B-47 Stratojet's Swept Wing Pioneers Modern Jet Age

The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was first flown on December 17, 1947, and its design revolutionized modern aviation. The aircraft's swept wing and six podded jet engines made it look like nothing else in the sky at that time.

Boeing's breakthrough came when its chief aerodynamicist, George Schairer, studied captured German research on swept wings and applied the idea to the new bomber. This led to a transformational design that could cruise at nearly 600 mph while carrying a nuclear load across intercontinental distances with air-to-air refuelling.

The clean design of the B-47 created its own problems, such as the thin, flexible wing being too slim to hold fuel or landing gear. To solve this issue, Boeing gave the aircraft a 'bicycle' undercarriage - two main wheels in tandem under the fuselage with little outrigger wheels in the inboard engine pods.

The B-47's tendency to weave produced the yaw damper now fitted to airliners, and its pitch-up problem was cured with tiny vortex generators. The aircraft played a significant role in the early Cold War as part of Strategic Air Command, but it was eventually retired by 1966 due to metal fatigue.