B-36 Flyby - Incredible!

Found a link over at WIX to this video. Back in the early 50s, B-36s were commonplace over at Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth. In addition to being built there by (then) Convair on the west side of the base, the east side ramps held two wings of the huge bombers. The B-36s were long gone before I had the chance to see one flying. From what I've heard from veterans and folks who lived near the base, having one go over on takeoff or landing shook the ground - the noise and vibration from the 6 props must have been incredible.

Which makes this buzz job even more spectacular. Sure wish there was surround sound with it!

I saw some comments that indicated the pilot was buzzing the house of a friend when he took off. Don't know if that's the case, but after that it may have been an ex-friend!

The Day Mother Nature Crippled Strategic Air Command

On Monday (Labor Day) Sep. 1, 1952, at 6:42pm, a tornado ripped across Carswell AFB. In a few minutes, Mother Nature did what the Soviet Union never could - brought the Strategic Air Command to its knees.

The 7th and 11th Bomb Wing's fleet of B-36s were decimated, as was Convair's production flightline at their facility on the west side of the runway. 2/3 of SAC's fleet of B-36s was damaged that evening. 71 aircraft suffered damage.

A frantic effort was undertaken by the Air Force and Convair to repair the aircraft. Five weeks after the storm, 51 of the aircraft were back in service. The remaining airframes sustained enough damage that Convair's efforts to repair them took longer. Only one aircraft was damaged beyond repair - a testimony to the value of the B-36 at that time, the aircraft were so important that every effort was made to repair even the most seriously damages airframes.

All photos official USAF

Strategic Air Command

A clip from the movie 'Strategic Air Command'. Jimmy Stewart starred in this 1955 movie about the USAF's strategic bomber force. The movie was an unabashed advertisement for the Air Force. The real stars were B-36s and B-47s, and it is a great look back at state of the art Air Force technology of that era.

In this clip, a B-36 is seen taking off from Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth. I've spent many hours on the ramp there photographing aircraft, though from an age not so long ago. As the aircraft runs up on the north hammerhead, I am reminded of the many times I've stood in the same spot as the cameraman, shooting F-4s, F-16s, F-14s, and F-18s. As the aircraft takes off, you can see the Convair (then General Dynamics, now Lockheed-Martin) factory in the background, where dozens fo B-36s are seen in various phases of construction. White Settlement sure has changed over the years, but I bet some of those same houses are still standing there.

The movie appears now and then on nostalgia TV channels - it really shines on the big screen in HD. The DVD is available on Amazon.com.