The Convair B-36 Peacemaker has been regarded as one of the most amazing and awe-inspiring works of art in the whole history of the world, maybe even one of the most gigantic ones, a monument to the desperation, brilliance, and strategic need of the Cold War era’s very first days. The saga of this juggernaut is traced back to WW2, when US military planners feared that Hitler’s army might take over the UK, thereby isolating the US from the nearby bases for strategic bombing. To solve the problem of hitting targets on the other side of the oceans from their own land, the U.S. Army Air Forces had to set out an extremely difficult and almost unachievable list of requirements: a range of 10,000 miles, a maximum altitude of 40,000 feet, and the ability to carry huge bombs all over the 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.
Despite having formidable capabilities, the B-36 never went to war. Its purpose was deterrence—a visible, physical demonstration of American power. The aircraft was mocked as the “Billion Dollar Boondoggle,” and some questioned whether money would have been better spent on newer bombers or Navy ships.
But for more than a decade, the Peacemaker was the staple of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, filling the gap between the World War II piston-engine bombers and the jet-powered B-52 Stratofortress that would ultimately supplant it. As jet technology advanced, the B-36’s slow speed and maintenance demands highlighted the limits of its design.
Production was halted in 1954, with a total of 384 aircraft being completed. In 1958, upon the arrival of the B-52, the fleet was retired. The last B-36 flight was on April 30, 1959, from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, where it still is—a living memory of the people who flew and maintained the aircraft.
The heritage of the B-36 is massive. It deeply challenged the limits of aerospace engineering, had a strong impact on the design of bombers of the following decades, and was a great contributor to the nuclear strategy of the Cold War. Its enormous size, ten engines, and peculiar shape made it one of the most recognizable aerial vehicles—an embodiment of American might, a depiction of both the people’s fear and their reassurance, during its time. At present, there are only a handful of B-36s left in museums, quiet doves of peace, but at the same time, ghosts of war, flying nearly a football field length, was the delicate balance of power that dominated the earth.