Boeing B-50 Superfortress
The Boeing B-50 Superfortress is an American strategic bomber. A post–World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, it was fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller tail fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber built by Boeing for the United States Air Force, and was further refined into Boeing's final such design, the prototype B-54. Although not as well known as its direct predecessor, the B-50 was in USAF service for nearly 20 years.
| B-50 Superfortress | |
|---|---|
| A Boeing B-50D in flight | |
| Role | Strategic bomber |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| First flight | 25 June 1947 |
| Introduction | 1948 |
| Retired | 1965 |
| Primary user | United States Air Force |
| Produced | 1947–1953 |
| Number built | 370 |
| Developed from | Boeing B-29 Superfortress |
| Variants | Boeing B-54 |
| Developed into | Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter |
After its primary service with Strategic Air Command (SAC) ended, B-50 airframes were modified into aerial tankers for Tactical Air Command (TAC) (KB-50) and as weather reconnaissance aircraft (WB-50) for the Air Weather Service. Both the tanker and hurricane hunter versions were retired in March 1965 due to metal fatigue and corrosion found in the wreckage of a KB-50J, 48-065, which crashed on 14 October 1964.