by Larry A Brechner

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Boeing RB-47H Stratojet

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The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was the first operational swept wing, jet-powered medium bomber designed to deliver atomic bombs deep into the Soviet Union from forward bases in Europe. It had a three man crew with tandem seated pilot and co-pilot, and a navigator below in the nose section. It was in service with the Strategic Air Command (SAC) from 1951 until 1969, and never engaged in combat. It replaced the aging B-29s and B-50s with the long range missions covered by the six engine push-propeller, four jet-engine B-36 and later the eight jet-engine B-52. The aircraft on display is a RB-47H, which did photo/radar aerial reconnaissance during the cold war. Many times it would overfly parts of Soviet territory as part of its mission. The navigator in the “RB” series was in charge of these recon operations with the black nose section containing a powerful radar and other photographic plus sensors on the aircraft. The RB-47H remained in service until the late 1960s, with some of the electronic recon series (ERB) still operational until 1977. This particular aircraft was retired in 1966 and delivered to the museum in 1998

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