news story — last B-47 aircrew reunion

The first news story linked above stressed the B-47s safety record…saying 200 of the 2000 were lost (to all causes…not all of them the fault of the design).
That got me thinking about other jets of the period safety records.
According to WIKI, the Vulcan lost 16 out if 136…which is more than 10%.
I’m not picking on the Vulcan, it’s just the numbers were handy.

My point is that all military high performance jets of that period had bad safety records by today’s…and periodically…standards. As exemplified by the Vulcan which is recalled as having a good safety record.
The causes for mishaps, not just design or tech issues, but training (lack of simulators), operations, and a lack of safety programs like CRM, inadequate weather data, and avionics which haven’t progressed as rapidly as the airframes.

I guess the writer doing the news story felt he had to make the story more exciting.

Boeing is very upfront about the fact that one of their engineers got some data on swept wings during a visit to the Luftwaffe research facility.
The new B-47 book reproduces his brief letter…a copy of which is still in their archives.

Even more importantly, Boeing was able to exploit the data quickly because of their own wind tunnel, planned before the war.

Of course that didn’t help them design the aircraft with its thin, flexible wing and pod mounted engines.

The Stratojet doesn’t get enough credit, rarely is such a radical (for the time) design get into widespread service (2000+ built) and enjoys a long military career (bomber until 1965, weather until 1969, EW platform until the late 70s).
Hearing that the association is holding their final reunion is a reminder of how ago it was.

Thanks Pogno. I was just watching this very attractive aircraft the other day in that Jimmy Stewart film about SAC, or was it about his feisty wife?! Some great footage that n the ground and airborne. I wonder how much of the B-47’s design is down to Luftwaffe research in the war?

This link works for me http://www.boulevardsentinel.com/vacancy-on-school-board-creates-challenges-for-nela-schools-2/

I grew up near Greenham Common which makes the B-47 rather special to me, stream take off’s disrupting lessons being the best bit!

Richard

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Roll on Brexit.