15 Boeing B-47E Stratojet
The defensive armament was changed to two 20-mm cannon in the tail. The A-5 fire control system that had taken so long to develop was finally fitted. The A-5 fire control system (FCS) was much better than the discarded B-4 system of earlier versions and could automatically detect and track pursuing aircraft and aim and fire the 20-mm cannon. The earlier B-4 system could, at best, spray machine gun fire in the general direction of an attacking plane with little prospect of scoring a hit.
In this image, two B-47Es (B-47E-100-BW, Serial Number: 52-560 and B-47E-100-BW, Serial Number: 52-568) of the 1st Bombardment Squadron of the 9th Bombardment Wing stationed at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, fly a long-range training mission. By 1956, the USAF had 28 wings of B-47 bombers and five wings of RB-47 reconnaissance aircraft. The Stratojet was the first line of the US strategic nuclear deterrent, often operating from forward bases in the UK, Morocco, Spain, Alaska, Greenland, and Guam. The B-47s were often set up on “one-third” alert, with a third operational aircraft available sitting on hardstands or an alert ramp adjacent to the runway, loaded with fuel and nuclear weapons, crews on standby, ready to attack the USSR at short notice. Crews were trained to perform Minimum Interval Take Offs (MITO), one bomber following another into the air at intervals of as little as 15 seconds to launch as fast as possible. MITO could be hazardous, as the bombers left wingtip vortices and general turbulence behind them. The first-generation turbojet engines, fitted with water-injection systems, also created the Stratojet’s characteristic dense black smoke trail.
15 Boeing B-47E Stratojet
The defensive armament was changed to two 20-mm cannon in the tail. The A-5 fire control system that had taken so long to develop was finally fitted. The A-5 fire control system (FCS) was much better than the discarded B-4 system of earlier versions and could automatically detect and track pursuing aircraft and aim and fire the 20-mm cannon. The earlier B-4 system could, at best, spray machine gun fire in the general direction of an attacking plane with little prospect of scoring a hit.
In this image, two B-47Es (B-47E-100-BW, Serial Number: 52-560 and B-47E-100-BW, Serial Number: 52-568) of the 1st Bombardment Squadron of the 9th Bombardment Wing stationed at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, fly a long-range training mission. By 1956, the USAF had 28 wings of B-47 bombers and five wings of RB-47 reconnaissance aircraft. The Stratojet was the first line of the US strategic nuclear deterrent, often operating from forward bases in the UK, Morocco, Spain, Alaska, Greenland, and Guam. The B-47s were often set up on “one-third” alert, with a third operational aircraft available sitting on hardstands or an alert ramp adjacent to the runway, loaded with fuel and nuclear weapons, crews on standby, ready to attack the USSR at short notice. Crews were trained to perform Minimum Interval Take Offs (MITO), one bomber following another into the air at intervals of as little as 15 seconds to launch as fast as possible. MITO could be hazardous, as the bombers left wingtip vortices and general turbulence behind them. The first-generation turbojet engines, fitted with water-injection systems, also created the Stratojet’s characteristic dense black smoke trail.