Dude, this thing is rad! Okay, when we say we knew someone who flew one, we mean that Scott Liggett, who wrote this piece did. His dad of all people, flew one of these sexy beasts. We know how much you guys love historic planes and such so we figured this one is perfect to share. I’d love to take a ride in one, wouldn’t you? But do you have the stones to ride in it upside down? I’m in.

(Words by Scott Liggett, Photo by Lt. Col. Gary R. Liggett)

Never heard of the B-47 Stratojet? You’re not alone. If you are talking about iconic bombers of the US military most people know of the B-17’s and B-29’s of WWII, or the Cold War legend B-52 that is still flown today. But, the B-47 is not a commonly know aircraft among the general public. There were more than 2,000 of these aircraft built and, for the most part, they only carried a single 7800 lb hydrogen bomb.

Shortly after WWII ended, the US Military wanted to usher in jet powered aircraft. The war had ended, but the Cold War with the Soviet Union was ramping up very quickly, and the US Military wanted a fast jet powered bomber. They put out requests for several designs to be submitted from several aircraft manufacturers. What Boeing came up with ushered in the modern design for jet aircraft, including those being used today by airlines across the world.

An email from Uncle Howie, aka Lt. Col. Howard Haupt, reminded me of these jets. He and my father, Lt. Col. Gary R. Liggett,  crewed B-47’s during their careers in the US Air Force. My father flew them from 1959 to 1964 and my uncle from 1960 to 1966. He sent me the video below that gives a short history of these aircraft and their amazing capabilities. In this video, they call the B-47 The Mother Jet. I agree. They were the first to have multiple jet engines mounted in nacelles, swept back wings that were designed to flex up and down. and the sleek fuselage.

The crews of the B-47’s were an amazing bunch of patriots. They flew one of the most demanding aircraft in the world, carrying a nuclear payload as well. You had to be a little nuts just to want to get one off the ground using the JATO’s, Jet Assisted Take Off rockets. These things had no off switch. They ran until they expended their rocket fuel. You hit the button and you were taking off. It didn’t matter what got in your way or what fell off the plane halfway down the runway, you were taking off.

The lead in picture for this article is a picture my father took of the B-47E he flew. He told me some stories of his time as a navigator/bombardier on these iconic planes. He had two jobs to do on every mission. Make sure the plane gets to the target, then make sure the bomb gets dropped on target. A lot of responsibility even before you hear the crew was carrying a nuclear hydrogen bomb. Especially, when you consider the expected survival rate of a crew dropping an H bomb on target was an optimistic 50/50.

One story he told me about was about how to get the aircraft farther away before the bomb hit its target and detonated. The LABS Maneuver, or Low Altitude Bombing System. Sometimes known as Loop Maneuver. The crews just called it the Idiots Loop. When dad described this maneuver to me, I was sure someone came up with this stunt during some drunken dare, or they were just batshit crazy. The video below goes into detail on how it was supposed to work. Neither my father or my uncle ever tried the LABS maneuver. It was discontinued due to air frame stress, and over 200 planes and 450 crew who had already been lost to crashes.