Los Banos Rotary Club History
B47 Pilot Tells Of New Bombers

Major H. C. Traylor, who is the pilot of one of the big B47 strategic bombing planes of the 93rd Bomb Wing stationed at Castle Air Base, Merced, Tuesday noon gave members of the local Rotary Club a brief word picture of the increditably fast bombing plane, their mechanical features and purpose for which they are intended.

The B47s, he said, are classified as long range medium bombers, intended to bomb strategic military targets any place in the world to cripple and eventually eliminate the ability of any enemy to make war on this country. Constant training and practice, the Major said, are necessary both in the air and on the ground, to achieve the proficiency required for such a mission, and the men at Castle are continuously busy planning and actually making practice flights to peacetime target assignments throughout the world.

Explaining some of the mechanical features of the new planes which are fast becoming commonplace in the skies of the San Joaquin valley, the Major said the design for the plane was started early in 1945, and the first ship was flown in 1947. Costing $3,000,000 each with full equipment the machine carries a crew of three—pilot, co-pilot, and observer. It is powered by six jet engines developing the gas engine equivalent of about $1,000 horsepower, has a cruising speed of over 600 miles an hour, a range of 6,000 to 8,000 miles at its normal flying altitude of 35,000 feet, and can carry a bomb load of 25,000 pounds. The maximum gross weight of plane and load is 185,000 pounds.
Major Traylor said the fuel used in the planes is similar to high grade kerosene, though the jet engines can operate on high octane gasoline if necessary. The six engines consume about 1,000 gallons of fuel an hour at 35,000 feet, but more than twice that amount at altitudes of 10,000 feet and lower. This factor, he said, is one of the reasons that on long distance flights the planes are generally refilled in the air rather than landing at an intermediate airport for fuel.

Major Traylor was introduced by Mike Dambrosio, city administrative officer.

October 15, 1954

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