B-36: Saving the Last Peacemaker (2nd Edition) [CD-ROM]

Ed Calvert (Author), Don Pyeatt (Author), Richard Marmo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002

Of a total of 383 Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" intercontinental bombers, the last one built is remembered as signaling the end of its era - an era that without this aircraft type could have seen the end of our way of life on Earth.

By the time this last aircraft of its type was built, developments of high performance jet-powered aircraft, ballistic missiles and stealthy atomic-powered submarines had pushed the piston-engined B-36 into obsolescence, but not before it had served as an effective deterrent to the Soviet Union's goal of enslaving Europe with communism during the Cold War and as a test bed for major advancements in defense technology.

When the last B-36 retired from service, the United States Air Force loaned it to the City of Fort Worth, Texas to be enshrined at historic Amon Carter Field as a symbol of freedom and as a monument to those who built, maintained and operated B-36 aircraft.

After 11 years of public display, the aircraft was threatened with destruction when the park it occupied was sold to land developers as a result of the construction of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Not willing to allow the Cold War's ultimate nuclear deterrent be reduced to a few ingots of aluminum, a handful of aircraft workers overcame a series of seemingly impossible obstacles to preserve the last B-36 for future generations. Facing resistance from land developers, their city government and the Air Force, the stalwart group eventually gained support from their community and saved the aircraft.

A true story of the determination of a small group of men to save the historic last B-36 Peacemaker from destruction, B-36: SAVING THE LAST PEACEMAKER provides a photographic and narrative record of one of the most unlikely aircraft rescues in American history.

Profusely illustrated with 408 photographs and documents, this second edition of B-36: SAVING THE LAST PEACEMAKER has been revised and expanded with a wealth of additional information that was not available in the first edition.

Written in HTML, the book utilizes a program that is standard equipment in most computers sold today - a web browser - for telling this amazing American story.

DISK CONTENTS:

• A chronological presentation of 408 color and black-and-white photographs, official documents and other graphic images, plus historically accurate narratives of the depicted events.

• A thoroughly researched history of the manufacture, delivery to the Air Force, service life, retirement and preservation of the last B-36.

• Actual color progress photos of the restoration of the aircraft by retired Convair and Air Force veterans.

• An appendix of related photographs, documents and other information for the serious aviation historian, student and modeler.

• A detailed history of Convair in North Texas that explains why the B-36 was manufactured in Fort Worth and originally based at Carswell AFB.

• Sound recordings of a B-36 departing Carswell AFB and another dropping its bomb load.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Convair's B-36 Peacemaker was aptly named: It never dropped a bomb in anger. Its sheer size and complexity never fails to impress the viewer. Of hundreds made, only a few survive. So where do you find detailed photos of the B-36? Modelers who want to detail the 1/72 scale Monogram, the 1/144 scale Hobbycraft Canada, or even the old 1/184 scale Revell B-36 kits would be well served by "B-36: Saving the Last Peacemaker" on CD-ROM. With more than 200 photos of the restoration effort by a small group of dedicated men, modelers will get loads of information on the inner and outer workings of the world's biggest bomber. -- Paul Boyer, Senior Editor, FineScale Modeler

Only in America would you have found the vision, skill and perseverance to plan and produce a warplane of the size and capability of the Consolidated B-36 Peacemaker. And only in America would you find the faith, tenacity and skill to undertake the restoration of the last of these giant bombers. Both efforts are a testament to the love of flight and they are combined today in another breath-taking achievement, the creation of this CD. This marvelous record of the restoration of the last Peacemaker built belongs in every library, public or private, both for its subject matter and for the excellence of its execution.....

This great CD tells of the turnaround and the ultimate success of the project that saved an airplane that was born of requirements from more than fifty years before. -- Walter J. Boyne, Co-founder, Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum

The B-36 has always fascinated me, and I feel fortunate to have been asked to write two different books on the aircraft in the last several years. When I was a teenager, I was able to spend some time in Fort Worth when the B-36 that is the subject of this CD was at Greater Southwest airport. At that time, a small group was trying to make the aircraft flyable with the intent of making it a flying museum. Various things transpired that made this impossible, and the aircraft languished for some time. After a while, being outdoors took its toll on the aircraft and reduced its once magnificent appearance to a mere memory. Fortunately, that is no longer the case and the aircraft is being lovingly restored, although sadly it will never again fly. This CD is an excellent record of the restoration and preservation of the very last Peacemaker ever built, B-36J-10-III-CF, serial number 52-2827A, and should be a part of any aviation enthusiast's library.... -- Dennis Jenkins, aviation writer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Mr. C.E. Calvert, a retired Convair aeronautical engineer, was present during all phases of rescuing and restoring the last B-36 and is actively participating in its preservation today. Mr. Calvert's personal collection of photographs made during the moving and reassembly of the aircraft is included here. His memories of events that saved the last B-36 from destruction guided the production of this book.

Mr. G.D. Pyeatt, a website developer and publisher, is an active volunteer with the B-36 restoration team. Mr. Pyeatt had made numerous color photographs of the last B-36 as it was being restored for an unsuccessful attempt to convert it to a flying museum. Some of those pictures have appeared on his personal website as part of a general history of the B-36, but others have never before been published. Mr. Pyeatt has donated his time and his company's resources to compile the material contained in this book and to produce it on Compact Disk.

Mr. R.C. Marmo, a professional model builder, freelance writer and a regular volunteer for the Peacemaker Foundation and Museum of Aviation Group, avidly photographed the removal of the last B-36 from Greater Southwest International Airport (Amon G. Carter Field) and its reassembly at the Southwest Aerospace Museum site. Several of those photographs have been published in various news accounts, but thousands more have not been seen publicly before now.

Product Details

• CD-ROM: 320 pages
• Publisher: ProWeb Fort Worth; 2nd edition (April 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0967759315
• ISBN-13: 978-0967759319
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,820,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Professional & Technical > Transportation > Aviation > Pictorial

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last, living photos of the B-36, October 21, 2000

By 

P. Schmidt (Chicago, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: B-36: Saving the Last Peacemaker (CD-ROM)

The Convair B-36 is one of those engineering marvels which one suspects is unknown and disregarded by most Americans. Yet, in its day, this was regarded as America's "Big Stick" and was very well known to all in the land (not to mention many in charge over in the Soviet Union.) Happily there are four of these machines still in existence under roofs in aviation museums. However, the very last B-36 to be manufactured had the most difficult time on its long road to preservation. This CD-ROM format book tells the story in great detail with 219 photos and plenty of descriptive text.

To make it compatible with most computers, the files are in HTML format, and should work with any Internet browser. The text and photos are adequately hyperlinked and there are also some links to websites that contain extra information.

One unexpected treat is the pair of vintage sound files, letting us hear the sound of a B-36 taking off with its ten engines throbbing and roaring away. The only other place to hear (and see) a B-36 in operation is the video release of "Strategic Air Command" starring Jimmy Stewart, and if you like either this book or that movie, you will want to have the other one.

Hey, and think about paying a visit to support this last B-36.

***************
Update 2010
This B-36, which spent most of its time in Ft. Worth, has been moved to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, AZ, where it is being assembled again. Some of the restorations made in Ft. Worth were deemed inadequate by the National Museum of the United States Air Force (which actually owns the plane), so Pima ASM is doing some additional restoration. Hopefully the old bird will be fully assembled in the near future. Meanwhile, the one and only XC-99 cargo transport version of the B-36 (even larger than its sister), has been moved from its long posting in Texas and resides in Ohio at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton. It will take some years of restoration before it is put on display.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique record of a unique machine - and a unique effort, August 14, 2002

By 

Corrie Bergeron (St. Louis Park, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: B-36: Saving the Last Peacemaker (2nd Edition) (CD-ROM)

When I was a high-school kid in the late 1970's I fell in love with an older lady - the massive, marvelous B-36 Peacemaker on display at Amon Carter Field in Fort Worth, Texas.

First designed to attack Nazi Germany from North American bases, the B-36 became America's "Big Stick" at the height of the Cold War. The capabilities of the B-36 provided much of the deterrence that prevented the Soviet Union from attacking America or our NATO allies. B-36J #52-2827 was the last B-36 built, of over 300 produced. In 1958 she made her last flight and was put on display at Amon Carter Field.

When I discovered her in 1977 or so, she was in pretty sad shape. But a bunch of old guys (so they seemed to me) were putting her back together, and they didn't mind me hanging around and helping out. At the time, I was just a teenager crazy about airplanes. I had no idea of the grand scope of the project at the time, much less the incredible efforts of the "old guys" working on the plane.

Now I do. "Saving the Last Peacemaker" not only brought back a lot of fond memories, but gave me a deep appreciation for the amazing accomplishments of the dedicated men who rescued and restored #2827.

Today, the Last Peacemaker has been lovingly restored in painstaking detail and is currently awaiting a new home for permanent public display. Compare the photos of the stripped, vandalized cockpit in the late '70s to the photos of the interior after restoration, and you'll understand the labor of love involved.

Sure, lots of old airplanes have been preserved and restored, and the stories blur together after a while. But "Saving the Last Peacemaker" is no dry technical memoir. It's a cliff-hanger adventure story, complete with government agents, desperate races against the clock, last-minute reprieves, and plot twists.

It's illustrated with dozens of photographs. Model-builders will revel in the close-up photographs of the structure and the interior, revealing details seldom seen before.

If you're an airplane nut - of any age - this is a must-have item.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So THAT is what happened to the B-36!, March 28, 2001

By 

Failure Analyst (Fort Wayne, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: B-36: Saving the Last Peacemaker (CD-ROM)

I had read with interest about the efforts to restore the B-36 which is the subject of this book when I was in High School. Over twenty years later, when I ran across a reference to this CD, I just had to get it.

The CD is written in HTML, the "language" of the Internet, and requires web browser software to view it. It came up fine on IE 4.0 running on my 133 MHz PC running Win95, and later on a 450 MHz laptop on IE 5.0 under WIN98.

The book is written in chapter links which can be selected at any time, which I found convenient to use. It was mildly annoying to read so much text (many hours) on a PC screen, but the plethora of pictures helped break up the text, and the sound files were great fun. I scaled the text size up a bit for easier reading.

The history of the aircraft is absolutely first-rate; the book runs logically along its lengthy timeline, from manufacture to its final move to safety. I was fascenated with the many unique photos of the interior, engines being run up, and the various pieces being frantically moved out to avoid being scrapped. It was wonderful to discover the final fate of this big old bomber.

I recommend this CD to any aviation buff who would dream of discovering, restoring and flying an old abandoned military airplane - you will enjoy this story, and learn a whole lot about the practical problems that come along with such a great project.