Boeing B-50 Superfortress was deployed from the earlier war bomber B-29 Superfortress. The four-engine, propeller-powered Boeing B-50 bomber was among the last piston-powered bombers built during an era that was to be dominated by jets, particularly the B-47 & the B-52.

KB-50s were B-50 bombers modified as aerial tankers, generally after they had become surplus to Strategic Air Command requirements.

Sixty B-50As were ordered by the Army Air Forces before the end of WWII, and delivery began in 1947. In all 79 B-50As were built. The next version, the B-50B, was heavier, with a gross weight of 170,000 pounds. Fitted with cameras & wing tanks, it was designated of RB-50B and used for strategic reconnaissance.