Can any one identify the program or mission for the B-36 in photo #5? Photo 2-4 are of the Peacekeeper fitted with an airbourne nuclear reactor - reactor did NOT provide power to the engines. This was only a test to see if a nuclear reactor could be taken in an airplane
http://kevsaviationpics.blogspot.tw/2012/03/convair-b-36h-peacemaker.html
Regards to all.
Steve
From Joseph Baugher:
The idea of a nuclear-powered aircraft (with a duration measured in days rather than in hours) dates back to the late 1940s. In 1946, the Air Force gave a contract to the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Company to explore the possibility of a nuclear-powered aircraft. The study was known by the name NEPA (which stood for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft) and was carried out at Oak Ridge in Tennessee. In 1948, another study was performed for the Atomic Energy Commission by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This study concluded that a nuclear-powered aircraft was actually feasible, but that it would take at least 15 years to develop.
By early 1951, the Air Force had concluded that the NEPA project had shown enough promise that work should begin on an actual propulsion unit. General Electric was the prime propulsion contractor. The system would work by having air enter a compressor, where it would be heated by passing through the reactor, and be exhausted through a jet nozzle. Pratt and Whitney was given a contract for the development of an indirect cycle engine which would use an intermediate fluid to transfer the heat to the air rather than by passing the air through the reactor core itself.
In 1954, the Air Force decided to begin work on an actual aircraft, given the project name of WS-125A. Pratt & Whitney and General Electric were to be the primary engine contractors, with Lockheed and Convair handling the airframe work. The WS-125A would be a high-altitude subsonic bomber, but would have a supersonic cruise capability.
As part of the project, it was necessary to test the effects of nuclear reactor radiation on instruments, equipment, and airframe and to study shielding methods. To support this effort, B-36H ser no 51-5712 was assigned to the program on May 11, 1953. This particular aircraft had been severely damaged in a tornado which struck Carswell AFB on September 1, 1952. Rather than trying to repair the heavily-damaged nose section, the plane was kept by Convair and reassigned to the ANP program.
A nuclear reactor (which did not actually power the aircraft) was mounted in the aft bomb bay. The reactor was a 1000-kilowatt design weighing 35,000 pounds. The reactor could be removed from the aircraft by a crane while on the ground. A number of large air intake and exhaust holes were installed in the sides and bottom of the rear fuselage to cool the reactor. The crew of 5 (pilot, copilot, flight engineer, plus two nuclear engineers) was housed entirely in a highly-modified compartment in the fuselage nose section. The compartment was composed of lead and rubber, and entirely surrounded the crew. A four-ton lead disc shield was installed in the middle of the aircraft. Only the pilot and co-pilot could see out through the foot-thick, leaded-glass windshield. A closed-circuit television system enabled the crew to watch the reactor. The aircraft was redesignated XB-36H. It bore the name "Crusader" on the fuselage side.
Its first flight was made on September 17, 1955, with test pilot A. S. Witchell, Jr. at the controls. All of the test flights were carried out over sparsely-populated areas, and the reactor was not turned on until the plane was at a safe altitude. Flying alongside the XB-36H on every one of its flights was a C-97 transport carrying a platoon of armed Marines ready to parachute down and surround the test aircraft in case it crashed. The project was classified until late 1955 when the Defense Department revealed the existence of the B-36 testbed.
In the autumn of 1956, the aircraft was redesignated NB-36H. However, at about this time, the Air Force decided to cancel the WS-125A nuclear aircraft program. The NB-36H made its last flight on March 28, 157. Up to that time, a total of 47 flights had been made. The NB-36H was decommissioned at Fort Worth in late 1957. It was scrapped several months later, with the radioactive parts being buried.
A nuclear-powered B-36H, which was temporarily designated X-6, had been ordered in 1951. However, it never actually materialized.
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b36.html
Thanks Lee - any ideas on the poke-a-dot and stripe aircraft? Looks like a possible "formation aircraft", but I don't remember any plans for formations of B-36s to be used for operations.
Regards,
Steve
From Bert Kinzey, Detail and Scale:
Two B-36H aircraft were operated by the 4925th Test Group (Atomic) for weapons drop tests in the 1950s. The paint scheme was identical on both sides of the aircraft with two exceptions on the vertical tail. The colors appear to be insignia red, white, and blue. The wings and center section of the fuselage are natural metal.
AH - makes sense now - checking paints, locations & formats during the above ground tests.
Thanks Lee - Hope to see you Sunday.
Regards,
Steve
Here is a Hyperscale discusion of the same, below the picture, about half way down:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/thread/1251492798/1251744934/Revell-Monogram+RB-36+-+Who's+built+it
The plane in the pic is 51-5726. From the Hyperscale thread:
It's On The Cover Of B-36 Peacemaker in detail & scale, Wayne Wachsmuth; ©1997 by Detail and Scale. Inc.
The caption reads:
"Two B-36H aircraft, 51-5726 and 52-1358, were operated by the 4925th Test Group (Atomic) for weapons test drops in the 1950s...The colors appear to be insignia red, white, and blue. The wings and center section of the fuselage are natural metal."
The same photo plus two B&W photos are published in Magnesium Overcast: The Story Of The Convair B-36, Dennis R. Jenkins; Specialty Press, ©2001-2002.
That caption states they flew out of Kirtland AFB, and "Contrary to some reports, this scheme was not used during the atomic bomb tests, but was applied when the aircraft were used as high-altitude photo targets for ground-based cameras on the Atlantic Missile Range at Cape Canaveral."
Hope that helps!
That makes even more sense, Matt. Generally, bomb drop testing involves brightly colored and marked bombs rather than the aircraft themselves. Oh well, another Kinzey mistake -- there are many in his series of books.
My son in graduating from UNC this Sunday so I won't be able to attend the club meeting. I'll see y'all next year. Merry Christmas!
Lee K
Matt,
Is there any indication of the time period these A/C operated for the Air Force Eastern Test Range? This would go along with Lee's information. Through the end of the Apollo program the 4950 Test Wing's ARIA aircraft operated from Patrick AFB. there were also optics Aircraft (cannot remember name) with them (see photo below - back row). Wonder if they were working with the B-36's? I know we had multiple high altitude cameras there for the test flights.
http://www.flyaria.com/Images/Aircraft/Flight%20Line/11%20ARIA%20Patrick%20AFB-R.jpg
LEE! You would rather go to UNC than be with us - shame on you (GO WOLFPACK!) Best wishes to your family and son on his graduation.
Regards,
Steve
Quote from: Badger 3 on Mon 12/09/13 07:32 PM
LEE! You would rather go to UNC than be with us - shame on you (GO WOLFPACK!) Best wishes to your family and son on his graduation.
Dude, you have no idea how much it pains me to have to spend a couple of hours in the Dean Dome surrounded by all that ugly baby blue! Where did I go wrong?!
Lee K, Duke University alumni
Quote from: Badger 3 on Mon 12/09/13 07:32 PM
Matt,
Is there any indication of the time period these A/C operated for the Air Force Eastern Test Range? This would go along with Lee's information. Through the end of the Apollo program the 4950 Test Wing's ARIA aircraft operated from Patrick AFB. there were also optics Aircraft (cannot remember name) with them (see photo below - back row). Wonder if they were working with the B-36's? I know we had multiple high altitude cameras there for the test flights.
http://www.flyaria.com/Images/Aircraft/Flight%20Line/11%20ARIA%20Patrick%20AFB-R.jpg
LEE! You would rather go to UNC than be with us - shame on you (GO WOLFPACK!) Best wishes to your family and son on his graduation.
Regards,
Steve
I don't have anymore info about this, sorry, just the thread I found on Hyperscale!