Boeing B-47 Stratojet (8498A)

B-47s formed the backbone of the Strategic Air Command in the mid-1950s. It was the world's first swept-wing bomber and the first to use a bicycle arrangement for the landing gear, necessitated by the thin wings. By mid-1957, 28 bomb wings were flying 1,260 B-47s; another 800 reconnaissance and training versions were in use. This display aircraft at Castle Air Museum was retired in 1964 and transferred to the Navy for use as a photo-training target at China Lake Naval Weapons Center. It was there that museum volunteers spent over 36,000 man-hours restoring it to flying condition. In 1986 it flew to Castle, the last flight ever of a B-47.