At the time of its first flight, Dec. 17, 1947, the B-47 Stratojet represented a radical departure from traditional design, and it set the design standards for all large jet aircraft until the present time. The six-engine Boeing B-47 was America's first multiengine swept-wing jet bomber. Its thin 116-foot wing was extraordinarily flexible and swept back at a 35-degree angle. Eighteen small rocket units in the fuselage provided jet-assisted takeoff (JATO), and parachutes cut its landing speeds. Later models were powered by 5,200-pound-thrust axial-flow jet engines, and top speeds were 600 mph.

The B-47 medium bomber became the foundation of the Air Force's newly created Strategic Air Command, and many were adapted for several specialized functions. One became a missile carrier, others were reconnaissance aircraft or trainers or carried remote controls for other aircraft. Between 1947 and 1956, a total of 2,032 B-47s in all variants were built. Boeing built 1,373, Douglas Aircraft Co. built 274 and Lockheed Aircraft Corp. built 385.