The B-36 Peacemaker: The Absolute Unit that Carried America to Cold War

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Пікірлер: 452

  • @megaprojects9649
    @megaprojects96496 ай бұрын

    Thank you Squarespace for sponsoring this video. Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com/megaprojects for 10% off on your first purchase.

  • @robderich8533

    @robderich8533

    6 ай бұрын

    5:55 Small mistake: the aircraft in the picture are actually not Consolidated B-24 Liberators, but Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses.

  • @curquhart5637

    @curquhart5637

    6 ай бұрын

    747 Only needs 2 pilots since like... The 80s.

  • @cameronkehler9361
    @cameronkehler93616 ай бұрын

    The take-off scene in the Jimmy Stewart movie, Strategic Air Command is a beautiful cinematic scene involving a B-36 takeoff. Well worth the view!

  • @timmeinschein9007

    @timmeinschein9007

    6 ай бұрын

    Actually they rotated early, hence the long nose up run in the film. I wonder (now) if that was to deceive the USSR & PRC on how much runway it had to have...

  • @1001SHAD

    @1001SHAD

    6 ай бұрын

    I wondered how far I’d get in the comments before somebody mentioned Jimmy Stewart.

  • @mrz80

    @mrz80

    6 ай бұрын

    Stewart was actually qualified on the B-36, and outranked his character in the movie. :D

  • @fantabuloussnuffaluffagus

    @fantabuloussnuffaluffagus

    6 ай бұрын

    kzread.info/dash/bejne/a5-FlLpxZLO4prw.html - takeoff roll at 4:56.

  • @dougbennett8592

    @dougbennett8592

    6 ай бұрын

    @@mrz80 wasn't he a brigider general by then?

  • @FighterOperationsGroupFOG
    @FighterOperationsGroupFOG6 ай бұрын

    "Strategic air command" is a cool movie featuring the B-36 if anyone is interested.

  • @FighterOperationsGroupFOG

    @FighterOperationsGroupFOG

    6 ай бұрын

    kzread.info/dash/bejne/oJeu0LRup6nWptY.htmlsi=Ao6VFwOXE8NtqfJw

  • @theronhatfield8854
    @theronhatfield88546 ай бұрын

    It actually wasn't ever nuclear powered. It just carried a running reactor while it was flying.

  • @WardenWolf

    @WardenWolf

    6 ай бұрын

    Right. They figured out that the weight of a sufficiently-sized nuclear reactor would be way too heavy, not to mention the risk from it crashing.

  • @RobertCraft-re5sf

    @RobertCraft-re5sf

    6 ай бұрын

    This guy doesn't write his own scripts or do any research. He's just some actor.

  • @dannyseo6759

    @dannyseo6759

    6 ай бұрын

    @@RobertCraft-re5sf The writer is Evan Moloney. I did your research for you!!!!

  • @ahseaton8353

    @ahseaton8353

    6 ай бұрын

    It wasn't just the reactor. All the lead shielding needed to keep the crew alive added up to more than the regular bomb load. Even then, the test YB-36N still had the old piston and jet engines. The test reactors are still sitting across the parking lot from the publically accessable EBR-1 reactor in Idaho.

  • @buckfutter99

    @buckfutter99

    6 ай бұрын

    @@RobertCraft-re5sfyou ever heard of a narrator?

  • @MrRandomcommentguy
    @MrRandomcommentguy6 ай бұрын

    The official motto was "Six turning, four burning" but this was modified by most crews to the more accurate "Two turning, two burning, two smoking, two choking and two more unaccounted for."

  • @jpheitman1

    @jpheitman1

    6 ай бұрын

    15:38

  • @ChefRaekwon420

    @ChefRaekwon420

    6 ай бұрын

    Yes…..as he said in the video.

  • @nicholashowie2829

    @nicholashowie2829

    5 ай бұрын

    #usernamechecksout

  • @ayeeequanpsn5896

    @ayeeequanpsn5896

    4 ай бұрын

    ​​@@nicholashowie2829 Lmfaoooo 🤣🤣🤣😭😭💀

  • @JamieR2077

    @JamieR2077

    4 ай бұрын

    Ones of the best aviation quotes of all time

  • @dmacpher
    @dmacpher6 ай бұрын

    I’m surprised “Six turning and four burning” isn’t Snoops motto TBH

  • @scottmeredith3359

    @scottmeredith3359

    6 ай бұрын

    Not any more lol. Ironically, I read that he made a funeral-esque statement last weekend that he had to “give up smoke” 🤔

  • @dmacpher

    @dmacpher

    6 ай бұрын

    @@scottmeredith3359 haha yeah and endorsed a smokeless camp stove. Was hilarious

  • @y0sarian

    @y0sarian

    6 ай бұрын

    @@scottmeredith3359he already took it back. Also it kinda is his motto since he has a team rolling while there’s several in rotation lol

  • @Watchmedome3017

    @Watchmedome3017

    6 ай бұрын

    😂😂

  • @dmacpher

    @dmacpher

    6 ай бұрын

    @@y0sarian exactly lol

  • @robertpearson8798
    @robertpearson87986 ай бұрын

    I’ve always thought of this plane as one of the many stop-gap aircraft that were useful for a relatively short period of time in the couple of decades following World War II when aircraft development was advancing at such a rapid pace.

  • @lorensims4846
    @lorensims48466 ай бұрын

    When I was a kid, this was the plane that really impressed me. It was probably the pusher props in combination with outrigger jet engines that caught my imagination. That Jimmy Stewart movie "Strategic Air Command" features this plane along with a crash. This one really held my attention... ...Until the introduction of the Boeing 747.

  • @cascadianrangers728

    @cascadianrangers728

    6 ай бұрын

    747 is an amazing aircraft and the coolest part is anybody can take a ride on a 747 and a lot of people may even have flown in a couple different 747s and not ever noticed

  • @davidwright7193

    @davidwright7193

    6 ай бұрын

    A crash was very much a feature of this aircraft

  • @bryangonzalez1398
    @bryangonzalez13986 ай бұрын

    So happy you covered this monster of a bomber. I used to be an educator at the Strategic Air Command museum in Ashland Nebraska which has one of the four remaining B36. One of my favorite memories was getting to travel on the sled in the tunnel. Only problem was when they moved the plane into the museum they had to cut it in half and reassemble it just to fit it inside. When they did reassemble it though, the tunnel was misaligned so you can only go halfway down the tunnel on the sled before crawling the rest of the way. They also have the XF-85 goblin, the small fighter plane that could fit inside the peacemaker right next to it and showing just how massive the 36 is.

  • @dianapennepacker6854

    @dianapennepacker6854

    6 ай бұрын

    Before finishing the video I was going to be like, "It is big. Yet I bet half of it isn't even used for payload." Nope. It isn't like that at all. I'm not sure how big the bay id though. I will never see the walk through of a B 17, and you walk past the bomb bay, and it is SO SMALL. Like you have all this space for gunners, pilotd, and radio operators. Much more then what I expected. Except the ball gunner. Poor bsstsrds. Anyway wish I could see this in real life.

  • @Keethraxmn

    @Keethraxmn

    6 ай бұрын

    I've seen the on in NE (as well as the one at Wright-Patterson). Building Peacemaker + Goblin has been on my list of dream model projects. But to do the goblin justice means a *huge* Peacemaker. I might have to settle for doing both at 1:144 to get the relative scale, and then a bigger "zoomed in" goblin next to the pair. Since even at 1:72, the peacemaker is uncomfortably large for someone like me who lives in a one room loft. Sidenote: In the 50s there was a model kit put out by Eureka Hobby of the Peacemaker at 1 : 24!

  • @gordtulk

    @gordtulk

    4 ай бұрын

    Been there. Fabulous place.

  • @jerrywatson1958
    @jerrywatson19586 ай бұрын

    You do great short documentaries. I did not know this. I was born in '59 and it was all rockets and B-52's for me as a kid. Thanks for all you and your teams hard work.

  • @zaco-km3su

    @zaco-km3su

    6 ай бұрын

    B-52s.

  • @murrayscott9546

    @murrayscott9546

    6 ай бұрын

    ​@@zaco-km3suBee-hive doo's !

  • @zaco-km3su

    @zaco-km3su

    6 ай бұрын

    @@murrayscott9546 You mean dos. Learn English.

  • @wonkywaddlingwaterwingedwriter
    @wonkywaddlingwaterwingedwriter6 ай бұрын

    I was confused by that ADR edit when it cut out and explained the bombers engines but I do appreciate the cat. Thank you for that cat.

  • @nriqueog
    @nriqueog6 ай бұрын

    The B-36 had a staring role in the 1955 movie Strategic Air Command with Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson.

  • @JohnnySmithWhite-wd4ey
    @JohnnySmithWhite-wd4ey6 ай бұрын

    It was my honor to meet and befriend an Air Force retiree. He was a crew member on the RB 36, the recon version of the Peacekeeper. He still couldn't say what their missions were or where they flew.

  • @michaelwhalen2442
    @michaelwhalen24426 ай бұрын

    Simon, those planes shown starting at about 12:16 are not Goblins. They are various models of the F-84 Thunderstreak. The Goblin was a much smaller, HIGHLY distinctive looking aircraft.

  • @HildegardActual

    @HildegardActual

    6 ай бұрын

    Distinctive, one might say ugly lol. They have one at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, I've seen it's an ugly duck for sure.

  • @Cemi_Mhikku

    @Cemi_Mhikku

    6 ай бұрын

    The goblin looks like a booger with smashed paper airplane bits sticking off it.

  • @erlinghaaland8046

    @erlinghaaland8046

    18 күн бұрын

    Yup the fat little beer can is with a B-36 at the SAC Museaum

  • @shenmisheshou7002
    @shenmisheshou70026 ай бұрын

    I used to think that the B-36 was an anachronism, a propeller plane in the jet age. Reading the book _Magnesium Overcast_ was an epiphany for me. The first and only time I saw one was at the Air Force Museum, and I was not preprepared for the visual impact. It is huge. Now it was on piers which might have given it a bit more physical presence, but this did allow you to walk under it an peer into the bomb bays, and it was shocking to see how large they were. I went from being disinterested to being a major fan and the book is the second best dedicated aircraft book I have ever read, second only to a book on the XB-70, which remains the very, very best book on a specific airplane I have ever read.

  • @florianscholz2566

    @florianscholz2566

    5 ай бұрын

    What book about XBー70 do you mean?

  • @ColKorn1965
    @ColKorn19656 ай бұрын

    This is the plane my father worked on when he was in SAC 1951-1955😊 It was his favorite plane of all time

  • @dustinshadle732
    @dustinshadle7326 ай бұрын

    I've seen one in person. All open underneath and on display in Ashland Nebraska. Amazing plane. Cool seeing the blackbird greet you just inside the entrance.

  • @Shaun_Jones

    @Shaun_Jones

    6 ай бұрын

    One also completely dominates one of the hangers of the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. And this is a hanger that it shares with several dozen other aircraft, including a B2 Spirit, a B1B Lancer, an SR71, and an AC130.

  • @capndave9152
    @capndave91526 ай бұрын

    When you mentioned the Xf- 85 goblin you showed photos of the f-84f.

  • @ronboe6325
    @ronboe63256 ай бұрын

    Having seen the one on display at Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, "behemoth" might be a bit of understatement. It dwarfs the B-52, and anything else on display (Looks like they got a C-5 Galaxy - that would be an interesting comparison and the Boeing 787 Dreamline, which I've seen but it's on display on the other side of the property). It's simply damn big.

  • @AlasdairGreig

    @AlasdairGreig

    6 ай бұрын

    I visited Pima recently, and the 787 has been moved closer to where the B-36 is, and you are right about it making the B-52 look small

  • @Britcarjunkie

    @Britcarjunkie

    6 ай бұрын

    @@AlasdairGreig Actually, the B-52 IS small: it just has a large wing area. A 747 dwarfs a B-52.

  • @ace_trace_2237

    @ace_trace_2237

    6 ай бұрын

    A B-52 is slightly larger than a 737

  • @Britcarjunkie

    @Britcarjunkie

    6 ай бұрын

    @@ace_trace_2237 Yes, it is, but I said 747, not 737. The B-52 fuselage is very narrow, like, I don't know if it's even 6' wide.

  • @toddmcclellan979

    @toddmcclellan979

    6 ай бұрын

    There's one in Ohio at Wright Patterson AFB museum. The original landing gear wheels were 10' tall!!!

  • @DeetexSeraphine
    @DeetexSeraphine6 ай бұрын

    Many people already fail to comprehend just how big the B-29 was... imagine the superfortress being utterly dwarfed by that nuclear Uberchad.

  • @2IDSGT
    @2IDSGT6 ай бұрын

    As a kid, that tunnel connecting compartments looked super dope when watching SAC with Jimmy Stewart.

  • @Tool-Meister
    @Tool-Meister2 ай бұрын

    I had the pleasure of sitting in the pilot’s seat during a tour of a maintenance training B47 at Lowery AFB Denver. I was a Boy Scout and we didn’t fully understand this was a full-on 1960’s recruiting event. BTW, at this time, Lowery AFB was the home of the Air Force Academy. The food was awesome! We were treated like Royalty. I made this trip twice in 3 years. Due to health issues, I wasn’t eligible for service. I was crushed. My cousin on the other hand enlisted after college and retired full colonel.

  • @ARGONUAT
    @ARGONUAT6 ай бұрын

    The ULTIMATE Heavy Heavy! Except for the Big Belly variant of the B-52D, this was General Curtis LeMay’s SAC big stick.

  • @dwaynne_way
    @dwaynne_way6 ай бұрын

    Simon I was to personally say thank you for the work you do, I am Autistic and also have ADHD and as such I'm a visual learner. I am always fascinated by history of warfare and more recently have startled looking at space exploration. Your videos are informative and have helped me learn a lot. So thanks again.

  • @BallisticDamages
    @BallisticDamages6 ай бұрын

    I visited the accident site in Newfoundland just over a year ago. Getting to the top of the mountain and seeing the wreckage of the plane still littering the landscape is wild. Took lots of pictures of the wreckage, but had no idea it was such a unique aircraft.

  • @gordtulk

    @gordtulk

    4 ай бұрын

    Sadly a B-29 that was dispatched from stephenville to search for the crash site itself crashed in St. George’s bay shortly after taking off.

  • @SteveLowden

    @SteveLowden

    4 ай бұрын

    I have visited the site as well. It’s too bad it isn’t better known.

  • @AtheistOrphan
    @AtheistOrphan6 ай бұрын

    The retractable turrets look SO cool in operation!

  • @rovercoupe7104
    @rovercoupe71046 ай бұрын

    Lovely to hear the name of Short Stirling. M.

  • @ronjon7942
    @ronjon79426 ай бұрын

    Wow, I guess I never considered how close the unveiling and first flight was to the end of the war. The B-36 must’ve just stunned everyone, especially when seeing it next to the B-29.

  • @michaelglinski3809

    @michaelglinski3809

    6 ай бұрын

    It probably could've been done before the war was over, but development kind of waxed and waned depending on the status of the war at the time. It was a plane required if Great Britain fell. Since it didn't, work on the B-36 went to the back burner.

  • @josephlannert969
    @josephlannert9696 ай бұрын

    Asked for this one a long time ago and it was well worth the wait! My late grandfather flew B52s and each time i went to the National Museum of the USAF i would pay a visit to their B52 out of respect to him and then just gawk in amazement at the sheer size of the B36 right next to it! Always loved both of these incredible aircraft!

  • @galbert117
    @galbert1176 ай бұрын

    Saw one at the Air Force Museum in Ohio. Beautiful looking plane.

  • @synthfreakify

    @synthfreakify

    6 ай бұрын

    Did you see the Mark 14 thermonuclear bomb next to it? 😀

  • @crimfan
    @crimfan6 ай бұрын

    I've seen the one (only one?) at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum. It's absolutely insane how big it is.

  • @murrayscott9546

    @murrayscott9546

    6 ай бұрын

    Bet it is.

  • @Paleorunner2

    @Paleorunner2

    6 ай бұрын

    There are a few more around. One is actually in a barn. It was to big to move when the Museum was relocated to the other side of the base. They got another one from somewhere and were going to scrap the first one but someone bought it and put it in his, very large, barn.

  • @JustaPilot1
    @JustaPilot16 ай бұрын

    The NB -36H was never powered by the reactor. It was used to test the feasibility of carrying a reactor in an aircraft. It was still powered by avgas and JP.

  • @Canthus13
    @Canthus136 ай бұрын

    What blows my mind is that 3 F-15EXs can carry more ordnance than a B-36 could. It's truly insane how far we've come, both in terms of aerospace engineering and sheer, horrifying destructive ability.

  • @nzkshatriya6298

    @nzkshatriya6298

    6 ай бұрын

    yes 3 aircraft that cost more than this one

  • @Canthus13

    @Canthus13

    6 ай бұрын

    @@nzkshatriya6298 True, but when you consider the 3.6 million dollar price tag in 1952 is equal to 44 million today, it's not nearly as bad as it seems. That B-36 couldn't maneuver, had no radar, and it's self defense capability was limited to a few machine guns.

  • @redred222

    @redred222

    6 ай бұрын

    @@Canthus13 yes but this thing was feared by the soviets this kept war from happening and kept people from dying in nuke hell i think it did a good job being a peacemaker

  • @coreyandnathanielchartier3749

    @coreyandnathanielchartier3749

    6 ай бұрын

    A completely pointless comparison. Your second post is even more ludicrous.

  • @stevenmcgee9588

    @stevenmcgee9588

    6 ай бұрын

    @@Canthus13 1 strategic bomber can carry far more small bombs in a conventional role. Also they stay on station far longer and fly far further then the F-15EX can. Modern strategic bombers like B-1 and B-2 also have significantly smaller radar cross section then one let alone three F-15EX’s. The F-15EX is an amazing aircraft but the comparison makes no sense since they have different roles, and also at max ordnance the B-1 would be faster at operational altitude on top of all other advantages. That much weight would almost never be carried in combat by an F-15EX anyway.

  • @showaltermicro
    @showaltermicro6 ай бұрын

    My dad was on one at Thule AFB and was part of Project Ice worm .

  • @MarkS-qp6pz
    @MarkS-qp6pz6 ай бұрын

    I knew a B36 pilot. He told me it had reliability issues. At high altitudes, oil would leak from the engines, run down the propeller blades, and freeze. Then, the frozen balls of oil would break off and shoot through the fuselage. The crew had to stay away from that area. If a B36 crashed, it would burn quickly because it was made from magnesium. There was a concern that if a B36 dropped a nuclear bomb, it would be destroyed by the bomb. He told me the tactic would be to dive before the target to get airspeed up, then climb, release then bomb while climbing so the bomb would continue to gain altitude, and then turn for home. The nukes had a parachute to slow their descent, and hopefully, the bomber would be far enough away that it wouldn't be destroyed. He did say it was a great aircraft, and it scared the Soviets. Some critics may say it wasn't a good strategic bomber. But remember, the best weapon is the one that is never used. Deterence is the best defence. The pilot I knew flew in the Berlin Airlift, then B36s, and finished his career in B52 bombers. He had great stories, including secret missions over China in B52s. All cities in the Soviet Union had two intercontinental balistic missles and one B52 assigned to destroy them. The pilot I knew asked his superior what to do if he got to his target city, and it was already destroyed. The answer was, bomb it again.... war with the Soviet Union would have been a war of annihilation. Watch Strategic Air Command with Jimmy Stuart, a great B36 movie. And Dr Strangelove with Peter Sellers and George C Scott. Amazing movie about nuclear annihilation.

  • @ronjon7942

    @ronjon7942

    6 ай бұрын

    This is great!

  • @MarkS-qp6pz

    @MarkS-qp6pz

    6 ай бұрын

    @ronjon7942 Thank you. Im glad I could tell his story.

  • @AVhistorybuff

    @AVhistorybuff

    6 ай бұрын

    Frozen balls of oil did penetrate a few B-36s. They thawed inside the airplane and made a terrible mess.

  • @MarkS-qp6pz

    @MarkS-qp6pz

    6 ай бұрын

    @AVhistorybuff I can imagine that would be no fun to clean up! I feel bad for the poor airman who got tasked with that job!

  • @EricIrl
    @EricIrl6 ай бұрын

    The aircraft shown dropping from the bomb bay is not an XF-85 Goblin but a version of the Republic F-84. Experiments were also carried out with various versions of the F-84 as potential parasite fighters or reconnaissance aircraft.

  • @AVhistorybuff

    @AVhistorybuff

    6 ай бұрын

    The RF-84 was NOT a defensive fighter. It was the bomb delivery vehicle that allowed the slow B-36 to loiter safely away from the target area to retrieve the RF-84 after it unleashed hell on its target.

  • @EricIrl

    @EricIrl

    6 ай бұрын

    @@AVhistorybuff Forsn’t the “R” in the designation meant it was a reconnaissance aircraft?

  • @AVhistorybuff

    @AVhistorybuff

    6 ай бұрын

    That is correct. Due to deployment by the Russians of SAM sites a B-36 could no longer approach a target with impunity. The F and RF-84s could, however, approach a target for either recon or bombing by flying at near-ground level to either a) recon or b) climbing steeply and lobbing a small nuke after which it would quickly dive to low levels and escape defenses and the blast. @@EricIrl

  • @iloveblood51789
    @iloveblood517896 ай бұрын

    I would love it if u cover the super carrier

  • @biodude147
    @biodude1476 ай бұрын

    I saw this behemoth at the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH. And let me tell you, the specs are one thing. But standing underneath it really shows just how big it really is.

  • @mygiftmatters
    @mygiftmattersАй бұрын

    Thanks for the upload. 😊 FYI: You showed a B-29 as a B-50, which was basically an updated 29 with superior engines that were less prone to fires. The B-54 shortly after was basically a bulkier improved B-50 but was canceled in favor of the B-36 Peacemaker.

  • @Jayjay-qe6um
    @Jayjay-qe6um6 ай бұрын

    The Convair B-36 featured prominently in Paramount's 1955 film Strategic Air Command starring James Stewart, who plays a World War II bomber pilot and member of the Air Force Reserve and is forced to crash land in the Arctic. The film features many good aerial shots of B-36s and was primarily filmed at Carswell AFB, Texas, and MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, and Al Lang Field in nearby St. Petersburg, Florida. One particularly difficult shot was that of Stewart's character, a baseball player, standing on the baseball field at Al Lang Field while a B-36 flies overhead and casts a shadow over him, foreshadowing his imminent recall to active service.

  • @tylerchrist3249
    @tylerchrist32496 ай бұрын

    So can we get the editors to not do unnecessary radio voice distortions over Simon? It just makes it difficult to hear what he's saying in that moment and I care more about what he is saying than the videography provided.

  • @Tauridballistics
    @Tauridballistics6 ай бұрын

    Showed a B17 when referencing the B24.

  • @Specops915
    @Specops9156 ай бұрын

    On December 11, 1953, a B-36D crashed into the Franklin mountains in El Paso, Texas. All nine lives on board were lost. Someone took a picture of it flying low over the city, moments before if crashed into the mountains during a blizzard. You can hike there and visit the site to see the remains of the plane. There is a huge engine and landing gear still there. The engine has remarkable craftsmanship, it's crazy that it was built in the 50's.

  • @user-ve4sm8cb9c
    @user-ve4sm8cb9c6 ай бұрын

    AWESOME! Thank you!

  • @jayvhoncalma3458
    @jayvhoncalma34586 ай бұрын

    0:56 Grandpa Buff's Dad

  • @Gav_Jam
    @Gav_Jam6 ай бұрын

    That was a good one, cheers megaprojects team

  • @alanm.4298
    @alanm.42986 ай бұрын

    My dad was a USAF pilot and flight instructor. He enlisted in the USAAF in 1943 and his first assignment was as a co-pilot on B29s flying out of Saipan. After WWII ended he mustered out and returned home, but was invited back to the newly formed USAF around 1947. While much of his time was again in B29s, KB29s (refueling tanker variant), B50s (and their tanker variant), he was occasionally called upon to fly other multi-engine aircraft, incl. occasional B36. He and a crew were sent to N. Africa (Egypt) to retrieve a B36 in need of repairs. He said that unladen it was able to take off relatively easily with only six of its ten engines operational. But I doubt dad would have ever gone all the way through a 600 point checklist before takeoff! In fact, he was a popular pilot flying the KB29s out of England in the late 1950s because... besides a quick walk around and engine start & warmup procedures... he would "do" the check list during the takeoff roll down the runway! The reason was the sooner they got airborne and arrived on station up by the Finland border with Russia, the sooner they could come home. The refueling tankers were simply assigned to fly figure 8 patterns, ready to gas up any of the planes on patrol, for eight hours. So if they got on station 20 or 30 minutes earlier, they could return home that much sooner. Tankers were kept aloft 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It was the height of the cold war. Sometimes out of sheer boredom they would "poke the bear"... "accidentally" drifting over the border to try to cause Russian fighters to scramble. BTW, another nickname for the B36 was the "flying pencil" due to the long cylindrical fuselage. A third nickname was more vulgar, referencing part of the male anatomy.

  • @ThePhoenix198

    @ThePhoenix198

    6 ай бұрын

    "Flying prostate"?

  • @joknaepkens
    @joknaepkens6 ай бұрын

    A Combat Range of 4000 Miles is not enough to fly to Berlin and back. The closest airforce base in the US was Loring (Maine) and it was almost 3500 Miles from there to Berlin. If 4000 refers to the Combat Radius, then yeah, it could.

  • @blueskiestrevor5200
    @blueskiestrevor52006 ай бұрын

    Credit to you for actually getting a correct image of the airplane for once on the thumbnail.

  • @nicklovell5872

    @nicklovell5872

    6 ай бұрын

    Shame they then blew it by showing a montage of B-17 Flying Fortresses with the on screen caption "B-24 Liberator"...

  • @garyb9167
    @garyb91676 ай бұрын

    If you haven't done a megaprojects on the proposed super carrier please do, and if you have, please re post as it sounds like an interesting video.

  • @aaronwells6608
    @aaronwells66086 ай бұрын

    My grandfather was a pilot in the USAF and flew this thing extensively. He described it as a (poorly) flying dump truck. He used to fly from Fairchild to Guam with regularity...they had to make an emergency landing at Wake Island one time....that plane must have been a sight to see at such a tiny little speck of an airfield in the middle of the pacific.

  • @stevegird7706
    @stevegird77066 ай бұрын

    It's unofficial slogan "2 turning, 2 burning, 2 choking, 2 smoking, and 2 more unaccounted for".

  • @sultanabran1
    @sultanabran16 ай бұрын

    love your videos

  • @EricCoop
    @EricCoop2 ай бұрын

    The NB-36H was never actually powered by a reactor. They just modified an existing plane with a reactor to test the radiation issues. The plane had a heavy lead-shielded cockpit, 11-inch leaded glass windows, and many flights running the reactor for experimentation. The next step was to use the reactor to provide the heat source for jet engines. The Soviets did a similar experiment with a modified TU-95, but it was the TU-116. They tested for radiation concerns but never developed a nuke-powered plane. The nuke-powered plane was to be the X-6.

  • @martykarr7058

    @martykarr7058

    11 күн бұрын

    Eventually, the nuclear powered bomber concept became the nuclear powered cruise missile, essentially the bomber without people on board, called "Project Pluto" They got as far as developing prototype jet engines, but ICBM accuracy and reliability increased and cost less than Project Pluto airframes would have. And it would have remained just another one of those crazy Cold War experiments that went nowhere, until recently, when the Russians decided to do their version of Pluto, along with a submarine version carrying a Tsar Bomba yield weapon.

  • @dozer158
    @dozer1586 ай бұрын

    Strategic Air Command, what a legend.

  • @scottmeredith3359

    @scottmeredith3359

    6 ай бұрын

    You definitely didn’t want the SAC coming down on you, much like a tea ba… well, never mind 😂

  • @scottlawton9459
    @scottlawton94596 ай бұрын

    I’ve seen one in person at Castle Museum. Massive, massive plane. Just saw her yesterday, and you don’t fully understand how big she is until you’re right next to her. Her tires are about 5 feet tall, by the way.

  • @adamwade4764
    @adamwade47646 ай бұрын

    the story of the B36 I heard is different from what you said: there never was a proposal to use the B36 off super carriers: In the late 1940s, there were not enough nuclear bombs to equip both the Navy and the Air Force- the Air Force proposed to us the B36 as the main delivery platform, while the Navy proposed smaller airplanes operating off of a new generation of super carriers (USS America) One navy pilot actually offered to shot down a B36 to prove it couldn't get thru Soviet air defenses. The Air Force eventually won when some nuclear tests indicated that the navy's carries could not survive a nuclear blast.

  • @jacksons1010

    @jacksons1010

    6 ай бұрын

    The proposed supercarrier was named _USS United States_ (CV-58).

  • @gort8203

    @gort8203

    6 ай бұрын

    "there never was a proposal to use the B36 off super carriers" If the video actually said it's absurd on its face. You are correct that the Navy felt threaten by the domination of the Air Force in the strategic nuclear arena and wanted to get in on the game. They proposed various idea such a nuclear armed seaplanes in addition to delivering nuclear bombs off aircraft carriers, but certainly not with the B-36. This channel typically as a weak grasp on the aircraft it covers in videos.

  • @magnificentfailure2390
    @magnificentfailure23906 ай бұрын

    I grew up just outside the front gates of Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona. Peacemakers were all over the storage area when I was a kid. They were amazing. There's one at the Pima Air and Space Museum just south of D-M. It's amazing.

  • @ConcertGuy69
    @ConcertGuy696 ай бұрын

    I visited the crash site in Newfoundland 2 years ago, 30min hike from the logging road, most of the wreck is still there covering a very large area, with a memorial at the peak If you find yourself on The Rock be sure to make the time to see it

  • @mdot2703
    @mdot27032 ай бұрын

    B-36 crew members told of the extremely long fuselage wiggling back and forth during flight, which they could see when using one of the domed observation windows.

  • @brucebennett5759

    @brucebennett5759

    15 күн бұрын

    WOW!!! Instead of "The Big Stick", it was "The Big Noodle." 😅 It's so big, maybe each end was just in different weather systems.

  • @collingalbraith4343
    @collingalbraith43436 ай бұрын

    16:46 that mig says us airforce…. I love America

  • @Jacob-fv6co
    @Jacob-fv6co6 ай бұрын

    Simon casually referencing a never-built supercarrier, knowing full well that we'll want that video next.

  • @ypaulbrown
    @ypaulbrown6 ай бұрын

    Wonderful Simon, I saw a B-36 fly overhead in Orlando, Florida , USA headed to the Pine Castle AFB, I knew exactly what it was, as my father had put a framed photo of one on my bedroom wall.....I later saw the same Air Force photo on a wall in the movie 'Stragic Air Command' with Jimmy Stewart......for a 5 year old, seeing that plane was impressive......cheers, Paul in Orlando.... p.s. your programs are always top notch....

  • @coadypurchase923
    @coadypurchase9236 ай бұрын

    Great video team

  • @martykarr7058
    @martykarr705811 күн бұрын

    Funny you should mention about being able to carry a dismembered B-17 in the bomb bay. If you look, there are pictures of a B-36 ferrying a B-58 airframe partially tucked into the bomb bays.

  • @andya6008
    @andya60086 ай бұрын

    For many that were stationed at the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois may recall seeing a B-36 on display as you marched past it on your way to and from class. While I was attending tech school at Chanute in the mid 80s our group would seek shelter from the sun under this massive planes wings during PT. The plane that was on display at Chanute is the same one that is now on display at Castle Air Museum in CA. Besides this plane, Chanute had a vast display of aircraft. When the base was closed a museum was opened in the old missiles training hanger and was very well outfitted, including an open B-52 cockpit. The museum hosted several scouting events. Unfortunately the museum has also closed.

  • @wa1ufo
    @wa1ufo6 ай бұрын

    In 55 one flew over my driveway where my father and I were standing. I was very young and it may have been no higher than 2000 feet if that. Since I used to live near Cape Kennedy I have heard and seen big rockets take off. But the B36 sound was totally different and almost menacing. I have heard nothing like it since!

  • @fishbike9103

    @fishbike9103

    6 ай бұрын

    I’m 74, and clearly remember living in Denver when I was very young, circa 1954 and 1955 . Groups of multiple B-36s would fly over almost directly overhead at high altitude, with 168 cylinders popping in each (6 X 28), and I was a thoroughly impressed with the amazing sound as a little kid. Presumably they were flying out of Texas to buzz Siberia and come back.

  • @weldonwin
    @weldonwin6 ай бұрын

    9:00 Not going to lie, those pop-out deployable turrets look awesome

  • @eaphantom9214
    @eaphantom92146 ай бұрын

    0:53 - Never herd of this plane, 😮 Ah. Always love a Megaprojects on Vehicles, my fav!

  • @Sta_cotto
    @Sta_cotto6 ай бұрын

    Used to go to the SAC Museum as a kid, seeing one of these opened up from beneath was an experience.

  • @mohammedsaysrashid3587
    @mohammedsaysrashid35876 ай бұрын

    It was an informative and wonderful historical coverage video about a US designed (Peace Maker) B-36 bomber .designed during WW2 and served western hemispheres during the early years of the Cold War channel

  • @normmcrae1140
    @normmcrae11406 ай бұрын

    LOVE TO SEE (at 5:24) RCAF Air Marshall Sir William Avery (Billy) Bishop of WW1 fame! I have no idea why, but happy to see him! Not sure if it's still there - but there used to be a B-36 Nose Hangar at the south end of the airfield at CFB Edmonton (formerly RCAF Station Namao).

  • @McPh1741
    @McPh17416 ай бұрын

    They had one of these on static display on Chanute AB, Illinois when I lived there as a kid. I was there when the base was closing. I remember watching them tow it to the flight line so it could be dismantled and taken by train to California. I wonder if it is one of the remaining 4. My dad and I went out to the flight late one day after everybody left and poked our heads up inside. It was massive. There’s a tunnel leading from the forward compartment, across the top of the bomb bay to the rear compartment. You have to lay down on this trolley that roles through it.

  • @gunnardannehl372
    @gunnardannehl3726 ай бұрын

    Thanks for the wrap up on this really special plane. Just one remark, the experimental nuclear reactor in the NB-36 was only brought to criticality in flight and produced heat. It did not power the plane, this was still done by the conventional 10 (wow - ten!) powerplants.

  • @Driveby-Viktum
    @Driveby-Viktum6 ай бұрын

    Can you do an article on the USS United States? It seems like a great ( if fictitious) Megaproject video!

  • @andrewlehtola3881
    @andrewlehtola38816 ай бұрын

    Carswell AFB used to have one of these in their boneyard. Very impressive!

  • @360gradenpanoramafotografi7
    @360gradenpanoramafotografi76 ай бұрын

    The first versions of the B-36 did not yet have the four jet engines. The B-36D version was the first model with four jet engines. Afterwards, all other existing versions also received these four engines.

  • @user-wg8mi8dd4c
    @user-wg8mi8dd4c6 ай бұрын

    When I was a child these flew over our house often. We lived between Dallas and Ft. worth in the country at that time. I was 7 years old in 1955 so remember well. Especially the low frequency buzz that rattled things, even when passing over at 10,000+. My X father in law was an engineer at the plant about that time and made several test fly along trips. Said usual shake down was Ft. Worth, Alaska and back. Don’t recall the number but that service ceiling per him was well above 45,000’.

  • @jcheck1107
    @jcheck11076 ай бұрын

    When I saw this video on my KZread app the time covered up the a and the n in titan. So I clicked on it anyways because sure Simon has to tie it all together

  • @the7thgymleader
    @the7thgymleader6 ай бұрын

    Can you do one on the XB-19 next please !

  • @AVhistorybuff

    @AVhistorybuff

    5 ай бұрын

    I second the request! The XB-19 was a 1930s experiment that led to the final B-36 design.

  • @Jim-ic2of
    @Jim-ic2of6 ай бұрын

    Peace Maker . Never fired a weapon in anger . That's the best kind of weapon to ever be made .😊😊

  • @brianwillson3565
    @brianwillson35656 ай бұрын

    The B-36 was never meant, nor would it have been possible to launch such a large plane from the United States-class super carriers. Being a USAF project the B-36 was in fact a direct competitor to the United States-class in the role of a nuclear deterrent, and was one of the reasons the ships were canceled.

  • @stunninglynormal1261
    @stunninglynormal12616 ай бұрын

    Fun B-36 fact. The J-47 engines mounted on each wing were actually the Boeing design used on the B-47 bomber.

  • @murrayscott9546

    @murrayscott9546

    6 ай бұрын

    Fact : maybe. Fun? : I dunno.

  • @EricIrl

    @EricIrl

    6 ай бұрын

    @@murrayscott9546 Not fun and not a fact. The J-47 were USEDon the B-47, but weren't BUILT by Boeing. They were made by Pratt and Whitney.

  • @rixxroxxk1620
    @rixxroxxk16206 ай бұрын

    At WPAFM, they also have the original landing gear configuration, which was a single tire on the rear landing gear struts. That tire had to be 12’ in diameter. Can’t remember the specs, but ultimately it was decided to use a multi tire bogey as it was much safer and more cost effective.

  • @brucebennett5759

    @brucebennett5759

    15 күн бұрын

    I think there is a YT documentary about the B-36 development that that the single tire main gear would damage (crush) runways/taxiways/ramps if they landed anywhere that hadn't been reinforced for that much pressure (weight/surface area). The multi tire system spread that pressure, solved a lot of problems, and has payed off for the industry ever since. Or I misunderstood the show and am completely full of prop wash.)

  • @hughbarton5743
    @hughbarton57436 ай бұрын

    It would seem that history will come to recognize that this amazing piece of machinery was correctly named. It was, admittedly, peace you agree to when a gun is aimed at you, an uneasy peace, but the red ball never dropped during this mighty craft's service. You have to think that the powers that were in the USSR had a meeting, drank some vodka, and wisely decided that trying their luck vs.SAC , the USAF, the USN, and the US army was attempting as we poker players say " pushing a weak hand "..... Great video.

  • @joshroller9449
    @joshroller94494 ай бұрын

    One of my favorite planes!

  • @BamBamBigelow.
    @BamBamBigelow.6 ай бұрын

    This was favorite plane at the US Air Force Museum

  • @nickbunch9156
    @nickbunch91566 ай бұрын

    AWESOME INTRO!

  • @cnfuzz
    @cnfuzz6 ай бұрын

    There was a version planned the b36C featuring forward faceing gas turbine engines called Vdt180's turbocharged compounds, this was before the yb60 , also as far as movies go next to strategic air command a movie called 'high frontier' was shelved , b36's can be spotted in John wayne's jet pilot and william holden toward the unknown

  • @Paughco
    @Paughco6 ай бұрын

    I remember hearing those things fly over the house as a kid, back in 1957. Those six R-4360s made a distinct, loud, vibratory, HMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm, as she flew overhead at cruise altitude. Classic!

  • @Flies2FLL
    @Flies2FLL6 ай бұрын

    -I flew at my airline in 2007 with Wally Soplata. His dad collected junk airplanes and kept them around his farm in Ohio. He managed to get half of a fuselage of a B-36. A company called "Plane Tags" bought a section of the fuselage and produced luggage tags with the B-36 details on one side and a name and phone number on the other side. I have a B-36 part on my roll-away bag, a Japan Airlines 767 part on my backpack, and one of my Porsche 981 Cayman S keys has a Messerschmitt Bf-109 part attached.

  • @joecrachemontange4613
    @joecrachemontange46136 ай бұрын

    I remember them at loring a.f.b. in northern maine , In fact i have pictures of them when they had a openhouse at the base in the early 60's.

  • @kentbarnes1955
    @kentbarnes19556 ай бұрын

    An amazing aircraft

  • @Paleorunner2
    @Paleorunner26 ай бұрын

    The MiG-15 could get high enough be level with a B-36, but at that altitude it couldn't keep up or maneuver to get a good shot. My grandpa new some of the pilots of the American interceptors that tried to intercept the B-36 in war games. There was just no way for the early jet engines in the fighters to be of use at that altitude.

  • @andrewdelafranier1785
    @andrewdelafranier17855 ай бұрын

    I almost passed on this one until I read "Unit". Legendary 😅

  • @MrDobiedoobie
    @MrDobiedoobie6 ай бұрын

    Never knew we had a broken arrow event here in ABQ, NM - thanks for always teaching me something!

  • @stopthephilosophicalzombie9017

    @stopthephilosophicalzombie9017

    6 ай бұрын

    Maybe that explains why ABQ is such a friggin' mess right now. Something in the water.

  • @MrDobiedoobie

    @MrDobiedoobie

    6 ай бұрын

    This site is below the water intake for the city water. Would explain anywhere south of here.@@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017

  • @dukeford

    @dukeford

    5 ай бұрын

    @@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017 It's not the water. It's the voters.

  • @stopthephilosophicalzombie9017

    @stopthephilosophicalzombie9017

    5 ай бұрын

    @@dukefordSo true.

  • @veronicaclark3733
    @veronicaclark37336 ай бұрын

    You should do a video on the USS United States Super Carrier, I would love to hear about that.

  • @scottyford4224
    @scottyford42246 ай бұрын

    Wish i was around when the peacemaker was around. They were built right down the street from were i live here in Ft.Worth.

  • @scottmeredith3359

    @scottmeredith3359

    6 ай бұрын

    You could arguably state that we are still enjoying the peace ensured by the “peacemaker”

  • @comradeiosif2794
    @comradeiosif27946 ай бұрын

    I can't believe I'm seeing this vid after suggesting it years ago! Amazing!

  • @joedimaggio3687

    @joedimaggio3687

    6 ай бұрын

    Years ago, I used to suggest a video on the Airbus A-380 jumbo jet. Recently, they finally did one.

  • @Firebrand55
    @Firebrand55Ай бұрын

    19.01 The NB-36h wasn't powered by the nuclear reactor it carried...which was termed Aircraft Shield Test Reactor, ASTR.....the purpose was to test radiation levels in the aircraft. To this end, the front compartment was redesigned with lead lining...and weighed 105,000 lb... 47 flights were made before the aircraft was decommissioned in 1957.

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