10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. North American RB-45C 061023-F-1234S-008: US Goverment· Public domain
- 2. 47th Bombardment Wing - B-45 tornadoes: United States Air Force· Public domain
- 3. B-45c tornado: USAF· Public domain
- 4. B45: USAF· Public domain
- 5. North American B-45C Tornado USAF: USAF· Public domain
- 6. B-45A Tornado at NACA Langley in 1949: NASA· Public domain
- 7. North American B-45A 061020-F-1234S-020: US Goverment· Public domain
- 8. North American B-45A 061020-F-1234S-024: US Goverment· Public domain
- 9. North American B-45A-1-NA 061020-F-1234S-022: US Goverment· Public domain
- 10. North American B-45A-1-NA 061020-F-1234S-023: US Goverment· Public domain
what is it?
The North American B-45 Tornado is an early American jet bomber designed and manufactured by aircraft company North American Aviation. It has the distinction of being the first operational jet bomber to enter service with the United States Air Force (USAF), as well as the first multiengine jet bomber to be refueled in midair. It was the second American jet bomber, after the Douglas XB-43 Jetmaster.
How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · 27.1 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 79 years ago, in 1947.
- Top speed is 7.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 27.1 m: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 7 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Can fly 1.6× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1947-03-17
- introduced
- 1948
- retired
- 1959
- status
- retired
- number built
- 143
- role
- strategic bomber
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- North American Aviation
- engines
- 4× General Electric J47-GE-13
- crew
- 4
- length
- 23 m
- wingspan
- 27.1 m
- height
- 7.7 m
- max take-off weight
- 41.6 t
- top speed
- 911 km/h
- cruise speed
- 587 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 14,021 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q182030, Wikipedia: North American B-45 Tornado (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.