The Convair B-36 Peacemaker is probably the most awe-inspiring and incredibly gigantic flight of machines that the human race has ever produced, a testament to the despair, genius, and strategic necessity of the early days of the Cold War. The saga of this monster starts with WW2, when US military planners feared that Hitler’s forces might take over the UK, thereby cutting off the US from the nearest bases for strategic bombing. To solve the issue of bombing targets on the other side of the oceans from their own land, the U.S. Army Air Forces invented a set of requirements that were so difficult and almost impossible to meet: a range of 10,000 miles, a maximum altitude of 40,000 feet, and the ability to carry gigantic bombs over the whole earth.
Consolidated Vultee, which was later renamed Convair, won the contract in late 1941, outcompeting Boeing. Construction of the B-36 was not simple. The original specifications pushed the technology available at the time to its limits, necessitating numerous redesigns. Its 230-foot wingspan, a record-high behemoth still standing today on any combat aircraft, is the broadest ever. The wings were so wide that engineers created crawlspaces inside them so that the crew could maintain the engines while in flight—a feature that still fascinates airplane enthusiasts.
The motor of the Peacemaker was really amazing. At first, the company had chosen six radial engine Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major in a “pusher” way, as the propellers were at the rear. After that, the machines with four General Electric J47 jet engines hung under the wings were talked about with the help of the phrase “six turning, four burning” got a new meaning, as six propellers were turning and four jets were burning.
The combination allowed the B-36 to cruise around 200 miles per hour and reach speeds over 400 miles per hour at altitude—slow for a jet, but impressive for an aircraft of such size. The B-36J could fly nearly 40,000 feet with a maximum takeoff weight of 410,000 pounds, figures that sound impressive even today.
The B-36 entered service with the newly established Strategic Air Command in 1948 when tensions against the Soviet Union were escalating. The main use of the B-36 was nuclear deterrence. With a load of up to 86,000 pounds of bombs—four times the B-29’s—the Peacemaker could ship America’s biggest thermonuclear and atomic bombs to remote places without interruption.
Versions were equipped for reconnaissance, while others, like the NB-36H, even tested out nuclear-powered flight concepts. Its range and length made it nearly impossible to penetrate for early air defenses, at least during the first few years of the aircraft’s operation.
Life on board was tough. Crews of 15 to 22 men spent dozens of hours in the air, often over two days at a time, in sometimes unpressurized cockpits far above the surface. The engines were finicky, maintenance was complex, and the plane had to be constantly monitored. Early variants could be outfitted with as many as sixteen remotely operated 20mm cannons for defense, although these were reduced later to save weight and improve performance now that jet-fighter opponents were becoming a greater threat.
While the B-36 was equipped with impressive abilities, it never used its powers in a conflict. The role of the heavy bomber was to scare off the opponent–a demonstration of American might that was tangible and visible from the outside. It was joked as the “Billion Dollar Boondoggle,” and some were wondering if the money had not been better spent on new bombers or Navy ships.
Nevertheless, for more than 10 years, the Peacemaker was a heavily used weapon in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It was the connection from the piston-engine bombers of World War II to the jets, like the B-52 Stratofortress, which was to be the successor; thus, it was a transition era airplane. On the other hand, as jet technology improved, the B-36’s design limitations were more and more apparent due to its slow speed and high maintenance requirements.
On April 30, 1959, the B-36 made its last flight from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, where the airplane is still today–a salute to the engineers, crews, and maintainers who kept the aircraft operational.
The story of the B-36 is incredible. It was the ultimate challenge of the most difficult aspect of aeronautical engineering, which had a tremendous impact on the design of bombers for the following several decades and was the main cause for the change in nuclear strategy during the Cold War. Its immense size, ten engines, and distinct contour were a matter of the past–an emblem of American might, the sign that was causing both fear and safety during its time. As of now, there are a few B-36s that are conserved in museums, the ones that are preserving history quietly but safe from the time when the balance of power depended on nearly a football field’s length wings.