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Boeing B-47 Stratojet of the U.S. Air Force
B-47 Concept and Design
B-47 Menu |
The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was the first swept wing jet bomber and the first to be designed to carry nuclear weapons. The design of the B-47 relied on swept wing data captured from Germany after World War II.
Boeing engineers had envisioned a jet-powered plane as early as 1943. However, wind-tunnel tests of straight-wing jet aircraft indicated that the straight wing did not use the full potential of jet-engine power.
This medium bomber featured six jet engines, allowing it to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. The B-47 needed defensive armament only in the rear because no fighter was fast enough to attack from any other angle. The first XB-47 rolled off the assembly line in September of 1947. The Stratojet entered service in 1951.
Because early jet engines could not provide enough thrust for takeoff, the XB-47, B-47A, and B-47B had 18 small rocket units in the fuselage for jet-assisted takeoff (JATO).
A ribbon-type drag parachute and anti-skid brakes reduced the B-47 landing speed.
Technical Specifications
 Boeing XB-47 Stratojet |
Wingspan: 116 feet
Length: 108 feet
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 230,000 pounds
Top Speed: 587 mph
Range: 4,000 miles
Ceiling: 38,000 feet
Power: Six General Electric J-47-GE-25 turbojet engines, with 7,200 pounds of thrust per engine; Jet-Assisted Take-Off using auxiliary rocket motors that are jettisoned after take-off
Crew Size: 3
Armament: Two .20 mm cannons in remote tail turret; 10,000-22,000 pounds of bombs
B-47 Stratojet Production Recap by Model Number
A total of 2,042 B-47s were built, forming the backbone of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in the mid 1950s. Boeing built most of the B-47s, but others were assembled by the Douglas Aircraft Co. and the Lockheed Aircraft Corp. Shown below is a recap of B-47 production by model number.
B-47 Stratojets at the Boeing plant in Wichita |
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Photographs of the B-47 Stratojet Assembly Line
Boeing's B-47 Stratojet assembly line |
Stratojet wing assembly |
Boeing's B-47 Stratojet assembly line |
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Boeing's B-47 Stratojet assembly line |
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Completed B-47 bombers outside the Boeing assembly plant in Wichita, Kansas |
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B-47 Stratojet Deployment by the U.S. Air Force
 Boeing B-47 shown at Pine Castle Air Force Base, Orlando, Florida |
The B-47, along with the B-52 Stratofortress, replaced the piston powered Convair B-36 in the SAC fleet.
The B-47A entered service in May of 1951 with the 306th Bombardment Wing (Medium) based at MacDill AFB in Florida. The 306th was intended to act as a training outfit to prepare future B-47 crews.
At its peak use in 1958, the USAF operated 28 B-47 bomb wings and four RB-47 reconnaissance wings, totaling 1,357 B-47s and 175 RB-47s. Several versions were high altitude reconnaissance aircraft and many were used for electronic reconnaissance.
The USAF phased out its last B-47 bombers in 1965, and the USAF retired its last Stratojet, a WB-47E, in 1969.
Boeing WB-47 Stratojet S/N 12115 |
U.S. Air Force B-47 in flight  |
B-47 Stratojet S/N 12225 at MacDill Air Force Base in the 1950s |
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U.S. Air Force B-47 Stratojets on the apron at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa Florida |
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Boeing RB-47E, with B-47E in the background, in flight ... world's fastest day-or-night long-range bomber |
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The End of Service for the Boeing B-47 Stratojet
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In mid-1960, B-47s began arriving at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, for storage and ultimate scrapping.
Final phaseout of B-47 bomber wings began in 1963. In October of 1965, the Air Force initiated Project Fast Fly to coordinate the inactivation of the last five B-47 wings and supporting tanker squadrons. The last B-47 bomber variants were removed from service with SAC by 1966.
The last USAF operational aircraft, WB-47Es assigned to the Air Weather Service, were withdrawn in September 1969.
By the end of June of 1966, over 1,000 B-47s were in storage at the base. Hundreds of B-47s still remained in storage at Davis-Monthan in 1967 parked neatly in rows (see photo below).
The last flight of a B-47 occurred in June of 1986, when a B-47E S/N 52-0166 was flown from the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake to the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California.
Davis-Monthan AFB's AMARG facility
Aerial view of rows of Boeing B-47 Stratojets at Davis-Monthan AFB waiting to be scrapped in January, 1967 |
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This photo shows stacks of ingots from scrapped Boeing B-47 Stratojets at Davis-Monthan AFB in April, 1962.
B-47B S/N 51-2284 rests in the background, awaiting its turn at the smelter, with 51-2321 seen in the left of photo. (USAF Photo) |
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Boeing B-47 Stratojet Surviving Aircraft
Of the more than 2,000 aircraft built for the Stratojet fleet, a total of only 21 B-47 aircraft have survived, been restored, and placed on display in locations across the United States. One additional B-47 is awaiting restoration at the Air Force Flight Test Museum, Edwards AFB, California.
Included below is a list of surviving B-47 Stratojets, with model numbers, serial numbers and location.
S/N |
Model |
Location |
Photo |
| 53-2135 | EB-47E | Pima Air and Space Museum, located next to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona |  |
| 52-0166 | B-47E | Castle Air Museum next to the site of the former Castle AFB, Atwater, CA |  |
| 53-2275 | B-47E | March Field Air Museum March ARB, Riverside, CA |
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| 53-2104 | B-47E | Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum, Pueblo, Colorado |  |
| 53-2276 | B-47E | Global Power Museum Barksdale AFB, Bossier City, LA |
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| 53-4299 | RB-47H | National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, OH |  |
| 53-4257 | RB-47E | Charles B. Hall Airpark Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, OK |
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| 51-2360 | WB-47E | Hill Aerospace Museum Hill AFB, Ogden, Utah |
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| 53-4296 | RB-47H | USAF Armament Museum Eglin AFB, Fort Walton, FL |
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| 51-7066 | WB-47E | Museum of Flight's Aviation Pavillion Seattle, Washington |
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| 51-2187 | B-47E | Kansas Aviation Museum, Wichita, KS |  |
| 51-2315 | B-47B | Grissom Air Museum, Peru, IN |  |
| 52-1412 | B-47E | Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum, Ashland, NE |  |
| 53-4213 | B-47E | McConnell AFB, Wichita, KS | |
| 51-2120 | B-47B | Whiteman AFB, Knob Noster, MO No public access - check with the base |
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| 53-2280 | B-47E | National Museum of Nuclear History Albuquerque, NM |
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| 50-0062 | B-47B | Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, Savannah, GA | |
| 51-7071 | B-47E | Hightower Park, Altus, OK | |
| 52-0412 | EB-47E | Dyess AFB Linear Airpark, Abilene, TX No public access - check with the base |
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| 52-0595 | B-47E | Little Rock AFB, Jacksonville, AR | |
| 53-2385 | B-47E | Clyde Lewis Park, Plattsburgh, NY | |
| 46-066 | XB-47 | Waiting restoration at the Air Force Flight Test Museum, Edwards AFB, CA |
B-47 at the Pima Air and Space Museum
Boeing EB-47E Stratojet, S/N 53-2135, at the Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona |
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Boeing EB-47E Stratojet of the Strategic Air Command |
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Boeing B-47E Stratojet, S/N 52-0166, at the Castle Air Museum On June 16, 1986, this aircraft made the last flight ever of a B-47, flying from the China Lake facility to Castle AFB for placement in the airpark |
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Boeing B-47 Stratojet 0166 |
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B-47 at the Museum of of the United States Air Force
Boeing RB-47H, S/N 34299, on display at the Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio |
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B-47 at the Museum of Flight in Seattle
Boeing WB-47E Stratojet S/N 51-7066 on display at the Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington |
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U.S. Air Force WB-47E Stratojet |
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B-47 at the Hill Aerospace Museum
Boeing WB-47E Stratojet S/N 51-2360
at Hill AFB in Ogden, Utah |
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B-47 at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aerospace Museum
Boeing B-47 Stratojet 32104 at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aerospace Museum in Pueblo, Colorado |
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Boeing B-47 Stratojet in Pueblo, Colorado |
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Tail section of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet S/N 32104 |
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B-47 at the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin AFB
RB-47H Stratojet 53-4296 at the Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin AFB, Florida |
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B-47 at the Charles B. Hall Airpark at Tinker AFB
Boeing RB-47E Stratojet S/N 53-4257
at the Charles B. Hall Airpark located at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
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B-47E at the Barksdale AFB Global Power Museum
Boeing B-47E Stratojet, S/N 53-2276, at the Barksdale AFB Global Power Museum in Bossier City, Louisiana |
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B-47 at the March Field Air Museum
B-47 Stratojet, S/N 2275, on display at the March Field Air Museum in California |
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B-47 at the Strategic Air Command and Space Museum
USAF Boeing B-47E Stratojet S/N 52-1412
at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland, NE |
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U.S. Air Force B-47E Stratojet, S/N 52-1412,
at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum |
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B-47 at the Grissom Air Museum
B-47 Stratojet, S/N 51-2315, on display at the Grissom Air Museum in Peru, Indiana (Photo courtesy of Douglas Clark) |
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More B-47 Photos
B-47 Stratojet, City of Lincoln (Photo by Lt Col Frank J. Puerta) |
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