Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-06-08
| 1OOBig B-1 Bombers
To Be Built for AAF
In Plant in Texas
By w. H. Shipper, .Jr.
s.ur stnH Correspondent

FIT. WORTH, Tex, June News
that a Texas plant had won the
Army Air Forces biggest peacetime
contract for 100 bombers dwarfing
all others made a ensation here
today in a State with traditional
weakness for superlatives.
Nowhere else but in Texas have
people seen Uncle Sans new 10000
mile, -engined sky battleship, be-
cause people here say only the Lone
Star State is big enough as prelimi-
nary testing ground for B-36
rated to carry five tons of bombs a
distance almost half around world.
The fact that the AAF has con-
tracted for delivery of some 100
bombers at the plant of Consolidated
Vultee came out informally here
today in advance Of official Army
announcement when Harry Wood
head, president of company. an
swered questions Of visiting news
men.
Bomber Is UnVeueu.
Our stop here was first public I'M
yelling of bomber whose first two
experimental versions have made a
few test flights known mostly to
this community and through re2esce
of photographs. Prior to demonstrat-
ing one of preliminary models, Con-
solidated officials showed 200 writers
down 4,Oo0-foot final assembly
line containing Is B-36s in various
stages of completion.
The plant which turned out great
numbers of LiberatorS during war.
has been completely re-tooled and
stated with 1000 workers for the
AAF's biggest peacetime job. The
bomber itself must be seen to be
believed.
1t swung up into the Texas sky
this afternoon after a run OF about
$500 feet and landed in virtually
same distance, after hating by re-
versing propellers on six pusher-
type engines through use Of three
fourths, of total $4,000 horsepower.
Wheels to be Replaced.
The two main landing wheels on
experimental models will be replaced
by truck type clusters of four under
each wing, spreading the load to
permit landing on airports not con-
structed to stand up under heavy
loads.
Both Brig. Gen. Roger Ramey.
commander of the 9th Air Force,
and world authority on heavy bonn
bardment, and Consolidated engi-
neers believe improved B-36s will
be able to use with safety most
fields employed by B-29s. This
seemed incredible today to spec
tators who saw Super Fortress,
looking like heavy fighter or me-
dunn bomber by comparison, take
off after B-36.
Gen. Ramey, whose B-29 airmen
dropped the atomic bomb at Bikini
last summer, and whose crews will
fly new B-36's on their missions in
the long-range defense of America,
said today that possession of such
a global striking force should cause
unhappiness in the foreign offices
of potential enemies" because it will
be a nucleus for retaliation.
Production to be Slow.
With world peace In nebulous
state, and another war likely unless
history reverses itself, the AAF,
the general said, is striving to re-
tain technical supremacy despite
tendency in United States to econo-
mize on security appropriations.
While the B-36 undoubtedly will
be assigned to atomic weapons in
event OF war. the production rate
will be only about one week. and
the order will require at least two
years to complete.
Gen. Ramey declared that our
possible enemies ere limiteo to GER
tain large nations in northern
hemisphere, and B-36 would pos
sibly be the immediately decisive
weapon if attacks to oe made
across polar regions.
He pointed out that while strategy
and tactics in environment of new,
very heavy long-range bombers
have been worked out only in
theory thew NAV decidedly limit