My name is Paul Stuff. That’s my grandfather, Major Vernon Dale Stuff, that lost his life in the crash. Thank you for sharing this footage and for honoring his sacrifice! It was very moving to see.
Hi Paul. Thanks for saying hello. I just answered a comment from presumably your dad, David? The comment I left for him applies to you as well! Thank you and I'm glad you happened upon the video!
We all who lived in Orlando - before & after this time -never forgot. I grew up in the Colonial Town area. My dad, out of the Navy, joined the AF Reserves. He would have served during this time. Before my time,but this is Amazing footage & thank you for honoring these brave men.
My heart goes out to ANYONE that had to fly the 47, it was UNSAFE at any speed.. Over 400 aircrew died flying a plane that should NEVER have been put into service.. Thank you Boeing.. Hope God had mercy on your grandfather..
This video exhibits one of UA-cam's best capabilities, bringing forgotten video footage to a mass audience. This is an EXCELLENT video and proves that historically significant items are all around us awaiting discovery! Thanks, GREAT video. -Steve Magnante
I totally agree Steve. I am so happy that I came across this footage to be able to share with everyone. There are thousands of people who are now thinking of these brave men and honoring their memory! Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
Our family moved to Orlando in 1954 from a small town in SW Virginia. I was 6 years old then and a certified airplane nut. We still live in the same house nestled between Orlando Executive Airport and now MCO. What an exciting place to live and grow up between two airports. B-47's and Lockheed Constellations going over all the time. I remember this day very well and how sad the community was. The Vulcans were a sight to see especially the ones painted in camouflage. They looked like giant graceful mantaras flying around over Orlando. We looked forward each year for their return to our city. The scuttlebutt at the time was that Col. McCoy had been given a Vulcan "demo" ride by the Brittish Wing Commander. The next day Col. McCoy reciprocated and gave the Wing Commander a demo ride in the B-47. That was to be the day of the crash. A friend and fellow pilot friend of mine, was sitting in class at Edgewater High School and remembers clearly seeing the B-47 up on its wing as it disappeared behind some trees then saw the explosion. Thanks for this respectful narrative and the memories.
Additional information: I just talked to my friend that saw the crash out the school winndow. He said that they watched debris fall from the sky before it made contact with the ground. Consensus was that either one or borh wings came off. Sad.
What an honor to have a historical significant film from a bygone era. I also live in Orlando between both the Orlando Executive Airport and the Orlando International Airport (MCO). Thank you both for bringing the history of these brave men and this tragic event back to life and for the witness account of this tragic event that long ago.
You're welcome. I am blown away at how many people have watched this and commented. I had no idea this was going to happen. I am very grateful though that it has caused people to remember the brave men who were lost.
The B-47 was a hot ship indeed. It would typically execute an Immelmann climb and role maneuver to release one of its 4 "shapes" available in the bomb bay (Air Force jargon for a nuclear weapon or practice munition loaded onto a clip) and effect a low altitude escape in the opposite direction of the target and resulting explosion. I was honored to serve in the Strategic Air Command and the B-47 is my all-time favorite bomber design. It is beautiful. Thank you for releasing the film.
@@dflo4165Toss or Loft Bombing, I used to do it all the time. Of course, my ship was an Remote Control Ugly Stick and my "Shape" was 3 coffee nose cup filled with flower with a paper cap glued to keep it in the front, an inverted cup glued to that one and an empty third one glued bottom to bottom to the empty one. Come in low and fast, pull verticle and release, Immelman out the other side. That was the painful part cuzz ya wanted to see where it hit BUT you know, flying a plane here. Makes a cute puff of smoke. From the UA-cam videos, Plane videos that used to be on the history channel and now are on a different pay channel, Plus of course "Strategic Air Command" I take it the 47 was a handful and took constant flying. Fast early ships before we had area rule and such figured out. Look away and the 47 would let you know about it. BUT a hotrod at the same time. I'd say they got it figured out pretty well as it's replacement is still flying today, has had at least 3 generations of pilots fly it and will probably have a couple more before they retire it. But the b-52 doesn't have rato slots in the back of the fuse at RATO makes anything cool.
I'm 72 and remember seeing B-47's and B-52's flying overhead when I was a kid. I complained about the wall of noise that accompanied these flights, but my Dad said, "Get used to it. That's the sound of Freedom."
When the Vulcans flew over our area my mum told me the same thing. The Vulcan howl has been audio-video recorded and put on UA-cam. It sounds like all of the hounds of hell, very dramatic for the little boy that I was. It's worth searching out a clip. This one is quite good, but not the best: ua-cam.com/video/dEF7685zZ_E/v-deo.html
20 June 1986 was the last flight of the B-47. I took my initial qualification checkride in the KC-135A on that date at Castle AFB. (Q-1!) I recall the aircraft lost its airspeed indicators about half way up the valley. A T-33 (from Castle AFB) joined up with the bomber and called airspeeds on final approach. Landing was a little slow and the pilot scraped one of the outboard engines. I think the folks at the museum took a hammer to the cowling and made it look new! Great times!
Thanks for the cool comment! Made for an interesting final flight to lose airspeed readout! Funny you mention a T-33. That is the topic of one of my upcoming videos!
Deeply impressed by your narration. Your calm steady recital of the facts kept me engrossed for the entirety of the video. I particularly liked how, despite the aircraft's very chequered history, you neither sought to condemn the B-47 or make excuses for its shortcomings. Most impressive was how you sought to honor the four airman who died in the crash , as well as the many others who were killed in training accidents .
Thank you very much for saying so! More videos on the way! I have been using UA-cam for years, but I am completely new at creating content! It's great to know that people are enjoying it! It makes it worth the time and effort to takes to make one! Again, I appreciate the kind words!
You must have lived in the Conway area where we live. There was a B-52 crash near here years later, which I knew about because of a historical marker. I haven't seen a marker at the B-47 crash site.
Hi Denise. Thanks for saying hello. I just answered a comment from presumably your dad, David? The comment I left for him applies to you as well! Thank you and I'm glad you happened upon the video! Your grandpa was an amazing man!
Wonderful video. Good job. In 1963, I was stationed at McConnell AFB, Kansas and we had more than 100 B-47s. They flew almost every day, much of the time shooting take offs and landings on the base's two parallel runways, with their drag chutes out for the touch and go circuits. One day, I counted thirteen B-47s, with chutes out, on final approach for one or both of the parallel runways. Beautiful planes and I loved to watch them fly. Or, sit on the ground.
My uncle was a copilot and died in an RB47 crash in Topeka Kansas. Fully fueled, lost outboard engine on rotation. Pilot may have initiated abort and then changed mind, but droug chute deploying sealed their fate. All perished. RIP
Hi My father was part of the ground crew for the Vulcans which were at Pinecastle. Whenever I mentioned Pinecastle AFB nobody seemed to have heard of it and me not knowing of the name change not long after. I remember the excitement when ‘Dad’ returned home bringing gifts never seen in the UK in the 50’s! I have several photos taken of him taken on the base and locally. The Vulcan is a very iconic aircraft especially here in the UK and I am very proud my father was there in those very early days. Best wishes to past and present USAF personnel and to those who played host to the RAF at Pinecastle back then, I know it was of the highlights of my father’s 26year RAF career. Thank you for putting together this video and lastly let us not forget those brave aviators who lost their lives in the service of their respective countries. Regards David.
Hello David. What an adventure it had to be for the boys flying to the States from England. I appreciate you taking the time to share your personal details of your dads service. You should be very proud of you dad! The Vulcan has to be one of the most iconic bombers ever made! It is a shame that the event had to end with such a tragedy, but I'm sure the guys had a great time with each other flying, comparing notes, no doubt sharing some drinks! I know there has always been a huge amount of mutual respect and admiration between our two countries. We are very lucky and grateful to have you as cherished friends and allies! Cheers from Indiana USA.
I witnessed the crash as an elementary school kid. I was at recess about one mile from the disaster. Heard a boom and look toward then farmland northwest of the school. Looked like aluminum confetty in the air as the plane came apart in the air before the crash. I will never forget this .
Similarly I was at gym class on the track at Boone HS in Orlando that day. We heard the explosion and looked to the northwest to see the plane disintegrate before our eyes.
Multiple people have commented about seeing the crash and the confetti in the air. Must of made quite an impression to many youngsters who happened to catch a glimpse of it. I appreciate your comment.
Just viewed your video and I remember the accident very well. My father was Major Vernon Dale Stuff. I was only five at the time of the accident but it’s a day I have never forgotten. I do have some information about the crash (original news paper headlines/stories), but have never seen this film footage. I was really taken by surprise to find it. Thank you
Hello Sir. When I made this video, I had no idea the attention that It would get. I regret not including a picture of your father, but I couldn't find one that I was confident was actually him. I know it has been many years and you were just a small child, but you have my condolences for his loss. What an amazing group of men they were! I hope that in a small way this video will bring a newfound respect and appreciation for your dad, and the sacrifices that he and his fellow airmen made for our country. Thank you for saying hello and thank you for everything that your family has done for all of us.
Trained as a B-47 mech in 1955 and loved the experience. I was in awe of the plane and still am. Failed "color-blind" test for pilot training in 1954 and enlisted to be around aircraft. In civilian life I took the light -color test, passed, went to Spartan School of Aeronautics, received all ratings and enjoyed a life in civilian aviation. At least I attained my pilot goal albeit non-military but am grateful that I was borderline color-blind. Great video which brings back a lifetime of memories
Having a love of aviation is a hard thing to describe to those who don’t share it. I’m sure you probably knew this, but Robin Olds also attended Spartan School.
Thanks for posting this video. I grew up on SAC bases when my father flew B47s and B52s and it was quite an effort these warriors made to keep the peace. Great role models for me as I went on to USAFA and later flew KC135s, T37s, T38s, and U2s. With the stopping of mandatory military service in the 70s, many of our fellow citizens don’t understand what it means to subordinate one’s self to a higher calling.
What an experience it must have been growing up on/around the bases. I don’t know how many guys have flown U2s over the years, but I know it can’t be many compared to most other aircraft. I bet you have some stories!
"...many of our fellow citizens don’t understand what it means to subordinate one’s self to a higher calling..." No doubt that's true, but it has little to do with military service. There are many forms of "higher calling" Full disclosure: I was a USAF SrA back in the day...
Powerful video. You are so right that the level of sacrifice needed to deploy and sustain the B-47 bomber force back then would never be allowed today. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
Very well done! I was immediately impressed with your reveal of a little jewel of history here, in this film. Thank you for sharing it and your excellent narration.
My father was crew chief on B-47 52-0238, part of the 367th Squadron of the 306th Bombardment Wing. He was in service from early 1953 to early 1957. The crew chief sometimes had to ride inside the aircraft without an actual seat, being positioned on the step of the co-pilot's access up to the cockpit with a seatbelt and an auxiliary oxygen supply. He flew there during ferry flights to England and Morocco, as well as the required number of hours per month mandated by the Air Force. He had a few frightening experiences such as landing into heavy fog in England while very low on fuel without an instrument landing system, and being on board for one of the high-ranking officers doing his periodic qualification on mid-air refueling. It was generally considered very low odds of getting out of a B-47 successfully without the benefit of an ejection seat, so thank goodness he survived his time with the B-47! The closest his group came to going into combat was the Suez Canal Crisis, which is a fascinating period of history in and of itself.
Remember the 918th Bomb Group of 12 O'clock High fame? It was loosely based on the 306th. Note the number is exactly tripled. Groups became Wings some time after the war.
not all are in Museums - B-47B - Hightower Park, Altus, OK. B-47B Stratojet bomber on display in Hightower Park in Altus, Oklahoma. The park is located right on US Highway 62 just east of the downtown area, and just west of Altus AFB. Despite being displayed outdoors, the Stratojet appears to be well maintained and in relatively good condition ...
From the British perspective - we ended up with *3* nuclear bombers all to do the same job. When the order for a new high level jet bomber was put out - the catch was the Royal Air Force and the UK government wanted it "delivered yesterday". Vickers said they could get the Valiant ready the quickest and so got the initial contract. The Valiant was intended as a stop gap until the more advanced Vulcan and Victor were ready. The reason they continued with both the Vulcan and the Victor was so that one was insurance in case the other failed.
Makes sense. Great to hear from someone across the pond. I hope that the level of respect that I have for Group Captain Woodroffe and his memory is conveyed enough in the video. Thanks for watching and for commenting.
Dad was a navigator/bombardier on the B-47 in the 100th BW at Pease AFB, NH. I remember at least two Stratojets being lost while we were there, one of which crashed on take off on to the golf course, killing the crew. In those days we always had in the back of our mind that when dad left for work, it might be the last time we saw him.
Must of been an un-nerving time for you. It sounds like he completed his service without any major incidents though? I appreciate you watching and for the comment (and for your dads service to this country!)
@@stadium79 He had a stellar career, starting in 1941 (B-25's to C-54's in the Pacific). After SAC he crewed in the C-141's and lastly trained at McCoy in the B-57G Canberra that operated out of Ubon Thailand. That was his last tour, where he was awarded the DFC for combat action on the Ho Chi Min Trail.. Yeah, he was my hero.
Wow...I remember the day well, the Plane flew over our house which was about 2.5 miles form the crash site, our neighbor behind us came out to the fence and told my mom what had happened......her husband was a B-47 Pilot in the same group......it was a very somber afternoon for sure, I was turning 5 years old in November at the time..... I will never forget..... thanks for sharing this.... .Paul in Orlando, Florida
My Dad was flying B47s out of Chennault AFB with the 68BW in Lake Charles ( Swampy AFB) in 1957 having just transitioned from KC97s. He said this crash was definitely pilot error. Apparently the RAF's Vulcan out performed the B47 and Mike McCoy thought he could make the B47 perform beyond it's limits to show the visiting RAF guys and the RAF Group Captain (RAF version of a Colonel.) Apparently the effort didn't work. Story was McCoy had (who was popular, respected and well liked) discussed his plans with several people prior to the flight. One of the things McCoy had done was to have the B47 waxed with automobile was to make it's skin smoother and gain a little speed... something never seen mentioned in any report.
Now 82, I was a mechanic/crew chief. Great ship and ingeniously designed and built. Was in the 68th bomb wing maintenance at Chennault. Never had a mishap during the 1958 - 1962 time there. Got to know about every nut and bolt on that airplane. Great memories
@@oldchuckie1874 Considering the plane, that is a pretty commendable record. Much of that credit goes to you and your fellow airmen mechanics who never get the credit you deserve.
Great video. An 'in the weeds' comment. The Wolverine film scanner scans at 20 frames per second where the 8mm film was originally shot at 24 frames per second. This makes the playback look a little fast and jumpy. If you can adjust the speed to 84% it will look more natural, if your editing software will let you do that. Really great video though.
Thanks I appreciate it! I am very new to this and the editing software I am currently using is very limited. I am going to hopefully upgrade to something better very soon as I really like doing this. Thanks for watching and for the comment!
The guy who instructed my C.O. to get his pilot license was a retired Air Force pilot who flew B-47s. He and I had a couple of great lunches as I was a crewman on VQ-2 EA-3B Skywarriors. We exchanged some good "sea stories" (or whatever the Air Force guys call them). As an Air Force brat I often hung around the flight line and had a chance to see many of the 1950 and 1960 Air Force planes including B-47s, which I consider to be one of the prettiest airplanes ever built!
My family was stationed at Little Rock AFB and Lincoln Nebraska. My Dad was a Bomber/ Navigator on B-47’s From there to A Crew Chief on the Titan II ICBM at Davis Monthan Ariz. 1956-1965
Although the serial is unclear, this would appear to be among the last batch of Valiants delivered, XD812-830 and XD857-875. A number of a/c from 3 Group of Bomber Command represented the RAF at SAC's bombing, navigation and reconnaissance competition at Pinecastle AFB in October 1957. The Valiant Wing was placed 27th of 45 wings completing. Sqn/Ldr Payne's crew of 214 Sqn was placed 11th of 90 crews competing.
From CF Andrews, 'Vickers Aircraft Since 1908', (1968). The Valiants suffered mainspar cracks and were withdrawn in 1965, the sole remaining example of the type being XD818, which dropped the first British Hydrogen Bomb.
This is fascinating, one of the most interesting films I've seen here for some time, and of a professional quality. Excellent, and immensely informative. Thank God that these beautiful birds never had to be used for their intended purpose. Now we can just enjoy them.
So true. It's very ironic to think of how many billions of dollars were/are spent on technology that we pray will never have to be utilized. Thanks very much for the nice comment, I hope to be releasing more videos very soon!
It's amazing what sort of losses the USAF was willing to put up with back in the 1950s and 1960s for new aircraft. I didn't know that so many B-47s were destroyed in crashes. The B-58 had an even higher loss rate, about 22% were destroyed in crashes, but only 116 were built. These were the super expensive versions of the B-2 bomber of the late 1950s
I also have a connection to the B-47. 1963-64 I was an Air Force Security Policeman at Schilling AFB, Salina, Kansas (now closed). We were a SAC Bomb Wing with B-47 a/c. Some of my fondest memories were watching the entire wing takeoff using Jet Assisted Takeoff rockets (JATO) during a readiness exercise and some of my foulest memories are of walking around a B-47 with a M-2 carbine on my shoulder on the midnight shift in the middle of a Kansas blizzard.
I have lived in the Midwest my whole like but I had the experience of trying to drive through a blizzard between Lincoln and Omaha. I have never seen anything like it. Was a true blizzard. I can totally understand why that is a foul memory of yours. Thanks for watching and sharing those memories!
Thank you for this. You have memorialised these brave men, and the material catches something of the time that is not available in magazines. The British Squadron Leader will have endured a particularly tough time, with 45 missions at the time of his commendation. I remember reading of when Guy Gibson (one of our Dambuster teams) went to the US on a PR tour, and was asked how many sorties he'd flown. It was a ridiculously large number, and apparently his American audience was stunned. That is what those men did for our country, Europe and the world. To have survived that and then die in a peacetime incident is poignant to say the least.
I appreciate your comment, and I am humbled at the attention that this video has gotten. I am very happy that I was able to memorialize these brave men in a small way. There is something more sad though about Group Captain Woodroffe losing his life on foreign soil due to this horrible accident. What an amazing career he had, and you are so correct, what he and his fellow flyers did for the European continent and the world is incomprehensible. They gave so much and wanted nothing in return but to live the rest of their lives in peace. I hope that my video conveyed the level of respect that I have for Group Captain Woodroffe and the RAF. Cheers from Indiana USA
@@stadium79 You did indeed convey it. I'm very pro American, having served in Germany, and later I dated an American girl. Your video and its grainy quality are very evocative. It resounded. Take care now, and thank you again.
I was a young boy living in Orlando when this occurred. I can still remember the shock and sadness felt by the community. Many USAAF members and their families lived in my neighborhood and we all were profoundly affected by the deaths of the B-47 crew.
Military communities are certainly tight-knit. I'm sure that it was a very sad time for everyone in your neighborhood. Thanks for sharing your memories and for watching.
The first time I flew into Florida it was at McCoy Air Force Base, which allowed a few civilian flight. The passenger terminal was at the north end of the field. It was 1970 and the Vietnam war was in full swing. As we taxied to the terminal building there were many B-52s in camo lining the taxiway.
Great presentation in both audio and video. As a High School kid in 1957 it so happened that a B-47 crashed near where I lived in North-East Texas. I bypassed those guarding the area and looked at the crash... even went down in the crater the crash made. Later, after computers came along, I learned the plane was a B-47E flying out of Little Rock, Arkansas practicing nite time in-flight refueling. 52-0761 and ident of:450982 High School kids do the dumbest things...
A Costly aircraft at a time of technology transition. Even in the Jimmy Stewart Movie SAC, it was admitted how dangerous the ships were, and how only really good pilots could keep them in the air performing their function. The list of Air Performance of the deceased reminds me of my Great Uncle who received the Distinguished Flying Cross for carrying 110% of payload in a B17 in WW2 trips over the Alps. They removed all of the Armor out of the ship, flew in high over the Radar installation calling in the fuse altitude instructions for the Gernman AA, and then lowered in to well under the burst fuse altitude. I believe he said 30,000ft was the feint, and I cannot really remember how low they came in. One Article says this: "The service ceiling was about 35,000 feet. Bomber raids would vary the height, to throw off enemy antiaircraft gunners. 25,000 to 30,000 feet was the norm. However, if the mission called for it, the bombers would go in much lower. The Ploesti raid in Rumania was at 500 to 1,000 feet." The idea was that it would actually be far more difficult to hit the ships, and any hits would not explode within the ships. So, they figured they had better take the armor out and let it pass through. So writing this, I saw this article, and see, he might have gotten the Award for the Ploesti Raid. Later he would steal a P-38 Lightning and remove everything from the Nose and Booms, and carry 2 Mechanics and parts behind enemy lines to get crippled ships back to base. Even there, he removed the 2" armor plate from behind the seat. He might have needed it that day he was at tree tops and he said 7 Fokker Wolf fighters were descending on him spraying tracers in front of him. Like a modern SR71 pilot, he did the only thing to do, firewall the throttle. He said the Speedo was telling him 400 knots (maybe mph), and he was still being sucked into the seat. That is what he said.
Yep, there was a lot of aviation knowledge that we hadn't learned yet, so it had to learned through flying. A lot of that knowledge was gotten the hard way with this jet, a lot of crews and jets were lost.
I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to crawl around inside the B-17 a few times, and I was fascinated by the fact that it's just bare sheet metal and oxygen tanks mounted on the sidewalls. You're great uncle and crew must have been freezing going over the Alps at 30,000! A true hero! Thank you for the story.
@@3chordwonder857 Bomber Jackets and Coveralls of Leather and Shetland Wool. Gloves too. Open fuselage Aircraft, pre B-29 Pressurized fuselage. I believe that at the beginning of the War the boys were told 18 missions before their release from service, and that climbed to 25 and then 50(?) Terms of the deal were sliding along to oblivion, almost undermining any hope for the crews that any might live. Really grizzled battle hardened souls. He told of men hit seriously and the suits getting soaked with blood. The temperature kept them from bleeding to death, but descents needed to be made quickly to keep the blood frozen. Wounded being pressed on and bandage as tight as possible to get them to medical tents to have the suits cut off them as fast as possible to begin vascular surgery. Frozen hell, but the cold helped numb the pain as well. I bet the B17 you were in had none of the actual armor in place. It would make the ship more efficient and inexpensive to fly, safer to get airborne. Bucky Hodges of Beaumont Texas. He retried and did an EAA 1/3 scale P51 for himself. Must have been nice to have money. Then there was the story my Dad told me of the B17 pilot he idolized when he worked with him at DuPont, and the day the guy called him into his office and told him about flying over the Atlantic hump, stopping in Marrakesh, where the officers decided that they did not want to pay for a maid to keep their quarters in England as they were notified that they would be expected to pay. So they purchased a Slave Girl at the Slave Market and flew her into England. The play out on that was explained to be in deep undertones. I believe that the English Base Commander was somewhere between abject Horror and Shame. Wild stuff.
I appreciate you saying so as this was actually one of my first videos! I guess it was beginners luck! There are models of the B-47 floating around out there... check this out! (crazy big link for some reason) www.ebay.com/itm/186174459143?hash=item2b58dccd07:g:E9IAAOSwcCFlXFIl&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwJDF29xuau40A4NhAggVcsF6qBugwDYzG%2FaOeNvBWnigy9o8uV%2FRFxA%2FM%2F8gt%2FaYJp4wsB8xeFINloK%2F9Ks%2BlCmgwyB5fSQbOadvqvRRHp5VuAcUwTidvhX03ZL4M7xqkZzEcO8%2BGEH5qKeCjkJlXT7Jtkwzxq62AU9lbF9RgNQxIlIlG5qvNpvmfGv6pVnZGgxLoKjYpdCvZof713E9uvEJRPWkjn6VF2xT6K0hj%2FpiBmdCWUT9wIkgkrkU1JKeYg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8rfq_KAYw
There was one parked at LAX not Far from the FAA and Coast guard late 1970's ? I lived in Venture county at the time about 20 miles north east of Point Mugu, one day I heard what I thought was a 707 or 135 what looked like on a long final for Mugu..looked up as it was over me and it was that B47! two EB-47Es were assigned to NAS Point Mugu in the ’70s and were marked “U.S.NAVY”
My dad was stationed at pine castle air base and was a jet mechanic on the B-47s a few years before this happened. When I was young he would tell me about this plane crash driving by the site to Orlando on hwy. 441. It was a cow pasture then in Lockhart fla.,he would point it out to me. It was in the early 60s.
I read that in the late 50s when this happened you could drive a few minutes off the base in any direction and you were in farms and fields. How the world has changed!
I was in the USAF 1963-67. In 1964, I was a weapons loading crewmember on the B-58 Hustler. It, like the B-47, pushed the "performance envelope" and had a similar history of crashes. These were very high performance aircraft for their time and demanded very skilled crews and training. Transitioning from a slower aircraft like a B-36 to a B-47 was a very large step into very demanding knowledge and skill set. And, not everything was known about transonic flight in a large bomber. I expect there were lots of "bugs" to work out in these aircraft in terms of procedures, performance and training.
What gets me is that there are tens of thousands of hours of videos from WWII, Korea, Vietnam and other wars that have not seen the time of day yet. I wish they would become available for all of us to see and learn...
Wonderful video of those memorable Cold War times at MCO. My Dad trained in and survived 47's at Westover, MA from 57-60 and then flew the mighty 52's on Chrome Dome outta MCO and through the 60's. As kids, we remember him going on "Alert" for 2-week stints but never really knew what it was about. We'd go visit him down at the "molehole" which is what they called the alert building at the very end of the runway and which was in front of the Christmas tree where the 52's were parked. Often, he'd be doing touch-n-go's when we got there and with my brothers and I playing in the playground right smack by the runway, we always knew which jet was his because he'd wave at us by gently rocking the wings back and forth on approach. We'd all jump up and down and wave, excited as could be! In fact, Dad was in the air on CD the day Kennedy was shot and was ordered to arm his nucs and head on to Moscow as they thought the Ruskies got John. They then stood down after entering Russian airspace and diverted to Seville Spain as Mig's appeared on their radar as they crossed the Turkish border. When they departed the jet, all of their flightsuits were soaked with sweat as they knew they would never get out of Russian airspace alive after they dropped the nucs and figured it was a one-way mission at that point. That was the only time that he ever brought my brothers and I a bunch of bullfighting toys and posters as the CO treated all of them to one of the best nights in Seville they had ever had. I remember that to this day! RIP Dad and High Flight!
WhenI was in flight school outside Chicago in the early 1990s, I had a flight instructor named Col. Charles Henniger who was a test pilot on the B-47 during its development. He told me on several occasions that it could be a rewarding aircraft to fly, as long as you stayed 110% focused. But lose focus or become distracted - especially during takeoff and landing - and it could be a very dangerous airplane. He blamed much of this on the center of balance being so far rearward, and on the design of the wings, which he said were swept too far for stable low speed flight. As a result, many of the crashes this plane suffered were on takeoff and landing, when speeds were slow.
@@stadium79 Oh he had plenty of them! The testing was at Muroc, and the teams of test crews stayed at Pancho Barnes' Happy Bottom Riding Club. At the same time as the B-47 test, there were various other concepts being tested. The unofficial leader of the single seat test team at this time was Chuck Yeager, who was loved by the jet fighter guys, and pretty much despised by everyone else. I could tell by the way he told the story that the colonel was still bitter at the bullying Yeager gave to everyone else. Henniger said Yeager was always the first one to knock off, and the first one in the Pancho's bar. So when the bomber guys finally finished the fay's testing, they would drag their asses into the bar. He said Yeager like to say, for the whole bar to hear, "Hey Henniger! When are you going to take the training wheels of that thing?!" Henniger went on to fly in the right seat of Air Force One (USAF 26000) during the last year of the Johnson administration, and for the six years of the Nixon administration. He was very proud that he had made three trips to China, carrying Nixon, Kissinger, as well as translator and aids. In and out of the Philippines for talks with heNorth Vietnamese, and back to the hangar without the media catching wind of it.
I remember this as an Orlando resident in the 1st grade. My girlfriend her dad was a British pilot or part of the aircrew. Charlene Olson the next year she was not in school. Years later I knew Mrs Col. Mc Coy
In some ways the B-47 can be likened to a military version of the Comet. What I mean by that, is the formative lessons of metal fatigue, and superimposing piston era aviation mindset to the jet age still weren't fully understood. Just because you could throw a B-47 around like a P-51 doesn't mean it is a good idea with hindsight for example. Both jets no doubt taught us a great deal albeit in blood. Still the B-47 is a stunning looking aircraft in flight. Imagine flying one like a fighter jet. The sense of freedom and power must have been very addictive I reckon. What a thing!
I was at China Lake in '83 or '84 when they were testing the engines on that B-47. I wish I could have seen it fly. If you look at it's record the KC-135 was just as deadly in it's early years, lots of lost lives and jets from engine and water injection failures
During that time period the B-47 suffered a large number of wing structural failures while performing bomb delivery manuvers it was not designed to do. An emergency repair program ensued. The father of a good friend of mine finished his career flying B-47's out of McCoy...
A fascinating look back to the history of our respective nuclear deterrent bombers 🇬🇧🇺🇸, your video is narrated in such a calm, almost zen like tone, and considering the age of the film it has uploaded very nicely. One small correction if I might, Capt Woodruff was actually Group Captain Woodruff, we don’t have the rank of Captain anymore, not since the Royal Flying Corp became the Royal Air Force during World War I. My Home town is extremely close to RAF Wittering and my Father served there later in his RAF service, he was also an Armourer on the “V” bombers, primarily the Vulcan, but he was trained in the technical side of our nuclear weapons, I also served in the RAF and briefly served at the nearest RAF base to both RAF Wittering and my home town, RAF Cottesmore, but my son served at RAF Wittering for a number of years, it is a small world but an even smaller RAF.
I certainly appreciate your comment! I unfortunately had a bit of a misstep with referring to Group Captain Woodroffe as only Captain. I certainly meant no disrespect to either Group Captain Woodroffe or the Royal Air Force! It sounds like your family has a proud tradition in the RAF! What did you do (in the service) if you don't mind me asking?
@@stadium79 Hi, I realise you meant no disrespect at all, I assumed that you were unaware of the rank structure of the RAF, no apology needed. My family is very connected with the RAF, my son was fourth generation, possibly fifth as my great grandfather was in the Royal Flying Corp, but don’t know if he was transferred to the RAF. I was a Engineering Technician Airframe, also known as a Rigger, in essence if you take away the engines and anything electrical or armament and everything else was my responsibility and stock-in-trade, I finished my service in 2003 after 24 years as a maintenance team leader for helicopters. Thanks for your reply and your interest in my family, very much appreciated. 😀👍🇬🇧🏴🇺🇸🇺🇦
The article I read said that McCoy was showing off the capabilities of the B-47 to the British gentleman. According to the article, McCoy attempted a turn and put on the coals when the plane exceeded its structural limits. The actual actions will never be known, but a structural failure did occur.
@@aj-2savage896 While some may say that the B-47 never flew in combat, the RB-47's sure did, mostly as targets for Russian fighters! A lot of them were shot down, with either no survivors, or those that might have, wound up in Soviet prisons, and possibly didn't survive!
Robert Thomas Smith, pilot, author and pilot of 47s. My best friends father. Lived long after his days in a 47 but told us stories anytime we would ask. I wish I could hear another today. RIP. He wrote a book about the Beach staggerwing and owned two of them. He also helped start the Staggerwing Museum in Tullahoma Tennessee after a career in the FAA after the Air force. But say his name, RT as we all called him, and I see B-47s and feel the ground shake.
In the early 1950s my father was stationed on the Island of Bermuda. Because aerial refueling was still primitive many planes, sometimes fleets landed there to refuel as they moved back & forth across the Atlantic in the early days of the Cold War. One Saturday we went to shop at the US Navy base on the other end of the island. When we got back we learned that a B-47 had taken off, exploded, and the wreckage had fallen into the ocean. Years later I got to know a retired B-47 pilot. He told me there was a plane system that would fail and cause those explosions.😕
Yeah so many stories like that. It had to always be in the back of the crews minds. Funny you should mention Bermuda in the early 50's. Check this out! ua-cam.com/video/enJ3LJDzdL8/v-deo.html
In 1960 a RB-47 was shot down by Russian fighters over international waters of the Barents Sea. Two flight crew members survived out of six crew members, the 3 "Ravens" in the belly didn't, they had no escape hatch or ejection seat.
All brave men ! RIP ! Advancing aviation 1 crash at a time ! Pain is the best teacher ! I may not be alive if not for the bravery of these fine aviators !
A small point. There is no rank of captain in the RAF, there is, however the rank of Group Captain, which is, more or less the same as colonel in the USAF
Yes my apologies. I wish I could go back and edit that. I have had many people point this out. I certainly meant no disrespect to Group Captain Woodroffe or the RAF!
For many years the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds had a B-47 on static display, along with a B-52 which joined later. During major renovations to the fairgrounds, the aircraft were removed. I'm not sure what happened to them, but I'm afraid they were scrapped.
Thankfully they were not scrapped! The B-47 is on display at the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita! The B-52 went to Joe Davies Air Park at the historic Plant #42 in Palmdale California! Thanks for watching and commenting!
1986? I must have see a B-47 that made ONE of the last flights. It was at the Moffett Field airshow sometime around 1984 or 1985. There was a B-47 on display that must have flown there. We were able to go all around and under the plane. There was also a B-52 there. I heard that people were able to watch them fly in and land outside the base just past the end of the runway. I wish I knew how the B-47 got there. Was it also on a ferry flight to somewhere?
I was stationed at Plattsburgh AFB 380th SAC in the late 70’s and there was a B-47 on display at the base entrance and around Christmas they put a giant Santa sitting on the jet like he was riding a horse
The Lancaster you showed had the Z equipment in the nose supposedly to stop the automatic tail gun from firing that was trialled during the war but was never put into full service due to system failures which caused friendly fire incidents bringing down aircraft.
Thank you. I have been politely told quite a few times now. I regret that I can't go back and make an edit to that. Certainly meant no disrespect to Group Captain Woodroffe or the RAF. Quite the opposite. I wish I would of spent more time talking about him as I find it just a bit more tragic that he lost his life on foreign soil. Stiff upper lip and all, but I imagine the flight back to England was a tough one for the rest of the boys knowing they had to see his family when they got home.
I went back and forth on whether or not it was a Victor. That is what I thought initially too, but as the footage progresses it seems like there is the far Valiant with nothing else to the left of it. I'm honestly still not 100% sure! I see the nose and it looks like a Victor, but the air intakes make me think its a Valiant. There's just not quite enough of that scene for me to be able to tell! I appreciate you watching and commenting!
The following info from the book 'Aircraft of the Royal Air Force' by Owen Thetford. The first production Victor B1 is recorded as flying for the first time on 1st February 1956 and first one into RAF service was with 232 Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Gaydon on 28th November 1957. First operation squadron was No10 Squadron at RAF Cottismore, receiving their first aircraft in April 1958. Unless it was a trials aircraft that was present 'Showing the Flag' , I would doubt that there was one there. However, I would think at this distance in time it would be very difficult to prove either way without access to official records. I have a memory from the late 1950's of seeing B 47's accompanied by KC 135 tankers taking part in an air display at Shoreham by Sea airport in West Sussex England. A very exciting event for a young lad as I was then 😃 Thank you for posting a most interesting video, and may I join in remembering with gratitude all those who flew these planes, on both sides of the Pond, and particularly those who unfortunately lost their lives whilst in service. 🇬🇧 🇺🇸
Wow, before I saw this video , I did not realize that the B-47 had so many fatal accidents... None were lost in combat, but all accidents happened from loss of control, or structural failures... Definitely a nice looking plane, but not very reliable... No wonder they were replaced with the B-52's, that are still flying for the Air Force... I'm thinking that if the B-49's were selected, instead of the B-47's, would it have given the U.S. an early strategic advantage in stealth technology? It took over 50 years for the U.S. to realize the advantages of flying wings, over conventional designs, before they built the first B-2's... Jack Northrop was 50 years ahead of his time, before people realized just how viable his ideas were...
My name is Paul Stuff. That’s my grandfather, Major Vernon Dale Stuff, that lost his life in the crash. Thank you for sharing this footage and for honoring his sacrifice! It was very moving to see.
Hi Paul. Thanks for saying hello. I just answered a comment from presumably your dad, David? The comment I left for him applies to you as well! Thank you and I'm glad you happened upon the video!
We all who lived in Orlando - before & after this time -never forgot. I grew up in the Colonial Town area. My dad, out of the Navy, joined the AF Reserves. He would have served during this time. Before my time,but this is Amazing footage & thank you for honoring these brave men.
My heart goes out to ANYONE that had to fly the 47, it was UNSAFE at any speed.. Over 400 aircrew died flying a plane that should NEVER have been put into service.. Thank you Boeing.. Hope God had mercy on your grandfather..
This video exhibits one of UA-cam's best capabilities, bringing forgotten video footage to a mass audience. This is an EXCELLENT video and proves that historically significant items are all around us awaiting discovery! Thanks, GREAT video. -Steve Magnante
I totally agree Steve. I am so happy that I came across this footage to be able to share with everyone. There are thousands of people who are now thinking of these brave men and honoring their memory! Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
Our family moved to Orlando in 1954 from a small town in SW Virginia. I was 6 years old then and a certified airplane nut. We still live in the same house nestled between Orlando Executive Airport and now MCO.
What an exciting place to live and grow up between two airports. B-47's and Lockheed Constellations going over all the time. I remember this day very well and how sad the community was. The Vulcans were a sight to see especially the ones painted in camouflage. They looked like giant graceful mantaras flying around over Orlando. We looked forward each year for their return to our city.
The scuttlebutt at the time was that Col. McCoy had been given a Vulcan "demo" ride by the Brittish Wing Commander. The next day Col. McCoy reciprocated and gave the Wing Commander a demo ride in the B-47. That was to be the day of the crash.
A friend and fellow pilot friend of mine, was sitting in class at Edgewater High School and remembers clearly seeing the B-47 up on its wing as it disappeared behind some trees then saw the explosion.
Thanks for this respectful narrative and the memories.
Additional information:
I just talked to my friend that saw the crash out the school winndow. He said that they watched debris fall from the sky before it made contact with the ground.
Consensus was that either one or borh wings came off.
Sad.
What an honor to have a historical significant film from a bygone era.
I also live in Orlando between both the Orlando Executive Airport and the Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Thank you both for bringing the history of these brave men and this tragic event back to life and for the witness account of this tragic event that long ago.
You're welcome. I am blown away at how many people have watched this and commented. I had no idea this was going to happen. I am very grateful though that it has caused people to remember the brave men who were lost.
The B-47 was a hot ship indeed. It would typically execute an Immelmann climb and role maneuver to release one of its 4 "shapes" available in the bomb bay (Air Force jargon for a nuclear weapon or practice munition loaded onto a clip) and effect a low altitude escape in the opposite direction of the target and resulting explosion. I was honored to serve in the Strategic Air Command and the B-47 is my all-time favorite bomber design. It is beautiful. Thank you for releasing the film.
I served in SAC 7 Years underground in a Titan ii ICBM silo
Didn’t they call that “toss bombing?”
@@dflo4165Toss or Loft Bombing, I used to do it all the time. Of course, my ship was an Remote Control Ugly Stick and my "Shape" was 3 coffee nose cup filled with flower with a paper cap glued to keep it in the front, an inverted cup glued to that one and an empty third one glued bottom to bottom to the empty one. Come in low and fast, pull verticle and release, Immelman out the other side. That was the painful part cuzz ya wanted to see where it hit BUT you know, flying a plane here. Makes a cute puff of smoke. From the UA-cam videos, Plane videos that used to be on the history channel and now are on a different pay channel, Plus of course "Strategic Air Command" I take it the 47 was a handful and took constant flying. Fast early ships before we had area rule and such figured out. Look away and the 47 would let you know about it. BUT a hotrod at the same time. I'd say they got it figured out pretty well as it's replacement is still flying today, has had at least 3 generations of pilots fly it and will probably have a couple more before they retire it. But the b-52 doesn't have rato slots in the back of the fuse at RATO makes anything cool.
I've actually seen video of it doing that, it's a maneuver that is as crazy as it sounds (for a multi-engine bomber anyway).
@@dflo4165 Yes, toss bombing was the last hit to the B47. If I remember correctly they said the airframe would take 200 hours of toss bombing.
I'm 72 and remember seeing B-47's and B-52's flying overhead when I was a kid. I complained about the wall of noise that accompanied these flights, but my Dad said, "Get used to it. That's the sound of Freedom."
I like his style! Thanks for the comment!
When the Vulcans flew over our area my mum told me the same thing. The Vulcan howl has been audio-video recorded and put on UA-cam. It sounds like all of the hounds of hell, very dramatic for the little boy that I was. It's worth searching out a clip. This one is quite good, but not the best: ua-cam.com/video/dEF7685zZ_E/v-deo.html
20 June 1986 was the last flight of the B-47. I took my initial qualification checkride in the KC-135A on that date at Castle AFB. (Q-1!) I recall the aircraft lost its airspeed indicators about half way up the valley. A T-33 (from Castle AFB) joined up with the bomber and called airspeeds on final approach. Landing was a little slow and the pilot scraped one of the outboard engines. I think the folks at the museum took a hammer to the cowling and made it look new! Great times!
I really enjoyed living in Merced!
One of the best times for me!
Thanks for the cool comment! Made for an interesting final flight to lose airspeed readout! Funny you mention a T-33. That is the topic of one of my upcoming videos!
Deeply impressed by your narration. Your calm steady recital of the facts kept me engrossed for the entirety of the video. I particularly liked how, despite the aircraft's very chequered history, you neither sought to condemn the B-47 or make excuses for its shortcomings. Most impressive was how you sought to honor the four airman who died in the crash , as well as the many others who were killed in training accidents .
Agreed! Well done, Stadium79.
Thank you very much for saying so! More videos on the way! I have been using UA-cam for years, but I am completely new at creating content! It's great to know that people are enjoying it! It makes it worth the time and effort to takes to make one! Again, I appreciate the kind words!
You must have lived in the Conway area where we live. There was a B-52 crash near here years later, which I knew about because of a historical marker. I haven't seen a marker at the B-47 crash site.
Very interesting! Major Vernon D. Stuff is my grandfather - thank you for sharing this.
Hi Denise. Thanks for saying hello. I just answered a comment from presumably your dad, David? The comment I left for him applies to you as well! Thank you and I'm glad you happened upon the video! Your grandpa was an amazing man!
Quick and to the point. No long winded explanation or half hr time wasting videos. Great job 👍.
I appreciate you watching and for the nice comment!
Wonderful video. Good job. In 1963, I was stationed at McConnell AFB, Kansas and we had more than 100 B-47s. They flew almost every day, much of the time shooting take offs and landings on the base's two parallel runways, with their drag chutes out for the touch and go circuits. One day, I counted thirteen B-47s, with chutes out, on final approach for one or both of the parallel runways. Beautiful planes and I loved to watch them fly. Or, sit on the ground.
My uncle was a copilot and died in an RB47 crash in Topeka Kansas. Fully fueled, lost outboard engine on rotation. Pilot may have initiated abort and then changed mind, but droug chute deploying sealed their fate. All perished. RIP
That's a tough story. I'm sure it was a very difficult time for your family.
I am down the road from the B-47 crash site and never knew the details of this tragedy. Thanks for the information!
Hi My father was part of the ground crew for the Vulcans which were at Pinecastle.
Whenever I mentioned Pinecastle AFB nobody seemed to have heard of it and me not knowing of the name change not long after.
I remember the excitement when ‘Dad’ returned home bringing gifts never seen in the UK in the 50’s!
I have several photos taken of him taken on the base and locally.
The Vulcan is a very iconic aircraft especially here in the UK and I am very proud my father was there in those very early days.
Best wishes to past and present USAF personnel and to those who played host to the RAF at Pinecastle back then, I know it was of the highlights of my father’s 26year RAF career.
Thank you for putting together this video and lastly let us not forget those brave aviators who lost their lives in the service of their respective countries.
Regards David.
Hello David. What an adventure it had to be for the boys flying to the States from England. I appreciate you taking the time to share your personal details of your dads service. You should be very proud of you dad! The Vulcan has to be one of the most iconic bombers ever made! It is a shame that the event had to end with such a tragedy, but I'm sure the guys had a great time with each other flying, comparing notes, no doubt sharing some drinks! I know there has always been a huge amount of mutual respect and admiration between our two countries. We are very lucky and grateful to have you as cherished friends and allies! Cheers from Indiana USA.
I witnessed the crash as an elementary school kid. I was at recess about one mile from the disaster. Heard a boom and look toward then farmland northwest of the school. Looked like aluminum confetty in the air as the plane came apart in the air before the crash. I will never forget this .
Similarly I was at gym class on the track at Boone HS in Orlando that day. We heard the explosion and looked to the northwest to see the plane disintegrate before our eyes.
Multiple people have commented about seeing the crash and the confetti in the air. Must of made quite an impression to many youngsters who happened to catch a glimpse of it. I appreciate your comment.
Nice video, thanks 👍
(My dad has 330+ missions in B-52s as a navigator in Vietnam - his stories are amazing & rather terrifying)
Just viewed your video and I remember the accident very well. My father was Major Vernon Dale Stuff. I was only five at the time of the accident but it’s a day I have never forgotten. I do have some information about the crash (original news paper headlines/stories), but have never seen this film footage. I was really taken by surprise to find it. Thank you
Hello Sir. When I made this video, I had no idea the attention that It would get. I regret not including a picture of your father, but I couldn't find one that I was confident was actually him. I know it has been many years and you were just a small child, but you have my condolences for his loss. What an amazing group of men they were! I hope that in a small way this video will bring a newfound respect and appreciation for your dad, and the sacrifices that he and his fellow airmen made for our country. Thank you for saying hello and thank you for everything that your family has done for all of us.
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing this video. My extended family is grateful.
Trained as a B-47 mech in 1955 and loved the experience. I was in awe of the plane and still am. Failed "color-blind" test for pilot training in 1954 and enlisted to be around aircraft. In civilian life I took the light -color test, passed, went to Spartan School of Aeronautics, received all ratings and enjoyed a life in civilian aviation. At least I attained my pilot goal albeit non-military but am grateful that I was borderline color-blind. Great video which brings back a lifetime of memories
Having a love of aviation is a hard thing to describe to those who don’t share it. I’m sure you probably knew this, but Robin Olds also attended Spartan School.
@@stadium79 Didn't know Robin Olds attended Spartan 😁, thanks for that.
Remarkable unseen footage.
Thanks for posting this video. I grew up on SAC bases when my father flew B47s and B52s and it was quite an effort these warriors made to keep the peace. Great role models for me as I went on to USAFA and later flew KC135s, T37s, T38s, and U2s. With the stopping of mandatory military service in the 70s, many of our fellow citizens don’t understand what it means to subordinate one’s self to a higher calling.
What an experience it must have been growing up on/around the bases. I don’t know how many guys have flown U2s over the years, but I know it can’t be many compared to most other aircraft. I bet you have some stories!
I have been blessed in many ways and honored to have been able to contribute to making a world better for ALL of us.
"...many of our fellow citizens don’t understand what it means to subordinate one’s self to a higher calling..." No doubt that's true, but it has little to do with military service. There are many forms of "higher calling" Full disclosure: I was a USAF SrA back in the day...
@@bobheath9098 While in U-2's did you know Huggy?
Fantastic presentation. If we continue to speak of them, they are still amongst us.
Powerful video. You are so right that the level of sacrifice needed to deploy and sustain the B-47 bomber force back then would never be allowed today. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
Very well done! I was immediately impressed with your reveal of a little jewel of history here, in this film. Thank you for sharing it and your excellent narration.
I appreciate your kind comment! Thanks, and more on the way soon!
My father was crew chief on B-47 52-0238, part of the 367th Squadron of the 306th Bombardment Wing. He was in service from early 1953 to early 1957.
The crew chief sometimes had to ride inside the aircraft without an actual seat, being positioned on the step of the co-pilot's access up to the cockpit with a seatbelt and an auxiliary oxygen supply.
He flew there during ferry flights to England and Morocco, as well as the required number of hours per month mandated by the Air Force.
He had a few frightening experiences such as landing into heavy fog in England while very low on fuel without an instrument landing system, and being on board for one of the high-ranking officers doing his periodic qualification on mid-air refueling.
It was generally considered very low odds of getting out of a B-47 successfully without the benefit of an ejection seat, so thank goodness he survived his time with the B-47!
The closest his group came to going into combat was the Suez Canal Crisis, which is a fascinating period of history in and of itself.
Remember the 918th Bomb Group of 12 O'clock High fame? It was loosely based on the 306th. Note the number is exactly tripled. Groups became Wings some time after the war.
Really impressive footage of the Vickers Valiant and the B47 Thanks for posting 🎉🎉🎉
not all are in Museums - B-47B - Hightower Park, Altus, OK. B-47B Stratojet bomber on display in Hightower Park in Altus, Oklahoma. The park is located right on US Highway 62 just east of the downtown area, and just west of Altus AFB. Despite being displayed outdoors, the Stratojet appears to be well maintained and in relatively good condition ...
From the British perspective - we ended up with *3* nuclear bombers all to do the same job.
When the order for a new high level jet bomber was put out - the catch was the Royal Air Force and the UK government wanted it "delivered yesterday". Vickers said they could get the Valiant ready the quickest and so got the initial contract.
The Valiant was intended as a stop gap until the more advanced Vulcan and Victor were ready.
The reason they continued with both the Vulcan and the Victor was so that one was insurance in case the other failed.
Makes sense. Great to hear from someone across the pond. I hope that the level of respect that I have for Group Captain Woodroffe and his memory is conveyed enough in the video. Thanks for watching and for commenting.
Dad was a navigator/bombardier on the B-47 in the 100th BW at Pease AFB, NH. I remember at least two Stratojets being lost while we were there, one of which crashed on take off on to the golf course, killing the crew. In those days we always had in the back of our mind that when dad left for work, it might be the last time we saw him.
Must of been an un-nerving time for you. It sounds like he completed his service without any major incidents though?
I appreciate you watching and for the comment (and for your dads service to this country!)
@@stadium79 He had a stellar career, starting in 1941 (B-25's to C-54's in the Pacific). After SAC he crewed in the C-141's and lastly trained at McCoy in the B-57G Canberra that operated out of Ubon Thailand. That was his last tour, where he was awarded the DFC for combat action on the Ho Chi Min Trail.. Yeah, he was my hero.
* it might have been MacDill AFB
Wow...I remember the day well, the Plane flew over our house which was about 2.5 miles form the crash site, our
neighbor behind us came out to the fence and told my mom what had happened......her husband was a B-47 Pilot
in the same group......it was a very somber afternoon for sure, I was turning 5 years old in November at the time.....
I will never forget.....
thanks for sharing this....
.Paul in Orlando, Florida
Its amazing that after so many years, so many people still have such vivid memories of this accident. Thanks for watching and commenting Paul.
My Dad was flying B47s out of Chennault AFB with the 68BW in Lake Charles ( Swampy AFB) in 1957 having just transitioned from KC97s.
He said this crash was definitely pilot error. Apparently the RAF's Vulcan out performed the B47 and Mike McCoy thought he could make the B47 perform beyond it's limits to show the visiting RAF guys and the RAF Group Captain (RAF version of a Colonel.) Apparently the effort didn't work. Story was McCoy had (who was popular, respected and well liked) discussed his plans with several people prior to the flight.
One of the things McCoy had done was to have the B47 waxed with automobile was to make it's skin smoother and gain a little speed... something never seen mentioned in any report.
Now 82, I was a mechanic/crew chief. Great ship and ingeniously designed and built. Was in the 68th bomb wing maintenance at Chennault. Never had a mishap during the 1958 - 1962 time there. Got to know about every nut and bolt on that airplane. Great memories
@@oldchuckie1874 Considering the plane, that is a pretty commendable record. Much of that credit goes to you and your fellow airmen mechanics who never get the credit you deserve.
Thank you for your service Sir, and well done keeping the boys flying!
@@oldchuckie1874 Interesting, we lived at Lake Charles AFB (later Chennault) from 1957 to 1963... I was delighted to leave that miserable town.
B-47s and Valiants and Vulcans in the same video? So much sexy that I'm amazed you avoided UA-cam's censors!
The B-36s kept winning the reconnaissance part of the competition until they were excluded for 1958 with the last few retireind at the start of 1959.
Great video. An 'in the weeds' comment. The Wolverine film scanner scans at 20 frames per second where the 8mm film was originally shot at 24 frames per second. This makes the playback look a little fast and jumpy. If you can adjust the speed to 84% it will look more natural, if your editing software will let you do that. Really great video though.
Thanks I appreciate it! I am very new to this and the editing software I am currently using is very limited. I am going to hopefully upgrade to something better very soon as I really like doing this. Thanks for watching and for the comment!
The guy who instructed my C.O. to get his pilot license was a retired Air Force pilot who flew B-47s. He and I had a couple of great lunches as I was a crewman on VQ-2 EA-3B Skywarriors. We exchanged some good "sea stories" (or whatever the Air Force guys call them). As an Air Force brat I often hung around the flight line and had a chance to see many of the 1950 and 1960 Air Force planes including B-47s, which I consider to be one of the prettiest airplanes ever built!
Interesting Sir. I was actually just reading about the January 1987 crash on the Nimitz.
My family was stationed at
Little Rock AFB and
Lincoln Nebraska.
My Dad was a Bomber/ Navigator on B-47’s
From there to A Crew Chief on the Titan II ICBM at Davis Monthan Ariz.
1956-1965
Awesome Video! Met you at the beach today in Florida awesome experience!
What’s up man! Thanks for checking it out! Find anything good today?? Was nice to meet you! Keep up the good work and best of luck with your channel!
Although the serial is unclear, this would appear to be among the last batch of Valiants delivered, XD812-830 and XD857-875. A number of a/c from 3 Group of Bomber Command represented the RAF at SAC's bombing, navigation and reconnaissance competition at Pinecastle AFB in October 1957. The Valiant Wing was placed 27th of 45 wings completing. Sqn/Ldr Payne's crew of 214 Sqn was placed 11th of 90 crews competing.
Sorry for the late response! Interesting information. Where did you come across all of that?
From CF Andrews, 'Vickers Aircraft Since 1908', (1968). The Valiants suffered mainspar cracks and were withdrawn in 1965, the sole remaining example of the type being XD818, which dropped the first British Hydrogen Bomb.
This is fascinating, one of the most interesting films I've seen here for some time, and of a professional quality. Excellent, and immensely informative. Thank God that these beautiful birds never had to be used for their intended purpose. Now we can just enjoy them.
So true. It's very ironic to think of how many billions of dollars were/are spent on technology that we pray will never have to be utilized. Thanks very much for the nice comment, I hope to be releasing more videos very soon!
Thank you for sharing this newfound footage, and your informative research.
You're welcome!
It's amazing what sort of losses the USAF was willing to put up with back in the 1950s and 1960s for new aircraft. I didn't know that so many B-47s were destroyed in crashes. The B-58 had an even higher loss rate, about 22% were destroyed in crashes, but only 116 were built. These were the super expensive versions of the B-2 bomber of the late 1950s
Superbly done. Thank you for this fascinating history.
Thank you! I greatly appreciate your comment!
I also have a connection to the B-47. 1963-64 I was an Air Force Security Policeman at Schilling AFB, Salina, Kansas (now closed). We were a SAC Bomb Wing with B-47 a/c. Some of my fondest memories were watching the entire wing takeoff using Jet Assisted Takeoff rockets (JATO) during a readiness exercise and some of my foulest memories are of walking around a B-47 with a M-2 carbine on my shoulder on the midnight shift in the middle of a Kansas blizzard.
I have lived in the Midwest my whole like but I had the experience of trying to drive through a blizzard between Lincoln and Omaha. I have never seen anything like it. Was a true blizzard. I can totally understand why that is a foul memory of yours. Thanks for watching and sharing those memories!
What a jewel of a film find thanks !
Thanks for watching Jerry! Yeah it’s going to be hard to find something like this again!
Thank you for this. You have memorialised these brave men, and the material catches something of the time that is not available in magazines. The British Squadron Leader will have endured a particularly tough time, with 45 missions at the time of his commendation. I remember reading of when Guy Gibson (one of our Dambuster teams) went to the US on a PR tour, and was asked how many sorties he'd flown. It was a ridiculously large number, and apparently his American audience was stunned. That is what those men did for our country, Europe and the world. To have survived that and then die in a peacetime incident is poignant to say the least.
I appreciate your comment, and I am humbled at the attention that this video has gotten. I am very happy that I was able to memorialize these brave men in a small way. There is something more sad though about Group Captain Woodroffe losing his life on foreign soil due to this horrible accident. What an amazing career he had, and you are so correct, what he and his fellow flyers did for the European continent and the world is incomprehensible. They gave so much and wanted nothing in return but to live the rest of their lives in peace. I hope that my video conveyed the level of respect that I have for Group Captain Woodroffe and the RAF. Cheers from Indiana USA
@@stadium79 You did indeed convey it. I'm very pro American, having served in Germany, and later I dated an American girl. Your video and its grainy quality are very evocative. It resounded. Take care now, and thank you again.
I was a young boy living in Orlando when this occurred. I can still remember the shock and sadness felt by the community. Many USAAF members and their families lived in my neighborhood and we all were profoundly affected by the deaths of the B-47 crew.
Military communities are certainly tight-knit. I'm sure that it was a very sad time for everyone in your neighborhood. Thanks for sharing your memories and for watching.
Thanks for sharing! Great piece of SAC history!
Glad you enjoyed it
Outstanding research! Good work, and thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for watching and commenting!
The first time I flew into Florida it was at McCoy Air Force Base, which allowed a few civilian flight. The passenger terminal was at the north end of the field. It was 1970 and the Vietnam war was in full swing. As we taxied to the terminal building there were many B-52s in camo lining the taxiway.
Things sure were different back then with security huh? Must of been a treat to see all those birds lined up like that.
@@stadium79 It was pretty impressive. Yes, the security was very tight.
Amazing vid, I'm glad that it was digitized to preserve it.
Thanks so much. I was sweating while it was transferring hoping that everything held together! Glad it is out there for all to see now!
Great presentation in both audio and video. As a High School kid in 1957 it so happened that a B-47 crashed near where I lived in North-East Texas. I bypassed those guarding the area and looked at the crash... even went down in the crater the crash made. Later, after computers came along, I learned the plane was a B-47E flying out of Little Rock, Arkansas practicing nite time in-flight refueling. 52-0761 and ident of:450982 High School kids do the dumbest things...
I’m pretty sure I would of done the same when I was in high school! Thanks for the comment!
A Costly aircraft at a time of technology transition. Even in the Jimmy Stewart Movie SAC, it was admitted how dangerous the ships were, and how only really good pilots could keep them in the air performing their function.
The list of Air Performance of the deceased reminds me of my Great Uncle who received the Distinguished Flying Cross for carrying 110% of payload in a B17 in WW2 trips over the Alps. They removed all of the Armor out of the ship, flew in high over the Radar installation calling in the fuse altitude instructions for the Gernman AA, and then lowered in to well under the burst fuse altitude. I believe he said 30,000ft was the feint, and I cannot really remember how low they came in. One Article says this:
"The service ceiling was about 35,000 feet. Bomber raids would vary the height, to throw off enemy antiaircraft gunners. 25,000 to 30,000 feet was the norm. However, if the mission called for it, the bombers would go in much lower. The Ploesti raid in Rumania was at 500 to 1,000 feet."
The idea was that it would actually be far more difficult to hit the ships, and any hits would not explode within the ships. So, they figured they had better take the armor out and let it pass through.
So writing this, I saw this article, and see, he might have gotten the Award for the Ploesti Raid.
Later he would steal a P-38 Lightning and remove everything from the Nose and Booms, and carry 2 Mechanics and parts behind enemy lines to get crippled ships back to base. Even there, he removed the 2" armor plate from behind the seat. He might have needed it that day he was at tree tops and he said 7 Fokker Wolf fighters were descending on him spraying tracers in front of him.
Like a modern SR71 pilot, he did the only thing to do, firewall the throttle.
He said the Speedo was telling him 400 knots (maybe mph), and he was still being sucked into the seat.
That is what he said.
Yep, there was a lot of aviation knowledge that we hadn't learned yet, so it had to learned through flying. A lot of that knowledge was gotten the hard way with this jet, a lot of crews and jets were lost.
I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to crawl around inside the B-17 a few times, and I was fascinated by the fact that it's just bare sheet metal and oxygen tanks mounted on the sidewalls. You're great uncle and crew must have been freezing going over the Alps at 30,000! A true hero! Thank you for the story.
@@3chordwonder857 Bomber Jackets and Coveralls of Leather and Shetland Wool. Gloves too. Open fuselage Aircraft, pre B-29 Pressurized fuselage. I believe that at the beginning of the War the boys were told 18 missions before their release from service, and that climbed to 25 and then 50(?) Terms of the deal were sliding along to oblivion, almost undermining any hope for the crews that any might live. Really grizzled battle hardened souls.
He told of men hit seriously and the suits getting soaked with blood. The temperature kept them from bleeding to death, but descents needed to be made quickly to keep the blood frozen. Wounded being pressed on and bandage as tight as possible to get them to medical tents to have the suits cut off them as fast as possible to begin vascular surgery.
Frozen hell, but the cold helped numb the pain as well.
I bet the B17 you were in had none of the actual armor in place. It would make the ship more efficient and inexpensive to fly, safer to get airborne.
Bucky Hodges of Beaumont Texas. He retried and did an EAA 1/3 scale P51 for himself.
Must have been nice to have money.
Then there was the story my Dad told me of the B17 pilot he idolized when he worked with him at DuPont, and the day the guy called him into his office and told him about flying over the Atlantic hump, stopping in Marrakesh, where the officers decided that they did not want to pay for a maid to keep their quarters in England as they were notified that they would be expected to pay. So they purchased a Slave Girl at the Slave Market and flew her into England.
The play out on that was explained to be in deep undertones. I believe that the English Base Commander was somewhere between abject Horror and Shame.
Wild stuff.
Nice job. A very well done video! Thanks. I wish there was a good 1/48 scale model kit of the B-47. Such a beautiful aircraft.
I appreciate you saying so as this was actually one of my first videos! I guess it was beginners luck! There are models of the B-47 floating around out there... check this out! (crazy big link for some reason)
www.ebay.com/itm/186174459143?hash=item2b58dccd07:g:E9IAAOSwcCFlXFIl&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwJDF29xuau40A4NhAggVcsF6qBugwDYzG%2FaOeNvBWnigy9o8uV%2FRFxA%2FM%2F8gt%2FaYJp4wsB8xeFINloK%2F9Ks%2BlCmgwyB5fSQbOadvqvRRHp5VuAcUwTidvhX03ZL4M7xqkZzEcO8%2BGEH5qKeCjkJlXT7Jtkwzxq62AU9lbF9RgNQxIlIlG5qvNpvmfGv6pVnZGgxLoKjYpdCvZof713E9uvEJRPWkjn6VF2xT6K0hj%2FpiBmdCWUT9wIkgkrkU1JKeYg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8rfq_KAYw
Excellent. Pleased you remember those lost in the "cold" war.
I remember back in the day when that last B-47 used to fly into LAX once a month. I actually saw it land one time.
There was one parked at LAX not Far from the FAA and Coast guard late 1970's ? I lived in Venture county at the time about 20 miles north east of Point Mugu, one day I heard what I thought was a 707 or 135 what looked like on a long final for Mugu..looked up as it was over me and it was that B47! two EB-47Es were assigned to NAS Point Mugu in the ’70s and were marked “U.S.NAVY”
Nice video , my dad started his Air Force career working on B47 engines
Thank you, very good vid. Great piece of history.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and commenting!
My dad was stationed at pine castle air base and was a jet mechanic on the B-47s a few years before this happened. When I was young he would tell me about this plane crash driving by the site to Orlando on hwy. 441. It was a cow pasture then in Lockhart fla.,he would point it out to me. It was in the early 60s.
I read that in the late 50s when this happened you could drive a few minutes off the base in any direction and you were in farms and fields. How the world has changed!
I was in the USAF 1963-67. In 1964, I was a weapons loading crewmember on the B-58 Hustler. It, like the B-47, pushed the "performance envelope" and had a similar history of crashes. These were very high performance aircraft for their time and demanded very skilled crews and training. Transitioning from a slower aircraft like a B-36 to a B-47 was a very large step into very demanding knowledge and skill set. And, not everything was known about transonic flight in a large bomber. I expect there were lots of "bugs" to work out in these aircraft in terms of procedures, performance and training.
Were you stationed at Bunker Hill / Grissom by chance?
Yes
Excellent narration and an interesting film. Great video !!
Thank you very much!
What gets me is that there are tens of thousands of hours of videos from WWII, Korea, Vietnam and other wars that have not seen the time of day yet. I wish they would become available for all of us to see and learn...
Wonderful video of those memorable Cold War times at MCO. My Dad trained in and survived 47's at Westover, MA from 57-60 and then flew the mighty 52's on Chrome Dome outta MCO and through the 60's. As kids, we remember him going on "Alert" for 2-week stints but never really knew what it was about. We'd go visit him down at the "molehole" which is what they called the alert building at the very end of the runway and which was in front of the Christmas tree where the 52's were parked. Often, he'd be doing touch-n-go's when we got there and with my brothers and I playing in the playground right smack by the runway, we always knew which jet was his because he'd wave at us by gently rocking the wings back and forth on approach. We'd all jump up and down and wave, excited as could be! In fact, Dad was in the air on CD the day Kennedy was shot and was ordered to arm his nucs and head on to Moscow as they thought the Ruskies got John. They then stood down after entering Russian airspace and diverted to Seville Spain as Mig's appeared on their radar as they crossed the Turkish border. When they departed the jet, all of their flightsuits were soaked with sweat as they knew they would never get out of Russian airspace alive after they dropped the nucs and figured it was a one-way mission at that point. That was the only time that he ever brought my brothers and I a bunch of bullfighting toys and posters as the CO treated all of them to one of the best nights in Seville they had ever had. I remember that to this day! RIP Dad and High Flight!
Thanks Steve! Sorry it took me so long to respond to this! It sort of got lost in the shuffle. Awesome story and thanks for sharing it!
WhenI was in flight school outside Chicago in the early 1990s, I had a flight instructor named Col. Charles Henniger who was a test pilot on the B-47 during its development. He told me on several occasions that it could be a rewarding aircraft to fly, as long as you stayed 110% focused. But lose focus or become distracted - especially during takeoff and landing - and it could be a very dangerous airplane. He blamed much of this on the center of balance being so far rearward, and on the design of the wings, which he said were swept too far for stable low speed flight. As a result, many of the crashes this plane suffered were on takeoff and landing, when speeds were slow.
He was correct about many of the accidents taking place on takeoff/landing. I would of loved to been able to hear some of his stories!
@@stadium79 Oh he had plenty of them! The testing was at Muroc, and the teams of test crews stayed at Pancho Barnes' Happy Bottom Riding Club. At the same time as the B-47 test, there were various other concepts being tested. The unofficial leader of the single seat test team at this time was Chuck Yeager, who was loved by the jet fighter guys, and pretty much despised by everyone else. I could tell by the way he told the story that the colonel was still bitter at the bullying Yeager gave to everyone else.
Henniger said Yeager was always the first one to knock off, and the first one in the Pancho's bar. So when the bomber guys finally finished the fay's testing, they would drag their asses into the bar. He said Yeager like to say, for the whole bar to hear, "Hey Henniger! When are you going to take the training wheels of that thing?!"
Henniger went on to fly in the right seat of Air Force One (USAF 26000) during the last year of the Johnson administration, and for the six years of the Nixon administration. He was very proud that he had made three trips to China, carrying Nixon, Kissinger, as well as translator and aids. In and out of the Philippines for talks with heNorth Vietnamese, and back to the hangar without the media catching wind of it.
Thank you for a great documentary
You are very welcome. Thanks for watching!
Excellent, thank you for sharing this.
My pleasure! I appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment!
That was very comprehensive. Thank you
You're very welcome
I remember this as an Orlando resident in the 1st grade. My girlfriend her dad was a British pilot or part of the aircrew. Charlene Olson the next year she was not in school. Years later I knew Mrs Col. Mc Coy
Military flying in the 1950's took some big ones, for sure.
In some ways the B-47 can be likened to a military version of the Comet.
What I mean by that, is the formative lessons of metal fatigue, and superimposing piston era aviation mindset to the jet age still weren't fully understood. Just because you could throw a B-47 around like a P-51 doesn't mean it is a good idea with hindsight for example.
Both jets no doubt taught us a great deal albeit in blood.
Still the B-47 is a stunning looking aircraft in flight. Imagine flying one like a fighter jet. The sense of freedom and power must have been very addictive I reckon. What a thing!
The British Officer was a Group Captain, the next rank up from Wing Commander.
Thanks Eddie. It must of been a solemn flight back home for the British boys after this happened. Nothing but respect for our friends across the pond.
I was at China Lake in '83 or '84 when they were testing the engines on that B-47. I wish I could have seen it fly. If you look at it's record the KC-135 was just as deadly in it's early years, lots of lost lives and jets from engine and water injection failures
During that time period the B-47 suffered a large number of wing structural failures while performing bomb delivery manuvers it was not designed to do. An emergency repair program ensued.
The father of a good friend of mine finished his career flying B-47's out of McCoy...
A fascinating look back to the history of our respective nuclear deterrent bombers 🇬🇧🇺🇸, your video is narrated in such a calm, almost zen like tone, and considering the age of the film it has uploaded very nicely. One small correction if I might, Capt Woodruff was actually Group Captain Woodruff, we don’t have the rank of Captain anymore, not since the Royal Flying Corp became the Royal Air Force during World War I. My Home town is extremely close to RAF Wittering and my Father served there later in his RAF service, he was also an Armourer on the “V” bombers, primarily the Vulcan, but he was trained in the technical side of our nuclear weapons, I also served in the RAF and briefly served at the nearest RAF base to both RAF Wittering and my home town, RAF Cottesmore, but my son served at RAF Wittering for a number of years, it is a small world but an even smaller RAF.
I certainly appreciate your comment! I unfortunately had a bit of a misstep with referring to Group Captain Woodroffe as only Captain. I certainly meant no disrespect to either Group Captain Woodroffe or the Royal Air Force! It sounds like your family has a proud tradition in the RAF! What did you do (in the service) if you don't mind me asking?
@@stadium79 Hi, I realise you meant no disrespect at all, I assumed that you were unaware of the rank structure of the RAF, no apology needed. My family is very connected with the RAF, my son was fourth generation, possibly fifth as my great grandfather was in the Royal Flying Corp, but don’t know if he was transferred to the RAF. I was a Engineering Technician Airframe, also known as a Rigger, in essence if you take away the engines and anything electrical or armament and everything else was my responsibility and stock-in-trade, I finished my service in 2003 after 24 years as a maintenance team leader for helicopters. Thanks for your reply and your interest in my family, very much appreciated. 😀👍🇬🇧🏴🇺🇸🇺🇦
Yep, the B47 was cool, those V-Bombers though.......😎🤤
The article I read said that McCoy was showing off the capabilities of the B-47 to the British gentleman. According to the article, McCoy attempted a turn and put on the coals when the plane exceeded its structural limits. The actual actions will never be known, but a structural failure did occur.
Excellent job!!
Thank you! I appreciate it!
excellent research here!
They called it the "Cold War," but for far too many it was more than hot enough.
Very well put
Especially for the RB-47s that actually penetrated the Soviet Union to scope out targets and defenses.
@@aj-2savage896 While some may say that the B-47 never flew in combat, the RB-47's sure did, mostly as targets for Russian fighters! A lot of them were shot down, with either no survivors, or those that might have, wound up in Soviet prisons, and possibly didn't survive!
Robert Thomas Smith, pilot, author and pilot of 47s. My best friends father. Lived long after his days in a 47 but told us stories anytime we would ask. I wish I could hear another today. RIP. He wrote a book about the Beach staggerwing and owned two of them. He also helped start the Staggerwing Museum in Tullahoma Tennessee after a career in the FAA after the Air force. But say his name, RT as we all called him, and I see B-47s and feel the ground shake.
In the early 1950s my father was stationed on the Island of Bermuda. Because aerial refueling was still primitive many planes, sometimes fleets landed there to refuel as they moved back & forth across the Atlantic in the early days of the Cold War. One Saturday we went to shop at the US Navy base on the other end of the island. When we got back we learned that a B-47 had taken off, exploded, and the wreckage had fallen into the ocean. Years later I got to know a retired B-47 pilot. He told me there was a plane system that would fail and cause those explosions.😕
Yeah so many stories like that. It had to always be in the back of the crews minds. Funny you should mention Bermuda in the early 50's. Check this out! ua-cam.com/video/enJ3LJDzdL8/v-deo.html
Great video. Bliss all those Airman who lost there lives flying those B-47s. Cold War History.
In 1960 a RB-47 was shot down by Russian fighters over international waters of the Barents Sea. Two flight crew members survived out of six crew members, the 3 "Ravens" in the belly didn't, they had no escape hatch or ejection seat.
Wrong--ravens had downed ejection seats
Great video.
The plane seen landing in the distance is actually one of the British Valiants.
Good eye!
One B-47 based @ Little Rock AFB crashed in 1957 not far from my late Parents home in Little Rock before I was born
Beautiful, dangerous and deadly aircraft.
All brave men ! RIP ! Advancing aviation 1 crash at a time ! Pain is the best teacher ! I may not be alive if not for the bravery of these fine aviators !
Nice work, sir. Subscribed :)
Thanks Much! More to come soon!
A small point. There is no rank of captain in the RAF, there is, however the rank of Group Captain, which is, more or less the same as colonel in the USAF
Yes my apologies. I wish I could go back and edit that. I have had many people point this out. I certainly meant no disrespect to Group Captain Woodroffe or the RAF!
@@stadium79 NP.
For many years the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds had a B-47 on static display, along with a B-52 which joined later. During major renovations to the fairgrounds, the aircraft were removed. I'm not sure what happened to them, but I'm afraid they were scrapped.
Thankfully they were not scrapped! The B-47 is on display at the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita! The B-52 went to Joe Davies Air Park at the historic Plant #42 in Palmdale California! Thanks for watching and commenting!
1986? I must have see a B-47 that made ONE of the last flights. It was at the Moffett Field airshow sometime around 1984 or 1985. There was a B-47 on display that must have flown there. We were able to go all around and under the plane. There was also a B-52 there. I heard that people were able to watch them fly in and land outside the base just past the end of the runway. I wish I knew how the B-47 got there. Was it also on a ferry flight to somewhere?
I was stationed at Plattsburgh AFB 380th SAC in the late 70’s and there was a B-47 on display at the base entrance and around Christmas they put a giant Santa sitting on the jet like he was riding a horse
Ok, I just want to put this into writing;
- the B-47 is an insanely good looking ship ❗
😁
Thanks for this from down under ✈️👍🇳🇿
You are very welcome, and thank you for watching and commenting! I appreciate it! Cheers from Indiana USA
The Lancaster you showed had the Z equipment in the nose supposedly to stop the automatic tail gun from firing that was trialled during the war but was never put into full service due to system failures which caused friendly fire incidents bringing down aircraft.
interesting detail! Thanks for watching!
I remember this when we lived in Orlando.
John Woodroffe's rank was Group Captain not Captain - the RAF equivalent of a USAF Colonel.
Thank you. I have been politely told quite a few times now. I regret that I can't go back and make an edit to that. Certainly meant no disrespect to Group Captain Woodroffe or the RAF. Quite the opposite. I wish I would of spent more time talking about him as I find it just a bit more tragic that he lost his life on foreign soil. Stiff upper lip and all, but I imagine the flight back to England was a tough one for the rest of the boys knowing they had to see his family when they got home.
Live in Orlando never knew that Raf was here in 57
Is that a HP Victor on the left at 1:11 ? Great film, and thanks for sharing and narrating this!
I went back and forth on whether or not it was a Victor. That is what I thought initially too, but as the footage progresses it seems like there is the far Valiant with nothing else to the left of it. I'm honestly still not 100% sure! I see the nose and it looks like a Victor, but the air intakes make me think its a Valiant. There's just not quite enough of that scene for me to be able to tell! I appreciate you watching and commenting!
The following info from the book 'Aircraft of the Royal Air Force' by Owen Thetford.
The first production Victor B1 is recorded as flying for the first time on 1st February 1956 and first one into RAF service was with 232 Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Gaydon on 28th November 1957. First operation squadron was No10 Squadron at RAF Cottismore, receiving their first aircraft in April 1958.
Unless it was a trials aircraft that was present 'Showing the Flag' , I would doubt that there was one there. However, I would think at this distance in time it would be very difficult to prove either way without access to official records.
I have a memory from the late 1950's of seeing B 47's accompanied by KC 135 tankers taking part in an air display at Shoreham by Sea airport in West Sussex England. A very exciting event for a young lad as I was then 😃 Thank you for posting a most interesting video, and may I join in remembering with gratitude all those who flew these planes, on both sides of the Pond, and particularly those who unfortunately lost their lives whilst in service. 🇬🇧 🇺🇸
@@tonym480 Well said Sir! Glasses raised for the RAF and the USAF!
The tail looks a bit more like a Comet than any of the V Bombers. Could also be transport aircraft.
@@irvan36mm took a close look, and think you are right. It really doesn't look right for a Victor, but could very well be a Comet support transport.
Wow, before I saw this video , I did not realize that the B-47 had so many fatal accidents... None were lost in combat, but all accidents happened from loss of control, or structural failures... Definitely a nice looking plane, but not very reliable... No wonder they were replaced with the B-52's, that are still flying for the Air Force... I'm thinking that if the B-49's were selected, instead of the B-47's, would it have given the U.S. an early strategic advantage in stealth technology? It took over 50 years for the U.S. to realize the advantages of flying wings, over conventional designs, before they built the first B-2's... Jack Northrop was 50 years ahead of his time, before people realized just how viable his ideas were...
Mike McCoy was indeed a great pilot but with the B-47 he flew the aircraft outside it's operational parameters and pulled the Wings off it.
B-47 was the Tesla Model 3 of the jet age, redefining aircraft design.
The B-47 aerodynamics was based on German aerodynamics research taken from Operation Paperclip and other captured German research.