The XB-58 Hustler prototype was carried by the enormous B-36 Peacemaker. - Aviation Wings The XB-58 Hustler prototype was carried by the enormous B-36 Peacemaker. - Aviation Wings

The XB-58 Hustler prototype was carried by the enormous B-36 Peacemaker.

Convair was able to move the XB-58 prototype from Fort Worth, Texas, to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, for testing, using a modified Peacemaker bomber, with ease because of the massive B-36

Originally intended to be a transatlantic bomber to attack Europe from US bases, the Convair B-36 was first conceptualized in 1941. By 1943, the Pacific Theater was being used against the Japanese home islands, rather than the European Theater. The prototype XB-36’s first flight was not scheduled until August 8, 1946, nearly six years after the original design contracts were signed, due to additional design modifications and the B-29s‘ increased success.

B-36 transporting the XB-58 airframe using eight of ten engines (note both of the inboard propellers have been removed for this flight)

The largest production bomber ever produced is the B-36 Peacemaker. It was called the “Magnesium Monster” by pilots. Five gunners, two navigators, a bombardier, a flight engineer, a radio operator, a radar operator, two ECM operators, and a pilot made up the B-36J crew.

The B-36 never dropped a bomb during battle, despite being the largest bomber ever constructed and having the largest combat unrefueled radius.

A concept model to demonstrate the B-36 and XB-58 airframe combination

However, Convair was able to move the XB-58 prototype from Ft. Worth, Texas, to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB), in Ohio, for testing using a modified Peacemaker bomber, with ease thanks to the large B-36.

Close-in view of the B-36 and XB-58 airframe mating, note the propeller has been removed from the wing’s inboard engine as well as the strut assembly joining the two wings together.

The bomb bay doors and the left and right inboard engines’ propellers were removed because they were in the way of the XB-58’s wings, which were positioned beneath the bomber, according to the Travel for Aircraft website.

The XB-58 was not equipped with engines, and the vertical fin assembly was removed since the airframe was being tested. The remaining eight engines of the Peacemakers (four reciprocating and four turbojets) plus their superior wing made job easier.

Convair B-36F-1-CF (S/N 49-2677) converted for use as a carrier for the Convair XB-58 primary fuselage and wing structure. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Bill Plumlee, a former manager of Convair’s manufacturing, appears in the video below explaining the B-58 Hustler airframe’s ferry trip from Fort Worth to Dayton while it was mounted to the underbelly of a B-36.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and San Diego Air & Space Museum archive

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