The B-47 Stratojet is the first modern plane. Any plane made before it (and many after!) would catch your eye as dated if you saw it an airport. The B-47 would look small and a bit awkward, but has stood the test of time. It combined for the first time a pressurized cabin, swept wings, and podded engines.
It was the gleaming new toy/weapon for the Strategic Air Command (the branch of the Air Force responsible for socking it to the Soviets). First flown in 1947 and deployed in 1951. It starred in a propaganda film (sort of a proto-Top Gun) put out by Paramount Studios: Strategic Air Command, sharing the spotlight with Jimmy Stewart. (Fun Fact: Jimmy Stewart was a pilot who flew more than 20 bomber combat missions over Europe.)
But the B-47 carried bombs, not passengers. It set technical achievements but didn’t change the way we travel. So why care about it? Building the B-47 gave Boeing the requisite expertise (and cash) to take these technical advances into the realm we care about. The B-47 isn’t the grandfather of the planes we fly in today; it was the rich uncle that paid grandpa’s tuition.
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