B-36 Peacemaker

The B-36 is the largest mass-produced piston-powered aircraft ever made. It was originally conceived during World War II as a bomber to attack Nazi-occupied Europe from bases in the U.S., should England fall to Germany. It took longer to develop, and didn't enter service until 1949.

It was designed at a time prior to aerial refueling, and possessed no such capability. Still, the B-36 had a 10,000 mile, unrefueled range and could stay aloft for 2 days straight.

One of the more unusual features of the B-36 was that it employed three pusher propellers on each wing. Later models were also fitted with a jet pod under each wing (the same model as on the B-47 bomber, although modified to use the same fuel as the piston engines). The jets were primarily used to assist during take-off, and were not used during typical operations. This combination of propellers and jets has led to the motto of "six turnin' and four burnin'".

Of the 385 B-26-type aircraft originally manufactured, only four survive in museums today. The Strategic Air & Space Museum is in the process of restoring their B-36 (SN 52-2217); on my visits, there were signs of recent activity by the restoration crew.

As of now, I have not yet sorted through all of my pictures of the B-36, but some other page references this location. Thus, this is a "place holder" version right now, with only the pictures actually referenced. Come back some time later to see if I've finished up, or drop me an email to request me to prioritize the rest of these pictures.