The Boeing B-50 Superfortress was a long-range, heavy-bomber used by the US Air Force during the first years of the Cold War. It was developed from the B-29, which had been employed during World War II. Although they looked similar, the B-50 could be distinguished from its predecessor by its taller tail fin, underwing fuel tanks as the bomb bay was modified to accommodate nuclear bombs. Phased out in 1965, it was the last of the USAF's piston-engine bombers. Aside from its strategic deterrence role, it would also be used as a tanker.
The Boeing B-50 first flew on June 25, 1947, entering service the following year, in June 1948. On March 2, 1949, the B-50 ¨Lucky Lady II¨ completed the first non-stop, round-the-world flight, covering a distance of 37,742 km (23,452 miles). In the 1950s, it carried out reconnaissance missions around the periphery of the Soviet territory, while others were used to train Strategic Air Command pilots. Being replaced by jet aircraft in the bomber role, most of them would be converted into tankers. A total of 370 production B-50s and one prototype were built for the US Air Force.
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| The Boeing B-50A, flying off the coast of California in 1948. |
Technical Characteristics
The Boeing B-50 was a two-engine, mid-wing monoplane built with an all-metal fuselage. It had dihedral, cantilever wing, with the leading edge tapering towards the tip, while the trailing edge was straight. The aileron was fitted on the wing outer section. The wing was made with a new type of aluminum, known as 75-ST instead of the 24-ST used on the B-29. This new type of aluminum made the wing stronger and 600-lb (272-kg) lighter.
An internal pressure bulkhead between the rear cabin and the bomb-bay was located at the beginning of rear portion of fuselage. Crew members moved between the front and rear pressure cabin through a pressurized tunnel above the bomb-bay. The B-50 was equipped with more powerful engines; four Pratt & Whitney R-4360-35 Wasp Major, turbo-charged, 28-cylinder, radial piston engines, each one of them delivering 3,500 horsepower. The bomber had four remotely-controlled gun turrets for the 12.7-mm (.50-cal.) machine guns and the backward-firing 20-mm cannon in the tail.
Specifications
Type: long-range, strategic bomber
Length: 30.18 m (99 feet)
Wing Span: 43 m (141 feet, 3 inches)
Wing Area: 161.55 m2 (1,739 square feet)
Height: 9.96 m (32 feet, 8 inches)
Power Plant: four 3,500-HP, Pratt & Whitney R-4360-35, 28-cylinder radial engines.
Maximum Speed: 620 km/h (385 mph)
Range: 7,483 km (4,650 miles)
Service Ceiling: 11,278 m (37,000 feet)
Crew: 8
Armament: twelve 12.7-mm (.50-cal) Browning machine guns; one 20-mm canon; 9,072-kg (20,000-lb) bomb-load.
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| The B-50D version in flight in 1954. |