In 1963, 36 obsolescent B-47Es were modified as electronics communications aircraft under the designation EB-47L. The EB-47Ls were to serve as airborne relay stations between other aircraft (such as the USAF "Looking Glass" EC-135 command post or the Navy's EC-130Q) or between aircraft and ground stations during and after a nuclear attack.
Their serial numbers were: 52-031, 033, 034, 035, 038, 041, 059, 061, 066, 067, 069, 071, 078, 081, 082, 086, 099, 105, 154, 204, 211, 212, 214, 217, 220, 224, 291, 292, 298, 303, 305, 308, 309, 510, 513, and 53-2329
The EB-47Ls soon became obsolete and were phased out during 1965/66
Sources:
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American Combat Planes, Third Enlarged Edition, Ray Wagner, Doubleday,
1982.
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Post World War II Bombers, Marcelle Size Knaack, Office of Air Force
History, 1988.
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The Boeing B-47, Peter Bowers, Aircraft in Profile, Doubleday, 1968.
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Boeing Aircraft Since 1916, Peter M. Bowers, Naval Institute Press,
1989.
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United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and
Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.
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E-mail from Wai Yip.
- Boeing B-47 Stratojet--Variant Briefing. Bill Yenne, International Air Power Review, Vol 6, 2002.
