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The Convair B-36 Bomber, a 385,000 pound example of aeronautical achievement, was the world's largest combat aircraft. Entering service in 1948, the B-36 was the primary nuclear weapons delivery vehicle of Strategic Air Command (SAC) until it was replaced by the jet-powered Boeing B-52 Stratofortress beginning in 1955.Four General Electric J-47 turbojet engines paired in 'pods' under the outer wings supplemented six 3,500 hp Pratt & Whitney engines to accomplish over-target speed in excess of 435 mph. Old sliding type bomb-bay doors became obsolete with the installation of the B-36 snap-action doors, which opened or closed in 2 seconds!Pressurized crew compartments forward and aft of the bomb-bay accommodated fifteen men, including a four-man relief crew. Communication and passage between compartments was via a four wheeled cart, which ran in a 25 inch diameter pressurized tunnel extending the entire 85 ft length of the all metal circular middle fuselage structure. The bomber was 162 ft long and had a wingspan of 230 ft. She carried a bomb load of 84000 lb.