American strategic bomber from the Cold War era with notable service in the Strategic Air Command from 1949 to 1959. Key figures: top speed 673 km/h, range 16,093 km, service ceiling 13,289 m, max takeoff weight 185,973 kg, unit price $10M, built 384.
| Crew | 9–22 (B-36J to RB-36D) |
| Length | 49.4 m (162.1 ft) |
| Wingspan | 70 m (229.7 ft) |
| Height | 14.3 m (46.8 ft) |
| Wing area | 443.5 m² (4773.8 sqft) |
| Empty weight | 75,530 kg (166,515 lbs) |
| Max. takeoff weight | 185,973 kg (410,000 lbs) |
| Powerplant | 6 × Pratt & Whitney R-4360-53 Wasp Major radial engines, plus 4 General Electric J47-19 turbojets |
| Maximum speed | 673 km/h (418 mph) |
| Operational range | 16,093 km (10,000 mi) |
| Endurance | 40 hours |
| Service ceiling | 13,289 m (43,599 ft) |
| Climb rate | 10.1 m/s (33.1 ft/s) |
The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" was a piston-engined strategic bomber built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command from 1948 to 1959. With 384 built, it remains the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft and holds the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft. Capable of intercontinental flight without refueling, it was the primary nuclear delivery vehicle of SAC until the B-52 became operational in 1955. It was never flown in combat.
Design work traces to early 1941, when the USAAC sought a bomber able to reach Europe from North America, requiring a combat range of at least 5,700 mi. The initial 11 April 1941 request specified 450 mph top speed and 12,000 mi range; on 19 August 1941 this was cut to 10,000 mi maximum range, a 4,000 mi combat radius with a 10,000 lb bomb load, and a 40,000 ft ceiling. Consolidated won the tender on 16 October 1941 against Boeing; the Model B-35 designation was changed to B-36 to avoid confusion with the Northrop YB-35. Development slowed as Consolidated prioritized B-24 production, and the 1942 move from San Diego to Fort Worth cost further months. The USAAF issued a letter of intent for 100 aircraft on 23 July 1943. The XB-36 first flew on 8 August 1946, followed by the YB-36 on 4 December 1947. Production ended in 1954.
Wing area was 4,772 sq ft, with a maximum wing thickness of 7.5 ft containing a crawlspace giving in-flight access to the engines. Power came from six 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radials in pusher configuration driving 19 ft three-bladed propellers; from the B-36D, four General Electric J47 turbojets in two underwing pods were added, for 10 engines total and 40,000 hp for short periods. The pusher layout placed carburettors ahead of the engines, causing icing and in-flight fires. Crew was 15, with forward and rear pressurized compartments linked by a trolley-equipped tunnel through the bomb bay. The XB-36's single-wheel main gear used the largest tires then built, 9 ft 2 in tall, later replaced by four-wheel bogies. The 1954 Featherweight programme removed turrets and rear-compartment equipment, cutting crew to nine and raising ceiling to at least 47,000 ft.
Four bomb bays carried up to 86,000 lb. The B-36 was the only carrier for the Mark 17 (25 ft long, 42,000 lb), Mark 14 and Mark 24 thermonuclear bombs, and also delivered the Mark 4, 5, 6 and 18 fission bombs and the Mark 15, 21, 36 and 39. It was the only aircraft able to carry the 43,600 lb T-12 Cloudmaker earthquake bomb. Defensive armament comprised six remote-controlled retractable turrets with 16 20 mm cannon; the B-36J-III retained only a radar-aimed tail turret with two M24A1 cannon.
B-36s stood ground and airborne alert and flew deterrence deployments to Britain and French Morocco. The 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Rapid City AFB received its first RB-36D on 3 June 1950, operational June 1951; RB-36s flew from RAF Sculthorpe over Novaya Zemlya and from Yokota AB with the 91st SRS over the Soviet Far East and Manchuria. The NB-36H flew 47 reactor-carrying test flights and 215 hours between 1955 and 1957. FICON produced 10 GRB-36Ds and 25 RF-84Ks, in limited service 1955–1956; the XF-85 Goblin and Tom-Tom wingtip-coupling trials were cancelled. Scrapping began in February 1956; 32 aircraft were written off in accidents, including Broken Arrow incidents on 13 February 1950 over British Columbia and 22 May 1957 at Kirtland AFB. The last B-36 flight took place on 30 April 1959.
The Convair XB-36 made its first flight at Fort Worth on August 8, 1946. Eight decades on, the ten-engined Peacemaker still holds the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built: 70 meters, 14 more than the B-52 that replaced it and 30 more than the incoming B-21 Raider.
