Until I saw the props on the trailing wing edge I thought this might be the one flown by Slim who risked the Ruskies harpooning it to get below the radar I remember too much of that film for my own good
You might assume that 3 colours, blue, grey and sandy-beige does not add much and yet this would be far less imposing in B&W, I feel
Yes I agree. I don’t get out to the desert southwest as much as when I lived there.. I always liked shooting Velvia 50 in the desert so this business trip (with a few hours available to swing by Pima) was a real treat.
Yes it is a great photo, and absolutely my favorite aircraft of all time. Don’t know why the pusher props but i do know it was the first bomber designed with the intention of carrying nuclear devices. That may have something to do with the huge amount of wing. I lived in west Texas as a child for a time and they would fly over regularly. They make a tremendous noise.
B36. Strategic Air Command. Deployed in 1948, dumped as terrible engineering and replaced in 1955 by B52 which is still with us today, after over 60 yrs.
B36 replaced B29 (which lacked range per Jaynes) on belief that Britain might fall to the Nazis and US Strategic Air Command would carry on from vastly more distant bases in the US (such as Kirtland in New Mexico), first against Germany and ultimately against USSR, which would crush Nazis from the east.
The propellers are in the back to avoid creating turbulence which would disturb air flow over the wing. Not quite enough air went through the vents in the front of the wing and sometimes caused overheating and fires. Even though they were essentially obsolete when they entered service, they were they only plane available that could carry a nuke and deliver it all the way to Russia and back.
If they ever had to actually drop a nuclear weapon, the plane was too slow to fly out of blast range and would likely be severely damaged or destroyed.
As a teen I lived at Malmstrom AFB in Montana ... several KB29s (fuel tanker B29s) piloted by officers from or base flew from Montana to North Africa and back, not stopping off anywhere else but refueling from somewhere. The crews bought back duty-free cases of scotch whisky since there was no military mission (think Catch 22)
B36 was a massive financial political scam given that a) mere B29s escaped Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts b) immediate idea was to continue war against Germany in event Britain fell, not against Russia, our ally Vs Nazis) c) Bombing USSR and safe return was a later fantasy involving B52. Also, fwiw, Russian Bear nuke bombers remain prop job today.