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The
Beginner's Guide to the B-49 - A Brief Operational History |
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By Glen Broman, former AC49E PIC and
Squadron Gunnery Officer
PART I: THE EARLY YEARS
On 25 June, 1946, an aircraft unlike anything seen before, or
since, rose from the Northrop Company airfield. The first flight
of the XB-35 proved the concept of the flying wing was viable and
began the career of the world famous B-35/49 family that wrote a
magnificent chapter in the annals of aviation history. The XB-35
attained a maximum speed of 391 MPH and the fuselage provided
4,000 square feet of lifting area. The aircraft carried 18,000
gallons of fuel and had a range of 10,000 miles with a 41,200
pound bomb load. The 4th Prototype YB-35A carried a defensive
armament of 20 .50 caliber machine guns. During fighter defense
capability trials, MAJ Fritz, "Bubba" Witkowski, the F-51 pilot
who flew most of the aggressor flights, when asked why he failed
to press his attacks against the XB-35 replied, " Hell sir, Y'all
ever tried to bite a porcupine in the butt?". Problems with the
reduction gears and propeller governors led to the development and
adoption of the Curtiss-Wright YT 49-W-1 Turboprop engine with
10,000 HP. Adoption of these engines increased the speed to 450
MPH and increased the bomb load to 50,000 pounds. The B-35 carried
a crew of nine plus a relief crew of six.
On the 1st of June, 1945, a contract was issued to Northrop for a
jet engined version to be powered by eight Allison J35-A-5 engines
of 4,000 pounds thrust.
 The
eight jet version weighed 88,100 pounds with a normal loaded
weight of 205,000 pounds. On the 21st of October 1947, the XB-49
took to the skies. (This was aircraft number 42-102367, now in the
National Air and Space Museum) Top speed of the XB-49 was 520 MPH
with a service ceiling of 42,000 feet.. The 17,545 gallons of fuel
gave a range of 4,450 miles with a 36,760 pounds of bombs.
Unfortunately, the second prototype YB-49 crashed at Muroc Field.
This aircraft was piloted by MAJ Glen Edwards, after the crash
Muroc was renamed Edwards AFB. This setback did not alter the
results of the fierce fly-off between the Convair challenger, the
ungainly and ill-fated YB- 36A. Northrop was issued a contract for
series production of the B-49A bomber. The contract also called
for a six jet powered version, the YRB-49A, which flew on May 4th,
1950. The six 5,000 pound thrust Allison J35-A-19 engines improved
the speed and service ceiling. The B-49A had a wingspan of 172
feet, a length of 53 feet and a height of 20 feet.
The testing which followed proved the soundness of the radical
design and more production contracts were awarded to Northrop and
the "Stratowing" eventually formed the backbone of the Strategic
Air Command for the next thirty years. The first order for 10
B49As was followed by an order for 398 B49Bs with eight GE
J47-GE-11 and -23 engines with 5,800 pounds of thrust with a top
speed over 600 MPH and a bombing range of 3,000 miles. The first
B49C flew on January 30th, 1953 with 8 J47-GE-25A engines with
6,000 pound of thrust and two radar directed 20mm guns in the tail
cone and carried improved avionics. Top speed was 630 MPH with a
cruising speed of 496MPH. The B49D (and RB49D) was the first "wet
wing" version with the wing itself forming the fuel cell. The B49D
had a range of 10,000 miles and also carried the new Pratt and
Whitney J57-P-3 jets with 9,000 pounds of thrust which increased
the service ceiling to 50,000 feet and gave a rate of climb of
2,400 feet per minute. The B49D also was the first to carry two
North American GAM-77 Hound Dog missiles. Of course, the Hound Dog
equipped B49Ds were nicknamed "Elvis's" by their crews.
Rapid development of the B49 followed with improvements in
engines, avionics and weapon systems. The following is a list of
most of the significant versions of the B49.
B49E: Only two built, used as a launch vehicle for the X-15 flight
test program at Edwards AFB.
RB49F: This was a photo-recon version only. Due to the sensitive
nature of this aircraft's mission, the Air Force has never
released anything other than grainy photographs of this aircraft
and the pictures of the wreckage of the aircraft shot down over
Russia in 1962 that Kruschev released during his stormy visit to
the UN really amount to nothing more than a pile of aluminum.
B49G: This was a Pratt and Whitney J57-P-43-W powered version. The
six 13,700 pounds of thrust each engine delivers allows the B49G
to reach an altitude in excess of 60,000 feet with a speed of 650
MPH plus.. The B49G was equipped with the ASG remote fire control
system and the ASB-9 bombing system.
RS49G: This was a reconnaissance/strike version powered by six GE
YJ93-GE-3 continuous afterburning engines. The RS49G was the first
version to reach sustained Mach 2 flight. It was, however,
hampered operationally by extremely short legs, having an
unrefueled range of approximately 40 city blocks.
B49H: This version carried a Low Light Television (LLTV) mounted
in a blister under the nose. This was the first low level
penetration model with a new strengthened wing. It carried one
ASG-21 20mm gatling gun in the tail pod and carried four Douglas
GAM-87A Skybolt missiles externally under the wing, later versions
carried the Short Range Attack Missile (SRAM).
B49J: The "Wild Weasel" version was equipped with fourteen
different ECM transmitters, carried over 6,000 pounds of chaff,
four Quail decoy missiles and twelve High Speed, Anti- Radiation
Missiles (HARM).
B49K: The B49K was equipped with eight AGM 68B Air-Launched Cruise
Missiles (ALCM) and was powered by four GE F101 engines with
"30,000 pound plus" of thrust and terrain following radar. Top
speed was 760 MPH. This version was sacrificed as part of the SALT
I and SALT II negotiations with the Russians but many of the
systems and engines were retrofitted to other models.
AC49E: The AC49 was born of necessity in the war torn skies over
South Vietnam. The first attempts consisted of eight surplus
ASG-21 20mm gatling guns. It was wildly successful and really
pissed off the NVA. The AC49E was the definitive version that
incorporated early stealth technology, having the radar cross
section of a Pigeon, and carrying four turret mounted GAU-8 30mm
cannon, two 40mm cannon, a soft recoil 203mm (8 inch) cannon and
36 Maverick missiles in two rotary launchers.
KC49A: This was the first "wet wing" tanker version with the
extended tail boom. The KC49R was the final version with the
conformal "fuel canoe". The KC49 was nicknamed the "Manta" due to
its shape with the refueling probe extended and was unofficially
called the "Aluminum Bladder" by its crews.
EC49Q: This was an offshoot of the Wild Weasel. The first
operational test of this aircraft in Nevada in 1978 resulted in a
major power blackout over most of the Midwest. The Air Force cover
story claimed that the blackout was actually caused by a UFO.
EC49 "AWACS": This experiment was not successful but was, without
a doubt, the most spectacular version ever built.
PART II: OPERATIONAL USE AND FOREIGN VARIANTS:
 The
last B49 was delivered in 1963. A total of 800 (including KC49
versions) were built in the United States and possibly another 300
were built under license in the United Kingdom, Australia and
Canada. After 1975, only about 350 B49 airframes remained
airworthy. These mostly consisted of G/H/and J models. The final
B49J Wild Weasels were retired from the USAF in 1993. The 141st BG
of the Washington Air National Guard at Fairchild AFB turned in
their aircraft and were declared operational in their new B2s in
late 1995.
The B49 got its first baptism of fire flying recon missions during
the Cuban missile crisis but it really reached its zenith in
South-East Asia. B49s flew 126,615 sorties over Vietnam, losing 29
aircraft, only 17 to hostile action. B49 tail guns accounted for
two MIG-21s. The B49D used in SEA had hard points under the wing
and carried 42 750 pound bombs or 84 500 pound bombs of either
size on the hardpoints. The B49H was first used for low level
penetrations of North Vietnamese airspace during LINEBACKER II and
flew over 700 sorties against the Hanoi-Haiphong area with amazing
accuracy at night. Despite going "downtown" at low level, only two
were lost to ground fire and one was lost to a really tall Banyan
tree. The B49 continued to serve as a faithful warrior in the cold
war but did not see action again until Desert Storm. Early on the
morning of 16 January, 1991, after Army AH-64 Apaches had blasted
a hole in the Iraqi forward radar line in Kuwait, six B49J Wild
Weasel radar suppression aircraft blew through the hole at low
level and led the Coalition air armada into Iraq while frying the
Iraqi search and acquisition radars. Desert Storm B49Js were
equipped with 24 HARMS with 18 in a rotary launcher in the bomb
bay and four wingtip mounted AIM-9L Sidewinders for local defense.
A B49J is credited with destroying two MIG 23s in the landing
pattern at Ras Sulieman airfield in Iraq. One was destroyed by a
Sidewinder missile and the pilot of the second MIG was observed
staring intently at the B49J over his left shoulder as his
aircraft slammed into a telephone pole. CENTCOM granted the crew
credit for both victories. During the 1980s several experiments
had been conducted with Joint Army and Air Force Attack Teams (JAAT)
consisting of Army attack helicopters and Air Force A-10 and
AC49s. The success of these missions led to the deployment of the
AC49E to Dhamamm in Saudi Arabia in December 1990. During one
mission flown with AH-64s from the 101st Aviation Regiment, the
AC49E "Bad MoFo", piloted by CPT GR "Bad Attitude" Broman was
credited with destroying an entire regiment of Iraqi T-72s of the
"Hammurabi" division in a single pass. During one of his
briefings, Gen. Schwarzkopf referred to this mission as "the
Mother of all drive-by shootings". It is generally believed that,
unless the U.S. goes to war with China, this record will never be
broken.
In 1962, the first Bomber Demonstration team was formed as a
result of successful lobbying by the Curtis LeMay faction in the
Air Force. For the 1962-63 season, six B49Ds with the special red,
white and blue Thunderbird painted on the aircraft were used and
became a crowd favorite at air shows. Both the "Thunderbird" name
and trademark "fleur-de-lis" formation were later adopted by the
Air Force Flight Demonstration Team when the B49s were pulled back
to SAC in 1963-64 for upgrade. Only one appearance was made with
the red, white and blue smoke generators on the B49 Thunderbirds,
during SEAFAIR '62 in Seattle. The tremendous volume of smoke
caused it to rain for 193 consecutive days and meteorologists
claim that weather patterns over the Puget Sound basin have been
permanently affected. However, the residents of Seattle have yet
to notice the difference.
The B49 became famous with the American public when a B49E from
Edwards AFB was used in the remake of Orson Well's War of the
Worlds. Who can forget the scene when the giant B49 drops the nuke
on the Martians in California during the dramatic finale of the
1959 film classic. Foreign and Naval variants:
In 1962, an RB-49D crashed in Siberia after "accidentally"
violating Soviet airspace 136 times. Unfortunately for the
Americans, it pancaked in to the soft tundra and was recovered
largely intact by the Russians. The Soviets copied it and when the
Russian jet powered engines proved unsuccessful, the MIG design
bureau designed a high performance turbofan engine and mated them
to the Tupolev airframe. Thus was born the TU-49 "Wingski".
Contrary to popular belief, only one civil Wingski was ever made.
It was used for head of state visits to the West. The civil
Wingski would make a slow pass over every western airfield
displaying a huge USSR flag painted on its underside before
landing.
The RAF built the B49 under license in the UK. The RAF called it
the Viking and it became the third aircraft in the famous V bomber
triad with the Vulcan and Victor. The major variants were the B.MK
III (B49D) which was equipped with the "Blue Steel" missile and
the B.MK IV Viking II (B49G) which was the version the RAF flew
non-stop from RAF Greenham Common in the UK to completely shred
the runway in Port Stanley during the Falklands war. The lead
aircraft placed a stick of 24 750 pound bombs directly down the
center axis of the runway.
B49N: This was the Australian version of the B49D. It was
nicknamed the "Boomerang" in RAAF service.
Naval variants: The U.S.Navy, the RCAF and the FAA (later RAF)
where the only major users of flying wings. All of the operational
naval versions were B35 turboprop powered aircraft.
PBT-1: This was the first ASW version. The final U.S. Navy version
was the PBT-9. Due to an apparent oversight, they were never
renamed and should have carried the designation S-1.
PB2T: This was an ASW B49B but was never adopted by the Navy.
CB35B Basselope I: This was the AVRO built RCAF SAR and ASW
version. The CB35C was equipped with skis for Arctic research
missions during the 1960s.
CB35D Basselope II: This was the most numerous RCAF version in
Canadian service. This ASW aircraft carried 10 Mark 34 torpedoes
and had an extended tail boom with MAD gear and sonobouy chutes.
CB35F Basselope V: This was the PB2T-9 in Canadian service.
Considered the definitive navalized version, it carried 24 Mark 46
torpedoes and had improved MAD gear. It was claimed the sonar
system could pick up a salmon fart from 20,000 feet.
PART III: CAMOUFLAGE AND MARKINGS
Air Force B49s carried the standard natural metal scheme in the
early '50s which was later replaced with the standard SAC white
undersurfaces and the SAC logo which extended from the cockpit aft
to the wing trailing edge. The "Boys Book of Really Big Planes"
lists three YB-35 and possibly one YB-49 aircraft completed in O.D.
over neutral grey but the "Color Police Guide to Aircraft
Markings" claims that this was really a misinterpretation of
orthochromatic color film. Later B49Ds carried the standard SEA
scheme with black undersurfaces which was gradually replaced by an
all black scheme. Many of the aircraft engaged in low-level
penetrations during LINEBACKER II in 1972 carried a sporty
sharkmouth on the undersides. Crews claimed it scared the hell out
of NVA gunners. During the 1980s the aircraft were all gradually
repainted using the three tone grey schemes although several did
sport the EURO I scheme in the Wisconsin and Iowa Air National
Guard. All AC49Es used in the Gulf were painted gunship grey with
low viz markings and nose art although one was experimentally
painted using RAF desert pink. Unfortunately, all of the squadron
crews were too embarrassed to fly it during daylight. The CB35B
was painted with a high visibility yellow wing and Arctic red wing
tips. Navy PBT and PB2T aircraft carried the standard glossy sea
blue scheme until they were gradually repainted in the gloss gull
grey over white scheme in the early 1960s. The "Color Police Guide
to Aircraft Markings" capably covers most foreign variants with
the exception of the TU-49 Wingski. Most TU-49s were in overall
natural metal but the Byelorussian 4th Guards Bomber Regiment flew
several with a dark green over light blue scheme with four
prominent red stars during the Moscow flypast commemorating the
25th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War. It is not
known if this scheme was used operationally. It was rumored that
it took a single five year plan's worth of green paint to cover
the Regiments aircraft.
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