https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-36_Peacemaker
The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" was a strategic bomber built by Convair and
operated solely by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1949 to 1959. The
B-36 was the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft ever built. It had
the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built, at 230 ft (70.1 m). The
B-36 was the first bomber capable of delivering any of the nuclear weapons in
the U.S. arsenal from inside its four bomb bays without aircraft modifications.
With a range of 10,000 mi (16,000 km) and a maximum payload of 87,200 lb (39,600
kg), the B-36 was capable of intercontinental flight without refuelling.
Entering service in 1948, the B-36 was the primary nuclear weapons delivery
vehicle of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) until it was replaced by the
jet-powered Boeing B-52 Stratofortress from 1955. All but five examples were
scrapped.
The B-36 set the standard for range and payload for subsequent U.S.
intercontinental bombers.
The genesis of the B-36 can be traced to early 1941, prior to the entry of the
United States into World War II. At the time it appeared there was a very real
chance that Britain might fall to the Nazi "Blitz", making a strategic bombing
effort by the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) against Germany impossible
with the aircraft of the time. The United States would need a new class of
bomber that could reach Europe from bases in North America, necessitating a
combat range of at least 5,700 miles (9,200 km), the length of a Gander,
intercontinental range, similar to the German RLM's ultra-long-range Amerika
Bomber program, which itself as a 33-page proposal was submitted to
Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering on May 12, 1942 at the RLM.
The USAAC sent out the initial request on 11 April 1941, asking for a 450 mph
(720 km/h) top speed, a 275 mph (443 km/h) cruising speed, a service ceiling of
45,000 ft (14,000 m), beyond the range of ground-based anti-aircraft fire, and a
maximum range of 12,000 miles (19,000 km) at 25,000 ft (7,600 m).[6] These
short-term design,[4] so on 19 August 1941 they were reduced to a maximum range
of 10,000 mi (16,000 km), an effective combat radius of 4,000 mi (6,400 km) with
a 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) bombload, a cruising speed between 240 and 300 mph (390
and 480 km/h), and a service ceiling of 40,000 ft (12,000 m),[3] above the
maximum effective altitude of all of Nazi Germany's anti-aircraft Flak guns,
save for the rarely deployed 12.8 cm FlaK 40 heavy Flak cannon.
Role
Strategic bomber
National origin
United States
Manufacturer
Convair
First flight
8 August 1946
Introduction
1949
Retired
12 February 1959
Primary user
United States Air Force
Produced
Number built
384
Unit cost
US$4.1 million (B-36D)
Variants
Convair XC-99
Convair NB-36H
Convair X-6
Developed into
Convair YB-60
As the Pacific war progressed, the air force increasingly needed a bomber
capable of reaching Japan from its bases in Hawaii, and the development of the
B-36 resumed in earnest. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, in discussions with
high-ranking officers of the USAAF, decided to waive normal army procurement
completion and testing of the two prototypes.
The first delivery was due in August 1945, and the last in October 1946, but
Consolidated (by this time renamed Convair) delayed delivery. The aircraft was
unveiled on 20 August 1945, and flew for the first time on 8 August 1946.
The B-36 was arguably obsolete from the outset, being piston-powered, coupled
with the widespread introduction of first generation jet fighters in potential
enemy air forces. But its jet rival, the Boeing B-47 Stratojet, which did not
become fully operational until 1953, lacked the range to attack the Soviet
homeland from North America without aerial refueling and could not carry the
huge first-generation Mark 16 hydrogen bomb. The other American piston bombers
of the day, the B-29 or B-50, were also severely limited in range and nuclear
arsenal.[11] Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) did not become
sufficiently reliable until the early 1960s. Until the Boeing B-52
Stratofortress became operational in 1955, the B-36, as the only truly
intercontinental bomber, continued to be the primary nuclear weapons delivery
vehicle of the Strategic Air Command (SAC).
Due to problems that occurred with the B-36 in its early stages of testing,
development and later in service, some critics referred to the aircraft as a
"billion-dollar blunder".[34] In particular, the United States Navy saw it as a
costly bungle, diverting congressional funding and interest from naval aviation
particular. In 1947, the Navy attacked congressional funding for the B-36,
alleging it failed to meet Pentagon requirements.
Specifications (B-36J-III)
General characteristics
Crew: 13
Length: 162 ft 1 in (49.42 m)
Wingspan: 230 ft 0 in (70.12 m)
Height: 46 ft 9 in (14.25 m)
Airfoil: NACA 63(420)-422 root, NACA 63(420)-517 tip[citation needed]
Empty weight: 166,165 lb (75,530 kg)
Loaded weight: 262,500 lb[74] (119,318 kg) (combat weight)
Max. takeoff weight: 410,000 lb (186,000 kg)
Performance
Maximum speed: 435 mph (363 knots, 672 km/h)
Cruise speed: 230 mph (200 knots, 370 km/h)
Combat radius: 3,985 mi (3,465 nmi,[74] 6,415 km)
Ferry range: 10,000 mi (8,700 nmi, 16,000 km)
Service ceiling: 43,600 ft (13,300 m)
Rate of climb: 1,995 ft/min (10.1m/s)
Armament
autocannons[74]
Bombs: 86,000 lb (39,000 kg) with weight restrictions, 72,000 lb (32,700 kg)
normal
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