The nuclear age began on a Monday morning in 1945. At 8:15 a.m., an Enola Gay B-29 bomber dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The world would never be the same. Humans had harnessed the power of the atom for war. Could we do it for other purposes? Could we build an aircraft that was powered by nuclear energy? It turns out, yes—in fact, there were several attempts to build such a plane before and after World War II. One of these planes, known as the Convair NB-36, was designed in 1951 and completed in 1955. The NB-36 took off on its first test flight on September 18th, 1955, and flew 47 missions over three years until it was decommissioned in 1958.
The NB-36 was a B-36H bomber, modified to carry a nuclear reactor. The purpose of the aircraft was to test the effects of nuclear power on an aircraft and its crew.
The NB-36H had four Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines that were designed to run on conventional fuel or nuclear power. This meant that the pilot could switch between conventional and nuclear modes without having to shut down the plane or change any systems. The plane flew normally until 1954 when it was retired from active service and used only as a testbed by Convair at Carswell AFB in Texas until 1958 when it was finally decommissioned for good.
The NB-36 was designed to carry a nuclear reactor and fly it over cities during tests to determine how radiation exposure affected people.
The NB-36 first flew on July 15, 1955. It had a huge nose that housed the reactor, which weighed over 40 tons (37 metric tonnes) and generated 150 MW of electricity — enough to power 20 average homes! The plane could be flown remotely by two pilots while they were in a shielded cabin at its rear end and had no need for runway takeoff or landing gear because it was designed as an airborne laboratory rather than as a bomber or transport aircraft.
The pilots and crew who flew the NB-36H were exposed to intense levels of radiation. The plane was never intended for actual flight, so its cockpit lacked several safety features and equipment that would have made it safer for flight. This included an ejection seat, which would have allowed them to escape if the vehicle caught fire or exploded in midair.
The crew did not leave the aircraft—they were never allowed outside. They were restricted from eating or drinking while they were in the air or landing on their missions (for fear of contaminating other parts of the plane). They couldn’t use restrooms while flying either; instead, they had portable toilets delivered directly onto airplanes with each launch. And even though these conditions weren’t ideal for anyone—let alone people working on top-secret military projects—it was especially challenging for female crew members who needed feminine hygiene products and tampons but weren’t allowed access to them due to strict security protocols and regulations at the time that prohibited women from serving as test pilots or other high-ranking positions within these programs.
The aircraft was capable of hovering for months at a time, with its engines running on liquid hydrogen. The NB-36 was used to test nuclear reactor technology, which led to the creation of other types of aircraft like the Convair B-58 Hustler bomber and Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane.
However, the NB-36 program was canceled in 1957. The reactor’s instability was one of the main reasons for its cancellation, as it made flight testing difficult and risky. Additionally, nuclear weapons were being tested with greater frequency at this point. As such, a new class of aircraft that could carry these weapons and drop them accurately became essential to the US military forces.
As such, although the NB-36H never saw any actual combat action during its short operational lifespan (only about five months), it did pave the way for future generations of airborne nuclear platforms like the B-52 bombers used today by both NATO members and non-NATO states alike.
In 1958, an engine caught fire during startup and had to be replaced.
The NB-36 was designed by Convair, a division of General Dynamics (the same company responsible for building Mach 3+ SR-71 Blackbird spy planes). It was built at what is now known as Amarillo Army Air Field Auxiliary #4 or “Amarillo Airport” (AMA), where it operated until 1960.
The NB-36H was a remarkable feat of engineering, and it represents a turning point in aviation history that took place many years ago. Over time, this technology has been refined and improved upon, leading to more advanced aircraft designs. Although the NB-36H never flew beyond a few feet off the ground, it played an important role in paving the way for today’s generation of supersonic jets.
