B-47 Stratojet Jet Bombers, Military Model Aircraft, B47 Air Force Bomber Models.

Model aircraft of the Boeing Company B-47 Stratojet with the
B47 's super secret revealed. Model Aircraft Jet Bombers

Here's some information that was previously above top secret about the B-47. When the B-29's and B-36's were decommissioned we had the all new B-47 Stratojet which could out fly anything in the sky. This large bomber, with a jet fighter canopy was our main Strategic Air Command bomber and our first line of air defense. We didn't have any other aircraft with the capabilities that were needed to take this role in defense of our country, that's why what I'm going to tell you was above top secret. My supervisor was a former B-47 pilot. He flew all of the previous bombers and was given the new job of being a B-47 Pilot. One of the duties of pilot was to inspect the airplane prior to flight, Preflight. One tools that he had to use was a ruler, yes, a 12 inch ruler, this was the secret! He had to measure the crack in the wings before every flight. The cracks were the secret that we couldn't let out. The design was flawed and all of the wings of the B47 had cracks. If the crack exceeded 12 inches, the plane was unfit to fly. If it was under 12 inches, the plane could be flown but was limited to a 1/4 G maneuver. We couldn't let the enemy know that our first line of SAC defense had cracked wings.

One thing you failed to mention was the 12 inch ruler was used to measure the length of the crack. The way it was written might give someone who is not familiar with aircraft the impression that the ruler was used to measure how wide the crack was. That practice was quickly ended when all the B-47s were sent back to Wichita for modifications, that was two massive plates placed on the wing close to the wing root and the plane was limited to around 400 knots. I'm an ex B-47 mechanic, served with the 96th Bomb Wing in the late 50s.

William Ray, Ohio. Added 4-20-2009 Jeff, In my opinion what caused the cracks in the first place was the maneuver called the "LABS" Maneuver where the plane would come in at low altitude then do a sharp pull up, toss the bomb, roll over and return the way it came. With thin wings (First of it's kind) and the stress put on them it was inevitable that they would develop cracks and in some cases lost the wing. You can find this maneuver by searching the net.

23-Sep-2008

Dear Farrel,

That is pretty interesting and I will look into it more. I tried to look at B-47 wing cracks and found nothing. My boss told me about the fueling with the KC-97 but never mentioned the explosions or anything like that. He said that the KC-97 would have to run it's engines at full power while the B-47 was just above stall speed. He said that he had to re-hook with the KC-97 five to ten times for each fueling because he was flying so slow that the B-47 would stall and decouple. I have wondered about this many times and I assume that this was at altitude because the stall speed of the B-47 near the ground was much lower than the max speed of the KC-97.

My boss was a super nice man and was extremely smart too. He had a quadruple bypass, then came back to work and looked real bad for about a year. I transferred to the Automated Test Department, where we wrote the computer test for electronic weapons systems, and then never seen him again. That was over twenty years ago.

I had to retire because of the disabilities that I acquired in the Navy became so bad that I couldn't work anymore. This is why I have a website and can still work in aviation. The website has brought me to meet so many people like yourself and I have learned a tremendous amount from everyone and I really appreciate it. I'm 54 now and take care of my 92 year old mom. I can't live in the house with her, so I live in the garage, which sounds bad, but I have peace and quiet and just work on the computer. So that's my life, but the computer has kept me in contact with the world, and again, people who have done tremendous things and has kept the bums out of my life.

Thank you very much and have a nice day and thank you for serving our country.

Jeff.

22-Sep-2008
Dear Jeff: I did some research and found that just prior to 1958 the B-47 was showing stress in the wings due to low altitude test bombing runs . In 1958 the air force did a fix called (Milk bottle) by putting huge pins in the wings which resembled milk bottles. I was discharged in 1955, so I feel a lot of what your Boss was talking about was after my discharge. One of the most fabulous sights I seen ,was the first testing of the JATO assisted takeoffs we heard thru the rumor mill when this was to occur . Wish i could have taken a picture but no cameras were allowed on the flight line. Sounds like we had a similar MOS I was aircraft electrician and wouldn't have give anything for my air force training. the first accident occurred soon after I arrived at McDill , when a kc-97 tried to refuel a B-47 there was so much static electricity on the boom when it touched the B-47 they both exploded. The next one was a crash at the bombing range just out of McDill. this jet went in at a 75 degree angle smashing the 18 foot engines to 3 foot . I was part of a crew that survived the area looking for human parts and the largest we found was a knee cap. Being a electrician I am sure you have heard of safety wiring every thing. Well some one didn't and it resulted in a navigator ejecting while the plane was taxiing on the runway. It has been my pleasure sharing with you some of my experiences and I agree with you on the B-52 looking like the B-47 I think they added another engine on each wing and maybe more tires. but the B-47 is my pride and joy and i am thankful to have been in on the ground floor. Sincerely Farrel

22-Sep-2008

Dear Farrel,

My boss was John Miller and he worked as my boss in 1984 at the Sacramento Army Depot. He said that he retired just before the B-52 came into service and after all of the B-36 and B-29 units were disbanded. He said that they did not know about this problem until the planes were at their latter stages of service, but I don't have a date. I will have to do more research on the B-52s to know. At this time they thought that the B-47s were the greatest thing that ever happened and then the cracks formed.

One day I was at Mather AFB and was talking to one of the B-52 pilots about the huge wrinkles in the fuselage of the plane. He said that when the plane was in the air, the wrinkles would come out of the fuselage. I was amazed that the aluminum could flex that much. To me the B-52 looked very much like the B-47, at least as how the wings were constructed so I know what you are talking about with the 18 foot total swing of the wings.

Changing the subject slightly. One day when I was at work and talking on the phone, I was looking out of the window of the building at the Army Depot. All of a sudden I saw a huge, super black, cloud rising up from the ground. I never saw a flash, but it was a B-52 that crashed after a student pilot stalled the plane on takeoff. It was terrible, not a single man lived. The plane just missed a house in the country and then hit the barn next to the house. From what I understand, everyone was at home in the house when the plane hit.

If you can find out more about these cracks and if they did indeed exist, and I don't doubt my boss, please let me know. I know about my job as an electronics technician on the A-7 Corsair II that there was so much to know about the planes, that no one man could know everything. We were all over the planes too, but when I visit the very plane that I worked on in the Navy that is now in the Prairie Aviation Museum in Bloomington Illinois, I realize that it was much more complex than I even realized then.

Thank you very much and have a nice day,

Jeff.

19-Sep-2008

DEAR JEFF: I appreciate your reply. I would like to know about what date your boss noticed theses cracks. The first few months at MacDill was really a laboratory for the B-47. We had to rewire some of the conduits that went to all units in the wings because of the 9 ft. up and 9 ft down flexibility of the wings . The fuel tanks had a modification because of some leaks. the hydraulic system had to be modified. The propellant to eject the pilot and co-pilot wasn't enough to get them over the 30ft tail at 500 mph. that was solved about a year into the program. I would never question the knowledge or integrity of a B-47 pilot and maybe this was at the beginning when everything was happening. while i was researching the B-47 Jet i found where there is to be a get together in -Murrieta, GA on the 25th of Sep. to the 29th. I would love to have gone but i have conflicting dates. Sincerely Farrel

9-Sep-2008

I am Farrel A Paulk , i was a aircraft electrician on the

B-47 Stratojet Jet Bombers, Military Model Aircraft, B47 Air Force Bomber Models.

Model aircraft of the Boeing Company B-47 Stratojet with the
B47 's super secret revealed. Model Aircraft Jet Bombers

B-47 Stratojet Bombers

B-47 Aviation Art

B-47 Stratojet Jet Bombers, Military Model Aircraft, B47 Air Force Bomber Models.

Model aircraft of the Boeing Company B-47 Stratojet with the B47 's super secret revealed. Model Aircraft Jet Bombers

B-47 Stratojet Bombers

B-47 Aviation Art

Model aircraft of the Boeing Company B-47 Stratojet with the
B47 's super secret revealed. Model Aircraft Jet Bombers