B-47A Stratojet
Wichita, Kansas, August 11, 1950 -- Boeing Airplane Company today released for the first time flight photographs of its newest model Air Force Stratojet bomber. The photographs were taken during a recnt test flight near here of one of the production model B-47A Stratojets, fastest known bomber in the world. Boeing is building a substantial quanitity of the Stratojets at Wichita, the first of the new planes having been rolled March 1 from the assembly line. The swept-wing bomber has a top speed of more than 600 miles an hour. It is powered by six General Electric J-47 turbo-jet engines, has a maximum gross takeoff weight of more than 186,000 pounds and can carry more than 20,000 pounds of bombs. An earlier model Stratojet, one of the two original XB-47's, last year spanned the nation from Moses Lake, Washington, to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, in 3 hours 46 minutes at an average speed of 607.8 miles per hour. (U.S. Air Force photo)