From the first documented fatigue cracks in the B-47 fleet to the FOIA releases that made this research possible.
Gold markers indicate the pivotal moments in this story: the Collins crash itself, the launch of Project Milk Bottle, and the 2025–26 FOIA research that made this site possible.
The earliest B-47 losses attributed to structural causes begin, years before the problem is publicly acknowledged.
The Air Force's first officially acknowledged in-flight explosion of a B-47 occurs.
Two B-47s explode in midair within months of each other, one over Texas and one over Kansas.
Air Force engineering teams begin documenting fatigue cracks in B-47 fuselage frames during routine inspections.
Twenty-seven B-47s are lost to sudden mid-air breakups and crashes over the course of the year.
B-47E Stratojet 52-0470 disintegrates in mid-air during a refueling operation over the Town of Collins, killing all four crew members.
Three more B-47s are lost in the following two weeks — at Pease AFB, New Hampshire; over Tampa Bay, Florida; and at Goose Bay, Labrador — prompting flight-speed restrictions.
The Air Force publicly acknowledges the loss of 14 B-47s and 34 crewmen since January 1, attributing the problem to “structural inadequacies.”
The classified retrofit program begins, developing and installing reinforcement kits at the wing roots.
Approximately 1,622 B-47s have received the Project Milk Bottle structural modification.
The last bomber versions of the B-47 are phased out of service, succeeded by the B-52 Stratofortress.
The Air Force approves public release of The History of the Aircraft Structural Integrity Program, revealing details of the 1958 crisis.
A Freedom of Information Act request is filed seeking Cold War-era Air Force accident and engineering records related to the Collins crash.
The first declassified documents confirm the Collins crash was studied as part of the broader B-47 structural investigation.
This site and its accompanying research booklet are compiled and published, consolidating the historical record under FOIA Case #2026-01190-F.