The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" was a interesting aircraft. It's huge size and combination of both pusher-prop and jet engines made it very distinctive.
B-29 and XB-36 size comparison
The B-36 fuselage was as 163 feet long, the wing span 230 feet and the tip of the rudder was 46 feet 10 inches off the ground. The largest combat aircraft ever built, the B-36 was the first bomber capable of delivering thermonuclear weapons and with a range of over 6,000 miles and a maximum payload of at least 72,000 lbs, the B-36 was the first operational bomber with an intercontinental range. The first XB-36 flight occured on August 8, 1946 and the last flight (a B-36J) flew from Davis-Monthan AFB near Tucson, Arizona to Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio on April 30, 1959.
Of the 325 that were built, only four have survived intact.
The Boneyard
At the Historic Aerials website, you can find images of the aircraft "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan AFB in 1958. By my count, there are 160 B-36 aircraft that are awaiting scrapping or are in the process of being cut up. There are 24 more south of this image link below, and two more on the north side of the base.
Link: B-36 Aircraft at Davis-Monthan AFB in 1958
Hundreds of B-29s, B-47s and other aircraft can also be seen stored at the facility.
For more information about the B-36, see http://www.b-36.net/
2 comments:
Cool! Pusher props would have been more popular if not for the invention of the jet engine. I have always loved the look of the Shinden.
I spent 3 yrs at Biggs AFB working on the 36 in post flight, gground crew and finally Crew Chief . was a great plane once you got It in the air. Was told it took 95 hours of maintenance for each hour of flight ( 195 3-1956).
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