If you ever have the chance to view the B-36 on display at the Aviation Heritage Museum in Fort Worth, Texas my initials are carved on the lower #3 inboard engine nacelle. I was on the pre-flight maintenance crew when that aircraft (serial no. 52-2827A) was being readied for its final flight from Biggs AFB in El Paso to Carswell AFB in Fort Worth on 12 February 1959 for permanent display at Amon-Carter Field. This was the last B-36 built by Convair. Click Restoration for the story of preserving this aircraft of the 1950s. I was also on the pre-flight maintenance of the very last B-36 to fly (serial no. 52-2220) which left Biggs AFB for Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona in March, 1959, and then to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio on April 30, 1959 for permanent display in the Air Force Museum.
52-2827A as it appeared over Fort Worth, Texas on 12 February 1959.
(Digital image by G. D. Pyeatt, with permission)
Aircraft 52-2220 on display at the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Convair B-36J (Frequently referred to as the "Aluminum Overcast") Powerplant: Six 3,800 hp Pratt & Whitney R-4360-53 Wasp Major air cooled radial engines, plus four 5,200 lb.s.t. General Electric J47-GE-19 turbojets. "6 turning, and 4 burning" Performance: Maximum speed 411 mph at 36,400 feet. Cruising speed 203 mph. Initial climb rate 1,920 feet per minute. Service ceiling 39,900 feet. Range 6,800 miles with 10,000 pound bombload. Weights: 171,035 pounds empty, 266,100 pounds combat, 410,000 pounds maximum. Dimensions: Wingspan 230 feet 0 inches, length 162 feet 1 inch, height 46 feet 8 inches, wing area 4,772 square feet. Armament: Two 20-mm M24A1 cannon each in six retractable, remotely-controlled fuselage turrets, tail turret and nose mounting, with 9200 rounds of ammunition. Normal bomb load: up to 72,000 pounds. Maximum bomb load: 86,000 pounds. NOTE: The -III model was referred to as the "featherweight" model and had all guns removed except the tail turret, and the blister windows were replaced with standard curved ports. This revision was made to increase bomb load capacity and range.