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This answer about solid-jet-assisted takeoff links to the page B-47 Jet-Assisted Take Off (JATO). An image there took me to a collection of historical aviation images, apparently from a LIFE Magazine archive.

Browsing there led me to the image below, of what looks like several aviation engineers sitting on a very large format drawing of a B-47 aircraft and its major components.

A reverse image search leads mostly to sites written in Russian, which I can't read.

Does anyone recognize what's actually happening here? It's not scene one would normally see these days.

LIFE magazine B-47 Stratojet Bomber image

source: http://images.google.com/hosted/life/2ce91e390933d837.html

B-47 Stratojet Bomber, Date taken: September 9, 1950 Photographer: Howard Sochurek

uhoh
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    It's still a valuable exercise to work with scale models to plan out large processes like aircraft production. 3D printing has only made that even easier. – fooot Sep 13 '18 at 14:42
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    Thanks man for the picture , it will be on my wall :) – Ali Erdem Sep 13 '18 at 18:01
  • Online translators are actually pretty decent the next time you are stuck like this. – Infiltrator Sep 13 '18 at 23:52
  • @Infiltrator depending on the particular language, your milage may vary, and without a native speaker to review the on-line translation, how can one identify the inevitable errors and mistranslations? – uhoh Sep 14 '18 at 00:49
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    @uhoh: It is not a solution, of course. I just mean that it can be the first tool for which you reach. – Infiltrator Sep 14 '18 at 02:35
  • @AliErdem Dostum I think it is a nice resim and it is good to have this aviation tutkusu too. – kfb Sep 14 '18 at 11:16
  • @F.Bek is it your first time running into someone from your country in internet :) why don't we be friends btw, we can share some beer or tea and talk about Kelly Johnson – Ali Erdem Sep 14 '18 at 15:36
  • They appear to be squatting or leaning over, not sitting. – jpmc26 Sep 14 '18 at 23:54
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    @jpmc26 - The guy at the top left (white shirt=supervisor) seems to be grasping his temple and saying "Oh, crap... they did it just like I told them to - I'm going to loose my job!" – jwzumwalt Sep 15 '18 at 00:41
  • @jwzumwalt I was going to suggest it's a variant of Twister played only by aerospace engineers ... – Will Crawford Sep 15 '18 at 14:13
  • @AliErdem I would love to talk about aviation and beer sounds amazing. I have Linkedin profile linked to my stackexchange account. Lets connect ! Then I will delete these funny comments. – kfb Sep 20 '18 at 08:25
  • related in an aesthetic way: https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/a/11145/7118 – uhoh May 30 '19 at 15:11

2 Answers2

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As commented by Anilv, they are examining a factory production layout/plan. They most likely are attempting to resolve a production or supply problem, though as Anilv suggests, they may also be planning the factory layout.

Listed below is an example of the B-17 Flying Fortress Factory Production Layout used by Boeing in WWII. Note the arrows which show the production procession and parts/sub-assembly entry and exit.

enter image description here Source - Boeing

reirab
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jwzumwalt
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    Yes, I can immediately understand now, this makes a lot of sense, thank you! – uhoh Sep 13 '18 at 03:45
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    Those look like B-29's. – Davidw Sep 13 '18 at 18:58
  • I think Boeing knows what their own airplanes look like, the picture was from their web site? They probably were not interested in a scientifically accurate silhouette. – jwzumwalt Sep 14 '18 at 00:26
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    They are indeed B-29's, look at the trailing edge of the wings, the inner engine nacelles have a fillet that extends beyond the trailing edge of the wing on the B-29, the B-17 does not. The wings are narrower on the B-29, too. And even the manufacturer can make a mistake and mislabel the image. – Davidw Sep 14 '18 at 03:30
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    Good answer, but as to what they're doing (planning or troubleshooting something), we should realize that they may simply be posing for a good photo. :) – TypeIA Sep 14 '18 at 19:41
  • @Davidw - I think artistic license was used. I admit the art department used B-29 for the B-17 but the nose and cowl of a B-29 are longer. It looks like they took a B-29 silhouette and scaled it for a B-17. If you look at the top right compared to the bottom right, the tip profile is significantly different in width. The trailing edge wing of a B-29 is nearly straight horizontally while the B-17 is noticeably tapered; the silhouette is half way in-between. In war, you grab what ever will get through the day and run with it. It looks like someone took their scissors and said "good enough". – jwzumwalt Sep 15 '18 at 00:35
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    @TypeIA - I thought they were from New York and were pitching pennies. Shows what I know... – jwzumwalt Sep 15 '18 at 00:39
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Just to confirm, one of the sites you mentioned says:

Планирование производства бомбардировщиков B–47 на заводе ВВС США №6. Завод ВВС США №6, был построен в 1942–1943 годах в небольшом городке Мариетта, штат Джорджия, для Bell corporation, и предназначался для выпуска бомбардировщиков B–29.

Завод до сих пор остается одним из крупнейших зданий в мире, его площадь под одной крышей составляет 390200 м2. После войны завод был закрыт, но в 50-х годах открыт вновь, вначале для ремонта и модернизации бомбардировщиков B–50, а затем для производства B–47 силами компании Lockheed Martin.

Завод работает и в настоящее время, на нем производится ремонт и обслуживание самолетов ВВС США, в том числе Lockheed/Boeing F-22 Raptor.

That translates to (emphasis mine):

Planning the production of B-47 bombers at the US Air Force plant No. 6.
US Air Force No. 6, was built in 1942-1943 in the small town of Marietta, Georgia, for Bell corporation, and was intended for the production of B-29 bombers. The plant still remains one of the largest buildings in the world, its area under one roof is 390,200 m².

After the war, the plant was closed, but in the 1950s it was reopened, first to repair and modernize the B-50 bombers, and then to manufacture the B-47 by Lockheed Martin.

The plant is currently in operation and repairing and servicing the US Air Force aircraft, including Lockheed / Boeing F-22 Raptor.

Toby Speight
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Federico
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  • Thank you for this! It seems to be quite informative. – uhoh Sep 13 '18 at 14:03
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    @uhoh you can use Google Translate on web pages in languages you can't read, it's not perfect but it gives you an idea of what it's about. – fooot Sep 13 '18 at 15:53