98th SAW Boeing RB-47H Stratojet 53-4280 by Wing attack Plan R Via Flickr: RB-47H-1-BW. C.N. 4501304. Last Unit: 55th SRW (M), Forbes AFB. Withdrawn from service to MASDC 25 May 1967. Declared excess 18 June, 1969. Srapped at MASDC. A total of 32 RB-47H models were built for electronic intelligence (ELINT) missions, as well as three more specialized "ERB-47Hs". Featuring a distinctive blunt, rounded nose and sported blisters and pods for intelligence-gathering antennas and gear, they were designed to probe defenses and collect data on radar and communications signals. The bomb bay was replaced by a pressurized compartment, which accommodated "Crows", or Electronic Warfare Officers (EWOs). There were three Crows on board the RB-47H and two on the ERB-47H. A distinctive bulged radome fairing replaced the bomb bay doors. They retained the tail turret and were fitted with jammers and chaff dispensers. A recognizable difference between the RB-47H and ERB-47H was the latter's distinctive antenna fairing under the rounded nose. The first RB-47H was delivered in August 1955 to Forbes AFB, Kansas. They received a "Mod 44" or "Silver King" program in 1961 to update electronics systems and was recognizable by a large teardrop pod for ELINT antennas upon a pylon under the belly and offset to one side, as well as a pylon-style antenna under each wing beyond the outboard engine. The EWO compartment was cramped with sitting room only and had both poor noise insulation and climate control, making 12-hour missions uncomfortable and tiring. Successful ejection downward through the belly radome was impossible near the ground. Crows sat bobsled-like on the pilot compartment's floor for takeoff and landing. They then crawled encumbered with Arctic clothing and parachute to and from their compartment along an unpressurized maintenance shelf during a temporary level-off at 10,000 ft (3,000 m). Operations were generally flown at night and classified Top Secret. The final RB-47H to be retired from service, 53-4296, was reactivated and fitted with an F-111-style nose to test avionics for the General Dynamics FB-111 in the early 1970s. It was not given any special designation. It is now on display at the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin Air Force Base, fitted with a bomber nose. ERB-47H was the designation assigned to three RB-47Hs (53-6245, 53-6246 and 53-6249) that were modified as special reconnaissance aircraft designed to detect and locate electromagnetic radio frequency emissions. Like the RB-47H, the ERB-47H was equipped with a bomb bay pod that carried extra equipment and additional crew members, known as Electronic Warfare Officers (EWOs, aka Crows or Ravens). However, the normal crew complement of the ERB-47H was only five as opposed to six for the RB-47H, since the normal Raven One position in the RB-47H was eliminated and filled with additional equipment. Like the RB-47H, the ERB-47H was sometimes sent on some rather dangerous missions near Communist airspace. An ERB-47H was intercepted and fired upon by a pair of North Korean MiG-17s over the Sea of Japan on April 27, 1965. Although heavily damaged, the plane managed to escape and make a safe landing at Yokota AB in Japan. Photo Credit's: Unknown to me (Reprint). Photo marked 1967, RAF Upper Heyford and 98th SAW/Det.1. Inset photos were internet finds and I don't know who to credit them to.
