USAF B-47 Stratojet Pilot's Familiarization Film

Too bad the uploader used the wrong aspect ratio on this film - it's stretched horizontally, but still watchable.

Here in Indiana there is a B-47 on static display at the Grissom Air Museum. From their web site:

The Boeing B-47, the world’s first swept-wing bomber, made its initial flight on Dec. 17, 1947 and quantity deliveries began in 1951. When production ended in 1957, more than 1,200 Stratojets were serving with the Strategic Air Command at USAF bases throughout the world.

The B-47 normally carried a crew of three: pilot, copilot (who operated the tail turret by remote control), and an observer who also served as navigator, bombardier, and radar operator. In the RB-47 reconnaissance version, the navigator also operated the camera equipment.

The B-47E was the first USAF aircraft to incorporate a “fly-by-wire” primary flight control system in which the pilot’s command controls are transmitted to the control surfaces by electrical wires rather than by cables and mechanical linkages.The wings have as much as 17 feet of flex at the wing tips.

First flown in 1947, the B-47 was the first of the big swept-wing bombers. A 35-degree sweep and six engines made the B-47 a very fast and formidable bomber.By the late 1960s, the B-47 was obsolete and was removed from operational service.

Our plane suffered two major accidents: first, an engine exploded and ripped 18 feet from the right wing; second, a hard landing permanently grounded the plane.

Someone should have told that young airman watching the B-47's to GET YOUR HAND OUT OF YOUR POCKET! :pilot:

There's more than one airman with hand in pocket. And actually, those are officers, not airmen (the USAF designation for enlisted personnel below NCO grades).

Looks as if the B-47 they depict is a very early model, perhaps a YB-47. I see a lot of windows in the nose, and I don't see the periscope that was standard (for the bombers) when I worked on them (recon birds though, for me, RB-47K & H models). That periscope (kind of a drift scope) was for the navigator/bombardier to see the ground so he could adjust the value of wind in his bomb/nav computer (analog computer, huge). Looking at this B-47 image you can see there is only one window (on this side) by the nav compartment and you can see the bulge (periscope) sticking out the front of the nose. This RB-47H picture shows the radome on the nose replacing the periscope (doppler radar got the wind info). In this pic you can see the ECM pod on the right side hanging down. You can also see the two .50 cal tail guns pointing up (they were operated by the co-pilot).

There's more than one airman with hand in pocket. And actually, those are officers, not airmen (the USAF designation for enlisted personnel below NCO grades).

I beg to differ. When I was in the Air Force we knew the Army had soldiers, the Navy had sailors, and the Air Force had airmen. I was using the generic term as was commonly done in Air Force and DoD publications, like the base newspaper where I was a reporter, and as PR guy for the public information division. The expression "airmen of the US Air Force" correctly refers to officers, NCOs and enlisted personnel.

The B-47 was before my time, never saw one fly. My unit, the 22nd Bomb Wing (Heavy) had B-52D's and KC-135's. It's all but gone now, along with the rest of SAC, just a refueling wing at (I think) McConnell AFB which still carries the 22nd name and colors. Also gone are the majority of Aviatsiya Dalnyia (Long Range Aviation) bases in the former USSR. The fighter mafia runs the Air Force now, for better or worse.

I was using the generic term as was commonly done in Air Force and DoD publications, like the base newspaper where I was a reporter, and as PR guy for the public information division.

The expression "airmen of the US Air Force" correctly refers to officers, NCOs and enlisted personnel.

Ahhh, the media version, usually applied to groups (at least as far as I ever heard when I was in). OK, I guess I sorta owe an apology, but I'm not sure I ever heard the term applied to an individual in that way. Not a biggie, anyhow.

Thanks for the link, though -- nice flick.