Author: David Baker
Publisher: Haynes Publishing UK
ISBN: 9781785211935
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
With six powerful 2,500hp Pratt & Whitney radial engines, the B-36 was the largest aircraft ever to enter volume production, joining the US Air Force in 1948 as the world’s first operational bomber with hemispheric range. Two years later the type got an additional four engines, turbojets paired in pods attached to pylons outboard of the six propeller engines.At 230 ft (70.1m) it boasted the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built. Thus did the ten-engine behemoth, capable of carrying five times the standard bomb load of Britain’s Second World War Avro Lancaster, become the powerful tool for potential nuclear retaliation against aggressors anywhere on Earth. Ranging across Soviet skies high above the maximum altitude of Russian fighters, it threatened a reign of fire unchallenged by any other air arm in the world. The B-36 was developed further into a powerful tool for photographic reconnaissance and served as a valuable means by which the US Air Force could obtain detailed maps of areas across the Soviet Union where little was known about the exact location of towns, cities and industrial facilities - potential key targets in time of war. The B-36 scored as the most powerful delivery system in the US arsenal for waging nuclear war, only being retired when the much faster Boeing B-52 came along and when intercontinental ballistic missiles were first deployed at the end of the 1950s. The Convair B-36 Peacemaker Owners' Workshop Manual brings to the reader a highly detailed design, technical and engineering description of the aircraft, its structure and systems across the several different variants deployed with the US Air Force Strategic Air Command. Author David Baker covers the origin and evolution of the B-36, but primarily he explains how the aircraft worked, how it was operated, how it was serviced and where the various items of equipment were installed. It also provides technical details of the variants produced, including information on dimensions, weight, performance, etc, and also on the units with which the aircraft served. The text is supported by more than 300 photographs and illustrations.
Author: Graham M Simons
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526787342
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 300
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Book Description
The story of the Consolidated B-36 is unique in American aviation history. The aircraft was an interesting blend of concepts proven during the Second World War combined with budding 1950s high-tech systems. The program survived near-cancellation on six separate occasions during an extremely protracted development process. It was also the symbol of a bitter inter-service rivalry between the newly-formed US Air Force and the well-established US Navy over which of which of the two organizations would control the delivery of atomic weapons during the early years of the Cold War. Entering service in 1948, the B-36 was a remarkable design. It was the largest mass-produced piston-engine aircraft ever built, having the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft in history. Importantly, in terms of the developing Cold War at least, the B-36 was the first bomber capable of delivering any of the weapons in America’s nuclear arsenal without modification. To achieve this part of its role, the Peacemaker had an operational range of 10,000 miles, being capable of intercontinental flight without refueling. It is difficult to imagine a modern aircraft remaining airborne for two days without refueling – but such missions were relatively routine for the B-36 crews. while there were, at the time of its service, questions around its flight speed, the Peacemaker flew so high that this was considered of little concern – few fighters of its era could reach the same altitudes, and operational surface-to-air missiles were still in the future. The B-36, despite its seemingly conventional appearance, pushed the state-of-the-art technology further than any other aircraft of its era. Its sheer size brought with it structural challenges, while its high-altitude capabilities led to engine cooling and associated problems. However, all of these were finally overcome, and the B-36 served well as the first ‘Big Stick’ of the Cold War.
Author: Dennis R. Jenkins
Publisher: Specialty Press (MN)
ISBN: 9781580070607
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 110
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Book Description
Details six- and ten-engined monsters of the 1950s. Coverage includes tech manual excerpts, engineering drawings, structural and power plant review, cutaway drawings, and pilot analysis.
Author: Air Force
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0981652611
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 497
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Book Description
En instruktionsbog (Flight Manual) for B-36 Peacemaker.
Author: United States Air Force
Publisher: Periscope Film LLC
ISBN: 9781935327875
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 500
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Book Description
The largest piston-powered airplane ever mass-produced, Convair's B-36 "Peacemaker" was also the world's first thermonuclear bomber. The genesis of this behemoth can be traced to WWII, when U.S. planners determined that if the British were defeated, a very-long-range bomber would be needed to battle the Nazis. The prototype B-36 flew in 1946 and was quickly upgraded as the need for a bomber with a large lifting capacity - the early fission and later hydrogen bombs were both large and heavy - became paramount. Yet, when it entered active service in 1949, the "aluminum overcast" was already considered obsolete due to its four jet, six Wasp radial engine power-plant configuration. Nevertheless, nearly 400 B-36s were built and flew as strategic deterrents before the plane was retired in 1959. Originally printed by the U.S. Air Force, this Flight Operating Handbook is an authentic reprint of an original. Classified "Restricted," the manual was declassified and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been slightly reformatted. Some color images appear in black and white. Care has been taken to preserve the integrity of the text.
Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472850408
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 189
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Book Description
A fully illustrated study into the extraordinary Convair B-36 during the Cold War. Conceived during 1941 in case Germany occupied Britain, when US bombers would then have insufficient range to retaliate, the B-36 was to be primarily a '10,000-mile bomber' with heavy defensive armament, six engines and a performance that would prevent interception by fighters. Although rapid developments in jet engine and high-speed airframe technology quickly made it obsolescent, the B-36 took part in many important nuclear test programmes. The aircraft also provided the US nuclear deterrent until the faster B-52 became available in 1955. It was one of the first aircraft to use substantial amounts of magnesium in its structure, leading to the bomber's 'Magnesium Overcast' nickname. It earned many superlatives due to the size and complexity of its structure, which used 27 miles of wiring, had a wingspan longer than the Wright brothers' first flight, equivalent engine power to 400 cars, the same internal capacity as three five-room houses and 27,000 gallons of internal fuel – enough to propel a car around the world 18 times. Much was made of the fact that the wing was deep enough to allow engineers to enter it and maintain the engines in flight. B-36s continued in the bomber and reconnaissance role until their retirement in February 1959 following 11 years in SAC. Convair employees were invited to suggest names for the giant aircraft, eliciting suggestions such as 'King Kong Bomber', 'Condor', 'Texan' and 'Unbelievable', but the most popular was 'Peacemaker'. Oddly, objections from religious groups deterred the USAF from ever adopting it officially. This fully illustrated volume includes first-hand accounts, original photographs and up to 30 profile artworks depicting in detail the complexity of this superlative aircraft.
Author: Jonathan Falconer
Publisher: Haynes Publishing UK
ISBN: 9780857333605
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Nicknamed the ‘wooden wonder’ , the de Havilland Mosquito was one of the most versatile and successful combat aircraft of the Second World War. Offering insights into the design, construction and operational career of the iconic Mossie, this manual gets under the aircraft’s birch and balsa skin to examine its anatomy and describe the painstaking restoration to flight by Avspecs (New Zealand) of Jerry Yagen’s FB26 KA114 and of Victoria Air Maintenance’s B35 VR796 in British Columbia, Canada.
Author: Jonathan Falconer
Publisher: Haynes Publishing UK
ISBN: 9781785210679
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The Halifax became the second of the new generation of four-engine heavy bombers to enter service with RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War. It flew its first offensive operation in March 1941 and by 1944 it had become the exclusive equipment for Bomber Command's 4 Group and 6 (Canadian) Group, as well as being used in smaller numbers by 100 (Bomber Support) Group. The Halifax flew on virtually all the main raids of the night offensive between 1942 and 1945 and the last occasion when Bomber Command Halifaxes operated in strength against the enemy was on 25 April 1945.
Author: H. J. Campbell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781737498230
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Theodore Roosevelt once said, referring to foreign policy, "Speak softly and carry a big stick", which was the essence of Strategic Air Command's big stick, the B-36 Peacemaker. The B-36 was the mainstay of United States strategic deterrence policy during the early years of the Cold War. Given its ability to carry two of the largest 43,000-pound Mk 17 thermonuclear weapons in the arsenal, the B-36 seemed purpose-built for the role. But it was simply in the right place at the right time. Its design started even before the United States entered World War II, long before the Cold War was imagined, and well before the advent of an air-droppable nuclear bomb.The B-36 was a truly incredible aircraft and unlike any other in its day. Because of its immense size and unprecedented wingspan, it could lift more weight to higher altitudes than any other aircraft. It was the first aircraft to carry a 10,000-pound bombload over 10,000 miles. It was the first, and only, true intercontinental bomber capable of flights of over 9,000 miles without refueling and capable of remaining aloft for over 51 hours. The B-36 was the largest piston engine bomber ever built and, at 230 feet, still holds the record for the longest wingspan of any American combat aircraft. This book is a concise history of the B-36 Peacemaker and its derivatives. It is intended as a quick read, and enduring reference source, that will leave you with a complete understanding of this amazing aircraft's history. It covers the aircraft's design and development, including its evolution from the Army Air Corps' "Giant Bomber" project to the Air Force's primary strategic deterrence weapon. It includes a complete aircraft lineage chart tracing every model and derivative through its evolution, a complete tail number listing of every aircraft and its lineage, detail specifications for each model, and a comprehensive basing chart by base, model, and year. If you love SAC Cold War bombers, and great planes, you will love this book!
Author: Stephen Lee McFarland
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 96
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Book Description
Except in a few instances, since World War II no American soldier or sailor has been attacked by enemy air power. Conversely, no enemy soldier orsailor has acted in combat without being attacked or at least threatened by American air power. Aviators have brought the air weapon to bear against enemies while denying them the same prerogative. This is the legacy of the U.S. AirForce, purchased at great cost in both human and material resources.More often than not, aerial pioneers had to fight technological ignorance, bureaucratic opposition, public apathy, and disagreement over purpose.Every step in the evolution of air power led into new and untrodden territory, driven by humanitarian impulses; by the search for higher, faster, and farther flight; or by the conviction that the air way was the best way. Warriors have always coveted the high ground. If technology permitted them to reach it, men, women andan air force held and exploited it-from Thomas Selfridge, first among so many who gave that "last full measure of devotion"; to Women's Airforce Service Pilot Ann Baumgartner, who broke social barriers to become the first Americanwoman to pilot a jet; to Benjamin Davis, who broke racial barriers to become the first African American to command a flying group; to Chuck Yeager, a one-time non-commissioned flight officer who was the first to exceed the speed of sound; to John Levitow, who earned the Medal of Honor by throwing himself over a live flare to save his gunship crew; to John Warden, who began a revolution in air power thought and strategy that was put to spectacular use in the Gulf War.Industrialization has brought total war and air power has brought the means to overfly an enemy's defenses and attack its sources of power directly. Americans have perceived air power from the start as a more efficient means of waging war and as a symbol of the nation's commitment to technology to master challenges, minimize casualties, and defeat adversaries.
