194748

This is the Convair XB-36 Peacemaker prototype (42-13570) and its original single wheel main landing gear.

grace!

grace!

Consolidated B-36A-1-CF Peacemaker 44-92004 c/n 1 'BM-004' officially accepted by the USAF in May 1948, was delivered on 18 June 1948 to the Air Proving Ground Command to undergo extensive testing. "....The first production B-36A (44-92004) retained the R-4360-25s of the two prototypes. It flew for the first time on August 28, 1947, actually beating the YB-36 into the air by four months. Beryl Erickson was again at the controls. Although it had been decided that production B-36s should carry a defensive armament of sixteen 20-mm cannon, no armament was actually fitted to this aircraft. The B-36A featured the domed canopy first seeen on the YB-36 and it had the four-wheel landing gear system that had replaced the single-wheel main landing gear. However, an AN/APQ-23 bombing navigational radar was installed. This aircraft was only fitted with enough equipment for a flight to Wright Field in Ohio, where it was permanently grounded so that it could be structurally tested to destruction. It was permanently designated as YB-36A...." Joe Baugher