Boeing B-47 Stratojet

Boeing B-47 Stratojet. . The Boeing B-47 Stratojet bomber first flew on 17 December 1947, It was America's first swept-wing all jet bomber. There were over 2,000 B-47's produced, more than any other Free World bomber since world war two. This B-47 Stratojet (Serial number 50-0062) is a TB-47B, a training version of the bomber aircraft. It was built by the Boeing Airplane Company at Wichita, Kansas and delivered to the US Air Force on 7 February 1952., This aircraft was first assigned to the Stratgic Air Command's training wing at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. In January 1957, the aircraft was re-designed as a JTB-47B for the use as a flying test platform. It was transferred to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where it remained for the rest of its service life. In April 1967, the aircraft was dropped from the US Air Force inventory and was allocated for museum use. The aircraft was transported to The Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum from Florence, S.C. in 1998 and has since been refurbished largely by dedicated volunteers., During the 1950s and early 1960s the B-47 played a vital role as a mainstay of the United States nuclear deterrent forces. The B-47s and their crews stood on nuclear alert during the Cold War, prepared to strike the Soviet Union and its client states with only a few minutes warning. Stratojets eventually equipped twenty-eight of Strategic Air Command's medium bombardment wings and also flew vital strategic reconnaissance missions., The swept-wing, multi-jet engine design of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet bomber provided a model for commercial jet airliners from the time of its introduction in the late 1940s through the 1960s. Commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 707, the Boeing 747 and the Douglas DC-8 owe their aerodynamic profiles to this Cold War bomber., This particular aircraft is painted to represent a B-47 assigned to the 303rd Bomb Wing. It stands as a tribute to the World War II Eighth Air Force veterans of the 303rd Bomb Group stationed at Molesworth Base in England, whose generosity made the restoration of this aircraft possible. The red triangle "C" depicted on the vertical fin did not appear on the original aircraft. This World War II insignia symbolizes the historic tie between World War II and post- World War II bomber units and aircraft., TECHNICAL DATA , B-47 B , Length: 106.8 ft , Wing Span: 116 ft , Weight empty: 78,102 lbs , Crew: 3 , Ceiling: 40,800 ft , Speed: 528 kn at 16,300 ft , Combat radius: 1704 mi , Combat weight: 122,650 lbs , Maximum bomb load: 25,000 lbs