman maneuver must have been challenging from pilots standpoint. No mention that early models were water wagons.
Just three years after WW-2 we made a jet bomber that Germany couldn't do, using their own data, and had operational a system that outran the German missile technology which wasn't intercontinental until the late 50's. It's truly a leap. And the bomber is so great looking too.
Seems to be a fair and honest 1950 profile of this plane. Actor, Reed Hadley, very convincing as B-47 pilot/commander. The B-36 was still the main deterrent due to early production numbers for the Stratojet. The B-47 did not have the range or bomb capacity of the Peacemaker. The B-47 could be a scary and cramped way to fly. Slowing down to refuel with a KC-97 hurt it's time to target. The KC-135 helped shut the door on the B-36. Before the Stratotanker, total mission not much speedier than the '36. The B-47 was the future, though.
This is one of the most beautiful air planes ever built. It was very capable of delivering an atomic bomb with a technique called “toss bombing”. This was done by using a turn called an emmillmen . . . this is a turn used by fighters. You open the bomb bay, go vertical, performing a half loop, at the critical moment you let the weapon go, centrifugal force will pull the weapon out of the bomb bay. You than preform a half Roll on top, point the nose down and ‘firewall’ the throttles and escape the blast and shock wave
interesting that this film didn't mention a side effect of having those flexible wings: the 430 knot aileron reversal speed. I believe that it was test pilot Joe Wolfe who was killed at Edwards AFB because of it. I personally knew his son.
Actually, the comments should say the first swept wing jet bomber. No-one ever seems to remember the B-45 Tornado which was a 4 engine straight wing jet bomber. The engines were, as mentioned in the film, located in the wings. As an AF "Brat", I remember these airplanes well, as they were parked not too far from our school on RAF Station Molesworth in England. When two or more were 'run up'; school "was out" for that period of time, as we could not hear what the teachers were saying. We also had the B-50s there as well.
The aerodynamic theory of high altitude flight, critical Mach, etc. was something new to crews upgrading from piston engine bombers to jets. Mentally "shifting gears" from a flying 300 mph aircraft to one flying at 600 mph was a big transition. It took lots of training and experience to become a B-47 pilot. A serious mistake in planning or judgement could have dire consequences for the mission and crew. Being our first jet bomber, the B-47 may not have been the easiest or the most forgiving airplane to fly. There was a lot to learn about high speed flight in the 1950s, aerodynamics, engines, aircraft systems, performance, etc. This was repeated a decade later with the B-58 and its Mach 2 speed (another ground-breaking design).
My instructor for my B727 type rating was a B47 pilot. He was based in Salina KS, an airport that I flew into as a young charter pilot. They had one parked outside the main gate on display for years and I'm wondering if its still there. I was always intrigued by the airplane.
@ 19:06 the ground crew is ready with fire extinguishers , combustible is spilling from the turbines. Was it normal to occur during the start up with the early turbines? Why ?
Ron Wolpa Not just the early turbines, we were doing this up to the late '80s with the Mirage IIIO/D. Why, excess fuel during starts caused by late ignition or tail wind usually.
+Ron Wolpa That's not fuel; that's water, being sprayed on the hardstand to dilute any spilled fuel and prevent a flash fire. However, early turbojets, while never quite as leaky as the turborams on the SR-71 (A/K/A the kerosene shower-bath!), did have a nasty habit of dripping oil and JP on the ground when not running.
And, most astonishig of all, those poor chaps had NO ear protection! Maybe deafness and engine screech-induced dumbness was the ONLY thing keeping these lads from runnig for dear life, away from this threatening beast!!!
James Kratzer I recall reading a book on the Blackbird in the mid 80's and it said that the SR-71's fuel tanks leaked until the metal got hot enough to expand and seal.
I've watched this video several times over the last year or so. The "instructor" continually tells these poor guys about a dozen ways the B-47 will Kill You and that it is your fault if it does. The Air Force wanted to be able to call any crash of this Death Trap would be due to "Pilot Error" when in reality this plane would kill you at its own whim. It's like if I try to teach you Snake Handling by sitting you down and telling you it is your fault if the Snake Bites you. How could a Wing Commander look into the eyes of these youngsters knowing he was sending 15% of them to their deaths and NOT in a war where casualties are expected? After the first few crashes (or planes simply disappearing off Radar) they should have grounded the fleet. The B-47 should have never made it past the prototype stage. A very beautiful bird though.
+randy109 yes, she was treacherous. But yes, it was pilot error as well a lot of the time. The safe flight regime at cruise level was extremely narrow (as explained) and a lot of pilots, inexperienced at flying jets and used to the more forgiving B-29, would get caught by that and get into trouble, often fatally. This was true of other jets of the time as well, especially the U-2. That didn't make them bad planes, it just made them unforgiving. What made the B-47 special in that regard is that a lot of experienced pilots ended up killing themselves for overestimating their own ability in flying it, they were just too darn cocky. Of course it wasn't without its flaws and several would break up in mid air for no apparent reason, another accepted risk of being at the cutting edge.
Now picture something that shape, excepting only two or four modern engines on the inner pylons; it'd be a classy arrival like showing up in one of those giant 50s convertibles.
@33:35 there is a vehicle in the foreground that looks out of place for the 50's.. it looks much like a 2000+ Jeep or HumVee. What could it be from that era?
0:54 “CUT! Ok again fellas…you’re all watching the SAME jets pass by in the sky, so you’ll have to use your imagination, but you also have look at the *same* place…and you!! with the finger!! what the hell are you pointing at??” 4:07 “And for the 40th time, don’t look at the camera!!”
The Fellas: What's the max speed sir? How high can ot fly? Does it have bad stall characteristics? The Commander: Did you guys even read the flight manuals we gave you when you got here?
Its really noticeable that the film discussed at length the range, cruising altitude and critical mach number without ever once putting a number on any of these. The film must have had a lower security classification than the flight manuals.
Ken Oliver I never really thought about the security levels of these old training tapes until I read your comment. Now that I think about it, it is quite obvious how classified the films were at the time. One film might teach you about the exact start up procedure, taxi, take-off, flying and landing of an aircraft. Another film might barely assist in a viewers recognition of a craft.
I appreciate the memories you old flyboys have about the B47. But as someone who grew up after it had long been replaced by the B52, I'm detecting a tone in Reed Hadley's narration that makes me think this bird had a nasty temper if carelessly handled. Is that true?
The 47 was mostly an act of desperation and a waaay too complicated bird to fly. Of course, back then we learned as we went. I like Reed Hadley's narration and acting.
A beautiful Bird, but quite dangerous to fly. On a nice, clear day while cruising at altitude you could go into a Stall if you didn't watch the controls constantly. You could get a Stall Warning while at speed, at altitude in good weather. If you ease off the throttle, and go into a very shallow dive (like any pilot knows from flying a Piper Cub or little Cessna) it won't level out and fly straight after a few thousand feet. It WILL shed one, or both wings! B47's were lost without even sending a Mayday while flying comfortably in good weather. This beautiful plane was a killer. 10% of B47's ever produced were lost, killing over 450 crewmen and it NEVER saw a minute of combat. The old Tu-95 Bear would cruise at Mach .8 with very little pilot effort. We retired some B47's that were only eight years old. A "Widow Maker" if there ever was one...
Finally, someone speaks the truth. I counted over 250 losses from the 2038 built. This plane was a valuable technology step, but it shouldn't have gone into production. They should have transitioned from the B-45 to the B-52. The Soviets had faster fighters by the time the B-47 went into service, and they had SAM's a few years after that.
We had the e model best ever bomber our wing flew with external ecm pods and the clip-in bombing systems 4 weapons not 1. We only ever lost 2 aircraft in8 years..All the problems of the A model were gone by the time Boeing built the e model with much better engines and added a 1700 gal drop tanks an all fuel cells moved to the wings with 1 center line tank low in the fuselage behind the bomb bay. Did away with the long bay God Bless the Clip-In Bomb System......
Reminds me of the Airman who mentioned to Jimmy Stewart in Strategic Air Command. " Sir, doesen't the general know smoking that cigar could cause the aircraft to explode? " Jimmy replied " It wouldn't dare ". Haha The General in the film was patterned after General Curtis LeMay
This plane used a pull up loop of sorts to toss the Nuclear bomb towards its target while the aircraft pulls up, then rolls over to level out in the other direction. The B47 could not handle such forces, it broke up or buckeled under u der this maneuver many times killing many crews before it was retired when the B52 came in as USAFs main bomber. Dangerous plane
It’s always good to see that Operations and Maintenance are separate. Those of us in MX are uneducated and unworthy of prestige. Ops types on the other hand are noted and worthy of all manner of showers of glory. Woohoo.
Very interesting film, thanks. Who is that actor playing the lead? It seems the US military rolled him out of the hangar for lots of their films of the '50s. I think he was the guy from the first H-bomb film as well (but he smoked a pipe in that one! :-) ).
This is the first bomber that ushered in the jet age,and it also drove a nail into the coffin of the once liked B36 bomber. However the technology back then didn't have all of the most modern of equipment,like advanced radar systems and bomb load capacity that was good for its time. But according to retired air force officer/pilot walter boyne he was upset that boeing after the late 1950s were ending up cutting up just about all of the b47s. Well we all know that over in pima air museum in the state of Arizona has at least according to records 2 of the last models(E) the e model is the final of production models. Even today the B47 would have never fired a shot in any war even the Vietnam war. Because the Vietnamese had one of the most terrifying weapons in their disposal. The SAM and that should tell you something in perspective.
I wonder what new problems the Russian operations commanders had to deal with when this bird hit the skies. What fighter jets he chose to intercept it and what tactics he deemed best. This jet bomber's only defence was speed and altitude, so I guess the B-47 is what launched the whole S.A.M. idea from Ivan. I guess Gary Powers, in his U-2 on 1960, felt the inverse effects of the B-47 in a roundabout way.
This film was made in 1950. The Russian operations commander had MIG15s at his disposal that year - at least as fast, and with far better climb rate (though even more of a widowmaker than the B47). The film spoke complete BS when they said nothing would threaten it "for years to come".
I worked on the K series bomb/navigation system on B-47s at Hunter AFB in Savannah back in the late 50's. I can remember climbing up that rickety ladder into the airplane many times. It was really tight inside, not much room for any of the crew. Had to lay on my back and slide under the radar scope to adjust it. Most times we also had to change out "computers" but in those days they were analog computers, using cams and followers rather than digital types. Some of those computers were so big it took two of us to slide them out the side of the plane to replace them. It was an experience I'll never forget. As part of SAC, we also had frequent "alerts" when we were practicing to send the aircraft off "to war." Watching this video brought back a lot of memories - all in all, mostly good ones.
Emile
Thanks for sharing your memories!
Zeno
My neighbor told me yesterday after cutting his grass he was an electrician for b47 bombers and I came here to see what it was like and I gaurantee he did the same stuff as you from what he was telling me thats what he did too! It's cool to hear from someone else what they did and the stories are starting to make sense now
Привет! Я прочитал ваши воспоминания и меня тоже удивило как можно стратегическом бомбардировщике оставить так мало места, чтобы даже нельзя было встать в полный рост и размяться😭 Причем был уже опыт в B-29, 50, 36.. Техническая эксплуатация вообще крайне затруднительна.. У наших Ту-16 было намного больше места. Также я читал, что в SAC технический состав всегда имел при себе оружие на аэродромах, во времена генерала Кертиса Лемея
Became crew chief of B-47 at Lake Charles 1954, after 2 years of crewing a B-29 it was like going on retirement, wonderful aircraft most people don't appreciate the strides made in the first 50 years of flight. Bill K. Long Island
Hey Bill, I grew up in New Rochelle just across Long Island Sound from you.
I read in a comment here that the co-pilot seat could swivel around and face to the rear
so the co-pilot could fire his tail cannon in case of Mig attack from the rear.
I have never heard that before.
Sorry, I meant his 6 o'Clock. Hey I was Army not Air Force haha.
Bill D. New Rochelle
Bill, how was the maintenance on the 47? The 29 looked like a plumbers nightmare.
The speed of progress was just insane during these times. Crazy that just 2 1/2 years before this thing first flew we were still flying B-17s in combat over Germany.
Yes, he narrates "The Fight for the Sky," also on my channel. I seem to remember that voice from 1950s SiFi films too.
Hmm, memories. My dad flew the B-47 for a year or so when Castle AFB, 93rd BW I think, transitioned from the B-50 to the B-52. This was like 1953 to 1955 time frame. All I remember about the airplane from a personnel view point was that when dad took me out there and hoisted me up so I could sit in the pilots seat was that is was hotter'n a two dollar pistol up under that canopy. Painfully loud and the B-52 was more so. And if I remember right the B-47 had a cat walk that would get you back to the bomb bay, I could be wrong and be remembering the B-52 which does have such a cat walk. I was like 4 years old when dad was flying the B-47 so cut me some slack please. And the last B-47 I saw flying was late spring early summer of 1969 when I was in Boot Camp at Orlando Florida. It came over the training center headed into McCoy AFB trailing it's drogue chute ( Smaller than the Drag chute). A hell of an airplane but a demanding one. Dad really liked it, said it was like flying a six engine fighter.
I know Castle AFB well from my Air Force days. It's a civilian airport now, but very little traffic. The outdoor air museum is expanded from what it was when the base was active. Whenever I see that exit gate next to what used to be the base operations building it brings back memories of walking through it back in 1963. That was the exit from the SAC ramp.
Watched B-47s fly when i was a kid. Thanks for bringing back memories.
I worked on the RB-47s in the mid 60s in SAC out of Forbes. Was hardly ever home with all the tdys. Enjoyed working on the RBs on the autopilot and compass systems along the AH (astrotracker)tracker. The RBs were sent to Tuscon early 1977. Believe the 55th Weather still had one for a spell. Remember how loud they were on TO with water at Upper Heyford early the morning in the high humidity, rattled windows for miles. Enjoyed the photos some of the copilots had of Migs off their wingtips with their cameras in hand as well.
Incontestablement une belle machine et pour cause c'est un Boeing!
Il est bruyant , et lorsqu'il est prêt à décoller , alors ont sent les vibrations , et la fumée est de la partie , pas sûr que les écolos apprécieraient de nos jours?
Cela dit , J'ais eût la chance de les voire à Dakar , où ils étaient venu pour ravitailler avant de repartir pour le Vietnam .
J'étais surpris car les pilotes étaient pas assis côte à côte , mais l'un derrière l'autre comme dans un avion de chasse et le reste de l'équipage était en bas .
Il y avait l'opérateur armement et le bombardier .cet avion est une réussite et a inspiré les jets commerciaux d'aujourd'hui surtout ceux de Boeing.
Ose espérer qu'il en reste dans quelques musées aux states .
Je me suis régalé à regarder les vidéos des B36, B29, B70, B52, B1B
B2, X15, SR71, de belles machines , et j'espère voire un jour les B35 et
B49. , J'ais aussi eût la chance de voire le P61 Black Widdow merci à vous et longue vie , et merci à ceux qui restaurent ces machines.
😮😊😊
My Father was an Air Force officer and I remember the B-47 from when I was a kid. Great looking aircraft; really beautiful in flight!
Those Air Force vídeos from the 50's are high class, Very good material, thank you for upload!!! Greatings from Brazil!!!
I was a crew chief out of Lake Charles I will never forget, I hopped a ride on a refueling mission, I was sitting in the hole freezing to death and 4 feet away sweat was running down the arm of the A/C as he was flying the refuel... 1954
William is it true that when they were refueling jet bombers with propeller driven KC-97 tankers they had to do it in a shallow dive so the tanker could be flying fast enough to be above the Jet bombers slowest stall speed?
I worked on these a little at Homestead afb in 1959-60. I worked mostly on KC-97's and our sqadron transferred to Otis AFB in Cape Cod in 1960.
A beautiful and extremely impressive bird. Truly revolutionary and a world beater. An old friend of the family flew in them and said that, though this video didn't mention that tank selection was also used to trim in pitch, more than any other plane he flew, the entire flight really did consist of managing fuel. Perfectly understandable when some of the assigned missions were one way! Uncle Hank passed a few years back but he always felt that the B-47 should have been modernized and upgraded with four turbo fans along with or instead of the B-52 when they switched to low level attack profiles. Most of the money used on the B-58, F-111 and even the B-1 would possibly have been better spent on SuperStratojets.
The B-47's quirks were manageable and knowledge would have improved the control systems in a comprehensive upgrade. Throw in a structure redesigned for low level flight, those modern engines, and the explosion of inflight refueling and a modern take on the ol' 47 would still be a mighty impressive medium/heavy attack aircraft.
Great picture. My dad helped build the 47s at the Wichita Boeing plant. We could hear them run up the jets at our house, guess we were 5 or 6 miles from the plant. Boeing gave my dad a crhome plated 47 like the one on the desk, except the bottom art is an ash tray. I've got it now and intend on passing it on to my kids when the time comes. Super plane for the short time it flew.
At 14:44 - No lecture may be conducted without a burning cigarette. Golden days. ;)
And old Reed Hadley loved his Phillip Morris Cigs.
Yes, children, once long ago it was socially acceptable to smoke in public. And that's the same Reed Hadley of "Zorro's Fighting Legion" (1939).
I remember going through radar lead-in-school at Davis Monthan AFB in early 1969 as a brand-new navigator headed for the F-4 backseat. They were retiring the B-47s and it seemed like there were hundreds of them just arrived at the boneyard. A year or so later I stopped at D-M again, and this time it was covered with B-58s, lined up on the ramps like mahjong tiles.
My old man had 8,000 hrs in the B-52, around 2,000 hrs in the B-58, but LOVED the B-47 more than his Wife, SERIOUSLY!
My brother flew 7 yrs in the B-47, Forbes AFB, then Warner Robins Ga. B-52s 5 yrs, then Bunker Hill Indiana B-58s 1955 to 1967 He may have know your Dad. Maj. Galen Dultmeier A/C commander.
My father was a navigator in the B-47 at Schilling AFB in Salina, Kansas in 1955-56. He loved the B-47 but told me about some mishaps with the plane. One pilot landed a B-47 on the taxiway at night and another one overshot the runway!
Was there 310. oms
B-52 training videos are hard to find. There's a complete B-52 flight manual on our B-52 DVD. If you haven't watched it yet, see "The B-52: Vietnam - 4258th Strategic Wing operations out of U Tapao Air Base, Thailand," also on my channel. Sorry, nothing on the KC-135.
This plane with its blooms of white smoke jet power assist takeoffs made it one of our favorite. Then Jimmy Stewart amps it's popularity with us! (I can't believe I love everything Aviation, when I crashed on landing, my first plane flight. My dad cut me free of seatbelt while I was hanging upside down!)
My Grandfather hated this plane so much that he resigned his commission and went to NCO status (he regained officer status in Missile Systems). That was serious and no mean feat as He was a Tuskeegee Airman and had to go through hell to become a navigator and black officer. He said he rather die with nobility being shot down (and he flew in quite a few different makes of aircraft), than die because he was in a crappy plane. He resides in OKC now and when we went to Tinker AFB we took him to one that was on static display and you could still see the grief come over him from flying in that plane. He said "Beautiful bird, but deadly!".
So much for the "Luftwaffe 1946" legend. If the Jerries could have pushed ahead with the designs eventually nicked by the Anglo-yanks, most probably their airmen would all be dead before having the chance to fight für Heimat und Führer! Those beautiful, badass-looking early big jets were real death-traps. EVERYTHING had to be learnt from scratch.....
Lol. At about 11:58 the guy basically says, "Hey, fellas, this thing isn't a deathtrap. If you die, it's going to be your fault." And yet, history and hindsight suggest something a bit different about the B47. Also, I loved the "The mission plan for this aircraft is simple...your primary goal is to survive each flight. Good luck."
If ever a jet bomber captured the image of the 1950,s this is it, majestic, odd looking, gleaming, sinister and classy all in one.....
Loved the video; watched the entire thing! As an "old" Avionics/Instrument person, I never had the chance to work a B-47 - however, one of my favorite planes. The Instrument panel sure looked familiar! Worked all of those old systems, many, many hours. Loved the crew chiefs, in the vid. They work their butts off, get no respect. The "drivers", in the vid, are typical of "drivers" throughout the USAF - "I'm here, is the plane ready?" ha. but true. The grunts make it happen! N-6395T
My impression is that it could break the sound barrier without much difficulty in a shallow dive, but would experience severe handling problems doing so.
A good summary illustrating that aircrew earned their pay. Would be interesting to see the maintenance training side of this ship.
I was NAS Miramar, Navy ET-R2, 70-74, maintained GCA and TACAN. Got to see one of these pass through there in the early seventies, "'don't know why." Unfortunately I was "straight arrow" back then, we were not allowed to have cameras on the flight line, even though I never was involved with ANYTHING classified LOL. So no, I did not get photos
The US Navy operated one or two EB-47E aircraft at NAS Point Mugu, California in the early seventies.
Your looking at the mother of every airliner we fly in today. Swept wings, podded engines, cylendrical fuselage.
Beautiful piece of Aluminum. One thing they didn't say was that the co-pilot was also the gunner. It had double 20mm turret in the tail and the
co-pilots seat could rotate 180 degrees were he could use the radar gun sight.
At 4:50 the narrator states the Germans were putting jets in the air in mid-1943 (operationally, I presume). I thought that wasn't until mid-1944... ?
The Stratojet, Vulcan, and YB-49 the most beautiful bombers ever built.
The Stratojet was THE greatest advancement in aviation of its time. Were it a bit sounder structurally it would have served years longer.
Air Force brat Plattsburgh AFB late 1962-66 saw the B-47 replaced by the B-52; they put a B-47 on display by the hospital.
The B-52 had the same attitude in the air--it was straight and level pretty soon after leaving the ground.
Great video Zeno's!! Got any videos of B-52 or KC-135 like this one?
Thanks for posting.
Great upload...and what a great, although temporary, plane it was.
The B-47 was the first jet Boeing designed. And because they were uncertain how stiff to make the wings then they designed its wings with lots of flexibility. If they made it too stiff it might possibly break in two in turbulence. It was therefore made so flexible that the wingtips were 17' higher at cruise than when the plane was on the ground.
I as a USAFA cadet was given an orientation ride in one in 1958. The walkway mentioned in other posts here ran along the left side below the level of the A/C and copilot and ran from somewhere in the rear to the bombardier/navigator's nest in the nose. All three crewmembers had ejection seats, but I had nothing. I just sat on the floor of the walkway abeam and below the pilots for T/O and landing. I was also told that my way out of the plane during flight was through the entry door on the left side of the fuselage ahead of the wing. After the ride was over I asked the crew what my chances had been had I been forced to exit through the entry door inflight. The answer was that nobody who had gone out that door inflight had survived.
Since the navigator did not want to bomb Sacramento for grade, he allowed me to bomb Sacramento for fun using the K system, which was a great learning experience.
The AF got rid of the plane because of its lack of range. And this was before the day of the KC-97 and KC-135 tankers, which might have changed things. It's a shame because it outran all the fighters of its era numbered below 100.
The modus operandi was to tanker up out of radar range of the Soviet Union at high altitude, then descend to low altitude to avoid radar. The bombs had spikes on their noses to impale the bomb in the ground for awhile before detonating in order to let the crew survive.
The Aircraft Commander did the flying, while the copilot handled the fuel and tail guns, two 20mm cannon with a rate of fire of about 600 rpm each. His seat could be made to face rearward in combat.
Since the A/C did all the T/Os and landings, the copitots were taken out periodically and allowed to land the plane. They had to have 3 landings each 90 days to stay current.
Thank you sir for all that interesting information. I would love to have seen Jimmy Stewart's co-pilot
turn his seat to face rearward to simulate defending from a MIG attack in the film
" Strategic Air Command ".
No, as the video said, it has a "critical mach number (less than mach 1.0 the speed of sound). The air passing over the wing which has camber (causes the air to speed up) is actually going faster than the aircraft (as shown on the mach meter). If the critical nr. is, say, .83 Mach nr. that means the airflow over the wing is higher, but LESS than 1.0. If you exceed your critical Mach nr you will get "Mach Tuck", (nose drops). Could lose control. New planes have sys to correct for this.
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Beautiful airplane and was faster than the jet fighters of it's time.
A friend of mine who ended up with more than 15,000 hours as pilot in command of buffs started out in be 47's and said that it was a pilot's airplane. A lot of guys he flew 47's with not capable of flying the buff. He said that a lot of those people in his words ended up getting screwed in the fighters.
I would like to have seen what the fellas standing on the hardstand playing pocket pool with their hands in their pockets
would do if it was General Curtis LeMay who climbed down out of the cockpit of that B-47.
The B-47 was sluggish on takeoffs and, came in too hot on landing. If a pilot didn't take off and go around the plane had a tendency for the wing to slide and cartwheel. Avionics, as with much of vacuum tube technology was a constant problem for the entire operational history of the aircraft. 203 of the B-47's were lost with total deaths of 464. This number represents about 10% of total aircraft production. Still the B-47 incorporated most if not all modern technology in jet production at the time. Swept wing design, engines in nacelles pods, near super sonic speed, superior operating altitude. It provided us with a technological advantage over the Russians for most of it's operational life time.
At 1:47. The dude on the left has his Captains bars on wrong.
I think that was a problem with early jet engines. I know it was on the Me 262.
Great share! Thanks.
i spent many hours working on the lelectronics on the 47
Long , fast and sleek, what a jet should look like and be. Ballsy..
IMHO the prettiest airplane ever made!
John Carraway, no, the out-rigger wheels are not "stupid" nor is balancing on two center-line wheels "dumb". This is a time proven design that has worked well with the U-2. Every aircraft design is unique. This particular design did not lend itself well to the more traditional tricycle arrangement. And, if you look at the B-52, this time proven aircraft doesn't use conventional gear either.
Interesting comments from former pilots. LABS immelman maneuver must have been challenging from pilots standpoint. No mention that early models were water wagons.
Just three years after WW-2 we made a jet bomber that Germany couldn't do, using their own data, and had operational a system that outran the German missile technology which wasn't intercontinental until the late 50's. It's truly a leap. And the bomber is so great looking too.
So cool LOOKING!!!! I like the FIGHTER JET COCKPIT ON A BOMBER...✈
Seems to be a fair and honest 1950 profile of this plane. Actor, Reed Hadley, very convincing as B-47 pilot/commander. The B-36 was still the main deterrent due to early production numbers for the Stratojet. The B-47 did not have the range or bomb capacity of the Peacemaker. The B-47 could be a scary and cramped way to fly. Slowing down to refuel with a KC-97 hurt it's time to target. The KC-135 helped shut the door on the B-36. Before the Stratotanker, total mission not much speedier than the '36. The B-47 was the future, though.
This is one of the most beautiful air planes ever built. It was very capable of delivering an atomic bomb with a technique called “toss bombing”. This was done by using a turn called an emmillmen . . . this is a turn used by fighters. You open the bomb bay, go vertical, performing a half loop, at the critical moment you let the weapon go, centrifugal force will pull the weapon out of the bomb bay. You than preform a half Roll on top, point the nose down and ‘firewall’ the throttles and escape the blast and shock wave
Emmillmen? Well, isn't that nice 😂😂😂
interesting that this film didn't mention a side effect of having those flexible wings: the 430 knot aileron reversal speed. I believe that it was test pilot Joe Wolfe who was killed at Edwards AFB because of it. I personally knew his son.
Actually, the comments should say the first swept wing jet bomber. No-one ever seems to remember the B-45 Tornado which was a 4 engine straight wing jet bomber. The engines were, as mentioned in the film, located in the wings.
As an AF "Brat", I remember these airplanes well, as they were parked not too far from our school on RAF Station Molesworth in England. When two or more were 'run up'; school "was out" for that period of time, as we could not hear what the teachers were saying. We also had the B-50s there as well.
The aerodynamic theory of high altitude flight, critical Mach, etc. was something new to crews upgrading from piston engine bombers to jets. Mentally "shifting gears" from a flying 300 mph aircraft to one flying at 600 mph was a big transition. It took lots of training and experience to become a B-47 pilot. A serious mistake in planning or judgement could have dire consequences for the mission and crew. Being our first jet bomber, the B-47 may not have been the easiest or the most forgiving airplane to fly. There was a lot to learn about high speed flight in the 1950s, aerodynamics, engines, aircraft systems, performance, etc. This was repeated a decade later with the B-58 and its Mach 2 speed (another ground-breaking design).
My instructor for my B727 type rating was a B47 pilot. He was based in Salina KS, an airport that I flew into as a young charter pilot. They had one parked outside the main gate on display for years and I'm wondering if its still there. I was always intrigued by the airplane.
Such a cool airplane.
@ 19:06 the ground crew is ready with fire extinguishers , combustible is spilling from the turbines. Was it normal to occur during the start up with the early turbines? Why ?
yup.. lol. could you imagine getting ready to take a commercial flight where ground crew had to do this?
Ron Wolpa Not just the early turbines, we were doing this up to the late '80s with the Mirage IIIO/D. Why, excess fuel during starts caused by late ignition or tail wind usually.
+Ron Wolpa That's not fuel; that's water, being sprayed on the hardstand to dilute any spilled fuel and prevent a flash fire.
However, early turbojets, while never quite as leaky as the turborams on the SR-71 (A/K/A the kerosene shower-bath!), did have a nasty habit of dripping oil and JP on the ground when not running.
And, most astonishig of all, those poor chaps had NO ear protection! Maybe deafness and engine screech-induced dumbness was the ONLY thing keeping these lads from runnig for dear life, away from this threatening beast!!!
James Kratzer I recall reading a book on the Blackbird in the mid 80's and it said that the SR-71's fuel tanks leaked until the metal got hot enough to expand and seal.
hi im troy maclure, you might remember me from such films as...............
I've watched this video several times over the last year or so. The "instructor" continually tells these poor guys about a dozen ways the B-47 will Kill You and that it is your fault if it does. The Air Force wanted to be able to call any crash of this Death Trap would be due to "Pilot Error" when in reality this plane would kill you at its own whim. It's like if I try to teach you Snake Handling by sitting you down and telling you it is your fault if the Snake Bites you. How could a Wing Commander look into the eyes of these youngsters knowing he was sending 15% of them to their deaths and NOT in a war where casualties are expected? After the first few crashes (or planes simply disappearing off Radar) they should have grounded the fleet. The B-47 should have never made it past the prototype stage. A very beautiful bird though.
+randy109 yes, she was treacherous. But yes, it was pilot error as well a lot of the time.
The safe flight regime at cruise level was extremely narrow (as explained) and a lot of pilots, inexperienced at flying jets and used to the more forgiving B-29, would get caught by that and get into trouble, often fatally.
This was true of other jets of the time as well, especially the U-2.
That didn't make them bad planes, it just made them unforgiving. What made the B-47 special in that regard is that a lot of experienced pilots ended up killing themselves for overestimating their own ability in flying it, they were just too darn cocky.
Of course it wasn't without its flaws and several would break up in mid air for no apparent reason, another accepted risk of being at the cutting edge.
To sum up, British technology was MUCH better.....
Isn’t that guy the narration voice of every sci-fi movie of the 1950’s? Classic movie voice!
Now picture something that shape, excepting only two or four modern engines on the inner pylons; it'd be a classy arrival like showing up in one of those giant 50s convertibles.
@33:35 there is a vehicle in the foreground that looks out of place for the 50's.. it looks much like a 2000+ Jeep or HumVee. What could it be from that era?
Dodge power wagon probably.
0:54 “CUT! Ok again fellas…you’re all watching the SAME jets pass by in the sky, so you’ll have to use your imagination, but you also have look at the *same* place…and you!! with the finger!! what the hell are you pointing at??”
4:07 “And for the 40th time, don’t look at the camera!!”
The Fellas: What's the max speed sir?
How high can ot fly?
Does it have bad stall characteristics?
The Commander: Did you guys even read the flight manuals we gave you when you got here?
Its really noticeable that the film discussed at length the range, cruising altitude and critical mach number without ever once putting a number on any of these. The film must have had a lower security classification than the flight manuals.
Ken Oliver I never really thought about the security levels of these old training tapes until I read your comment. Now that I think about it, it is quite obvious how classified the films were at the time. One film might teach you about the exact start up procedure, taxi, take-off, flying and landing of an aircraft. Another film might barely assist in a viewers recognition of a craft.
There's the old K-25 building in the opening shot.
I appreciate the memories you old flyboys have about the B47. But as someone who grew up after it had long been replaced by the B52, I'm detecting a tone in Reed Hadley's narration that makes me think this bird had a nasty temper if carelessly handled. Is that true?
"Best means to target for years to come".
For the 4 years until the B-52 was introduced... :( Advances sure were coming on fast and furious back then!
The 47 was mostly an act of desperation and a waaay too complicated bird to fly. Of course, back then we learned as we went. I like Reed Hadley's narration and acting.
A beautiful Bird, but quite dangerous to fly. On a nice, clear day while cruising at altitude you could go into a Stall if you didn't watch the controls constantly. You could get a Stall Warning while at speed, at altitude in good weather. If you ease off the throttle, and go into a very shallow dive (like any pilot knows from flying a Piper Cub or little Cessna) it won't level out and fly straight after a few thousand feet. It WILL shed one, or both wings! B47's were lost without even sending a Mayday while flying comfortably in good weather. This beautiful plane was a killer. 10% of B47's ever produced were lost, killing over 450 crewmen and it NEVER saw a minute of combat. The old Tu-95 Bear would cruise at Mach .8 with very little pilot effort. We retired some B47's that were only eight years old. A "Widow Maker" if there ever was one...
Thank you for your information Randy. I did not know the B-47 was that finnicky a bomber to fly.
Sounds like it was the Sopwith Camel of bombers.
Finally, someone speaks the truth. I counted over 250 losses from the 2038 built. This plane was a valuable technology step, but it shouldn't have gone into production. They should have transitioned from the B-45 to the B-52. The Soviets had faster fighters by the time the B-47 went into service, and they had SAM's a few years after that.
Gee in my 5 years of flying the B-47 (310th BW, Schilling AFB) none of this happened! Guess I just missed all the fun.
CWW Lt. Col. USAF (ret)
Very unique plane even today
The most beautiful Bomber ever built...
Why are the Air Crew at the start of the film playing with their loose change??
We had the e model best ever bomber our wing flew with external ecm pods and the clip-in bombing systems 4 weapons not 1. We only ever lost 2 aircraft in8 years..All the problems of the A model were gone by the time Boeing built the e model with much better engines and added a 1700 gal drop tanks an all fuel cells moved to the wings with 1 center line tank low in the fuselage behind the bomb bay. Did away with the long bay God Bless the Clip-In Bomb System......
I'm sure hoping one of the recommendations that got cut from the film was the line, "And for Gawd's sake, no smoking on the flight deck!!!!"
Reminds me of the Airman who mentioned to Jimmy Stewart in Strategic Air Command.
" Sir, doesen't the general know smoking that cigar could cause the aircraft to explode? "
Jimmy replied " It wouldn't dare ".
Haha The General in the film was patterned after General Curtis LeMay
No, it is basically the little brother to the B52. Very similar design on a much smaller scale.
Was there a movie with jimmy Stewart flying these?
It's called "Strategic Air Command"
@@whirledpeas3477 yes!.....I remember now.
Parts of it were filmed right here in the tampa bay area.
And to think just five years earlier the USAAF didn't have a combat-operational jet aircraft.
This plane used a pull up loop of sorts to toss the Nuclear bomb towards its target while the aircraft pulls up, then rolls over to level out in the other direction. The B47 could not handle such forces, it broke up or buckeled under u der this maneuver many times killing many crews before it was retired when the B52 came in as USAFs main bomber. Dangerous plane
It’s always good to see that Operations and Maintenance are separate. Those of us in MX are uneducated and unworthy of prestige. Ops types on the other hand are noted and worthy of all manner of showers of glory. Woohoo.
Would be nice to see the F-104 training film(s)!
True giants od aviation
Very interesting film, thanks.
Who is that actor playing the lead? It seems the US military rolled him out of the hangar for lots of their films of the '50s. I think he was the guy from the first H-bomb film as well (but he smoked a pipe in that one! :-) ).
This is the first bomber that ushered in the jet age,and it also drove a nail into the coffin of the once liked B36 bomber.
However the technology back then didn't have all of the most modern of equipment,like advanced radar systems and bomb load capacity that was good for its time.
But according to retired air force officer/pilot walter boyne he was upset that boeing after the late 1950s were ending up cutting up just about all of the b47s.
Well we all know that over in pima air museum in the state of Arizona has at least according to records 2 of the last models(E) the e model is the final of production models.
Even today the B47 would have never fired a shot in any war even the Vietnam war.
Because the Vietnamese had one of the most terrifying weapons in their disposal.
The SAM and that should tell you something in perspective.
anybody know d russell b 47 out of wichita ?
I recall seeing a field full of those in the AZ aircraft junk yard.
Was this plane capable of breaking the speed of sound? It seems like it should be able to get to at least Mach 1
I wonder what new problems the Russian operations commanders had to deal with when this bird hit the skies. What fighter jets he chose to intercept it and what tactics he deemed best. This jet bomber's only defence was speed and altitude, so I guess the B-47 is what launched the whole S.A.M. idea from Ivan. I guess Gary Powers, in his U-2 on 1960, felt the inverse effects of the B-47 in a roundabout way.
This film was made in 1950. The Russian operations commander had MIG15s at his disposal that year - at least as fast, and with far better climb rate (though even more of a widowmaker than the B47). The film spoke complete BS when they said nothing would threaten it "for years to come".
Who's the narrator? Reminds me of Michael Rennie.
The USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947, Hence, the seal.
Humm. Nothing said about 430 knot aileron reversal speed?
2,032 built, 203 lost in crashes with a loss of 464 crew killed, God bless em...
What a time; pilots of high-altitude combat aircraft were allowed to smoke cigarettes and still pass an air physical!
Gaijin could bring this plane to WarThunder
1:45 B-47 taxis past a B-25. Talk about a leap forward...
Strictly speaking, that was a Douglas A-26 Invader, but your point about the leap in technology in a short time is quite correct.
You are correct in the Invader spotting. I stand respectfully corrected.
The narrator repeatedly says "Pee-Forty-Seven" instead of "Bee-Forty-Seven!"
Agreed!