Convair B-36: An Intercontinental Bomber That Kept The Peace

The Convair B-36 was conceived in 1941, just as the U.S. was preparing for and entering the second World War. Dubbed “The Peacemaker”, the huge strategic bomber had the longest wingspan of any combat plane built and was the largest mass produced piston-engined plane. Although it was capable of intercontinental flight and delivering nuclear weapons, it was never used in combat. Very few remain today, including one, 42-13571, which was added to the Walter Soplata Collection in August 1972. Read about the legacy of the Peacemaker and the late Walter Soplata, and how MotoArt owner Dave Hall will preserve the memory of both. Get your B-36 Peacemaker PlaneTags here.

B-36 Bomber

YB-36 while sitting outside at the old USAF museum in Dayton, transferred from some old slides, courtesy of Jeff Mills. Used with permission.

In 1941, military minds were seeking a plane that could take off from the United States, fly over to Europe, namely Germany, drop bombs and return home without fueling. The first B-36 prototype, developed by Convair (Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation), was ready within a week of the Japanese surrender in 1945.  It flew for the first time on August 8, 1946. 

By all accounts, the B-36 fit the original requirements and became, at the time, one of the largest planes to soar through the sky. Its wingspan was a vast 230 feet, with six powerful engines, and propellers which were mounted on the rear of the wing to thrust the aircraft forward. A total of 384 were built. 

By U.S. Air Force photo, Public Domain

The B-36 was called the Peacemaker, and the name, in essence, was exactly what it was designed for - a deterrent to aggression. In the post WWII Cold War era, the B-36 suited up to carry a large payload of arms, including nuclear. The hope for this peacemaker was to frighten the enemy into not engaging, but if that was not possible, it still had all the capabilities of making a round trip from the East Coast of the United States to Leningrad to drop its deadly payload. The Peacemaker never fulfilled the bombing portion of its objective.

The scientists of the Manhattan Project had other ideas for the B-36. Not only to deploy nuclear bombs, but also to be nuclear powered itself. The newly fitted NB-36 was large enough to hold the test reactor and support the cockpit modifications made for the safety of the crew. This idea was scrapped in 1958, after a few dozen test flights and many years of design. The B-36 was also entertained as “parasitic fighter” for a short time. This concept involved a fighter plane riding inside the large bomber, which could be released to assist the bomber and later retrieved inside again. Modern airplane designs made both of these ideas obsolete but the idea that the B-36 was large enough and capable of them speaks to the massiveness of this plane.

But, like similar planes such as the B-47 Stratojet and the B-58 Hustler, the Peacemaker had known speed and handling issues that made it vulnerable to being shot down. It was capable of flying across the globe and back without refueling, but it could not be completely counted on to not get shot down. The last B-36 was built in 1954, replaced soon after by the B-52. 

USAF B-36 motto: "Six turning and four burning."
B-36 aircrews' unanimous motto: "Two turning, two burning, two joking, two smoking, and two unaccounted for."

YB-36 while sitting outside at the old USAF museum in Dayton, transferred from some old slides, courtesy of Jeff Mills. Used with permission.

Convair B-36 Peacemaker At A Glance

• Span: 230 feet

• Length: 162 feet, 1 inches

• Height: 46 feet, 9 inches

• Weight: 410,000 pounds loaded

• Armament: Sixteen M24 20mm cannon in eight nose, tail and fuselage turrets,

• 86,000 pounds of conventional or nuclear bombs

• Engine: Six Pratt & Whitney B 4360s of 3,800 horsepower and four General Electric J47s of 5,200 pounds thrust each

• Maximum speed: 435 mph

• Cruising speed: 230 mph

• Range: 10,000 miles

• Service ceiling: 45,700 feet

• Cost: $3,701,000

42-13571

YB-36 while sitting outside at the old USAF museum in Dayton, transferred from some old slides, courtesy of Jeff Mills. Used with permission.

42-13571 rolled out of the Convair aircraft plant in 1944. While WWII raged on, the B-36 was not yet ready to see combat. The prototype plane was originally YB-36 before becoming a YB-36A, then an RB-36E. It was the first B-36 prototype with a bubble canopy, which was later used on production B-36s. While the role of the B-36 in general was being tested throughout the 1940s and 50s, this particular plane was displayed at the original Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. Once the new National Museum of the USAF opened, a different B-36J was displayed. 42-13571 was cut up and destined for the scrap pile when Soplata bought it and brought it back to his airplane sanctuary in Ohio.

Soplata Collection B-36

Courtesy of Wally Soplata, from the family’s private collection

The handwritten caption for this photo (see below) reads “B36 nose cockpit glass painted over when at AF museum as faded by sun 2x4 wood to fill in missing sections Wife only help”. Mrs. Margaret Soplata was truly an asset to her husband’s airplane sanctuary. 

Courtesy of Wally Soplata, from the family’s private collection

“Mom loved all the aviation items too and knew about 90% as much as dad did!” - daughter, Margaret Soplata, from a letter to Dave Hall

Because only 384 B-36s were produced, it is not surprising that only a handful remain. It was with this urgency to preserve the Peacemaker that Walter Soplata sought out one for his collection of planes. It remained there from 1972 until it was purchased by MotoArt’s Dave Hall in 2019. 

Courtesy of Wally Soplata, from the family’s private collection

MotoArt Finds A B-36 Peacemaker

The B-36 Peacemaker from the Soplata Collection was a natural fit for a PlaneTag, believes MotoArt owner Dave Hall. “We get asked all the time why we cut up perfectly good airplanes,” said Hall. “We don’t. This plane had been cut up 45 years ago and then stored out in the Ohio elements.” It was in several pieces, the team discovered, some of which had been bolstered with 2x4s to fill in the missing sections. Still, even in pieces and rusted from the dampness, the distinctive silhouette of the B-36 was exciting to see.  

Convair B-36 Peacemaker PlaneTags

The B-36 Peacemaker PlaneTags were created from aircraft once preserved by Walter Soplata, whose legendary collection helped save rare and historically significant airplanes from being lost forever. In 2019, MotoArt carefully sourced original material from this B-36 and began the meticulous process of transforming authentic aircraft skin into PlaneTags.

Each tag was cut, finished, and engraved in-house, preserving the character, scale, and history of one of the most ambitious aircraft ever built. The result is a tangible keepsake that connects collectors to the early Cold War era and the mission to preserve aviation history, one aircraft at a time.

Soplata Collection PlaneTags

The B-36 Peacemaker was just the start - check out our complete Soplata collection. Truly a tribute to Walter Soplata’s legacy, these historic aircraft were preserved before they were lost to time. 

• Fairchild C-82 Packet (44-22991)
  A post-WWII military transport with unique twin-boom design.

• Boeing KC-97F Stratofreighter (51-0253)
  A heavy tanker/transport that helped keep global air operations moving.

• Douglas C-124C Globemaster II (51-0119)
  The “Old Shaky” — a massive workhorse for heavy airlift missions.

• P2V-7LP Neptune (140436)
  A long-range maritime patrol aircraft from the Cold War era.

• Sikorsky H-34 Seabat
  A versatile helicopter used by both military and civilian operators.

• Douglas DC-7 (N390AA) (Sold Out)
  A classic long-range piston airliner that connected continents.

• Convair B-36 Peacemaker (42-13571)
  The giant intercontinental bomber that helped define early deterrence.

Thank you from MotoArt PlaneTags

MotoArt would like to thank Jeff Mills for sharing his original photos, taken from slides. Jeff told us: "Extremely excited to see your new collaboration with the Soplata
Collection. As a child I was lucky enough to have visited Walter's collection several times. My family was frequent visitors to the USAF museum at Wright Patterson AFB and when it was relocated in the 1970's, several aircraft were not moved to the new location. My
favorites were always the YB-36 prototype (#42-13571) and the round-the-world-flight B-52, Lucky Lady III (#53-394). We had initially feared that these two had been scrapped until finding out through a friend about Walter. It was amazing to see the forward fuselage and cockpit of the B-52 still with ejection seats and that the YB-36 was being used as dry storage for other aircraft. Without his foresight to save these relics, we would not be able to enjoy them today. The aviation community is truly fortunate to have had him
around at the right time."

A special thank you to the Soplata family for sharing stories about their family, for developing these exclusive photos and sharing them with us, and for allowing us to share them as well.