B-47E Stratojet Scale Model (Free Shipping)

Item#: CB47T

MSRP Price: $191.95

Factory Direct Price: $149.95

Wing Span: 14.38"
Length: 13.00"

Manufacturer: The Boeing Co.

FREE SHIPPING within the U.S. (additional rates apply for other destinations)

Introducing Factory Direct Models B-47E Stratojet Model Airplane, This Wooden Aircraft Model was hand crafted with absolute precision using the finest Philippine Mahogany. Working from our library of blueprints, reference materials and their photographs, Factory Direct Models master artisans recreated this historic military warplane into an incredibly desktop display model.

Please note that the stand shown in this photograph may vary or change with the model you receive.

We also make Custom Made Airplane Models to meet your specifications with the capability to include your company logo and inscribed inscription plaque to make your model a personalized work of art. If you would like personalized Custom Model Model Please Call (866) 580-8727.

B-47E Stratojet History:

The Boeing B-47 Stratojet jet bomber was a medium-range and medium-size bomber capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union. A major innovation in post-World War II combat jet design, it helped lead to the development of modern jet airliners. While the B-47 never saw major combat use, it remained a mainstay of the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the 1950s and early 1960s.

The B-47 arose from a 1943 U.S. Army Air Forces requirement for a jet bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that could reach Nazi Germany in the event that Great Britain fell. The next year, the requirement evolved into a formal request for a bomber with a specified speed of 500 mph (800 km/h) or more, a range of 3,500 mi (5,600 km), and a service ceiling of 40,000 ft (12,200 m). It envisioned using the General Electric TG-180 turbojet engine, then in development.

By this time, the war in Europe was obviously winding to a close. General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, head of the USAAF, asked the prestigious expatriate Hungarian aerodynamicist Theodore von Kármán, of the California Institute of Technology, to form up a committee of American scientists to go to Europe and examine captured German technology. The result was the "Scientific Advisory Group". One of the members was Boeing's chief aerodynamicist, George Schairer. During his visit to Germany, Schairer examined data obtained by German aircraft manufacturers on the advantages of swept wings, and became so convinced of the merits of such a design that in May, 1945 he wrote a letter to Boeing management suggesting the matter be investigated.

A related problem was that the aircraft's engines would have to be throttled down on landing approach. Since it could take as long as 20 seconds to throttle them back up to full power, the big bomber could not easily do a "touch and go" momentary landing. A small "approach" chute was provided for "drag" so that the aircraft could be flown at approach speeds with the engines throttled at ready-to-spool-up medium power. Typical was an hour of dragging this chute around the landing pattern for multiple practice landings.

The aircraft was so aerodynamically slick that rapid descent ("penetration") from high cruise altitude to the landing pattern required dragging the deployed rear landing gear.

Unusually heavy wing loading (weight/wing area) required a high (180 knot) landing speed. To shorten the landing roll Air Force test pilot Major Guy Townsend promoted the addition of a 32 ft (9.75 m) German-designed "ribbon" drag chute. (Jet engine thrust reversers were still a far-future concept.). As a consequence, the B-47 was the first mass-produced aircraft to be equipped with anti-lock braking system.

When B-47s began to be delivered to the Air Force, most crews were excited about getting their hands on the hot new bomber. The bomber was so fast that in the early days, the B-47 set records with ease. The aircraft handled well in flight, with a fighter-like light touch to the controls. The big bubble canopy enhanced the fighter-like feel of the aircraft with improved vision, but the design would cause variations in internal temperatures for the 3-man crew.

Operational practice for B-47 bomber operations during this time went from high altitude bombing to low altitude strike, which was judged more likely to penetrate Soviet defenses. Bomber crews were trained in "pop-up" attacks, coming in at low level at 425 knots and then climbing abruptly near the target before releasing a nuclear weapon, and the similar "toss bombing" procedure, in which the aircraft released the weapon while climbing, and then rolled away to depart the area before bomb detonation.

Final phaseout of B-47 bomber wings began in 1963, and the last bombers were out of service by 1965. The very last USAF operational aircraft was grounded in 1969. The U.S. Navy kept specialized B-47 test aircraft in occasional use up to 1976. The final recorded flight of a B-47 was on 17 June 1986, when a B-47E was flown from the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, to Castle Air Force Base, California, for static display in the museum. There are at least 15 B-47s on static display, none flying.