50 Years Ago - Final Flight of the B-36

Previously, I posted about the Graveyard for the Covair B-36 Bombers.  Feb 12, 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the last operational flight of a B-36.

I also found this video about the dismantling of the giant bombers:

Update - this was the last operational flight. B-36J AF Serial No. 52-2220, is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly The U.S. Air Force Museum) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. Its flight to the museum from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona on April  30, 1959 was the last flight of a B-36.

Graveyard of the B-36

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/