Tag Archives: 46-065

8 February 1949

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065. (U.S. Air Force)

8 February 1949: One of the two Boeing XB-47 Stratojet prototypes made a record-breaking transcontinental flight from Moses Lake Air Force Base, Washington, to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, in 3 hours, 46 minutes. Majors Russell Ellsworth (“Russ”) Schleeh and Joseph Woodrow Howell beat the official U.S. national record set two years earlier by Colonel William Haldane Councill in a specially-prepared Lockheed P-80A Shooting Star.¹

Great Circle route from Moses Lake, Washington, to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. 2,198 statute miles (1,910 nautical miles/3,537 kilometers) (Great Circle Mapper)

The Los Angeles Times reported:

Jet Bomber Spans Nation in 3 Hours 46 Minutes

New Plane Averages 607.2 m.p.h. to Make Fastest Coast-to-Coast Journey on Record

     Washington, Feb. 8 (AP)—An arrow-shaped XB-47 jet bomber streaked through the stratosphere at an average speed of 607.2 miles an hour today in the fastest transcontinental flight ever made.

     The bomber, rated as “light” despite its 125,000 pounds, flew 2289 miles from Moses Lake (Wash.) Air Base to Andrews Field, Md., a few miles south of the capital, in 3h. 46m.

     The pace was 27 minutes shorter in time and 23 miles faster in average speed than the official record of 4h. 13m. at 584 m.p.h. established by Col. William H. Council [sic] in an F-80 Shooting Star two years ago.

     No Official Claim

     However, the Air Force will claim no record. The flight was not timed officially and it did not fly the recognized contest course. The recognized course—the one Col. Council flew—is Los Angeles to new York, 2464 miles.

     The XB-47 is a six-engine, swept wing bomber built by Boeing Airplane Co. at Seattle, known as the Stratojet, it is the Air Force’s first bomber designed for speeds in excess of 600 miles an hour.

     The XB-47 is the plane to which Air Force Secretary Symington referred last fall when he mentioned a jet bomber running away from jet fighters. Ten XB-47s are to be built at Boeing’s Wichita (Kan.) plant, where about half of all the B-29s were built during the war.

     Maj. Russell E. Schleeh, pilot, and Maj. Joseph W. Howell, co-pilot, both said the flight was strictly routine. They were comfortable in a new type flying suit being tested by the Materiel Command, used oxygen all the way, and navigated by radio compass on a great circle course which took them 20 miles south of Chicago.

     The first  part of the flight was at 32,000 feet. Later they moved up to 37,000 feet. The pressurized cabin was maintained at 23,000 feet. During one hour they covered 648 miles.

     In addition to six J-35 turbo-jet engines built by General Electric Co. at Lynn, Mass., which gave a total of 24,000 pounds of thrust, the Stratojet can use 18 rockets each capable of delivering 1000 pounds of thrust for a few seconds. The rockets were not carried today.

     The XB-47 carries a parachute in its tail to help it stop quickly.

Los Angeles Times, Vol. LXVIII, 9 February 1949, Page 1, Columns 6 and 7, and Page 3, Columns 1–8

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065 in flight over a snow-covered landscape. (U.S. Air Force)

Designed as a strategic bomber, the B-47 could fly higher and faster than jet fighters of the time, and it was also highly maneuverable. The XB-47 (Boeing Model 450) was flown by a two-man crew in a tandem cockpit. It was 107 feet, 6 inches (32.766 meters) long with a wingspan of 116 feet (35.357 meters). The top of the vertical fin was 27 feet, 8 inches (8.433 meters) high. The wings were shoulder-mounted with the leading edges swept at 35°.

The first prototype, 46-065, was powered by six General Electric J35-GE-7 axial flow turbojet engines in four pods mounted on pylons below the wings. The J35 was a single-spool, axial-flow turbojet engine with an 11-stage compressor and single-stage turbine. The J35-GE-7 was rated at 3,750 pounds of thrust (16.68 kilonewtons) at 7,700 r.p.m. (static thrust, Sea Level). The engine was 14 feet, 0.0 inches (4.267 meters) long, 3 feet, 4.0 inches (1.016 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,400 pounds (1,089 kilograms). (The second prototype, 46-066, was completed with J47 engines. 46-065 was later retrofitted with these engines.)

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet -065. (U.S. Air Force) 061024-F-1234S-004

The XB-47 prototype had a maximum speed of 502 knots (578 miles per hour/930 kilometers per hour/0.80 Mach) at 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). The combat speed was 462 knots (532 miles per hour/856 kilometers per hour/0.70 Mach) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). The prototype’s empty weight was 74,623 pounds (33,848 kilograms), while its maximum takeoff weight was 162,500 pounds (73,709 kilograms). It required a ground run of 11,900 feet (3,627 meters), or 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) with JATO assist. The bomber could climb at a rate of 3,650 feet per minute (18.5 meters per second) at Sea Level, at combat weight and maximum power. The service ceiling was 37,500 feet (11,430 meters). The XB-47 carried 9,957 gallons (37,691 liters) of fuel. The combat radius was 1,175 nautical miles (1,352 statute miles/2,176 kilometers) with a 10,000 pound (4,536 kilogram) bomb load.

Planned armament (though the XB-47s were delivered without it) consisted of two .50-caliber machine guns in a tail turret, with 1,200 rounds of ammunition, and 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms) of bombs.

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065, the first of two prototypes, on the ramp at Boeing Field, Seattle, 1 December 1947. (U.S. Air Force)

The Stratojet was one of the most influential aircraft designs of all time and its legacy can be seen in almost every jet airliner built since the 1950s: the swept wing with engines suspended on pylons, , mounted forward of the leading edge.

2,032 B-47s were built by Boeing Wichita, Douglas Tulsa and Lockheed Marietta. They served the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1977.

The very last B-47 flight took place 18 June 1986 when B-47E-25-DT, serial number 52-166, was flown from the Naval Air Weapons Center China Lake to Castle Air Force Base to be placed on static display.

Right rear quarter view of Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065. (U.S. Air Force)

XB-47 45-065 stalled while landing at Larson Air Force Base, near Moses Lake, Washington, 18 August 1951. The crew of three escaped uninjured. The airplane was damaged beyond repair. The second prototype, XB-47 46-066, is in the collection of the Air Force Flight Test Museum, Edwards Air Force Base, California.

¹ See This Day in Aviation for 26 January 1946 at: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/26-january-1946/

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

17 December 1947

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065 in flight over a snow-covered landscape. (U.S. Air Force)
Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065 in flight over a snow-covered landscape. (U.S. Air Force)
Robert M. Robbins
Robert M. Robbins

17 December 1947: Boeing test pilots Robert M. Robbins and Edward Scott Osler made the first flight of the Model 450, the XB-47 Stratojet prototype. It was a 52-minute flight from Boeing Field, Seattle, to Moses Lake Air Force Base, five miles north of the town of Moses Lake, Washington.

Robbins later said, “The best way to tell about the performance of the Stratojet is to say that any good crew could have flown it. It took no unusual ability or education. Neither Scott Osler nor I deserve any credit for the flight. Rather, the credit should go to the men who carried out these visions on the drafting boards and the factory workers who made the visions a reality.”

On 11 May 1949, during flight testing at Moses Lake, the canopy of 46-065 came off, killing test pilot Scott Osler. The co-pilot safely landed the airplane.

Designed as a strategic bomber, the B-47 could fly higher and faster than jet fighters of the time, and it was also highly maneuverable. The XB-47 (Boeing Model 450) was flown by a two-man crew in a tandem cockpit. It was 107 feet, 6 inches (32.766 meters) long with a wingspan of 116 feet (35.357 meters). The top of the vertical fin was 27 feet, 8 inches (8.433 meters) high. The wings were shoulder-mounted with the leading edges swept at 35°.

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065. (U.S. Air Force 061024-F-1234S-004)

The first prototype, 46-065, was powered by six General Electric J35-GE-7 axial flow turbojet engines in four pods mounted on pylons below the wings. The J35 was a single-spool, axial-flow turbojet engine with an 11-stage compressor and single-stage turbine. The J35-GE-7 was rated at 3,750 pounds of thrust (16.68 kilonewtons) at 7,700 r.p.m. (static thrust, Sea Level). The engine was 14 feet, 0.0 inches (4.267 meters) long, 3 feet, 4.0 inches (1.016 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,400 pounds (1,089 kilograms). (The second prototype, 46-066, was completed with J47 engines. 46-065 was later retrofitted with these engines.)

The XB-47 prototype had a maximum speed of 502 knots (578 miles per hour/930 kilometers per hour/0.80 Mach) at 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). The combat speed was 462 knots (532 miles per hour/856 kilometers per hour/0.70 Mach) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). The prototype’s empty weight was 74,623 pounds (33,848 kilograms), while its maximum takeoff weight was 162,500 pounds (73,709 kilograms). It required a ground run of 11,900 feet (3,627 meters), or 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) with JATO assist. The bomber could climb at a rate of 3,650 feet per minute (18.5 meters per second) at Sea Level, at combat weight and maximum power. The service ceiling was 37,500 feet (11,430 meters). The XB-47 carried 9,957 gallons (37,691 liters) of fuel. The combat radius was 1,175 nautical miles (1,352 statute miles/2,176 kilometers) with a 10,000 pound (4,536 kilogram) bomb load.

Planned armament (though the XB-47s were delivered without it) consisted of two .50-caliber machine guns in a tail turret, with 1,200 rounds of ammunition, and 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms) of bombs.

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065, the first of two prototypes, on the ramp at Boeing Field, Seattle, 1 December 1947. (U.S. Air Force)
Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065, the first of two prototypes, on the ramp at Boeing Field, Seattle, 1 December 1947. (U.S. Air Force)

The Stratojet was one of the most influential aircraft designs of all time and its legacy can be seen in almost every jet airliner built since the 1950s: the swept wing with engines suspended on pylons, mounted forward of the leading edge.

2,032 B-47s were built by Boeing Wichita, Douglas Tulsa and Lockheed Marietta. They served the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1977.

Right rear quarter view of Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065. (U.S. Air Force)
Right rear quarter view of Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065. (U.S. Air Force)

The very last B-47 flight took place 18 June 1986 when B-47E-25-DT, serial number 52-166, was flown from the Naval Air Weapons Center China Lake to Castle Air Force Base to be placed on static display.

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065. (U.S. Air Force)
Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065. (U.S. Air Force 061024-F-1234S-003)

XB-47 45-065 stalled while landing at Larson Air Force Base, near Moses Lake, Washington, 18 August 1951. The crew of three escaped uninjured. The airplane suffered major structural damage. It was returned to Boeing at Seattle, Washington in 1953. The second prototype, XB-47 46-066, is in the collection of the Air Force Flight Test Museum, Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-066, Sandia. (SDASM)

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

12 December 1947

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet rollout at Seattle, Washington, 12 December 1947. (U.S. Air Force 061024-F-1234S-065)

12 December 1947: The Boeing XB-47 Stratojet was rolled out of its hangar for public display.

The Arizona Republic reported:

Boeing’s New Jet Bomber Is The Size of Superfort

     SEATTLE, Sept. 13—(AP) A new jet-propelled bomber, the size of a B-29 Superfortress and with sharply sweptback wings and tail surfaces will begin ground and taxiing tests soon.

     Whether the new Boeing XB-47 Stratojet, rolled out of its construction hangar for the first public display yesterday will near or attain speeds of jet fighter planes remains undisclosed. The army air forces and Boeing, showing the plane, made no mention of its expected speed, but streamlining was carried to the extreme.

     The sharply turned-back or inverted wings and tail surfaces appeared to be notable innovations in plane design. Four general Electric-built jet engines are mounted in pairs under the inboard sections of the wing, with another out near each wing tip.

     The wings are also “exceptionally thin,” a Boeing spokesman said, and the plane has a tandem type landing gear with small outrigger wheels. What was also described as 18 jet-assisted takeoff units studded the rear fuselage for added power. There was only one bomb bay, compared with the two on a B-29, but it was longer than those on a Superfortress.

     Compared with the B-29’s wing span of 141 feet and length of 99 feet, the XB-47’s wing span is approximately 116 feet and its length about 108 feet.

     Robert Robbins and Scott Osler, chosen as the plane’s test pilots a year ago, said it would be probably a month or more before it could take to the air. They said its initial flights would be “admittedly hazardous” but believe it will be an “outstanding airplane.”

     Blueprints used in planning the ship provides for two rocket motors near the tail, to be used for emergency bursts of power, experts said. It would be the first combat-type aircraft with such equipment.

     The Boeing company has turned out three other new-type planes this year. They were the new B-50, the successor to the Superfortress, the first 80-passenger Stratocruiser and the XL-15 Liaison plane, being built at the Wichita, Kan., plant.

     Several other jet bombers are under experiment for the army and the Consolidated Vultee XB-46, powered with four engine, and the North American XB-45, also a four-engine plane, have undergone trial flights.

The Arizona Republic, Vol. 58, No. 116, 14 September 1947, Page 12, Columns 1–3

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065. (U.S. Air Force 061024-F-1234S-004)

The first prototype, 46-065, was powered by six General Electric J35-GE-7 axial flow turbojet engines in four pods mounted on pylons below the wings. The J35 was a single-spool, axial-flow turbojet engine with an 11-stage compressor and single-stage turbine. The J35-GE-7 was rated at 3,750 pounds of thrust (16.68 kilonewtons) at 7,700 r.p.m. (static thrust, Sea Level). The engine was 14 feet, 0.0 inches (4.267 meters) long, 3 feet, 4.0 inches (1.016 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,400 pounds (1,089 kilograms). (The second prototype, 46-066, was completed with J47 engines. 46-065 was later retrofitted with these engines.)

The XB-47 prototype had a maximum speed of 502 knots (578 miles per hour/930 kilometers per hour/0.80 Mach) at 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). The combat speed was 462 knots (532 miles per hour/856 kilometers per hour/0.70 Mach) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). The prototype’s empty weight was 74,623 pounds (33,848 kilograms), while its maximum takeoff weight was 162,500 pounds (73,709 kilograms). It required a ground run of 11,900 feet (3,627 meters), or 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) with JATO assist. The bomber could climb at a rate of 3,650 feet per minute (18.5 meters per second) at Sea Level, at combat weight and maximum power. The service ceiling was 37,500 feet (11,430 meters). The XB-47 carried 9,957 gallons (37,691 liters) of fuel. The combat radius was 1,175 nautical miles (1,352 statute miles/2,176 kilometers) with a 10,000 pound (4,536 kilogram) bomb load.

Planned armament (though the XB-47s were delivered without it) consisted of two .50-caliber machine guns in a tail turret, with 1,200 rounds of ammunition, and 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms) of bombs.

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065, the first of two prototypes, on the ramp at Boeing Field, Seattle, 1 December 1947. (U.S. Air Force)

The Stratojet was one of the most influential aircraft designs of all time and its legacy can be seen in almost every jet airliner built since the 1950s: the swept wing with engines suspended on pylons, mounted forward of the leading edge.

2,032 B-47s were built by Boeing Wichita, Douglas Tulsa and Lockheed Marietta. They served the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1977.

The very last B-47 flight took place 18 June 1986 when B-47E-25-DT, serial number 52-166, was flown from the Naval Air Weapons Center China Lake to Castle Air Force Base to be placed on static display.

XB-47 45-065 stalled while landing at Larson Air Force Base, near Moses Lake, Washington, 18 August 1951. The crew of three escaped uninjured. The airplane was damaged beyond repair. The second prototype, XB-47 46-066, is in the collection of the Air Force Flight Test Museum, Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Boeing XB-47 Stratojet 46-065. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes