Boeing ERB-56B Vigilance with photos

[McColm]

 The Boeing YB-56 was based on the B-47C model but modified with eight engines compared to the regular six, there would be side-by-side seating under a cockpit canopy for five crew with a ladders that led down to the other crew compartments within the fuselage. This would become the alternative platform for the MIT Project LAMP LIGHT but incorporate the design changes used in the ERB-47H and RB-47H, switching from the bomber to electronic warfare and airborne early warning.
Under Project Vigilance the aircraft would still have the capability of firing long-range and short-range missiles for defence or as a interceptor. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology would fund this with the help from SJMcColm Engineering Ltd as a joint Anglo-American unit as the British needed to provide protection for commonwealth countries and overseas territories .
The boffins agreed that fifty aircraft should be sufficient to provide a 24/7 coverage for the Arctic and Antarctic regions against the USSR, Warsaw pack and OTAN plus other factions which posed a threat. Each aircraft would have a in-flight refuelling probe fitted for missions lasting upto 16 hours. Whilst the Americans opted for the same radar and avionics fitted to the Grumman E-2A, the British came up with their own but with the option to replace it with the
E-2C avionics plus the radar antenna when it became available or within the defence budget.
 The ERB-56D Vigilance would eventually replace the USAF Stratojets in the surveillance and EW roles flying into the late 1980s, whereas the British Vigilance aircraft would receive several updates with twenty-five of them continuing operational duties as and when required.

I'm using the older 1/72 Hasegawa Boeing B-47E Stratojet kit with a few spare parts from the Airfix Vickers Valiant B(PR)K.1 kit and spare parts. The older kit appears to fit better than the newer version released and the Vickers Valiant spare cockpit canopy is a really good fit along with the rear ECM tail pod. The fuselage has been glued together along with the wings which have ESM wingtip pods not UK standard but they look good.
The Crow or is it Raven operations pod has been dry tested in the bomb bay.

[kerick]

Interesting! Carry on!

[Diamondback]

Interesting... or as a twist, what if the British applied the ERB-56 "lessons learned" to part of the Vulcan fleet? That way, if something happened to ground either fleet there would still be a reserve fro the other to maintain some operational capacity.

[McColm]

The new cockpit canopy isn't glued in place,but the ESM wingtip pods are glued.