Boeing B-47 Stratojet

Boeing was among several companies to respond to the request; one of its designs, the Model 424, was basically a scaled-down version of the piston-engined B-29 Superfortress equipped with four jet engines.[6][5] The USAAF awarded study contracts to all four companies, requiring that North American and Convair concentrate on four-engined designs (to become B-45 and XB-46), while Boeing and Martin were to build six-engined aircraft (the B-47 and XB-48).The thin wings provided no space for tricycle main gear to retract so it would have needed a considerable bulge in the fuselage aft of the bomb bay for lateral stability.[17][18] While not experiencing major problems, the emergency hot wire system was needed to raise the flaps and the engine fire warning indicators falsely illuminated.[21] During an early test flight, the canopy came off at high speed, killing pilot Scott Osler; the aircraft was safely landed by the copilot.The purchase was completed in August 2016 and on 21 September 2016 the aircraft arrived at Edwards AFB for reassembly, restoration and eventual display at the Flight Test Museum.Its maximum speed was limited to 425 kn (787 km/h) IAS to avoid control reversal, where aileron deflections would cause the wings to twist and produce a roll in the opposite direction to that desired by the pilot.[45] The performance of the Model 450 was projected to be so good that the bomber would be as fast as fighters then on the drawing board;[46] thus the only defensive armament was to be a tail turret with two .50 in (12.7 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns, which would in principle be directed by an automatic fire-control system.[49] That means that at this level, which produced the most range at most weights due to fuel consumption, there was an envelope of 5 kn (9.3 km/h) between maximum mach and stall speed.Due to its rudimentary autopilot, the pilot had to leave it turned off and spend up to eight hours diligently monitoring the airspeed and adjusting the throttles to avoid going into a stall.To shorten the landing roll, USAF test pilot Major Guy Townsend promoted the addition of a 32 ft (9.8 m) German-invented "ribbon" drag chute (thrust reversers had not then been developed).Upon entry to service, its performance was closer to that of contemporary fighters than SAC's extant B-36 Peacemaker bomber, setting multiple records with ease.[51] General reliability was good, the only major issuing relating to the avionics, typical of the vacuum tube technology used and the placement of equipment outside the pressurized crew compartment.As the training for this imposes repeated high stress on the aircraft, the airframe lifetime would have been severely limited by metal fatigue, and this maneuver was eliminated.MITO could be hazardous, as the bombers left wingtip vortices and general turbulence behind them; the first generation turbojet engines, fitted with water-injection systems, also created dense black smoke.Crews were trained in "pop-up" attacks, coming in at low level at 425 knots (787 km/h) and then climbing abruptly near the target before releasing a nuclear weapon.[62][63][64] In 1963, the Kennedy administration offered 24 B-47E bombers as an interim Canberra Mk 20 replacement for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), pending delivery of the much delayed F-111C aircraft.[75] The final 15 RB-47s, built from December 1955, were fitted with additional equipment, including the AN/APD "side looking airborne radar" (SLAR) system, and gear to sample the air for fallout from nuclear tests.[95] On 8 February 1954, a B-47 of the 22nd Bomber Wing, March AFB, California, crashed in Stoke Wood, a mile and a half short of the runway at RAF Upper Heyford, England, while on a training run.[101] On 27 July 1956, a B-47 of the 307th Bombardment Wing crashed at RAF Lakenheath killing its crew and causing a near radioactive incident when it hit a storage igloo containing three MK-6 nuclear weapons.[102] In November 1956, B-47E serial number 51-2421 of the 96th Bombardment Wing, flying from Altus AFB, crashed on a farm near Hobart, Oklahoma, following engine problems.[108] One exploded over southeast Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing one crewman and raining debris over at least 8 square miles, witnessed by thousands of people on the ground.On 4 April 1959, B-47 serial number 52-0320 crashed in the Santa Rita mountains, south of Tucson, Arizona, while attempting to land at Davis-Monthan AFB.[126][127][128] On 20 February 1963, a B-47 of the 98th Bomb Wing based at Lincoln AFB, Nebraska, crashed in Bashaw Township, approximately three miles north of the town of Comfrey, Minnesota.It had just completed a low-altitude simulated bombing run near Heron Lake when the sixth engine failed, causing it to crash in a field, resulting in a 25-foot deep by 50-foot wide crater.[129][130][131] On 3 May 1963, B-47E serial number 52-0051, based at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, crashed in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming following a collision with a KC-135 during midair refueling.[132][133][134] On 19 August 1963, two B-47E aircraft, serial numbers 53-2365 and 53-6206, both based at Schilling AFB near Salina, Kansas, collided over western Iowa and crashed several miles apart near Irwin.[137][138] On 27 March 1964, B-47E serial number 52-0321, based at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all four crewmen and two boys on the ground.[143][144] On 26 February 1965, B-47E serial number 52-0171, based at Pease AFB, collided during mid-air refueling with a KC-135 over the Atlantic Ocean, 700 miles (1,100 km) east of Maine.[147]General characteristics Performance Armament Avionics Data from Designations Of U.S. Military Electronic And Communications Equipment[151] Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era