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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0747.PDF
FLIGHT, 19 March 1954 335 THE STRATOSPHERIC SUPERMAN How Super must he be? Some Thoughts on Bomber-crew Psychology and Comfort FROM time to time dramatic accounts appear in the lay Press telling the more impressionable reader of the rigours and hazards of flying jet bombers on protracted missions. Even after the verbiage of drama has been sub tracted from such accounts, the task appears to demand almost superhuman effort and endurance. Due to the American propensity for such forms of public entertainment, the tasks of the B-47 crews have received the full treatment in this respect—so much so that the normally sceptical Englishman takes it with more than a grain of salt. The writers tell us in the crisp and pungent language of the States how the Stratojet is big, rugged and far-reaching; it flies faster, farther and higher than our imagination, and each ship is manned by three geniuses—the "triple-threat crew." But geniuses get on each other's nerves, and they are rightly entitled to a series of storms in the mental teacup; and thereby hangs a problem. It is a fact perhaps not always realized by the same sceptical Englishman that some hundreds of B-47s have been built and are being constantly flown. They are large (wing span 117ft), heavy (all-up weight 185,000 lb plus) and, compared with other aircraft in service, new and complex. The bicycle landing gear is such that approach speed must be calculated for the landing weight, and adhered to within plus or minus 1 kt to prevent touching-down on one main gear before the other, with con sequent dangerous porpoising. Cruising fully loaded at its ceiling, the B-47 encounters what the American lay Press calls "coffin corner"—that is, the intersection of curves concerned with the speed range. The range between slow-speed and high speed stall is exceedingly small and the aircraft must be flown with extreme care. All the wide variety of duties previously carried out by a ten-man crew are performed by three men, who are trained to be interchangeable, i.e., each man is a trained pilot, navigator, bombardier, radar operator and gunner—hence the "triple threat." This, it must be admitted, amounts to quite an aircraft and quite a crew. The Strategic Air Command, which operates the B-47 wings, works on a war-time basis, widi the minimum of simulation. Each mission is a very earnest practice, and the "lead" or "select" crews (it takes eight years to develop such a team) have been allotted specific targets in case of war and have memorized all the necessary facts concerning the journey to their target. Realism, and consequendy strain, are at a high level dur ing each flight and for hours before take-off and after landing. Each crew also knows that any mission not completed, for what ever reason, must be repeated until it is successful. A normal mission will entail 12 hours or more airborne by night or day over a large area of territory covering possibly more than one continent. The crew is briefed and the aircraft takes off, to be climbed to height and cruised until fuel load is de creased and "coffin corner" passed. Apart from being navi gated, and used for high-level radar bombing, the B-47 will be refuelled about four times in mid-air. This requires the pilot to manoeuvre the aircraft to a position some 16ft under the tail of the KC-97 tanker, possibly at night, while the boom operator makes contact and the fuel is passed over. Both aircraft are meanwhile in a shallow dive, in order to keep the B-47 off the stall; and, as the load is transferred, the trims and critical speeds of the two aircraft change. The whole operation calls for considerable physical effort from the pilot and can be regarded as a contributory factor to crew fatigue. During this time, the two pilots sit one behind the other, virtually unable to move from their places and each practically isolated except for intercom from the other (though the co-pilot can see the back of the captain's helmet). The co-pilot must also watch the rearward-looking radar scope and swivel his seat to operate the two 0.5in tail guns if necessary. The crews generally undergo a sequence of de-tensing treat ment after each mission, consisting of massage and planned relaxation. As a result of this type of operation it has been found that as the two pilots become aware of their isolation from each other The crew of an F-89 Scorpion all-weather fighter wearing their partial- pressure suits. The right-hand man has had to bend his knees and lean back to look upwards. Combined emergency oxygen and pressurization bottles are strapped to the left thigh, with the necessary regulator and leads. G-suit and pressure breathing ere integrally fitted. they begin to feel more and more alone and the responsibility of the whole complicated mission begins to weigh on each individu ally. This feeling of loneliness and individual responsibility was considered sufficiently important to justify a structural modifica tion in the successor to the B-47, the B-52 Stratofortress. In the first prototype, it will be remembered, the two pilots were to sit in tandem. In the production B-52A they will sit side-by-side, despite the fact that this arrangement necessitates a wider windscreen which will add slighdy to the drag of the aircraft. In this position, though they may still be unable to move from their places in flight, each will be aware of the other's presence. They will be able to see each other's faces and derive a sense of companionship which, in terms of crew efficiency, warrants the extra drag of the cockpit arrangement. Yet in the still larger B-36 this companionship may be as irk some as it is necessary in the B-52. The B-36 will remain air borne perhaps four times as long as the B-47. Its great size allows free movement within and between the two large crew-com partments, and its lower speed relieves some of the pressing urgency of B-47 operation. Yet, when approaching a target the B-36 flies at a very great height and the crew's movement is radically restricted by the necessity for wearing partial-pressure suits; all members, too, will be severally engaged in flying, bomb ing or defence duties. For hours on end during the mission, pilots and other active crew-members will remain at their posi tions, confronted only with a dazzling sky and an array of uni formly green (the standard U.S.A.F. interior colouring) instru ment panels and structure. The alternative prospects of a neigh bour's face, a green instrument panel or a blank sky will offer little relief and even considerable aggravation to tired eyes. There is a trend, therefore, in aircraft of the B-36 type, to relieve standard neutral colourings with bright colours in items such as seat cushions, arm-rests, various controls and window curtains. It is interesting to speculate on how long the standard matt black interior finishes will survive in the V-class bombers coming into service in the R.A.F. Between the two extremes of the B-47 and the B-36 lies the British Canberra. It is less complex than the B-47, and has a considerably shorter endurance than the B-36. At first, how ever, it was thought that fatigue would raise its ugly head even here. In fact what has emerged is a new conception of physical fitness. The air pilot has traditionally been supposed to be physically fit and full of energy. Such fitness was, in fact, con sidered almost synonymous with the mental acuity required for high-speed flight. It was found, however, particularly in the England to New Zealand air race last October, that physical fit ness actually aggravated fatigue. A pilot accustomed to vigorous
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