The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was the first major USAF jet engined bomber of the Cold War and the most widely produced of its kind since World War II. Sleek and modern looking with thin swept wings which mounted six turbojet engines (four mounted in two pairs with the other two in single nacelles), the B-47 formed the backbone of the Strategic Air Command's nuclear deterrance where they served with a total of 36 bomber wings many of which were on full readiness in the event war would have broken out between the superpowers. Yet despite its revolutionary design, the B-47 suffered a plethora of production difficulties which were excaberrated by political decisions which meant that the true importance of such an aircraft was not realized until the Korean War and thus the escalating tensions of the Cold War scaled up its development. Ironically for such a groundbreaking aircraft, the B-47 saw no combat as bombers although reconnaissance variants were used during the Vietnam War as well as performing clandestine missions over the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China where at least one was shot down and others damaged. The final units were retired in 1965 by which time it had been replaced in the SAC by the B-52.

First flight of the XB-47 prototype took place on 17 December 1947 powered by J35 engines later replaced by J47s in the production B-47A (which were used for training and testing purposes only). The first combat variant was the B-47B with reduced nose glazing, square fin tip, underwing fuel tanks, inflight refuelling capability but also the removal of the crew ejection seats. Later, the B-47E was the most widely produced Stratojet variant with new engines, a strengthened structure, even more reduced nose glazing, a drag parachute for landings, and the reinstallation of the ejection seats. Meanwhile, major modifications of existing B-47Bs up to E standard resulted in the B-47B-II while a similar upgrade of the E versions themselves became the B-47E-II. Photo reconnaissance versions began with the RB-47B followed by the RB-47E (based on the B and E) while the RB-47H was an electronic intelligence platform and the RB-47K used for weather reconnaisance. A crew trainer was known as the TB-47B.