How to move a Consolidated B-36 Peacemaker

Moving a B-36 isn't impossible. It just seems that way.

The Consolidated B-36 Peacemaker was...and still...the largest operational manned bomber in aviation history. It also earned it's name of Peacemaker (though some say it should more accurately be Peacekeeper) by keeping the Soviets at bay for ten years of the Cold War. During it's time in service, it was the only aircraft on the planet that could make an honest 10/10/10 flight. For the unitiated, the B-36 was capable of flying 10,000 miles while carrying a 10,000 pound bomb load, drop them on target and fly 10,000 miles back to it's base...non-stop and unrefueled. It's probably the only reason the West was not on the receiving end of Soviet nuclear-tipped ICBMs. The missiles could have been launched, yes, but that would not have stopped squadrons of B-36s from decimating the Soviet Union. Call it what you will. Detante, Mexican Standoff or MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction), the B-36 kept us free and safe. For that, she deserves our admiration and respect.

Despite the magnificent aircraft that she is, and her place in history, only four B-36 examples remain in existance today. The last one ever built is now being reassembled (again) at the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona. While it will be displayed there, it was saved from the scrapheap by a band of intrepid, dedicated men in the city of it's birth, Ft. Worth, Texas.

Starting in 1970, I was the group's official photographer for the preservation effort. Over a period of the next decade or so, I recorded the herculean effort expended by so few to save an aircraft that so many owed so much to. 875 of those black-and-white photos were compiled into a CD-ROM slide show that depicts the multiple times the aircraft was dismantled, moved, reassembled, dismantled, moved, reassembled, dismantled.... I told you it wasn't easy, didn't I?

If you have a love of aviation and it's history, and are curious about how something as huge as a B-36 can be moved by a ragtag group of men who had little more going for them but a dream, my CD-ROM will give you a close-up look at the process. Of course, it didn't hurt that they were also mule-headed, stubborn, determined and dedicated.

The one that didn't make it over the mountain.

But it nearly made it! So close and yet so far!

During the 1950s in El Paso, Texas, B-36s were stationed at Biggs AFB. One night, a lone B-36 was returning from a flight and was on approach to Biggs. Between the B-36 and Biggs was the Franklin Mountains.

For those of you unfamiliar with the area, the Franklin Mountains border the west side of El Paso and are the tail end of the Rockies. They're around 5,000 feet high.

At any rate, the B-36 was headed towards Biggs and having to deal with something unusual. Fog. Besides being unusual for El Paso, there was something far worse. It also obscured the mountaintop beacon. For whatever reason, the B-36 was coming in too low to clear the mountain. When the fog broke and the pilot could see the beacon, it was about 1,000 feet above him and the ship was headed straight for the side of the Franklins.

You would think that an aircraft the size of the B-36 (230 foot wingspan and several hundred thousand pounds weight) couldn't be all that maneuverable. Wrong! The pilot did the only thing he could do. Pulled the wheel all the way back and jammed the throttles to full war emergency. Believe it or not, that bird stood on her tail and climbed straight up.

Unfortunately, the laws of physics could not be negated. Even though she was clawing her way up, the aircraft was still moving forward. The question was, would she climb far enough to clear the mountain before forward motion drove her into it?

The answer would remain visible for years in the shape of a cruciform scar on the side of the mountain. She hit the mountain belly first, exploded and burned...only two to three hundred feet below the crest. There were no survivors. Incredibly, that magnificent, proud bird climbed nearly seven hundred feet straight up in her struggle to live.

Is it any wonder that a small group of men spent thirty years fighting to preserve the last of the aircraft ever built. I don't think so and I'm proud to have had the opportunity to photodocument a major portion of that effort. If you agree, then check out the CD-ROM described below, order one of the books or browse B-36 items on ebay.

How to order your copy of B-36:Moving The Last Peacemaker

Moving a B-36 isn't as hard as building the Pyramid of Giza...but it's close!

B-36:Moving The Last Peacemaker is a CD-ROM, containing 875 black-and-white photos of the preservation effort that focused on saving the last B-36 to roll off the assembly line from the smelters. Created in slide show format, it will run on any computer with a CD-ROM drive. Cost is a mere $19.95 plus $5.00 shipping.

B-36: MOVING THE LAST PEACEMAKER: AVIATION HISTORY/REFERENCE

NEW REFERENCE SOURCE FOR LOVERS OF THE IMMENSE AND MAGNIFICENT CONSOLIDATED B-36 PEACEMAKER... STILL THE LARGEST MANNED
BOMBER EVER BUILT.

875 BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOS.

NOW AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT!

CLICK ON THE ORANGE TITLE HYPERLINK TO BE TAKEN TO A PAGE WHERE YOU CAN ORDER SECURELY WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD.