|
Specialty Press |
|
Boeing's B-47 Stratojet |
|
by Alwyn T. Lloyd |
|
Reviewed By Art Silen, 1708 |
|
|
|
MSRP: $39.95 USD Alwyn Lloyd is a well-known and highly regarded aviation historian whose earlier works have documented the histories of the B-17, B-24, and B-29. Each of those aircraft was a pioneer in airframe development and tactical deployment. It is fitting, therefore, that this latest work focuses on the development and deployment of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet, an aircraft that was as radical for its time, and yet proved so soundly designed and so farsighted that its principal characteristics, a broad, high aspect-ratio swept wing with under-slung engine pods, have been the universally adopted standard for large military and commercial aircraft for nearly sixty years. More amazingly, the B-47 was a solid success from its introduction into service in 1949 until its retirement from active-duty service in the early 1960s, and overall, some 2,049 examples were manufactured by Boeing, North American Aviation, Douglas, and Lockheed. Until its stable-mate and ultimate successor, the B-52, became available in quantity, the B-47 was a principal deterrent to the Soviet Union during the early years of the Cold War. In addition to its strategic role in transporting nuclear weaponry to distant targets within the Soviet Union, the B-47 enjoyed a highly successful career, albeit shrouded in secrecy, in electronic intelligence gathering, skirting the edges of the Soviet Union to gather information on Soviet signals, radar, and related capabilities. Lloyd begins with design proposals as they developed during the latter half of World War II, as jet-powered aircraft transitioned from experimental proof-of-concept to combat aircraft. In the fall of 1944, various aircraft manufacturers were invited to participate in a design competition for aircraft that would equip America’s strategic long-range bomber force in the years to come. Among the participants were Boeing, Consolidated-Vultee (Convair), Glenn L. Martin, and Northrop. Convair and Martin favored straight-wing aircraft with engines buried in the wings, much like the aircraft they produced earlier. Boeing was considering considered several straight-wing designs, but was dissatisfied with the results. With the end of the war in Europe, Boeing was able to acquire captured data developed by German researchers on the flight characteristics of swept-wings. Confirming that data in its own high-speed wind tunnel, Boeing persuaded the Army Air Forces’ Air Materiel Command Project Office to accept a revised proposal that would embody a swept-wing of 35 degrees and podded engines suspended from the lower wing surface. The results quieted skeptics and launched an entirely new generation of aircraft. From these beginnings, Lloyd traces the development of the B-47 prototypes, training of test pilots (none of whom had ever flown an aircraft like the B-47), and preparations for mass production of the B-47. Moving on to flight testing, Lloyd provides photographs from Boeing archives that lend a sense of immediacy to his narrative in ways that have yet to be done. Lloyd’s narrative continues with a comparative discussion of the principal B-47 types; the B-47B, which was the first combat-capable version, and the B-47E, the ultimate bomber version that was mass-produced by the production pool consisting of Boeing, Douglas, and Lockheed. Indeed, it was the E model that incorporated the state of the art as it then existed— in-flight refueling capability on an around-the-clock basis, ejection seats for all crew members, various electronics upgrades for bombing, warning, and gun-laying; a take-off gross weight of 230,000 lbs (28,000 lbs more than previously permissible); and an un-refueled combat radius of 2,050 nautical miles. Warload capacity was 25,000 lbs. By 1956, the B-47 was the principal component of the Air Force’s nuclear deterrent, equipping 27 combat wings, with 1,300 plus aircraft assigned, manned by more than 1,200 combat crews. This was America’s big stick, and it kept Soviet expansionism in check at a vulnerable time. The subsequent chapters discuss in good but readable detail the changes that the B-47 underwent as it was continuously upgraded to improve its mission capabilities, and to respond to Soviet countermeasures. Changes included more reliable ejection seats and various aircraft and avionics subsystems. A major modification program came about as the B-47’s use of a “toss-bomb” maneuver at low altitude to avoid the effects of a nuclear explosion resulted in over-stressed wing connecting points. After a number of fatal accidents, Air Force investigators focused on so-called bottle pins that secured the wings to the fuselage. These pins and the boreholes into which they fit were found to be suffering from stress-induced metal fatigue, requiring immediate replacement. A crash program was put in place that replaced these fittings on more than 1,200 aircraft, allowing up to an additional 400 hours of flying time for each aircraft refitted. Next discussed in good detail are the RB-47, EB-47, and RB-47H programs that probed Soviet air defenses and sought to ferret out electronic warfare capabilities. For those of us (myself included) for whom relevant detail is never quite enough, this chapter is not to be missed. The two chapters next following discuss B-47 training and operations. Between October, 1951, and January, 1956, 26 Bomb Wings and one Bomb Squadron were activated, representing a potential force of 1,125 aircraft; and this figure did not include the fleet of KC-97 tanker aircraft that were needed to support the bombers. While not quite at the pace of training and operations during the peak war years a decade earlier, these operations involved degrees of complexity unknown to the men who fought in World War II. The chapter on operations includes a tour de force of B-47 flight operations around the world, and most importantly, along the periphery of the Soviet Union, which occasionally resulted in B-47 reconnaissance aircraft shot down. Also mentioned is the thirteen-year program of weather reconnaissance in which WB-47 supported B-52 bombing operations during the Vietnam War, and performed similar roles elsewhere as needed. The final chapters of this marvelous book are devoted to describing experimental B-47s, and a thorough-going, and fascinating engineering description of the B-47 aircraft as a military and engineering entity. Detail nuts like me will salivate over the photos, schematic drawings, and extracts from Erection and Maintenance Manuals, in all of their wonderful detail. Apart from having a B-47 in my front yard, I can think of nothing better. To wrap it up, there is a section with color photographs, tables of production numbers, a discussion of first usages in the B-47 that are almost too common today to mention. My take on the book— Aviation historians will love it; modelers will love it. You will love it. Buy it. |
|
Information, images, and all
other items placed electronically on this site |
