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The B-36 Peacemaker: A Giant Guardian of the Cold War

The Convair B-36 Peacemaker is the stuff of aviation legend, a fusion of strategic foresight and engineering acumen unparalleled in its time. Conceived during the worst years of World War II, the B-36 went on to become the largest mass-produced piston-engined bomber in history and an interim nuclear deterrent in the early Cold War years.

During WWII, it became obvious that the need for an intercontinental bomber was at hand. With overseas bases beginning to become precarious in their stability, the U.S. Army Air Corps began to seek an aircraft that could reach targets in Europe from North American bases. Ambitious requirements were surely in order: a cruising speed of 275 mph, a service ceiling of 25,000 feet, and 12,000 miles in range, all on a 10,000-pound bomb load over a 5,000-mile radius.

It was back in November 1941 that Consolidated’s Model 36 design bested Boeing’s Model 385 for the contract to produce the Army Air Corps’ new bomber. Unique for the time, the aircraft that would result featured a 230-foot wingspan, six 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-4360 “X-Wasp” air-cooled radial engines, and a fuselage length of 163 feet housing no less than four bomb bays capable of carrying up to 72,000 pounds of ordnance.

First flown in August of 1946, the XB-36 was the largest and heaviest aircraft anywhere in the world at that time. The size, weight, and complexity of the B-36 presented many challenges for large groups of talented engineers and technicians. It wasn’t until 1948 that a new organization called Strategic Air Command took delivery of its first operational B-36.

The unit was a mess when Lt. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay took over the reins of SAC: undertrained crews, poor morale, bases, and security standards below standard. He drove a rigorous training program set high standards for performance, and soon molded SAC into a force to be taken seriously. In 1951, the B-36 units were operational, and LeMay’s outstanding leadership had won him a fourth star – he was the youngest four-star general since Ulysses S. Grant.

During its ten operational years, the B-36 flew missions in all kinds of weather around the world, often for more than two continuous days without refueling. It was this endurance that gave it its unofficial nickname-“Peacemaker” if not a credit to the people who built, maintained, and flew these airplanes.

But even as impressive as those capabilities may have been, the B-36 never saw combat. Its presence alone made it a strategic asset that deterred Soviet aggression during the early Cold War. The aircraft would later retire in 1959, replaced by the B-52 Stratofortress. Of the 385 B-36 aircraft constructed, only four complete airframes survived to be passed on to museums as a tribute to the sacrifices these men made while keeping the peace during such a pivotal moment in history.

B-36J (52-2220) The Last Flight On 30 April 1959, the last B-36 flew from Davis-Monthan AFB to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The few survivors of this aircraft serve as a reminder of all the work and sacrifices made by men and women so peace would be kept during the Cold War.

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