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5050 Santa Fe Drive • Atwater, California • 95301
Boeing B-47E Stratojet
The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was the first swept wing jet bomber and the first to be designed to carry nuclear weapons. It was also the first U.S. Air Force aircraft to use " fly by wire " flight control systems. The design of the B-47 relied on swept wing data captured from Germany after World War II. It entered service in 1951. A total of over 2,000 B-47's were built, forming the backbone of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in the mid 1950's. By 1957, 28 bomb wings were flying 1,260 B-47s and another 600 training and recon versions were in use. Several versions were high altitude reconnaissance aircraft and many were used for electronic reconnaissance. The last Air Force B-47 was retired at the end of 1969.
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). Thrust reversers and anti-skid brakes had not yet been developed, so a ribbon-type drag parachute reduced the B-47 landing speed.
A pod containing two General Electric J-47 engines hung from each wing inboard, and a single engine hung farther out. The weight of these six engines made the wings droop. B-47 had tandem bicycle-type landing gear under the front and back sections of the fuselage. Small outrigger wheels on the inboard engines kept the airplane from tipping over when it was on the ground.
Once airborne, the graceful jet broke speed and distance records; in 1949 it crossed the United States in under four hours at an average 608 mph. The B-47 needed defensive armament only in the rear because no fighter was fast enough to attack from any other angle.
The Aircraft on display at Castle Air Museum is one of 264 B-47E-DTs built by Douglas Aircraft Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma for Boeing. It served with SAC's 9th, 509th, and 40th Bomb Wings in Idaho, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and Kansas. In 1964, it was transferred to the Navy and used as a photographic training target at the China Lake Weapons Center in California.
Museum volunteers, headed by Mel Hedgepeth, towed the aircraft 23 miles through the desert and spent over 36,000 man-hours restoring the aircraft to flying condition. On June 16, 1986, piloted by Maj. General J.D. Moore and Co-pilot Lt. Colonel Dale E. Wolfe, it made the last flight ever of a B-47, flying from the China Lake facility to Castle Air Force Base in Atwater, California, to join the Museum Collection.
MUSEUM HOURS
April 1- September 30
9:00am - 5:00pm
October 1 - March 31
10:00am - 4:00pm
The museum is open
daily year round (weather permitting),
except for the
following days:
New Year's Day,
Easter,
Thanksgiving and
Christmas Day.
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Specifications
Country of Origin:
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United States
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Manufacturer:
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Boeing Airplane Company
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Role/Function:
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Bomber
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Serial Number:
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52-0166
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Model Number/Mk #:
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Model 450
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Crew:
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3
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Power Plant:
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6 - General Electric J-47 jet engines with 7,200 lbs. of thrust each with water injection.
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Maximum Speed:
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606 mph.
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Cruising Speed:
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n/a
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Service Ceiling:
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40,500 ft.
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Range:
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4,000 mi.
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Weights:
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Empty: 80,750 lbs.
Maximum: 198,200 lbs.
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Wing Span:
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116 ft.
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Length:
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109 ft. 10 in.
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Height:
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27 ft. 11 in.
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Wing Area:
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n/a
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Armament:
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2 - 20 mm cannons in tail turret and 22,000 lbs. of bombs.
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Cost:
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$1,900,000.00 USD (at the time of manufacture)
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Number Built:
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264 E-models. Between 1947 and 1956, a total of 2,032 B-47's in all variants were built. Boeing built 1,373, Douglas Aircraft Co. built 274, and Lockheed Aircraft built 385.
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# in Current Service:
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None.
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