[ARC5] B-36J Radio Operator Position

[Jay Coward]

Hi All,
 Check out "CONVAIR B-36 A Comprehensive History of America's "Big Stick" by Meyers K. Jacobsen from Schiffer   Military History, C.W.1997, ISBN: 0-7643-0530-1, Lib. of Congress Cat.Num. 98-84394.

 This big volume is loaded with photos and history. Even a chapter entitled "The B-36 Goes to Hollywood".

I am informed that there is a B-36 at Castle Rock A.F.B. in Calif. that is open to tour once a year. Someday I plan to go but someday never  appears on my calendar.

When a child ('57-'58) growing up on the east coast we spent summers in coastal Massachusetts. I have vivid memories of B-36 patrol flights flying overhead at relatively low altitude in the late evenings as they headed out on missions. At night they looked like flying Christmas Trees, triangular shape but lit up with all kinds of flickering lights, i.e. six turning and four burning.  (of course I learned all this later). I presume they were based at Otis A.F.B. but then I was a little kid and had just heard of it.. These were the days of nuclear air raid practice and they made no bones about blast radius even to us kids,
  
But, the kicker was the B-36 turned out to be the most incredible audio frequency generator ever built by Man. When these aircraft passed overhead, every piece of one's house vibrated, every spoon, fork, and knife and every dish , plate  and all pots and pans vibrated, your teeth vibrated, your backbone vibrated, and every individual vertebrae vibrated, every pane of window glass was buzzing. And this was from one airplane.


 If I was at the "receiving end" of a B-36 mission and even not a "for real" M.A.D., I would be very afraid. My father constantly reassured his children that these were the Peacemakers.

I have also read that the SALT treat(y)(ies) forbid the US from putting engines back on to the few remaining B-36 aircraft, that's how much they were feared.
 
 Jay

-----Original Message-----
From: Kenneth G. Gordon <kgordon2006 at frontier.com>
To: J. Forster <jfor at quikus.com>
Cc: ARC5 <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tue, Jun 11, 2013 11:55 am
Subject: Re: [ARC5] B-36J Radio Operator Position


On 11 Jun 2013 at 10:04, J. Forster wrote:

> Wierd.
> 
> I wonder if the pistons ran on diesel or the jets ran on avgas? Or was
> there an intermediate fuel?

As I remember it, the jets ran on avgas. Someone else here who actually 
knows may correct me.

Anyway, the thing about it that fascinated me was that using the jets made 
the B-36 almost into a hot rod. 400+ MPH is pretty darned fast for something 
so blasted big. And the altitude capability was REALLY interesting. 
Especially with the RB-36s.

Ken W7EKB
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