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. Poor reliability in the bombing-navigation and fire-control systems undermined the effectiveness of early B-47Bs but were eventually overcome as the aircraft evolved to fill many different roles. Used as reconnaissance, weather, testbed and radio relay platforms, one variant, the EB-47E BLUE CRADLE, also demonstrated its versatili
