The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was produced in larger numbers than any post World War II American bomber. A total of 2,042 aircraft were built by the Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed aircraft companies. With more than 25 variants, the B-47 was the backbone of the Strategic Air Command throughout the 1950s. In "The Boeing B-47 Stratojet in Pictures" Mark Natola takes you from the development of the first XB-47 through the final YB-47C and B-47Z concept aircraft.
A potrayal of the B-47 Stratojet. It takes you along on test flights, gives you the controls of nuclear-armed B-47s, and walks you into hangars to meet the crews whose work made the B-47 fly and fly again. It contains illustrations, including revealing technical diagrams, photographs and interviews with figures in aviation history.
The famous B-52 Stratofortress has been in service with the USAF for more than 65 years and its iconic shape is known and recognized all over the world. Yet the B-52 and its predecessor, the B-47 Stratojet, started out looking very different indeed. Each aircraft was the end product of a lengthy design process which saw numerous configurations studied - with plenty of diversions taken and missteps made along the way. In Boeing B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress: Origins and Evolution, aerospace engineer Scott Lowther reviews and explains the many different projects put forward for these two iconic aircraft, including a wide variety of rare and forgotten designs. Providing full-page diagrams, a wealth of new artwork and accurate data, the book will be useful for model makers interested in new and unique projects, aerospace engineers curious about the process of design evolution and those interested in these fascinating aircraft.
This new large format volume is a grand tribute to all of those who served in SAC from its inception in 1947 to its disestablishment in 1992. The great variety of aircraft and missile systems of Strategic Air Command are shown in over 800 color and black and white photographs, making this volume one of the definitive pictorials on the subject.
The B-52's development and five decades of service, from the Cold War and Vietnam to the Gulf Wars and Afghanistan, are featured in this comprehensive and heavily illustrated history.
Nominated as Best Military History Book 2013 in the prestigious journal Air Power History, published by the US Air Force Historical Foundation The events in Jet Age Man took place during the early Cold War, an era that will go down as a period when civilization teetered on the edge of the abyss. To some, nuclear deterrence appeared as utter madness, and was in fact commonly referred to as M.A.D. The concept of Mutually Assured Destruction provoked protests and marches, and the architect of M.A.D, General Curtis LeMay, became a symbol of madness himself. Raised during those turbulent times, most contemporary historians conclude that we were lucky to have survived. What they fail recognize is that for LeMay and the thousands of Cold War warriors who fought and won while serving in the Strategic Air Command, the proof of concept lies not in the "what if?" but in the reality, "what did." Historically, M.A.D. succeeded where appeasement, diplomacy and even hot wars failed. When The Wall came down, strength, not weakness, had prevailed. Most of this story takes place in the Cold War trenches of the Strategic Air Command. It is about those who served and the many who died, told by someone who, as a young man, literally held the fate of all mankind within reach of a switch. More particularly, this is a story of man's interaction with two bombers that changed the course of political history, and were perhaps the most influential aircraft in the annals of aircraft development. The author piloted and instructed in both the B-47 and the B-52, starting out as a copilot in the B-47, then aircraft commander and finally, instructor pilot in both aircraft. Jet Age Man chronicles his fifteen-year relationship with the B-47 and the aircraft the B-47 became, the B-52--a bomber still in service today.
Except in a few instances, since World War II no American soldier or sailor has been attacked by enemy air power. Conversely, no enemy soldier orsailor has acted in combat without being attacked or at least threatened by American air power. Aviators have brought the air weapon to bear against enemies while denying them the same prerogative. This is the legacy of the U.S. AirForce, purchased at great cost in both human and material resources.More often than not, aerial pioneers had to fight technological ignorance, bureaucratic opposition, public apathy, and disagreement over purpose.Every step in the evolution of air power led into new and untrodden territory, driven by humanitarian impulses; by the search for higher, faster, and farther flight; or by the conviction that the air way was the best way. Warriors have always coveted the high ground. If technology permitted them to reach it, men, women andan air force held and exploited it-from Thomas Selfridge, first among so many who gave that "last full measure of devotion"; to Women's Airforce Service Pilot Ann Baumgartner, who broke social barriers to become the first Americanwoman to pilot a jet; to Benjamin Davis, who broke racial barriers to become the first African American to command a flying group; to Chuck Yeager, a one-time non-commissioned flight officer who was the first to exceed the speed of sound; to John Levitow, who earned the Medal of Honor by throwing himself over a live flare to save his gunship crew; to John Warden, who began a revolution in air power thought and strategy that was put to spectacular use in the Gulf War.Industrialization has brought total war and air power has brought the means to overfly an enemy's defenses and attack its sources of power directly. Americans have perceived air power from the start as a more efficient means of waging war and as a symbol of the nation's commitment to technology to master challenges, minimize casualties, and defeat adversaries.
This book commemorates Wichita's role as Air Capital of the World. It takes readers from the early birds and barnstormers to the pioneers and entrepreneurs who established dozens of aircraft and associated factories in the 1920s. The story continues with the founding of Cessna, Beechcraft and Stearman (which became Boeing Wichita, then Spirit AeroSystems) and the massive build-up during World War II. Robust post-war growth got another boost when Bill Lear came to town and launched the business jet revolution with his Learjet. Today Wichita remains at the center of global aviation design and manufacturing with Textron Aviation, Spirit AeroSystems, Bombardier Learjet, Airbus and many dozens of smaller aviation manufacturers, suppliers and support organizations.What made Wichita the Air Capital? Flat prairies resembled one enormous landing field. Southwesterly winds added extra thrust to get and stay aloft. Farming and small manufacturing provided a legion of imaginative, industrious problem-solvers. Local boosters latched onto and promoted anything that flew. The city's central location provided an ideal refueling stop for coast-to-coast airmail routes. And oil generated a class of savvy, starry-eyed entrepreneurs who both used aircraft and had money to invest. Wichita brought it all together. The people. The promise. The planes.On Sept. 2, 1911, Albin Longren became the first person to build and fly an airplane in Kansas. His pusher-type biplane lifted off from a hayfield with a four-gallon gas tank and "flight instruments" that consisted of a pocket watch and barometer. The first plane built in Wichita rolled out of production in 1917, when Clyde Cessna assembled his Comet. Wichita's first commercial aircraft, the Swallow, came from the E.M. Laird Airplane Co. in 1920. By 1928, Wichita was general aviation's manufacturing grand central, producing 120 airplanes a week - a quarter of all U.S. output. A Chamber of Commerce Air Capital logo contest celebrated the city's 16 aircraft manufacturers, six aircraft engine factories, 11 airports and dozen flying schools. Wichita produces more airplanes - almost 300,000 to date - and offers more skilled aviation workers than any other city. Aviation forms Wichita's heritage and future.
This volume examines three key strategic Jet bombers of the Cold War -- Boeings B-47 Stratojet, B-52 Stratofortress, and Britain's Avro Vulcan. The B-47 was the USAF's first important jet bomber. The mighty B-52 has been the stalwart of the Strategic Air Command since the late 1950s and saw action in Vietnam and Desert Storm.
One of America's most daring and accomplished test pilots, Tex Johnston flew the first US jet airplanes and, in a career spanning the 1930s through the 1970s, helped create the jet age at such pioneering aersospace companies as Bell Aircraft and Boeing.
