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

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.

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. :)

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.

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.

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!!

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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!!

I remember coming upon a B-47 on static display at Whiteman AFB in the late 1990's. I was attracted to the beauty of the design but could not identify the airplane. It looked like a modern warplane and at the same time, something out of WWII. Of course, that is exactly what it was. It was my introduction to this marvelous plane. I loved seeing the plane in Jimmy Stewart's movie "Strategic Air Command".

Yep, the "More power Leo..." line along with "Negative Kadena -- I can't hold..." are some of my favorite lines from "SAC."

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).

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.

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.

These bombers used to fly directly over our house at Hampton Beach, NH when I was a kid. They would pass at quite low level (loud!) as the bombers swept out over the Atlantic and on toward polar regions during their standard nuclear patrols. Both Boeings, B-47 and KC-97, were stationed at Pease AFB for nearly a decade (1956-66). In fact, Pease was among the most important B-47 stations and had two bombardment wings (100th and 509th) concurrently based there. Pease also was one of the last AFBs to house the B-47 before it converted to B-52s for a very brief period and then on to the long run FB-111A. Alas, Pease AFB is long gone (so too beloved Loring), closed by BRAC Round 1 in 1991, although a smaller remnant of the base serves as one of the US military's most important refueling operations. Pease's NHANG was arguably the first, due to the political pull of Senator Jean Shaheen, to finally, finally receive the long-delayed and trouble-prone KC-46. (Those fly over my house now too. :)

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

Thank you for the videos. They bring back so many memories of my childhood in the 1950's. I loved airplanes then and still do. I wanted to be a pilot but was told my eyes were bad and couldn't do that. A terrible disappointment. Anyway thanks again and God bless you.

The Chanute Museum here had 46-66, the 2nd built. Walked around it many, many times Thankfully Edwards got it when the Chanute Museum went tits up.

I find it mind boggling that the B-47 first flew just over two years after V-J Day. It looks more than one generation ahead of the WW2 bomber. Just compare it to the B-17, B-24, Lancaster or even the B-29, and it seems light-years ahead. Though I think it has to be acknowledged how much the B-29 program contributed to future bombers, and aircraft in general, with it's advances like pressurization. Also, it must said, the B-47 is a downright gorgeous aircraft, especially with the tandem original seating.

Shots from this quarter 8:00 are so iconic for this aircraft and SAC. Call me propagandized as a child of the Cold War, but whenever I see a pic of LeMay, that quarter shot immediately comes to mind.

When my father was stationed in Elmendorf, Alaska, I watched many B-47 take off and land. The most spectacular take off was a B-47 using Jato assist. That was awesome!

Thanks for another great vid! You put a lot of heart, and experience into these. Top AV channel on the internet. And, thank you for your service! 👍🇱🇷🇱🇷

You mentioned that the B-47 replaced the B-36 in the bombing role. I always found it of interest that around the B-36D or so when they added the jet pods near the wingtips--take a close look at those pods. Rather than design all new pods, Convair used the inner B-47 engine pods. As far as I can tell, the only difference is the removal of the outrigger landing gear and addition to shutters over the inlet to keep the jet engines from windmilling when not in use.

I was lucky as a kid because my dad was stationed and retired at Tinker AFB . I saw most every USAF airplane and a few USNs land there. We lived about a mile west of the flight path.

Great channel, Mike 👍 Your knowledge and experiences, and wonderful storytelling and illustrations, makes every video an awesome one. Thank you so much!

Thanks for the detailed-as-usual video. I grew up in the Nifty Fifties and the B-47 was and is one of my favorite aircraft. As a side note, about 8 or 9 years ago I met the author Wolfgang Samuel at a book signing at Udvar-Hazey and found out he was aircrew on RB-47s out of Takhli, although he was assigned there before I was. Lots of interesting aircraft when I was stationed there....RB or EB--66s, RB-57s and probably more I've forgotten. Cool stuff.

At 13:09 is Barry Sullivan playing Lt. Col. Rocky Samford, Stewart's co-pilot.

Thx for good content.

Along time ago back when the Federal Way shopping center was an amusement park and a shopping center above the go-kart track was a b-47. And we climbed all over that once the cockpit was broken into we were able to get inside and sit in it. I think it's the one that's up in Seattle at the museum of flight

Mike I love your videos!! I was a product of the 60's my dad was a AF pilot. The problem with the B-47's when they "launched" the bomb the wings had a tendency to snap off.

Thanks Mike very informative as usual really enjoyed it. Evertime I see a b36 peacemaker Iam more amazed wow how the hell did that huge aircraft fly truly amazing. Great presentation as usual and hi from the UK.

If I am recalling correctly, Jimmy Stewart really was an Airforce officer and pilot

The B 47 was featured in the movie Strategic Air Command starring Jimmy Stewart. He was also the pilot of a B 47 in the movie

The swept wing, cigar fuselage, and podded engines, established the template moving forward.

Good video. Good information. 👍👍👍👍👍

I remember the first time watching this as a kid as far as Jimmy Stewart in strategic Air command I was just in all of the aircraft and that Jimmy Stewart was flying them. A lot of my family is ex-military and when I was about 8 years old we would drive to Waco Texas where my Uncle Bill was I can see the big tails and triple jet engines of the huge transport planes from his house on base. When he retired he was the senior enlisted man in the entire United States Air Force as far as time in service. And drank. Can't remember for sure but I think he was in the Air Force for 34 years. (William h Scoggin)

good job!!

Stewart a WWII bomber pilot had the rank of General and had flown the B-58 Hustler and did so in the USAF video & was IN uniform!

A most enjoyable video. It is hard to believe that an aircraft that big could do a loop and bomb release back in 1947. And looking at that beatiful aircraft you have to give a lot of credit to those aircraft engineers as you reaize that only 8 years earlier the U.S. Military was still flying some old single engine biplanes.

A point of order. The B-47 wing attachment to the fuselage has more in common with the 727 than the 707 or Dash 80. The B-47 wing attachment used a bottle pin design to attach the wing to the fuselage. It uses a "pin" attachment at the front and rear wing spar. Where as the 707 and Dash 80 had a side of body rib similar to the late model B-29's and B-50. The 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787 use this side of body rib design. FYI ...

At about the 6:30 point, the famous B-47 color takeoff image is not at Edwards AFB. It's Biggs, a B-36 base. Note the B-36s on the ground. B-47s co-existed with the B-36s for a time at Biggs, El Paso, TX. Photo take April 15, 1954. -- Kurt Burgess

I think there's footage of a B-47 testing that toss-bombing technique, where it pulls up into a steep climb and they actually loop the thing!

Great job Mike! You need to do a review of the GREAT movie "Toward the Unknown" with William Holden, James Garner and Lloyd Nolan circa 1956 about the Golden Age of Test Pilots and aircraft featuring the Martin XB-51 as the Gilbert 120!

I remember the movie Strategic Air Command. It is by far, one of my all time favorites - not only because of Jimmy Stewart, but because I get to see the airplanes that were flying when I was a kid. This morning, I have a silly question for you, now that you brought up the movie. Do you have any insight as to how I could locate and purchase the musical score for this movie - specifically the march at the beginning... and the stirring music when the B36... and later, the B47 are in flight? The community band I play with just did a tribute concert to the USAF. This music would have been perfect. Thank you so much for covering these aircraft. You make this old man's day!

Hard to believe it flew 2 years after WW2

I love the movie Strategic Air Command

The B-50 was not the ultimate expression of the B-29. That would be the proposed B-54 with a longer fuselage, greater wing span and other improvements. The AirForce initially ordered a number of pre production aircraft but when LeMay took over SAC it was canceled.

at the start of the video they show a B.O.A.C. 707 - I flew on that from Bermuda back to JFK in February 1973 - outbound from jfk to Bermuda I was on a BOAC 747ST. Imagine using either of those planes for a 700-750 mile flight today !?

Sorry, at about 10:23, the B-36 was unofficially known as the "Peacemaker" not "Peacekeeper." One of the few military aircraft without an official nickname. -- Kurt Burgess

I wish you could come to Dayton to talk

Another reason they picked pilots from the fighters was the plane always had to be flown. I was told by a retired 47 pilot you never could set back and took it easy like the traditional bombers. At altitude the flight envelope got very tight, I believe he said 20 to 30 knots between max airframe speed and stall. He did say with a twinkle in his eye it was fun to fly.

Just caught your channel and looking at posts.... I have to say this is great stuff!! Jimmy Stewart was a natural, because he had lived it, as well as a lot of the other actors in those films with him. No offense to any actor, but you can't act "real"! I grew up at the "end" of the runway at Davis-Monthan A.F.B. and SAW all kinds and types of aircraft coming and going from D-M. My Dad was career military, and we used to joke about all the "retired" recon, recon/weather aircraft just passing by..... It was the Cold War, and we were using everything at our disposal to keep the Soviets off balance. Tucson, AZ was a military town then and everyone was vigilant about the "Reds".... But I digress....... Thanks for your time and research on these Cold War Dragons.....

Regarding the three Boeings at the beginning, I know Tex flew the 47 and 707, but the third…? At 10:30, you discussed the crewed, pressurized pod in the bomb bay of the B-47, which I’d not known about and helps me realize why the RB-47 was such an effective reconnaissance aircraft; did the RB-36 have a similar bomb bay configuration?

Can you imagine looping this big thing to fling a bomb like that. I wonder how much they actually did that!?!

I am building a 1/144 scale Academy B-47 as we speak.

I grew up on Loring AFB, Seymour Johnson AFB, KI Sawyer AFB and Hickam AFB. All SAC bases except for that one in Hawaii there. 1964 to 1981. Never done saunt me no B-47. Not a one.

I dont know how we got base housing at Forbes my dad was not on B-47 crew but he was an ICBM electronic tech and the base had nine. so I guess he was that important. 100 homes tops.

Outstanding Video...but at 10:17 its not the "Peacekeeper" its the "Peacemaker." haha lol Like the Colt .44 "Peacemaker"... However to my knowledge, Consolidated never officially attached that name to its mega-bomber. Or any other name for that matter. It was simply known as the...B-36.

How did JATO and RATO come to be used interchangeably, that's fascinating.

Read this: Jimmy Stewart movie. At 23 or 25 minutes, he and June are in the BOQ. A B-36 takes off. In the background the metal Venetian blinds start fluttering like crazy. I witnessed that same phenomenon as a child in El Paso. When I asked my dad, he said it was a B-36! What a cool thing to experience! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WkQr2T83UJc.html It is toward the end of the movie trailer.

9:25 Ok "Trimetrogon" is a fucking cool word

Yeager was apparently rather dismissive of bombers and of guys enthusiastic about flying them. I read he had a soft spot for the B-47 as it was faster than most of the a/c he was flying. He flew it himself and was annoyed that it was difficult to manage speed in descent but if a bomber had to have a problem, too much speed was the one to have.

The 47 was a crew killer.

HI, why should Jimmy Stewart NOT be playing an air Force pilot, he was a boomer pilot in WWII on B-24.

Leo Icant move my arm

Why didn't the U.S. use the B-47 used during the Korean war?

Lol I keep thinking the plane has “potted” engines

RB36 Peacemaker not peacekeeper

The B-47 was so streamlined that to slow down for landing they lowered the rear landing gear! (Which due to drag AFT of the Center of Pressure, increased the plane's stability at slow speeds!) Also, by dropping the JATO units, they decreased the drag from the openings of all of those JATO bottles!

Raise your hand if you still have your ticket from Flying Tiger Airlines

After he pissed off his wife