2024 Convair B-36 Peacemaker
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- We find a B-36 at Castle Air Museum in Atwater California. This plane is ginormous. Ridiculous huge. Ten engines. Six turning and four burning.
10,000 mile range at 50,000 feet. They built 384 of these monsters but now only four remain. It could carry any payload in the USAF and SAC inventories. They even modified one to carry a nuclear reactor. It flew 48 times. This fleet was replaced by the B-52 that is still in service today. We walk around this behemoth and remark at the details. This particular aircraft was a reconnaissance bird that carried a massive camera that had a 28 foot focal length.
"On The Road With Norm" is about travelling with friends and family and investigating history with passion. We like pretty much anything with an engine. Come along for the ride. Leave a comment. Please help out with a LIKE and SUBSCRIBE. It would help very much thanks.
My Dad was stationed at Nellis AFB during the Korean War. When I was a little kid, he took me to the far end of a runway to look at a B-36 that had to make an emergency landing due to electrical.issues. I've been enamored with these beasts ever since. In 1958, I was in the 6th grade at Shafer Elementary in Atwater, CA when he retired at Castle AFB as a M/Sgt with 20 years of service.
Thank-you for the comment
Dad retired for the USAF in 1973 at Dyess AFB. Back in the 1960's dad brought us out to a base in Columbus, Mississippi ( I believe) or Dow AFB in Bangor, Maine and a B-36 was there. Yes, I' ve remained enamoured since then too. I also appreciate the B-47's. Dad ran the jet engine shops for Hueys in Vietnam and C-130's at Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas. He repaired the jet engines on the T-38/F-5's in 1968 at Williams AFB in Chandler, (Phoenix), Arizona
@@billycarpenter4740 I will deep dive the B-47 soon
I remember this aircraft when I was stationed at Chanute AFB Il. in 89. They moved it to castle when they closed Chanute, then I saw it at Castle in the mid 90s. it's following me LOL. Castle has a very nice collection.
Yep, used to march past it and the B-29 every day on the way to school, 1971.
I marched pass this one from October 66 to February 67 when I was stationed at Chunte going to tech school. I remember one morning when it was 3 below and snowing and sleet coming down. I was miserable.
@@glennhargrove3299 I was there in winter myself, being a Ca. boy, it was the coldest I've ever been, they had an Ice storm bad enough to cancel classes. Never heard of an "ice storm" before.🥶
I was stationed at Chanute for tech school from July ‘64 to March ‘65, and remember this aircraft well.😎
Always wondered where that one went after Chanute (Winter of 81-82, pneu-mech training). Remember seeing cats inside the nose glazing that winter
I'd seen the one on display in Dayton at Wright Pat. It's truly amazing at just how large this plane is! The Wright Bros first flight was shorter than the B36 wing span! An amazing aircraft!!👍
True!
That is an awesome looking plane!
My dad was a navigator on a B-36 in from 1949- to 1953. He was based at Ellsworth AFB in SD where I was born.
This was on static display at Chanute AFB in 1967 when I was there in tech school . After overseas deployment I was stationed at Castle AFB in 1971 . It was a fine place to live . My great uncle , Lt. Col. James Curd , retired from the USAF there , living in Merced and hired to start a video training program in the local high school . Nicest man you'd ever meet . WWII vet .
Thank-you
What an amazing and outstanding airplane!
I’ve been to Castle Air Force Base museum dozens of times over the years. I’m only 2.5 hour’s away. The B-36 is always a favorite to see in real life. Glad you posted a video of it.
thank you for the kind comment
As a child somewhere between 1947 to 1948 (not sure when), I watched in awe as one of these beasts flew low over our 3440 Hannah Street Oakland, CA home, passing Alameda Naval Air Station, SF Bay Area.
Thank you for sharing, Rich! A great memory.
Thank-you for the comment Rich.
I grew up just up the freeway from that museum. It has really become a magnificent museum. I have been many times and remember when Castle was active and the constant flyovers of B52s and KC135 tankers was amazing to see as a young boy.
I was in their flight path up near Oakdale. It was cool when they would sortie the entire wing for training . B-52 after B-52 for what must have been almost an hour. and all the black smoke...
Yes I remember a kc135 crash and a b52 exploded near by the base
thank-you for the comment
@@dsmallenI remember traveling on hwy 99 and the B-52s flew right along side you on their finals. Those were the days
very cool I lived in santa clara ,ca in 1954 and they used to fly over our house and it shook the whole house .thanks great video
Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks for the Vid. I was stationed there from 1969 to 1973 the place I worked in is still there I was a Mechanic. I was there 4 years was the best time of my life! Thanks Again!!!
Thank-you
I live in San Antonio, Tx and we used to have a XC-99 parked just outside the perimeter of Kelly AFB. It was open to the public and as a kid my dad would take me to climb all over it. I believe they would charge $1 to go in it. The plane now sits at Davis-Monthan AFB where it waits for funding to restore it. The XC-99 was the transport version of the B-36. It’s a beautiful massive aircraft.
That is a great story. Thanks for commenting. Was that the one and only XC-99?
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 I believe it was.
@@21lt Apparently it will one day get restored by the USAF in Tucson and probably put in Pima. maybe Pima will do the reassembly and restoration.
I've been in that same XC-99 when I was a kid. I had no idea it had been moved to Davis-Monthan. I've also done the tour of Bone Yard, if you ever get the chance I highly recommend going. It has to be one of the coolest places to visit if you love airplanes.
@@Bryan-cs9to I absolutely love airplanes and I would love to tour the boneyard. I thought the XC99 had been scrapped but a buddy of mine that worked at Kelly AFB told me that it was moved to Monthan to be restored.
The first airplane that was in this museum is the F-105 thunderchief , i helped restore that plane when i was in the ROTC. I go there often. Good video.
Thank-you
My precious bodily fluids would be safe and secure in the B-36.
I see what you did there, Major Kong.
Gen. Ripper...is that you?
I’m acquainted with a gentleman who’s a retired AF/United pilot. He’s now more than 90-years-old. He flew a B-36 during his Air Force career. He once told me that operating a B-36 was like “driving a Mack truck through mud”.
Cool - thanks for the comment - i don't have much heavy time but i sure noticed the truck feeling of a light twin compared to how a Cessna handles. I think i might know what he means. Stable and less responsive.
When I attended training at Chanute AFB in Illinois in 1988 there was a B-36 in the aircraft display park. Huge plane, almost steampunk.
Same plane.
I made a visit in 1991 after the pieces arrived on the train flatcars, again when half finished in 93, and the dedication in 1995. They did a great job putting it together but didn’t have money for the long-wearing paint used on the PIMA B-36.
Not shown are the rear gun turrets you can see from inside the bomb bay. The bomb racks on recon versions are for night photo flash bombs. The H-bomb and Rascal were not carried on early recon RB-36s, the Rascal being a cancelled program. The vents at 3:20 are for ejecting aluminum foil chaff to confuse radar.
Excellent reply - thank you very much
Ditto, except for the dedication. I remember the pile of parts! Haven’t been to Castle in years, but in the ‘90s my officemate and I would make annual pilgrimages. 😊 We also spotted the SR-71 when it was still parked on the base side!
Yes I remember the pile of parts! - the plane showed up painted as it was at Chanute, with 92nd BW bomber markings and the three rear ECM domes missing (still missing) - the right rear scanner port had been plated over as if never there, a mystery (sheet metal repair practice?).
With the base still open was fun to see the lines of cars coming to work in the morning, the gate guard trying to salute all of them - the B-52 and 135 pilots hanging out at the Castle Air Museum restaurant, where I assume the food was better.
I was a volunteer at the Museum when that team did the reassembly. The lead was Mel Hedgpeth, RIP buddy. The KC-135 at 12:30 is an old friend..
My late Father-in-Law was an electrician/gunner on B-36s. His position was right lower aft gunner position. We traded some great stories. I flew as a naval aircrewman on EA-3B "Whales"
I live on Long Island. Mitchell AFB was about 5 miles from where I lived as a boy. When the B-36's took off, the sound was louder than any other USAF plane, including jets. The base was closed a few years after a B-25 crashed into a house, killing the crew, and others nearby. The base is now a college campus, with acres of concrete, air and space museum, and a historic carousel in another of the huge hangars for the B-36's.
Thank-you for the reply
I knew this was Castle instantly by the small fencing around the planes, the railcar/railroad behind, and the Mark bomb sitting on the ground port side. Visiting Castle was a family favorite in raising 3 boys. but also driving around the old base too. Thanks for posting this. Im on the other side of the country now, my boys are young men. Still have but rarely wear my STRATCOM hat I bought at the gift shop.
Thank-you for the comment. History is worth remembering
I can remember seeing these aircraft flying over El Paso, Texas as a little kid in the late 50's, Awsome !!!
That plane was originally at Rapid City AFB. My father was stationed there, 1948 to1952. He was an A & E ( now called an A & P or "maintainer"). I had told him that there was a B-36 at Castle, and he and my mother stopped by on their way to Arizona for the winter. He saw the tail number and told my mother, "God damn, this plane was parked next ours at Rapid City. I used to go up and steal parts off it when our plane was down and we couldn't get parts.
Thank-you for the comment
Lmao. Your dad is the reason this plane is missing parts, and looks to be in rough shape.
Nice job! I'm a B-36 nerd going on nearly 50 years. The Castle B-36 is the only survivor I haven't visited. I crawled all over #2827, the bird now at Pima, when she was in Ft Worth, and helped get her ready to move from Greater Southwest Airport to Carswell in the late 70s when I was in high school. I visited the SAC museum 25 years ago before they moved, and these days I get to Dayton a couple times a year to visit #2220.
As noted, the sliding doors fore and aft were for the defensive 20mm turrets, which were aimed from the blisters. The lower rear blisters were also used by observers to watch the engines for signs of fire. Those vents under the aft fuselage are chaff dispensers to fool enemy radar. The crew could NOT reach the backs of the engines in flight, though it was possible to crawl out that far in the wings. (I did it in 2827 when I was young and skinny.) There are some circuit breakers you can get to. Sometimes it was necessary to crawl into the wing to manually release the landing gear if there was a failure of some sort. But never to service the engines in-flight.
You mentioned the Boston Camera with the 28-foot focal length. It was never actually carried in an RB-36. It was tested in a C-97, however. I've seen a photo of a Spalding golf ball on a Ft Worth golf course taken in 1955 with that camera - from 45,000 feet. You can clearly read the Spalding logo. While the RB-36 could carry nuclear weapons, it would also commonly carry flash bombs for night photography.
Nice video! There's a B-36 enthusiast group on Facebook. I've shared this there.
Thank-you very much for the detailed reply. I will be remaking this video and I will include your excellent information. I am now completely fascinated by the B-36 and I applied to the Facebook group. I will be at Castle again next spring and I will spend some time with this Peacemaker.
I was in a Drum & Bugle Corps in the 1970's, and we had a couple of week-long camps at Chanute. It was summer and we used this exact plane's wings for shade. The horn line would practice under the starboard wing, the drum line under the port wing and the color guard under the tail. I've sat on top of those rear tires many, many times.
Assume story. Thank-you for posting
When the B-36 was introduced, there were more than three runways on 'bases' that could hold its weight. What only a few runways COULD do was support the concentrated pressure of the weight form the single-tire landing gear. This is clear because the runways were just fine with the aircraft weight once it was spread around some more by the revised landing gear.
The single wheel landing gear "worked" as far as the aircraft was concerned, but it concentrated too much weight on to too small of an area on runways, so few military airbases has runways thick enough to support it, hence the change to multi-wheel landing gear that spread the weight around more.
Great comment - thank-you.
I remember trips up and down Hwy 99. Coming up on Merced and seeing the Pine Cone Motel sign. The B-52S in a circular pattern as they were shooting landings.
Memories
I remember watching this aircraft…this one, not just any B-36 - fly around Chanute AFB in 1959 burning off fuel prior to landing. Got to tour the aircraft and ride in the crew tunnel later that day. I was in fourth grade. Fast forward to Chanute before it was dismantled, I once again on the flight deck, this time as Wing XO.
Awesome comment sir! Thank-you.
That San Juoquin Valley sunshine is brutal...but I remember it being dry enough. I loved that museum back in 1981-82. They fly the Vulcan Bomber in for display. A few months later, the UK AF sent a team in to recover the inflight refueling prob...why? They were about to conduct long range refueling for Falkland Islands attack.
That is awesome information. Thank-you for commenting
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 back at you. I had a pleasant memory because of your video. In 81-82 I was stationed at the USAF hospital right there next to the air museum. I did a google map and was surprised to see the building is still there and still some kind of medical facility.
Was born at Castle AFB.......thanks for the memories.
You're welcome. Does Atwater have cold winters?
The small area for air he was talking about was a big issue the engines in that plane were r4360 radials 28 cylinders and they had a heck of a time cooling all of the cylinders caused many engine failures. They had a short career was shortly outdated by the b52
True, the engines were designed to face the other way and they had cooling problems too with the rear cylinder bank. I'm wondering how much they gained by having the smooth air over the wing. I'm wondering if forward mounting would have been more reliable and safer.
I helped pull this thing apart at Chanute in 1992, I believe it was. It was put on 15 railroad flatbed cars for the trip to California. It was insane. I didn't want to go inside due to all the dead bird carcasses and huge piles of bird crap. Castle flew a crew out to assist the operation. I believe there's a video of it here on TH-cam. I'm on it.
Yes I have seen that video. Its a great watch Thank-you for commenting here.
Mr. thank you for very important and rarely coments about faimost Convair bomber B-36 . Aircraf of ten engines.
Thank-you. I intend to go back and make a better movie on this plane.
6 turning 4 burning ..Great movie Jimmy Stewart on the B36..Strategic Air Command
That movie is awesome.
6 turning, 4 burning, 2 on fire....
My brother was stationed at Chanute AFB in Rantoul Illinois back early 60's. I remember seeing one of these B-36 bombers there. Imagine a herd of these on a run! Monster of an airplane.
They called it aluminum overcast
This is the exact same aircraft. (moved from Chanute when that base was closed)!
Great job 👏 👍✅ Sir. 🤔 When I was ten years old boy and in the third floor class room of my elementary school 🏫 in downtown Dallas Texas and near the active runway of Love Field Dallas Texas was always fascinated with jet airliners flying over head and 😉 one summer 🌞 day id heard that destenctive sounds of big radial bank engines 🤟 WOW i gatta' Go to the window 🪟😲 and then id seen the:Convair XC-99 flying low on final approach to runway and the eccoing off tremendous horse power off the buildings as it neard the school 🏫 and as the teacher yelled " get back to you desk 😉👍 I leaned out of the window and then the XC- 99 flew right over me & id witnessed aviation history 💯
Thank-you.
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 great photography and field of depth and focal point 💯🆒
This would be a heck of a ride to fly in .
And probably loud
Some recon aircraft carried photo flash bombs. The darker colored metal on the fuselage is magnesium. It covers the non pressurized areas, aluminum was heavier but could take the pressure cycling. The magnesium didn't hold rivets well and Chrysler developed an adhesive to hold it together. The aircraft has 336 spark plugs and anti lock brakes. There were so many revisions to the fuel systems on the P&W R4360 28cyl engines that as engines were replaced the flight engineer may have to deal with 6 different operating procedures! There is a "Goblin" parasite jet fighter prototype that was tested an carried in the bomb bay for defense at Wright Patterson AFB. The book "magnesium overcast" is a great refrence for these. Thanks for making this vid and great job!
Thank-you for all of that information. I think I should seek out a copy of that book.
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 There's another book....MYERS JACOBSON'S BOOK THE CONVAIR B36 AMERICAS BIG STICK...On you tube Bob PREISING CONVAIR B36 AIRCREWMAN by Northrop N156 the picture is from is from MYERS JACOBSON'S BOOK ...My dad is to the right of Bob....
I went to AF tech school at Chanute AFB IL in 79-80 and there was one on static display across from a B-58
This is the same airplane. It was moved here on 22 railcars
This would be so cool to see. It's been a long time I've been that way. We used to travel by castle a few times every year
They now have a huge collection of warbirds. Worth the detour.
It was said that this is the only aircraft ever built where a man could crawl into the wing and repair a leaky fuel tank!
I was wrong when I said they could get to the back of the engines because they couldn't. They are on the other side of a firewall and no in flight engine device is performed. The wing crawlway was sometimes used to manually release the landing gear if it was malfunctioning.
Castle AFB was my first base. I was a Crew Chief on KC-135A. During the Falkland Island War ( Britain / Argentine ) we had a “Vulcan” bomber there at the Museum… A couple of British techs were flown in to remove fuel probes from the aircraft and I went with them ( I was small enough to fit in there if there was an emergency)
Awsome story. This is the second report in the comments here of the Vulcan bomber at Castle. I will be back there in a few weeks and wanting to feature the Vulcan. Is there anything else you can tell me about it?
The ‘doors’ on the fore and aft sections slide open to allow pairs of dorsal and ventral 20mm automatic gun turrets to emerge. The gunners sights were mounted in the large plexiglass bubbles. Very rare to see a photo of the B-36 with the turrets deployed.
B-36 Peacemaker defensive turrets in operation:
th-cam.com/video/VDFqzLefiPM/w-d-xo.html
It’s significant to note that the B-36 never fired a shot in anger. In a way, the Peacemaker was the perfect weapon; that is, a weapon that never had to be used.
Thank-you for the excellent comment. It is great to have more specific information.
Great video and great narration - thanks for sharing!😊
Many thanks!
Beautiful planes
yes they are
Norm you need to know more about your aircraft. I marched by this bird every morning at Chanute AFB in 1971 going to NDI school at 5:30 AM 5 days week. Miss that Base.
Always wanting to know more about aircraft.
The only one I'm an expert at is this one:
th-cam.com/video/GuuL8ee5GUY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=1xAhMHLYzVozuE9h
My future wife and I met at Chanute in 1979. Since its closing the base has really gone downhill. The well-maintained grounds are overgrown and some of the hangers are collapsing. It's a shame, really.
Thanks 👍 again for the Cool 😎 photography and detailed information 🙂...id only been up close to the static display Convair B-36 VLR Peacemaker at the first Air show with my family @ Greater Southwest Airport Tx to see it 😮 id asked Pa ' "please 🥺 put in the " help with the B-36 fly again " donation box & Pa' put in 2 dollars...🤔 I saw decades later on the News 📺 that she.wss moved on flat bed special big rigs in sections to the air Force musiam and re assembled
Thank-you
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 my pleasure Sir, it's great to see you also have a interest in the largest land plane in the world 🌎 ( production land plane)..id found out that the record was broken by an experimental wider wingspan airplane few years ago when I was looking at another documentary on utube...
🤔💖🤟 but in my heart the Convair VLR B-36 "Peacemaker" earned her name 🤔 because she never had to be used in anger ☮️🌎🤠❤️
I was at Chanute AFB in 1980 for training. They had this plane there.
I have pictures of it I took while walking around base.
It is a very large aircraft.
Is there any possibility I could use those photos in a new video of their aircraft? I will be travelling to California in April 2025 and I want to re-visit this airplane and make a much better video of it. I would like to show what she looked like before she came to Castle.
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 I would need to find them. They are packed away with all my Airforce stuff.
I will let you know on here when I have them.
@@MrMinuteman69 Thank-you
I’m from the UK went to Castle in 2013 the 36 was in much better shape then, i was desperate to get inside that thing but i was not allowed as i wasn’t the day for doing that, there’s also a Blackbird there amazing piece of kit
Thank you for the comment
THAT is a BIG AIRPLANE...😊
Ginormous
Open cockpit days are the best at Castle.
Next one is Saturday October 5
There are actually 5 survivors: the 5th one is in pieces, in the Walt Soplata collection, but because of how it was dismantled (cut into sections, not un-bolted), it'll probably never be re-assembled.
Yes you are correct but looking at the history of the Soplata 42-13571. It was deemed scrap in 1972 when the Air Force restored a newer B-36 and put it indoors in their new facility. Walter spent three years transporting the pieces to his property in Cleveland. Apparently he only got two of the radial engines but I think he got all four jets. Walter and his wife passed long ago and the airframe is listed as scrap again in 2019. Does anyone know what happened to 42-13571? The Soplata collection is/was massive.
The best source of airframe information is by googling the serial numbers. Aerial Visuals Airframe Dossier has the history of all five B-36's and more.
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 Walt recovered most of the forward fuselage and center section of the wing. None of it is restorable condition, unfortunately. He used the read fuselage as a small barn for the Corsair I believe. A few years ago some of the skin from the nose section was salvaged by Plane Tags with permission from the Soplata family. I have one of the tags. I met Walt a couple years before he passed. "Interesting character" doesn't begin to describe him. 😀
Definitely needs some refurbishing. Beautiful airplane. Don't let rot like that.
Magnificent piece of engineering. Though she’s looking a bit tired
Sadly she is out side for her whole life. She needs a coat of paint.
i.m an airforce vet and the B-36 was gone by 1970 but in hindsight it doesn't make sense to have such a big friggin plane with all the maintenance and upkeep required plus the goofy engine setup. i guess it was a transitional plane to the modern B-52 that is now ancient but a beauty. i thought the B-58 hustler made a lot of sense but that's gone too. i worked on ground to air radios for the stratofortress over europe 50+ years ago.
It's easy to see how the B-52 took over the SAC needs. The reduction in maintenance was incredible
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 B=52 is an amazing plane and still in the air.
It would be amazing to see one airworthy and flying
The strategic air command museum at exit 426 in Nebraska has a plane that looks like this, but I’m not sure of the number. I was told it was a bomber that never saw service because then it was later replaced by the B-52.
Yes there are only 4.75 of these bombers around and the SAC museum in Nebraska is one of them. Theirs has been indoors for a long time so it is in much better condition. The bomber was mass produced at 384 examples and was in service for about 10 years. it was mostly replaced but he B-52 but other great airplanes came along too
*The B-36 carried the Largest Nuclear Bomb the U.S. ever produced*
*The Mark-17 Thermonuclear Bomb from 1954 - 1957, with a 15 Megaton Yield*
And apparently as a reconnaissance airplane it carried a camera that had a 28' lens section.
42.000 pound bomb
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024The plane at Castle was built as a RB36 Recon bomber...My dad was a ,RB36 USAF SAC AIRCREWMAN
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024Out of ,385 built only 4 left and this only RB36 left the others are B36s. RB RECON BOMBER
@@CraigAllen-re9bf But there is a 5th. I had to make another video. th-cam.com/video/nFUMEKFlZgA/w-d-xo.html
The B-36 originally had just the six prop engines, then the four jet engines were added which made it so fast that not a fighter plane in the world could catch it at the time.
Actually this was built at the beginning of the jet age and fighters were much faster and getting faster every day. The four jet engines were added to the B-36 to reduce the length of runway needed to take off. It needed them to perform adequately on existing infrastructure.
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 jets add 50mph to b36 top speed about 450mph over target fighter jets were doing 600mph b36 high altitude 50k ft fighter jets struggled to reach that for interception
Dig the peacekeeper.😊
I was able to go inside that plane at castle
How long ago?
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 right after Air Force transfer to Merced county
I was stationed at Castle at the hospital when they were rebuilding the b-36 and went over there quite often, got to climb all over it,cockpit, crew quarters, what a huge aircraft, amazing that it got off the ground, the 2 openings on the tail are empty brass dump tubes from the defensive guns.
When I first saw this RB-36 in the middle 1990's which was it unveiling day on the last Castle AFB Open House prior to closing. It was in much better shape. The museum remains open.
Do you happen to have any photos of this aircraft when it was back at Chanute? I am re-visiting this aircraft to make a better video with major input from everyone who is commenting here. It would be great to include real photos of this aircraft's history with your permission please.
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 Sorry I don't.
Pretty cool.
Thank-you
What you don't realize is that the main gear is not serviced,if it were the aircraft would sit much higher.
Interesting, I hadn't considered that. Thanks for the comment
That would add at least 8" more ground clearance from the six pusher propellors to the ground. 🤠
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 servicing landing gear to maintain true height nice but whose going to pay and are technical manuals how too still around volunteers go some way but outdoors static displays wont be around for long adelaide airport south australia recently place vickers vimy sir ross smiths a/c 1st england to australia in climate controled display shelter excellent but expensive a/c will be there for generations to admire 🇦🇺👍
If there were only 3 runways in the U.S. that could handle the weight of there, then Biggs AFB, El Paso, TX. was one of them. It was a B-36 that crashed into the side of a mountain in bad weather when approaching to land around 1953.
Eventually they fitted the B-36 with a new design of gear that has 4 tires on the mains. it spread the weight around enough to use the airplane off more airports. The next problem was the length of the runway. That's when they added the four jet engines - they needed more speed on the available airports to take off at a high gross weight.
See “Strategic Air Command” movie with Jimmy Stewart! Nice walk-through !
That is a big airplane this one over here in the museum in Tucson that is a great museum they got everything that you never seen there😅
Went to one of the museum’s Open Cockpit Days last year and was able to see in their restoration hanger what will replace the “stealth jet” display:
an actual F-117 Nighthawk.
Interesting that all the major museums in USA have recently gotten a F-111 Nighthawk. The USAF retired them and are slowly giving them away to museums. I understand that they stripped a bunch of stuff off them that is still classified. For example they are all missing the leading edges of the wings. Most fabricate simple aluminum pieces to look complete but clearly the aircraft had some composite leading edges packed full of sensors or ECM gear. Thank-you for leaving a comment.
Castle is a great musium
Definitely one of the most complete collections. Huge. Completely outdoors.
Looks like it could use some TLC The B-26 at Pima has been nicely restored
Pima has a restoration center for large aircraft that always has something in it. I'm wondering if their admittance fees provide a constant flow of cash for paint and supplies while the labor is volunteer. They are doing a great job. Atwater doesn't get the same traffic.
The B-36 was the biggest production bomber ever built, not the most produced. That would go to the B-47 stratojet. My Dad also was an ECM operator on those. 307 BW 370 BS Lincoln AFB
Thank-you for the comment.
I was stationed at Chanute AFB in 1969 and looked at this plane a number of times. Takes me back to when my girl friend was my future ex-wife.
Do you happen to have any photos of this aircraft when it was back at Chanute? I am re-visiting this aircraft to make a better video with major input from everyone who is commenting here. It would be great to include real photos of this aircraft's history with your permission please.
I'll have look and see. If I have any photos they will be black and white. Bigger problem is I can't email out and the picture will be a photo taken of the picture with my IPad.
"I wonder what this is? Kind of a flying bomb?" (The red, white, and black thing.) No, not a bomb. It's the GAM-63 RASCAL, which was a liquid-propelled, supersonic air-to-surface missile developed by Bell Aircraft. It was the Air Force's first nuclear-armed standoff missile with a 5,000 lb. warhead. With but a single missile attached to the exterior of the carrier aircraft (B-36, later B-47), it turned out that everything about the missile and the way it would be launched was far too complicated to be practical and the project was cancelled 29 Sep 1958, to be replaced by the AGM-28 Hound Dog. As a 9-year-old kid in 1956, I was very proud of the fact that my uncle, an Air Force captain, worked on the project for a while at Eglin AFB. (He had a model of the missile on his desk at home. I wanted it SOOOOOO bad. I eventually made a neckerchief slide model of it for my Scout uniform.) Prior to that, he was a pilot who flew in the Berlin Airlift.
Thank-you for the detailed reply. More research coming...
Those are APU vents.
Thanks for the info!
Not APU vents but exits for the chaff dispenser.
B36 did not carry an APU. The large APU was left on the ground after being disconnected after starting the engines. After engine start, power was supplied by alternators on engines 2, 3, 4 and 5.
I was there. Flight line mechanic 9th BS Carswell, 69 th BS Limestone. 51 thru 54. Probably not many of us left. Presently 91 years old. It was great experience! Flew with aircraft on TDY efforts. It was maintenance INTENSIVE! 12:54
@@robertflagg6572 Thanks for the correction and for your service sir,I was a civilian crew chief at Robin AFB in Warner Robins Georgia on C-5's and C-141s for 35 years.Once again thank you and God bless!
Really nice airplane especially when I see a seaplane and a f-4 phantom and more
There was one at Chanute AFB that sat for many years but nobody can seem to tell me whether it was destroyed or moved to a museum
The Chanute AFB Museum closed in 2005 with about 40 aircraft. They divided them up and about 20 other museums got planes. Each museum had to send a team to dismantle and transport.
Castle Air Museum in california got the B-36 and the B-58. The 36 was dismantled and put onto a donated train of 22 flatbed cars. It has been reassembled and sits outside in all her glory desperately needing some paint protection. s/n 51-13730 Atwater California
4 burnin 6 turnin
Wish we had a museum like this in Oz!!
And there is no second U in Nuclear..
got it thanks
My Dad flew on B-36 bombers. He was an ECM operator. 99 SRW 346 BS
Wow - how much ECM stuff did the B-36 carry and what did it do?
Too bad these aircraft aren't maintained. Sad to see them deteriorate.
One reason it was taken out of service was because it made so much noise that the Soviets could hear it coming using a simple sound amplification listening device.
When I was very small, I experienced one fly over and the whole ground shook from the noise of its passing overhead. 😉
That's hilarious but probably true
I always thought the same thing about the B-52 pouring out a forest fire's worth of thick black smoke on takeoff. From the USSR, I thought all the commies had to do was look up. "Yep, I see 'em. They're taking off. They'll be here in six hours." You can see this in the MITO scene in the 1963 movie "A Gathering of Eagles". That movie and Jimmy Stewart's B-36 movie "Strategic Air Command" were my favorites back then.
6 turning 4 burning? Pretty sure it was 2 turning, 2 burning, 2 choking, 2 smoking and 2 unaccounted for
That's hilarious and I'm sure some one had the experience of just that.
just think your phone today most likely takes better pics than that big ass camera. Americans have the coolest airplanes ever built. It is just so damn sad that they scrapped so many of them rather than saving some examples for our future to admire. I love WW2 to cold war aviation. Germany and russia had some cool planes but nothing compared to us. The fact we built and flew the SR71 is just a testimony to the budget America spent building these machines that no other country can come close too. I would love to see that place.
Apparently that camera could read the brand of a golf ball from cruise altitude. And they had to scrap the majority of aircraft as they retired to supply raw materials to build more B-52's
Nice. You know this aircraft has or had the retractable gun turrets that were visible from the bomb bay. Haven't been there in 15 years at least but last time I was there they were easily visible, but all that netting wasn't there which looks like it really hampers your view up into the top from underneath. Would be shame if they took them out. Couldn't imagine why they would do that though. A bigger shame would be they're still there and you missed them.
You also failed to mention those engines are radial engines like the B-29's in the photo and not in-line like a lot of people think because of the cowling design.
It says this video was from 12-days ago. Aug. 3? I think it was about 106 degrees that day. I hope you visited on August 2nd as the high that day was only 91😂
Atwater city counsil has mismanaged that airport ever since the Air Force abandoned it. SCCA was bringing in tens of thousands of dollars a year in business for the merchants of the city and they shoed them away so one of their counsil persons could fly toy airplanes once a year. Castle was considered the premier autocross site in America and had people coming from the 11 western states and farther by the thousands annually and all across California monthly for multiple National, Divisional, Regional, and even Local events. I guess the people of Atwater like all people everywhere in America these days are of no concern to their government.
I will definitely look harder for the gun turrets the next time I am there. I read some where that they were all removed from the aircraft some time in the early 50's to save weight.
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024I saw them there between 15-20 years ago. Was pretty astounded when I realised what they were. But that was when admission was either free or $5. Haven't been there in a very long time but I distinctly remember seeing the upper rear ones retracted of course
That one is in bad shape, the one at the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio is in great condition.
True, it benefits from a full restoration then into a sealed building. The Castle bird was outside then got taken apart, railcar to California, then reassembled. It desperately needs $100K in paint. The one at Pima got restored when they re-assembled it in 2009. And lastly the SAC Museum in Nebraska has a nice one indoors.
They opened the cockpit for a special viewing about two years ago. I got to climb up inside . It was amazing . Like the cockpit of fifi but scaled up a bunch
it to used to sit outside on the corner of airway an woodman...glad they restored it an put inside...growing up close to airway it was a cool sight .. its a big plane
Thank you for the information
The National Air Force museum budget is a bit different than non-profit Castle. But agreed the Dayton museum is just amazing, I'm not sure which I like most Dayton or the Smithsonian. They both have their great points.
6 turnin , and 4 burnin...
I can attest to the size of the inner tubes for those 9 foot tires. Used 1 as a trampoline in the early 60s
hilarious - post a picture
There is also one at Whitman airport base in Missouri , I have seen it😊
Do you know if it is still there?
The B-36 was insanely slow in the jet era.....it would have been an easy target for jet fighters.
Jet fighters at that time did not have the range or refueling techniques to protect the B-36 long range bombers...so, the B-36 bombers would have been sitting ducks for the Mig-15s.
The B-36 was replaced by the 8 jet engine powered B-52, which is still in service.
Thanks for the comment
@@ontheroadwithnorm2024 I lived in a city that the B-36s "bombed" from time to time in the 1950s. You would hear it droning away and look up and see the plane....no other plane looked like a B-36. The B-36 was at very high altitude and appeared to be very slow. Possibly it was flown slow in order not to over stress the engines.
See “Strategic Air Command” movie with Jimmy Stewart!
hate the looks but you gotta be impressed how 1940s America would strap on 10 engines to deliver one H bomb of Democracy.
i hope that guy who is making a scratch built 1/1 b-36 completes it
I think he needs a bigger garage.
Recon planes carried quite a bit,
Yes, I read somewhere that this was the only plane that could carry a camera with a 28' lens but I learned by a comment on this thread that it was stuffed into other planes.
It looked much better when on display at Chanute
Hopefully it gets painted soon
The poor thing really needs a lot of TLC.
It looks like they were working on the tail at some time not too long ago.
Oh Chanute!!! Where have you gone. It’s depressing…don’t go there today!
I found a website with pictures of the Chanute museum when it was operating. What a great collection. The Wikipedia page for the museum is still active and can tell you each plane has gone. They really promoted a lot of museums by giving them aircraft. Well done for the continued history but sad that a great museum closed.
There is a b-36 at the SAC Mueseum in Lincoln Ne.
Yes I would like to see that one. It has been indoors for a long time and must be in better condition.
Does Castle Air Museum still have the SR -71 Blackbird? At the front of the Museum?
Yes the Blackbird is still there. Hasn't moved.
The F100 VooDoo had some records
The 101 Voodoo had a pile of records for awhile there