Boeing B-47 Prototypes & Projects

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Boeings first designs for four- and six-engined passenger aircraft

Orionblamblam helped me to identify the four-engined version in the background as the Model 473-30. In the foreground is a Model 473 too, but which one?

Are there more B-47 derivates to change the bomber into an civil airliner?

SOURCE: A German aviation magazine from the 1950s ... [no details, sorry]
 

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I have it all but I need to find it. I'll try to post it this weekend :p
 
These illustration is a part of the one who was published in
Aero Digest of June 1950 and in The Aeroplane April 7 1950.
Pometablava haves also the same from Flight showing 3 designs.
As mentioned before,it show 3 variants of the Boeing model 473 series.
The 6-engined double deck proposal is- compared with a drawing
in the "Family Tree" in Air Revue-May 1958- the model 473.29 variant.
 
Thanks to you both.

It's slowly coming back to me that in a Le Fana magazine the B-47 was described in different planned derivatives. I don't have an own copy of this issue, but I believe there was a sketch or drawing of a civil variant inside. Antonio, can you check your collection of Le Fanas [/i] [/i] please - thanks.
 
Art. Model numbers in the filenames.
 

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Wow!, Scott was faster than me. Here's the full collection Thomas!
 
That's more than I expected. Thanks to you all (particularly to Scott for the scans).
 
Some additional info:

Boeing 473-2 design is dated December 1946
473 series also includes B-52 airliner derivatives (for instance 473-25)
Also fresh designs are included on 473 series (473-47)

But, at the end, Boeing's first jet airliner came from the 367 series


A highly interesting book for aerospace project enthusiasts is Boeing 707 Pioneer Jetliner by René Francillon. Ed MBI

Regards,
Antonio
 
It would be interesting to know how some of these drawings were used at the time - were they presented to airlines or just floated in the press? Assuming that the proportions are depicted accurately, some of the 473 layouts are so ridiculous that it's hard to believe Boeing was seriously considering them. The engines on the 473-3x drawings are so far outboard that, according to my uncalibrated eyeball, the airplane would be uncontrollable after an engine loss. The vertical tails don't seem unusually large to compensate. Combined with the fact that the pairing into pods makes a total loss of thrust on one wing more likely, the engine arrangement alone makes these configurations suspect.
The high-wing layout without visible landing gear fairings on the fuselage implies the use of bicycle landing gear (I've seen this depicted elsewhere) with all it's weight, volume and handling penalties. Only the East Germans went this route and even they probably knew better.
My guess is that these drawings were feints designed not to fly but to reassure Convair, Lockheed and especially Douglas that Boeing wasn't serious about a jetliner or was pursuing a low-investment, low-risk compromised approach rather than a game-changer. I wouldn't be surprised to see tanker versions depicted since that would make the feint more believable - or maybe that would have invited ridicule by the USAF. Everyone in the industry seemed to accept that jets were coming someday, but Douglas and Lockheed (the industry leaders) had recently launched the last generation of piston-engined airliners (DC-7C and L1649) and hoped to recover their investment before launching into new development programs of unprecedented scale. Both would probably have, at most, preferred to offer low-risk, low-investment turboprop developments of these airframes.
If they were feints, they worked since Boeing gained a first-mover advantage which they never really lost (at least in the American industry). Douglas was caught flat-footed peddling the DC-7D and had to break the bank to develop the DC-8. Convair was compelled to pioneer a non-viable niche (smaller, faster and shorter-ranged) and Lockheed missed out on the first generation.
Boeing, with it's big jet bomber experience and weak position but long history in airliner business, was the obvious candidate for a game-changing jetliner. I'd bet that these drawings were intended to lull the competition into complacency.
 
The artist impressiion depicts actual designs, that were studied in some detail and described in a series of reports. Model 473 was a large effort to explore the feasibility of gas-turbine powered civilian and military personnel transports. First iterations Model 473-1 dated 10th June 1947. The last in the iteration, Model 437-65P3B (a four-turboprops design) is dated 21st December 1950. Cannot post drawings, though.
Uh, and Model 473-19A was a flying wing.
 
Given the B-47's take-off characteristics it is probably just as well that Boeing evolved its ideas a bit before the 367-80.
 
Source:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1950-Boeing-Airplanes-Press-Photo-/190710527330?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item2c673bb562
 

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Artist's impression of Boeing B-47 derived jet transport found on eBay.

Description:
One of Boeing's Designs for a Jet Transport Plane This drawing, the first made public by the company, shows many Stratojet features The jet transport of the future probably will resemble Boeing Airplane Company's radical B-47 Stratojet bomber, which early last year set a transcontinental speed record of 607 miles an hour. Boeing yesterday made public the first sketch of one of its jet transport designs, and it included many features similar to the B-47. The commercial version of the B-47 also would have a tandem. type landing gear and sharply swept-back wing and tail surfaces. It's fuselage, of course, would be bigger than that of the B-47 to accommodate passengers. Many airport officials throughout the nation have said introduction of jet planes may be delayed until air-port runways can be lengthened. One thing is certain: The Civil Aeronautics Administration will have to revise its air-traffic rules to handle the jets on the skyways and airport approaches. Boeing, through Well-wood E. Beall, vice president, already has urged the C. A. A. to plan for the advent of jet air-liners. Boeing's design is one of several different turbine-p ow er ed types on which design studies have been completed. Drawings of the other Boeing designs have not been made public yet. Boeing's big problem in the building of a jet transport proto-type is the financing. The firm suggested not long ago that the C. A. A. finance the jet-development and production program, leasing the speedy transports to commercial air lines. Traffic Increase - Traffic volume carried by Pan-American World Airways between Seattle and Alaska increased considerably during 1949, officials of the firm announced yesterday. The firm estimated its planes carried more than 3,000 more passengers to and from the territory and more than 977,149 pounds of cargo over 1948 figures. Mail volume was up nearly 100,- 000 pounds. Pan American hopes

Source:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1950-Boeing-Airplanes-Sketch-Press-Photo-/200764645233?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item2ebe815f71
 

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An artist drawing by R.J. Francillon showing the Boeing Model 473-11 powered by two Rolls Royce “Nene” engines.

Original source: Boeing - The Complete Story by Alain Pelletier


Also see OBB's blog: Aerospace Projects Review Blog - Boeing Model 473-12 layout diagram


Compare the windows and the engine inlets to find the differences.
 

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LowObservable said:
Given the B-47's take-off characteristics it is probably just as well that Boeing evolved its ideas a bit before the 367-80.

To hell with take-off; can you imagine commercial flights porpoising down the runway every other landing?
 
Probably Boeing Model 473-60.

Source: Airpower, May 2004, page 44
 

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The Model 473-60 was first seen in Aviation Week dated June 18, 1951:
 

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Hi,


here is the Boeing Model 473-28 and also a strange Model 473-10,my dear scott called
it Model 473-2 ?.


http://www.flugzeug-lorenz.de/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF-Duesenzeitalter/Duesenzeitalter_160-163.pdf
 

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From Sienar's site;

https://info.aiaa.org/Regions/Western/PacificNorthwest/Other%20Public%20Documents/2009%20Technical%20Symposium%20Presentation%20Sharing/Presenter%20Presentations/Session%20A%20-%20Skyline%20Room/Benito%20Almojuela/The%20Development%20of%20Boeing's%20367-80%20-%20Almojuela.pdf
 

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From Le Fana 394,

there is something new.
 

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hesham said:
From Sienar's site;

https://info.aiaa.org/Regions/Western/PacificNorthwest/Other%20Public%20Documents/2009%20Technical%20Symposium%20Presentation%20Sharing/Presenter%20Presentations/Session%20A%20-%20Skyline%20Room/Benito%20Almojuela/The%20Development%20of%20Boeing's%20367-80%20-%20Almojuela.pdf

Here is the Boeing Model-473-1.
 

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From Air Pictorial 2/1957,

the Boeing Model 473-13 Project.
 

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hesham said:
From Le Fana 394,
there is something new.

Has model 473-24 equipped with forward-swept wing?
Quite unusual... Perhaps a German' influence (Junkers 287?)
 
Silencer1 said:
hesham said:
From Le Fana 394,
there is something new.

Has model 473-24 equipped with forward-swept wing?
Quite unusual... Perhaps a German' influence (Junkers 287?)
See 'Reply 25', fourth picture down on this thread.
 
Orionblamblam said:
No. Shoulder mounted aft-swept wings, mounted very far forward.

Thank you for explanation! There were so many variations of wing/engines/fuselage configuration for B-47 passenger versions, that my first impression was that wing has been forward-swept.
Now it's obvious, that wing has been "normal" swept - but why it's mounted so forward?
Boeing' engineers have some unusual ideas for this project!
 
From this source
 

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Fascinating...
FWIW, I'd have thought those 6-engined models would have their twins inboard and singles outboard to reduce off-axis and wing loading issues...
Hmm...
 

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