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| B-47E Stratojet (USAF) |
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Length: 15 3/4"
Wingspan: 17"
Scale: 1/84
Includes desk stand.
The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was a medium-range and medium-size jet 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. The subsequent von K‡rm‡n mission inspected Nazi Germany laboratories from May 1 - July 1945. One of the members was Boeing's chief aerodynamicist, George Schairer, who became so convinced of the merits of such a design that in May, 1945[clarification needed] he wrote a letter to Boeing management suggesting the matter be investigated.
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