Beginning with the B-36D (B-36J shown), the Peacemaker used 6 radial piston engines and 4 jet engines. The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker"[N 1] is a strategic bomber built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1949 to 1959.

Powered by six Pratt & Whitney R-4360 engines, the B-36J cruised at 230 mph, but for additional bursts of speed its four General Electric J47s increased the maximum speed to 435 mph. It carried 86,000 pounds of nuclear or conventional bombs. When production ended in August 1954, more than 380 B-36s had been built for the U.S. Air Force. In 1958 ...

The B-36 Peacemaker is the largest production bomber ever built. Pilots referred to it as the “Magnesium Monster”. Although the B-36 was the largest bomber ever built and held the greatest combat unrefueled radius, it never dropped a bomb in combat.

The B-36 is the largest bomber and the last piston engine powered bomber produced by the United States. First designed to meet a World War II requirement for a plane capable of hitting targets in Germany from bases in the United States the prototype did not fly until August 8, 1946.

Feb 12, 2025 · The Last Peacemaker: This gigantic airplane, a Convair B-36J-75-CF Peacemaker, serial number 52-2827, was the very last of the ten-engine strategic bombers built by the Convair Division of General Dynamics at Fort Worth, Texas. It was completed 1 July 1954.

Mar 25, 2025 · Summary and Key Points: The Convair B-36J “Peacemaker” was a colossal U.S. strategic bomber designed during WWII to strike Germany from American soil, though it didn’t enter service until 1948. -Nicknamed “Peacemaker” for its role in Cold War nuclear deterrence against the Soviet Union, the aircraft featured ten engines—six ...

A B-36J Peacemaker in flight. The development of the Convair B-36 strategic bomber began in 1941 with the XB-36, which was intended to meet the strategic needs of the US Army Air Forces, and later of the United States Air Force with its Strategic Air Command. In 1948, the B-36 become a mainstay of the American nuclear deterrent. It underwent a ...

In the B-36, the United States had found a powerful deterrent against Soviet aggression. Conceived in 1941, when Germany controlled Europe and was poised to invade Britain, the B-36 was built as a contingency plan.

May 22, 2020 · Maj. Donald F. Heran, aircraft commander of the B-36 J Peacemaker number 52-2816, straightened his control yoke after finishing the wide, graceful turn to the downwind leg of final approach...

Jul 16, 2014 · It was the biggest U.S. warplane ever. More than 380 of the bombers were built before production ended in August 1954. The B-36 on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force...