The B-45 Tornado may not be so immediately iconic as some of its later siblings, but it actually was a pioneer—the first mass-produced US jet bomber. It’s a significant part of Cold War aviation history, and its innovations carried into airpower in the decades to come. Here are ten facts that demonstrate just why the B-45 is significant in aviation history.
Now only three B-45s remain, a reminder of the dawn of the jet bomber era. They reside at California’s Castle Air Museum, Nebraska’s Strategic Air and Space Museum, and Ohio’s National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. To view them firsthand is to be taken back to a brief but revolutionary era of war flight.
A few of the B-45s were operated by Britain for a series of highly top-secret Cold War missions. These were not actions most would have known—RB-45C planes were deep-penetration intelligence overflights within Soviet borders. Under RAF pilots but American-owned, the plane was an unusually early form of what would come to be called “covert operations.” The entirety of such efforts was kept hidden for decades and had a monumental influence on the work of intelligence up to that point.
The B-45 was not one singular, cohesive airplane. It came in many different guises, starting with the experimental XB-45 aircraft and continuing through to the B-45A bombers. The B-45C could be air refueled, and the RB-45C was intended for reconnaissance and intelligence missions. Special operations, such as Operation Fandango—a.k.a. Operation Backbreaker—had B-45s altered to utilize nuclear capabilities, including the addition of fuel tanks and defense systems to support these strategic missions.
Aerodynamically, being a product of its time, the B-45 was just terrific. It was fueled by four General Electric J47 turbojet engines that propelled it to speeds of up to perhaps 570 mph and enabled it to fly at heights of around 38,000 feet. It enjoyed a combat radius of around 1,000 miles and could accommodate up to 22,000 pounds of bombs, including atomic bombs. It was equipped with tail-mounted .50-calibre machine guns for some protection, but the aircraft depended as much on speed and surprise as on firepower.
When relations in Europe were at their most strained, the B-45 was sent to Britain in 1952 with atomic bombs, adding a new element to NATO defense policy. Its intermediate size also allowed it to do the impossible missions with large bombers, establishing for the Tornado its special niche in early Cold War deterrence.
The B-45 also flew in the Korean War on bombing and photographic reconnaissance duties. It’s jet power before its earlier models, but with the advent of MiG-15 fighter planes, disastrous peril threatened. This forced night flying more often, and recon versions such as the RB-45C delivered valuable information which helped in war mission planning.
The Tornado made history in itself by achieving a series of firsts. It was the first bomber ever constructed in the U.S. to be fitted with four jet engines, the first production jet bomber, and the first to perform aerial refueling with a flight carrying nuclear weapons. These milestones set the stage for the next line of bombers that were to be high-speed and high-altitude.
Like most of the early revolutionary planes, the B-45 also had its teething problems. Early models powered by J35 engines were underpowered and used for training. Later models used more powerful J47 engines, improved electronics, and safety aids such as ejector seats. Maintenance still meant hard work, which restrained practical use of the plane and kept it from achieving what it was capable of.
The B-45’s combat life was relatively short. It was eventually replaced by the heavier payload, faster Boeing B-47 Stratojet with increased range. By 1959, the Tornado was an antique, and later supersonic bombers such as the B-58 Hustler replaced it.
Though duty-bound for a short time, the B-45 left an indelible mark. It bridged the gap between World War II propeller bombers and Cold War high-speed jet-propelled aircraft. From nuclear deterrence to clandestine surveillance flights, the Tornado had reached into the early U.S. jet-age policy and set a standard against which subsequent bombers were measured, establishing its place in aviation history.