Boeing B-47 Stratojet
Data for B-47E
Photo from USAF Museum Homepage B-47E
The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was one of the first bombers in the world to combine jet propulsion with swept wing technology. At their height B-47s numbered around 1 800 in the US Strategic Air Command. The B-47 had a crew of three, the pilot and the co-pilot were seated fighter style in a bubble cockpit with the navigator/bombardier in the nose cone. Speaking of fighter-like, the B-47 originally outperformed contemporary fighters for a brief period. B-47s of SAC flew from bases all around the world throughout the fifties and were replaced in the late fifties and early sixties by B-52 and B-58 bombers. Something I found really weird about the B-47 was that it had no ejection seats on the early production versions. The thinking was that because the Stratojet operated at high altitude the crew would have time to bail out conventionally. However, it was never considered that crew have to bail out on landing and take off, or that the reason for a high altitude bail out would be loss of control. When ejection seats were added to E and improved B versions the pilot and co-pilot ejected fighter-style, upwards, the bombardier ejected straight down, this may have been inconvenient in a low altitude situation. Reconnaissance and electronic warfare versions of the Stratojet were in widespread use as well, some into the late sixties.
Specifications
(Data for B-47E)
Origin: Boeing Aircraft
Type: Medium Strategic Bomber
Crew: Pilot, Co-Pilot/Tail Gunner, Bombardier/Navigator
Powerplant: Six General Electric J47-25E turbojets each delivering 3 269 kg (7 200 lbs) of thrust
Dimensions
Span: 35.36 m (116')
Length: 33.5 m (109' 10")
Height: 8.52 m (27' 11")
Max Weight: 99 790 kg (220 000 lbs)
Performance
Maximum Speed: Mach 0.82 (980 kph) (606 mph)
Cruising Speed:
Climb Rate:
Service Ceiling: 9 745 m (32 000 feet)
Max Range: 5 794 km (3 600 miles)
Armament
One remotely controlled tail turret with two 20 mm cannons & Internal bomb load of up to 9 979 kg (22 000 lbs) of free fall ordnance
First Flight: December 17, 1947
User(s): USAF
Production: 2 000 +
Unit Cost:
Go to previous aircraft 
Go to next aircraft
This page hosted by 
Get your own Free Home Page
Return to Homepage