BOEING B-47 STRATOJET - World's First Modern Swept-Wing Bomber

An overview of Boeing's revolutionary B-47 bomber, and its influence on commercial jet airliners from the 1950s to the digital wonders of today.

[doncoker]

Hi! I am an 88-year-old USAF veteran. My job for the B-47 was to keep them safely off the ground--that is, a mechanic. Here’s a story about these beasts nobody knew about but the ground crews. When they would land after a mission, there would be a line of them coming down the taxi-way, one behind the other, spaced far enough apart to dodge the rocks from the ones in front. Those six J-47 engines wanted to drag that Pterodactyl faster than it wanted to go, so the pilot had to ride the brakes to curb its enthusiasm. But the brake linings squealed like a prehistoric monster, so there would be this line of them, their necks craned into the air, all squealing their displeasure. What a sight! The pilots drove them into their particular parking bays as near as possible, but some of them had to be towed into place. The bombay doors were then opened and safety-pinned in place. Hanging from the ceiling would be this atomic egg, straight from the stratosphere, still covered with frost. I ran my hands over these icy packages of American freedom and hoped they would never hatch.

[markfrommontana]

No one ever played a pilot better than Jimmy Stewart.. for good reason given Stewart's magnificent service record with the USAAF in WWII. He was a natural. :)

[andreferro]

As you said, James Stewart was the best actor interpreting the role of a pilot.

"After a year training new pilots in New Mexico, he finally was sent overseas to fly B-24 Liberator bombers over Nazi-occupied Europe. At a time when air crews were expected to be killed between eight and 12 missions, Stewart had flown 20. He was stationed in Europe through the end of the war, receiving two Distinguished Flying Crosses, four Air Medals, a Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre.

Although World War II might have ended, Stewart stayed in the Army, and later the Air Force when it became an independent branch in 1947. He continued his service in the Air Force reserve, flying missions in B-52 bombers. He even flew as an observer on a bombing mission during the Vietnam War. He retired as a brigadier general from the Air Force in 1968.

In 1946, Stewart almost went home to take over the hardware store, but instead gave Hollywood another shot. The only problem was that years at war had taken their toll on his appearance. He was 37 but looked 50 and his career as a romantic lead was over, according to one biographer."

He was the REAL DEAL!

Greetings from Brazil.

[bluetopguitar]

One of my favorite Boeing designs. I'm sorry I never saw one in the air.

[jimmbbo]

Another great video, Mike!
Ever since I watched Jimmy Stewart enter the secured hangar to see the B47 for the first time with Gen. Hawkes (Frank Lovejoy playing a slightly more personable version of Curtis LeMay), the B-47 has been one of my favorite airplanes of all time...
In the '80s I had the opportunity to meet a retired USAF WWII vet and test pilot on the B47 who said it was the most enjoyable flying airplane he ever flew, and that it truly was a 6 engine fighter...
For the sake of accuracy, the B47 pilot pic is of Col. Holland's copilot, LTC Rocky Stamford (Barry Sullivan).
Keep up the good work!!

[JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

The reason James Stewart was so good at portraying a pilot is that he was a for real combat pilot. He had I think 28 missions in the b-24, he was qualified command pilot on not just the b-24 but also the b36 the b47 the B-52 and the b-58. He was a very talented pilot. Towards the end of his tour in the ETO with the 8th Air Force he was grounded because he was what they called back then flak happy. Basically he was suffering severe PTSD. He's a very brave upstanding man. Regardless of his Hollywood achievements I believe those were his greatest achievements. And yes I'm a big fan of his movies.

[glennweaver]

Very nice presentation of the multi mission B-47 Stratojet. Strategic Air Command is a must see movie for anyone who is a fan of the B-47 and B-36. Lots of breath taking screen time for both aircraft. Great job as always Mike.

[sski]

Very well done, Mike. My father started his career in the USAF working on B-47's in an electronics systems repair technician role in 1959. He soon ended up working on all types of aircraft through the 25 years he was with the USAF/ANG and even landed an instructor role for the last 10 of them. I had the privilege of growing up on bases around many of the greatest airplanes to ever fly the skies and it sure is great to watch your video treatments of each of them. Thanks!

[WAL_DC-B]

Nice video on the "grand daddy" of modern swept wing, jet engine pod aircraft.

[chuck]

Great video. Thanks for explaining/illustrating the lob bombing profile. Beautiful painting of the 47 performing that manuever.

[charlesleach]

Mike: Very nice video - thank you. I was a navigator/bombardier in B-47's from Sept 1960 thru May 1963. I loved this airplane although we had a few scary moments. I was stationed at Little Rock AFB and Chennault AFB - we flew "Reflex" missions to Morocco, Spain, and England where we would stay a month at a time on alert (three weeks on alert & one week off). That, of course, was the Cold War. We also deployed during the Cuban Crisis. Good memories.

[martinpennock]

The first time I remember seeing one of these was in the movie Strategic Air Command. I love that film to this day. What a beautiful aircraft. Always watched the old newsreels to catch a glimpse of the Air Force in action. I was really head over heels with the B58. Built several of those kits.

[andreferro]

Following your pattern of thinking (about concept...), I would like to mention the first one of them all, which is the Messerschmitt Me 262. I know you mentioned the 35° SWEEP as being a German information...

"While German use of the aircraft ended with the close of World War II, a small number were operated by the Czechoslovak Air Force until 1951. It also heavily influenced several designs, such as the Sukhoi Su-9 (1946) and Nakajima Kikka. Captured Me 262s were studied and flight-tested by the major powers, and ultimately influenced the designs of post-war aircraft such as the North American F-86 Sabre, MiG-15 and Boeing B-47 Stratojet. Several aircraft survive on static display in museums, and there are several privately built flying reproductions that use modern General Electric J85 engines."

"The Me 262 is often referred to as a "swept wing" design as the production aircraft had a small, but significant leading edge sweep of 18.5° which likely provided an advantage by increasing the critical Mach number. Sweep, uncommon at the time, was added after the initial design of the aircraft. The engines proved heavier than originally expected, and the sweep was added primarily to position the center of lift properly relative to the center of mass. (THE ORIGINAL 35° SWEEP, proposed by Adolf Busemann, was not adopted). On 1 March 1940, instead of moving the wing backward on its mount, the outer wing was re-positioned slightly aft; the trailing edge of the midsection of the wing remained unswept. Based on data from the AVA Göttingen and wind tunnel results, the inboard section's leading edge (between the nacelle and wing root) was later swept to the same angle as the outer panels, from the "V6" sixth prototype onward throughout volume production."

Me 262 Schwalbe
Messerschmitt Me 262A at the National Museum of the USAF.
Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a late production model
Role Fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber
Manufacturer Messerschmitt
First flight
18 April 1941 with piston engine (Junkers Jumo 210)
18 July 1942 with jet engines
Introduction April 1944
Retired
1945, Germany
1951, Czechoslovakia
Primary users Luftwaffe
Czechoslovak Air Force (S-92)
Number built 1, 430
Developed into Messerschmitt P.1099

Greetings from Brazil.

[jaymorgenthal]

All of my fellow baby boomers( I'm at1951 model) owe so much to the these aircraft and the Men of SAC who kept our country safe during the height of the cold war.

[alanclarke]

Hi Mike! Thanks for another wonderful video! Those photos were nice showing all those classic planes which are works of amazing art and engineering!

[thetreblerebel]

The craziest bomb dropper besides the unusual Vigilante. The whole manuver of going up in a toss bomb climb, rolling over then, rolling back to get the heck outta the way of Hydrogen Bomb you just threw at the Russians....crazyness!!

[singermcl]

Mike, another great video and nostalgic look back at what has to be one of the most beautiful bombers ever built.

Incidentally, for folks who have Amazon Prime, you can stream “Strategic Air Command” for free. If you don’t have Prime, you can rent it and stream it for $2.99. Worth every penny. Just Go to Amazon Prime and search for the movie title.

Watching Stewart in that B-47 cockpit gave me back-aches just imagining 16-hour missions in that seat without getting up. I have no doubt pilots were relieved when the B-52 came out just a few years later with a cockpit they could get out of and walk around. What a great aircraft and great movie. Your video inspired me to watch it again :). Thanks Mike.

[johnwatson]

B-47 Toss Bombing is often a popular subject when the plane is mentioned – many seem to believe it was a primary B-47 tactic when it was actually abandoned after a year (1956-1957) due to structural issues. LABS was still a program but switched to “Pop-Up” (quick climb to altitude-release and dive away).

[johnplaninac]

And another great video that we both enjoyed watching. Great stuff.

[wkelly]

Great piece Mike. I think the B-47 is the most elegant swept wing airplane ever designed. P.S... I believe a mock-up/movie prop B-47 cockpit used in filming the Movie Strategic Air Command can be seen at the March ARB museum in San Bernardino, CA. As I remember it is constructed as a cutaway profile so the camera can get a proper interior view.