The B-36 was one of the largest strategic bombers of all time. It was powered by six propellers mounted to "push" (to most people it looks like someone mounted the engines backwards) there were two jet engines on the tip of each wing. The aircraft was designed to fly at very high altitudes, out of range from propeller driven aircraft. Unfortunately the B-36 was obsolete before it was built, the relatively new jet technology resulted in the faster B-52. However the B-36 remained the backbone of SAC for many years.

The B-36 does hold an infamous place in US history. A B-36 went down on a standard patrol, resulting in the first "Broken Arrow" in US history. Most of the crew bailed out after setting the autopilot to take the doomed aircraft out to sea. For some reason after the crew left the bomber it made a sharp turn and headed inland. The wreckage was discovered in the Canadian wilderness. The wreckage is accessible for only a few weeks of the year, the rest of the time it is covered in snow. The US government recovered the plutonium detonator (the bomb was jettisoned into the sea).

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