B-36 Peacemaker Museum
Encyclopedia
The B-36 Peacemaker Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to "Dedicated to the preservation of the rich aviation history of North Texas".
built. Of 386 B-36s built from 1946 to 1952, only four intact examples survive. B-36-J-III 52-2827 City of Fort Worth was built in Fort Worth
, Texas
in 1952, and was retired in 1958. It was displayed at Amon Carter Field, later Greater Southwest Airport, from 1958 until the late 1970s, when it was moved to Carswell Air Force Base
. Exposed to the extremes of Texas weather, the giant aircraft slowly deteriorated. In the early 1990s the aircraft was disassembled and moved indoors to hangar space at the factory where it was built, donated by Lockheed
Aircraft. A group of dedicated volunteers, many of them retired Convair
employees who had worked on the original B-36 assembly line, spent 40,000 man-hours restoring the plane.
The complete story of the preservation and restoration effort is told on "Saving the Last Peacemaker", a CD-ROM
available through the Museum's giftshop.
(NMUSAF), but was on loan to the B-36 Peacemaker Museum. In 2006, it was agreed that the Peacemaker Museum did not have the proper resources to restore and exhibit the aircraft, and the aircraft was trucked to the Pima Air & Space Museum
(PASM) in Tucson, Arizona
where it is was restored and and is currently exhibited. In the arid Tucson climate, it is possible to display aircraft outdoors without the kind of deteriorization that occurred in Fort Worth. The National Museum of the United States Air Force still retains ownership of the aircraft. The future direction of the B-36 Peacemaker Museum is still undecided.
Original purpose of the museum
The museum was originally created to preserve and display the last Convair B-36Convair B-36
The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" was a strategic bomber built by Convair and operated solely by the United States Air Force from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 was the largest mass-produced piston engine aircraft ever made. It had the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built , although there have...
built. Of 386 B-36s built from 1946 to 1952, only four intact examples survive. B-36-J-III 52-2827 City of Fort Worth was built in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in 1952, and was retired in 1958. It was displayed at Amon Carter Field, later Greater Southwest Airport, from 1958 until the late 1970s, when it was moved to Carswell Air Force Base
Carswell Air Force Base
Carswell Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base located about northwest central of Fort Worth, Texas, United States; the air force base is mostly within the Fort Worth city limits and has portions within Westworth and White Settlement...
. Exposed to the extremes of Texas weather, the giant aircraft slowly deteriorated. In the early 1990s the aircraft was disassembled and moved indoors to hangar space at the factory where it was built, donated by Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
Aircraft. A group of dedicated volunteers, many of them retired Convair
Convair
Convair was an American aircraft manufacturing company which later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Vultee Aircraft and Consolidated Aircraft, and went on to produce a number of pioneering aircraft, such as the Convair B-36 bomber, and the F-102...
employees who had worked on the original B-36 assembly line, spent 40,000 man-hours restoring the plane.
The complete story of the preservation and restoration effort is told on "Saving the Last Peacemaker", a CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
available through the Museum's giftshop.
Transfer of the B-36 to Arizona
The aircraft is officially owned by the National Museum of the United States Air ForceNational Museum of the United States Air Force
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
(NMUSAF), but was on loan to the B-36 Peacemaker Museum. In 2006, it was agreed that the Peacemaker Museum did not have the proper resources to restore and exhibit the aircraft, and the aircraft was trucked to the Pima Air & Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum
The Pima Air & Space Museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres on a campus occupying 127 acres . Located in Tucson, Arizona, it is one of the world's largest, non-government funded aerospace museums...
(PASM) in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
where it is was restored and and is currently exhibited. In the arid Tucson climate, it is possible to display aircraft outdoors without the kind of deteriorization that occurred in Fort Worth. The National Museum of the United States Air Force still retains ownership of the aircraft. The future direction of the B-36 Peacemaker Museum is still undecided.