Boeing B-47 Stratojet: books - history and technology

Boeing B-47 Stratojet - A Photographic History

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.

Boeing B-47 Stratojet : Startegic Air Command's Transitional Bomber

The B-47 was the aircraft upon which Strategic Air Command (SAC) based its capability pending the development and delivery of the B-52.
First proposed during the Second World War as a high-speed piston-powered reconnaissance platform, the B-47 evolved into what would become the first swept-wing, medium jet bomber and SAC's most numerous operational aircraft.

Given its pioneering role as a jet bomber and the ongoing evolution of SAC's mission and US national security, the B-47 had more than its share of teething problems. Initial Boeing flight tests mixed triumph with tragedy, and demonstrated that an entirely new way of flying a large aircraft was required.

Used as reconnaissance, weather, testbed and radio relay platforms, one variant, the EB-47E Blue Cradle, also demonstrated its versatility as an electronic warfare jammer whilst the RB-47H, ERB-47H, and EB-47E(TT) undertook electronic intelligence and gathered telemetry associated with the Soviet ICBM program.

Authors Mike Habermehl and former SAC pilot Robert S Hopkins III have combined years of research and experience to provide the ultimate history of the Stratojet.

Valiant Units of the Cold War (Osprey)

The RAF's first Cold War strategic bomber, the Vickers Valiant, was procured as an insurance measure in case either the Vulcan or Victor was found to have a serious flaw. The Valiant was the equivalent of the US B-47 Stratojet, and it blazed the trail for the British airborne nuclear deterrent as the aircraft enjoyed a far more active service career than later V-bombers.
It was the launch platform for all British free fall nuclear weapons tests both in the Pacific and in central Australia, it took part in the Suez campaign in 1956 and it was the only V-bomber to drop (conventional) weapons in anger until the Falklands operation in 1982.
The Valiant was modified to serve in the electronic warfare, strategic reconnaissance and airborne tanker role, but it had to be grounded in early 1965 when the aircraft succumbed to metal fatigue.

Contents: Valiant creation - The first V-bomber into service: trailblazer for high level Cold War bombing tactics - The Suez Campaign - Christmas Island nuclear weapons tests - High level bombing capability and Cold War organisation - The Versatile Valiant (strategic reconnaissance and tanking) - Allocation to SACEUR for low-level operations in the tactical nuclear role - Metal fatigue and sudden demise - Appendices: Detailing all units equipped with the Valiant and where they were based + Comprehensive plate commentaries.

Valiant Boys : True Stories from the Operators of the UK's First Four-Jet Bomber

Following on from the success of Victor Boys and Vulcan Boys, Tony Blackman, in collaboration with Anthony Wright, brings you Valiant Boys to complete the V Force set. This is a fascinating collection of personal accounts of operating Britain's first V bomber by aircrew and ground crew.
The book tells the story from the aircraft's birth taking off from Vickers' tiny airfield at Wisley near Brooklands to its premature death from fatigue. There are tales of testing atom bombs in the Australian desert, dropping hydrogen bombs in the middle of the Pacific and, as a complete contrast, attacking airfields with conventional bombs in Egypt during the very brief and abortive Suez campaign.

We are reminded of how the Valiant provided the UK's first nuclear deterrent by always having some armed aircraft on stand-by twenty-four hours a day, supported by their air and ground crews, ready to be flown at a moment's notice on a one-way trip to launch an atomic war.
Some Valiants were given a photographic role providing accurate images from high altitude and were used not only to gather military intelligence but also to survey the UK and countries overseas. Others were developed into flight refuelling tankers breaking point to point records before enabling Britain's fighter aircraft to be refuelled and fly anywhere in the world.

Tony Blackman has spent his whole life in the aircraft industry. With a Physics degree he joined the RAF to train as a test pilot, became Chief Test Pilot at BAe, Woodford, and tested the three V Bombers, the Nimrod and the Avro 748.