B-36 Peacemaker
In response to the US Army Air Forces’ (USAAF) need for a strategic bomber capable of intercontinental operations, Consolidated Vultee—later known as Convair—began developing the B-36 Peacemaker during World War II. The aircraft completed its first flight in August 1946, and the Strategic Air Command received its first operational B-36 in June 1948.
The B-36J was powered by six Pratt & Whitney R-4360 engines and had a cruising speed of 230 mph. Four additional General Electric J47 turbojets provided extra power when required, raising its maximum speed to 435 mph. The bomber could carry up to 86,000 pounds of nuclear or conventional weapons. By the time production ended in August 1954, more than 380 B-36s had been built for the US Air Force (USAF).
However, as detailed in the bookazine Convair B-36 Peacemaker, the B-36 programme had another potential application during its early development. The Army Air Forces wanted a heavy-lift cargo aircraft to support wartime operations and ordered a prototype, designated XC-99 and bearing serial number 43-52436, on December 31, 1942.
Pan American was also interested in the project. After learning about the B-36 programme, the airline recognized that the huge aircraft could serve as the basis for a flying boat. The concept resembled an earlier arrangement it had negotiated with Boeing, which involved adapting the unsuccessful XB-15 into the Model 314 Clipper used on Pan American’s profitable routes between the US West Coast and the Philippines.
Pan American double-deck airliner
According to Pan American, the flying-boat version of Convair’s B-36, designated the Model-37, would be marketed as the Super Clipper. It was designed to accommodate 204 passengers while carrying as much as 15,000 pounds (6,804 kg) of freight.
The spacious fuselage would feature luxurious furnishings and staircases at both ends, allowing passengers on the upper and lower decks to enjoy gourmet meals and amenities comparable to those found in the world’s finest hotels. In February 1945, Pan American placed an order for 15 Super Clipper flying boats powered by six turboprop engines. Seeing further commercial potential, Convair also developed a landplane alternative.
Although the concept anticipated the wide-body, double-deck airliners that would appear decades later, it was too large for the passenger market of the early post-war period. The rapid expansion of airports, combined with the availability of surplus aircraft, instead helped bridge the transition from piston-engine airliners to the commercial jet age.
Flying boats were soon eclipsed, while transatlantic routes shaped the growth of the early post-war airline industry. Turboprop-powered landplanes later met the regional needs of local carriers, before the early Boeing and Douglas jetliners ushered in the era of intercontinental air travel.
XC-99
For the US Air Force, the XC-99 cargo aircraft completed its first flight on November 24, 1947. It later undertook numerous record-setting flights between the United States and continental Europe, carrying up to 60,000 pounds (27,216 kg) of freight over distances reaching 12,000 miles (19,308 km).
Although these missions demonstrated the aircraft’s impressive payload capacity and performance, most of its operational work involved transporting engines and supplies from the United States to destinations in Japan and Southeast Asia.
Despite the air force’s favorable view of the aircraft, corrosion and structural fatigue eventually sealed its fate. The XC-99 was withdrawn from service in 1957 and gradually fell into neglect. It now remains at the AMARC facility in Tucson, Arizona, where it awaits the funding and support needed for restoration and permanent display at the National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Convair B-36 Peacemaker is published by Key Publishing and is available to order here.
Photos by Unknown and U.S. Air Force
