The North American B-45 “Tornado” was the first significant milestone in aviation history; it marked one of the first jet-powered bombers to be accepted into service with the newly reorganized United States Air Force, or USAF, shortly after the end of World War II. While it did not enjoy a high production and operational success rate, the B-45 had an important role in the development and evolution of military aircraft.
The B-45 Tornado was a four-engine light bomber and the first all-jet bomber produced for the USAF. It had a crew of four comprising two pilots, a navigator, and a tail gunner. It had a tricycle landing gear configuration and a shoulder-mounted wing with two podded engines slung under each wing near the fuselage. The Tornado was powered by J47 turbojets then in state-of-the-art development. Unfortunately, it retained the straight-wing design common to earlier reciprocating engine bombers and, therefore, was somewhat slower and less efficient.
Tinker’s association with the B-45 was brief but important. Reports from the Tinker History Office indicate only two B-45 aircraft ever went through the Oklahoma City Air Material Area. These most likely were undergoing configuration changes from light bombers to reconnaissance aircraft, as the type saw use in missions during the Korean War. The J47-GE-13 engines of the Tornado were overhauled at Tinker, which processed 13,000 such engines used by several aircraft.
Produced in very small numbers, only 96 B-45As entered operational service at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana in November of 1948. The proposed B-model never entered production and only 10 B-45Cs were built before production switched to the RB-45C reconnaissance version. With its 12 cameras and elongated nose, the RB-45C played a limited but significant role during the Korean War from bases in Japan. Perhaps the most important first achieved by the RB-45C is that of being able to conduct the very first jet aerial refueling with a “flying boom” from a KB-29P aerial tanker.
The B-45 Tornado was phased out of the Air Force inventory in 1959, having spent just over a decade in operational service. While it enjoyed only a relatively short service life, the B-45 filled a critical gap in the US defense posture during the early Cold War years. All of the reconnaissance models were designated RB-45Cs, assigned to Strategic Air Command, and performed classified, deep penetration photographic intelligence missions over many communist countries.
The first RB-45C entered the Air Force inventory in June 1950 at the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. The RB-45s moved to Yokota AB, Japan, to replace RB-29 aircraft of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron and for several months these jet-propelled RB-45 crews successfully outran and outmaneuvered Soviet-built MiG jets.
In a nutshell, the North American B-45 Tornado, while it was produced in very limited numbers and was only in operational use for a relatively brief period, played an exceptionally significant part in the transition for the USAF to jet-powered bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. It set the pace and laid the foundation for other highly advanced spy planes like the U-2 and SR-71.