B-36 over Manchester late 1950s
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Aviator Extraordinaire
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Great picture. That is one of the very first B-36s, note that it does not have the four jet engines installed under the wings.
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B36es landing at Burtonwood.
I remember the B36 flock landing; well. I lived in Widnes and the aircraft taking off from Burtonwood invariable flew low over our house, banked to port (Fairchild Packets, Douglas C124C Globemasters, B47 Stratojets, Stratofortresses, Sabres, and once or twice the Blue Angles,etc). We had a field at the back of our house and it gave me an unobstructed view of the sky. I was a keen plane spotter and a friend an I use to ride out to the airbase. We could get very close to the main runway and lie on our tums near one of the flight control and fire-fighter control points, watching the comings and goings. One day I watched a DC 3 doing bumps and circuits. He'd come in on his port side wheel and bounce the plane onto the starboard side one. He'd walk the plane down the runway bouncing from one wheel to the other and then fly round to repeat the whole performance. I was entranced. One day I came home from school and there were ten or more B36's circling to land at Burtonwood, like a flock of gulls. I was gobsmacked to see this aerial ballet and couldn't believe that so many huge planes could confidently, patiently bob and weave while the traffic controllers sorted out their aerial taphestry; their landing sequence. This would be about 1956/7. This was a very special time in my adolescence. Thank you USAF.
Last edited by gbroome1216; 5th Mar 2011 at 00:49. Reason: grammar
In the early fifties I lived on the west side of Bath.
Remember one day my father kept me home from school, saying something of interest to me, might occur!
Sometime during the day he said lets go outside and watch and listen .
Then they appeared, six B-36 routing over Bath ,assume going back to the States.
They were staggered down in height, first one high until the sixth one seemed to fill the sky, what a sight.
Of course with all this the fantastic sounds, never to be forgotten.
Nearest to it at the time, seeing/hearing the Brabazon many times turning to the west of Bath to line up for Filton. Then at Colerne Airshow 1953 three fairwell passes (Prior to scrapping) including a touch and go, by the Brab.
OPF
Remember one day my father kept me home from school, saying something of interest to me, might occur!
Sometime during the day he said lets go outside and watch and listen .
Then they appeared, six B-36 routing over Bath ,assume going back to the States.
They were staggered down in height, first one high until the sixth one seemed to fill the sky, what a sight.
Of course with all this the fantastic sounds, never to be forgotten.
Nearest to it at the time, seeing/hearing the Brabazon many times turning to the west of Bath to line up for Filton. Then at Colerne Airshow 1953 three fairwell passes (Prior to scrapping) including a touch and go, by the Brab.
OPF
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Slight thread drift, but had a similar experience with a different aircraft type in the late seventies over Northants. Does anybody recall the F-111 that performed a dump and burn at medium level one summer evening ?
It caused quite a stir because the actual aircraft was not visible but the ball of flame certainly was, along with the tremendous sound.
Remember people rushing out of their houses thinking it was an asteroid or something ! Made the local paper anyway with a reassurance from the USAF that it was just "normal and routine" !
It caused quite a stir because the actual aircraft was not visible but the ball of flame certainly was, along with the tremendous sound.
Remember people rushing out of their houses thinking it was an asteroid or something ! Made the local paper anyway with a reassurance from the USAF that it was just "normal and routine" !
JEM60...Wing Commander Ken Wallis, I got the great mans DVD for xmas....he goes into a lot of detail about his flying with USAF and his time on the B36,
He also mentions flying them into Burtonwood.....a DVD well worth watching....its still on ebay for £10 direct from the publishers.
Nick.
He also mentions flying them into Burtonwood.....a DVD well worth watching....its still on ebay for £10 direct from the publishers.
Nick.
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Going back to the original thread, I was living in Liverpool at the time of the B36 circling round for half the night. Very noisy and unforgetable.
The Liverpool Echo (local rag) reported that the aircraft had shut down an engine and was burning off fuel.
The Liverpool Echo (local rag) reported that the aircraft had shut down an engine and was burning off fuel.
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I only ever saw one B-36 flying - on airways over my parents house in Morden, Surrey in the 1950s (Lydd-Sevenoaks- Epsom-Woodley, etc). I've seen a good few at various US museums though.
Last week I learned that a retired Heathrow ATCO and old buddy - Jack Frith - had passed on. I'm told that during his military service he flew a B-36.
Last week I learned that a retired Heathrow ATCO and old buddy - Jack Frith - had passed on. I'm told that during his military service he flew a B-36.
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Harbourm,
I beleive that the pilot was not allowed to land at night, and was "asked" by Preston Air Traffic Control Centre to hold until daylight.. From what I was told by the ATCO, the off going watch forgot all about the B36, and didn't pass on the details.
Aparently at about 11am, a rather plaintive voice came over the R/t and said "Sir, we would like to land now, we only have two hours of fuel left"
I can imagine the faces of the watch....
Could be an urban myth though..
I beleive that the pilot was not allowed to land at night, and was "asked" by Preston Air Traffic Control Centre to hold until daylight.. From what I was told by the ATCO, the off going watch forgot all about the B36, and didn't pass on the details.
Aparently at about 11am, a rather plaintive voice came over the R/t and said "Sir, we would like to land now, we only have two hours of fuel left"
I can imagine the faces of the watch....
Could be an urban myth though..
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Endurance
Manchester may have featured for a while in the once famous story of the B-36 out of Texas somewhere which made several attempts to land at various UK bases ("England fog-bound"), so decided to divert to either France or Germany, where he also found solid clag. North Africa was his next idea, towards which he duly pointed his machine.
On learning that that destination was also "out", he said "Aw shucks" (or similar) "Ah'm goin' back home" - and did.
An earlier post mentioned a would-be attacker getting upset by the slipstream - which reminded me young JP's Vampire suffering a similar discombobulation when I first tried a high quarter on a Lincoln. On a B-36 it must have been REALLY upsetting ...
On learning that that destination was also "out", he said "Aw shucks" (or similar) "Ah'm goin' back home" - and did.
An earlier post mentioned a would-be attacker getting upset by the slipstream - which reminded me young JP's Vampire suffering a similar discombobulation when I first tried a high quarter on a Lincoln. On a B-36 it must have been REALLY upsetting ...
Last edited by Jig Peter; 7th Mar 2011 at 15:42. Reason: typo(s)
IIRC Brize Norton, Fairford and Wheelus, near Tripoli, Libya were the only bases that could take the B36 east of the Atlantic.
Pulled it off Salisbury Plain and onto the airfield though the hedge, if I remember.
