Big, fast and low

[Mgawa]

[Holedigger]

Very cool pic! Very rare Aircraft.

[Mgawa]

I like it too Off course- large resolution scan available at wish

[winnydpu]

I am pretty sure that is a retouched photo. I have an old book with the same photo, and it notes that the landing gear was considered secret at the time. You can sort of see where the landing gear was taken out by some razor blade photoshop.

Does anyone know why the gear might be considered such a big secret?

[planepaul]

The YB-60 was modified from a B-36, using as much of the B-36's structure, including most of the wing. The main landing gear stayed where it was on the -36, but the airplane's CG was necessarily moved aft of the main gear due to the wing sweep. Convair put a retractable tail gear to hold the rear of the plane up during taxi. When the aircraft was on takeoff roll and had enough airspeed to aerodynamically hold the tail up, the aft gear retracted so that the plane could then rotate and take off.

I'm not making this up, I swear. Nor can I think of why it would be considered classified for any reason other that to save Convair the embarrassment over having to put a tail wheel on the airplane. Also, the lack of a shadow under the a/c in the picture makes it a retouch.

Paul

[Second Air Force]

I've seen the unretouched photo also. The tailwheel is already up by the time the photo was taken. My personal thought of why the gear was airbrushed out was the fact that it was standard, off the shelf, B-36 gear and the gubmint didn't want everyone to know that the airplane was sixty percent B-36. I don't know if that makes sense or not, but it is one idea of why they doctored the picture.

Scott

[The Inspector]

Another one of those imponderable 'what ifs'-what if UNITED and AMERICAN flew CONNIES and TWA operated DC-7's or STRATOCRUISERS? I do believe however, that the X and YB-52's would have had to have crashed into each other while spinning down on an orphanage shedding wings to lose out to the B-60. Looking @ the B-60 kind of reminds me of what happened when STUDEBAKER and NASH fell on really hard times and had zero design budgets and/or imaginations:?

[AFML]

Here's another BIG'N from the B-36 linage. Stowed away in the Restoration Hanger at the USAFM.

[Holedigger]

It has been many years since I last saw the XC-99, in the weeds on the side of the road in San Antonio.

[Kdmoo]

[AFML]

Does the secret tailwheel look like this?!??

Wes

[Holedigger]

Oh Oh!, The Convair thugs will be gunning for you now!

[Mgawa]

Thank you Kdmoo for image! I could not imagine that image I have is wrong one

[Pogo]

Well, this was certainly an interesting thread. Gotta love WIX!

[The Inspector]

The retouched picture is no worse than one on the cover of LIFE magazine showing a P-43 with the gear and strut doors on but the wheelwell airbrushed out, 'lemme me see if I can figure this out'