This is one Cosmic Jet!!!

Jack Cook · **Posted:** Mon Feb 21, 2005 4:06 pm

Everyone was recently talking about there fav 50s era jet warbirds. We'll here's the weiner. Except, what is it??? Looks sorta like an off-shoot of the
B-45 Toranado. But the lines remind me of HH's XF-11. It still has pre-AF insignia without the red bar. Any guesses???

turbo_NZ · **Posted:** Mon Feb 21, 2005 4:37 pm

It's a Convair XB-46. Was an unsuccessful aircraft in the competition that was won by the B-47.
Beautiful aircraft though

TNZ

Don Martin · **Posted:** Tue Feb 22, 2005 8:20 pm

It's too bad the straight wings were doomed. :cry:

. The B-48 was a sleek and sexy airplane!

turbo_NZ · **Posted:** Wed Feb 23, 2005 4:24 am

Actually the (X) B-48 was built by Martin and was another unsuccessful contender
Here's the XB-48 by Martin

The B-45 by North American (had some success)

The XB-46 (again) the most beautiful of the lot by far !!

The YB-49 by Northrop (some say the forerunner to the B-2 Stealth Bomber)

...and the winner, the famous Boeing B-47

(All pictures courtesy of Globalsecurity.org.)

Don Martin · **Posted:** Thu Feb 24, 2005 11:31 pm

Thanks Turbo! I should have known better :roll:

Great stuff either way!

turbo_NZ · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2005 3:52 am

No worries, Don...I love the look of the XB-46. Such a shame it never won.

TNZ

tom d. friedman · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2005 7:23 pm

after the cancellation of the b-49 flying wing, jack northrop was vindicated 50 years later with the acceptance by usaf of the b-2 spirit stealth bomber that refined what he envisioned 5 decades before. i'm glad northrop lived to see the prototype stealth fly, & he most definetely was an aircraft designer ahead of his time. :!:

turbo_NZ · **Posted:** Sat Feb 26, 2005 3:06 am

Also wasn't the B-45 Tornado used in case the B-47 didn't pan out ?
In any case it was kept on as a photo recce jet.

TNZ

tom d. friedman · **Posted:** Sat Feb 26, 2005 8:31 am

b-45 was the 1st operational jet bomber accepted into u.s service. the b-47 was the back up for another bomber. i can't re-call which, but i think it was the b-52. both the 45 & 47 were eventually used in long range high altitude recce over the ussr. best, tom

Don Martin · **Posted:** Mon Feb 28, 2005 10:24 pm

Hey Turbo, I just came across a company named "Anigrand Craftworks" making a 1/72nd scale resin model of the XB-46(I read it in my modelers mag). They are down towards your end of the world(Hong Kong). Sounds interesting for any modelers out there.

Don

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This is one Cosmic Jet!!!

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