The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was the first swept-winged jet bomber
built in quantity for any air force, and was the mainstay of the
medium-bombing strength of the Strategic Air Command all
throughout the 1950s. A total of 2042 Stratojets were built,
making the B-47 program the largest American bomber project
since the end of the Second World War. The size of the crew
(only three) was unusually small for an aircraft of the size and
complexity of the B-47, with the three-member crew having to
confront more than three hundred gauges, dials, switches, and
levers. The B-47 went through a long gestation period during
which many problems had to be fixed, and it took a long time
before the Stratojet could be considered as being combat-ready.
The early service of the B-47 was marked by frequent crashes and
accidents, and the plane got a reputation as a crew-killer.
Although there was nothing intrinsically wrong with the
Stratojet, it was terribly unforgiving of crew mistakes or
inattention. The B-47 was relatively diffic