Cold War Long-Range Jet Fighter Program: USAF Experiments for Bombers to Take Fighters into Battle

After the Second World War, the introduction of the six-engine Consolidated-Vultee B-36 Peacemaker bomber, capable of intercontinental ranges of 5,000 miles or more, reignited the long-standing problem of fighter escort.Early-generation US jet fighters consumed enormous amounts of fuel and lacked the endurance to accompany the B-36 over extended distances.Designing a jet fighter with enough fuel capacity for such missions would result in an aircraft far too large and unwieldy to engage smaller, more agile enemy interceptors effectively. In response, during the early Cold War, the United States Air Force explored two experimental methods to extend fighter range.The first was wingtip-to-wingtip towing, in which a fighter would attach itself to the bomber’s wing for fuel support.The second involved carrying a fighter inside the bomber’s bomb bay on a trapeze mechanism, allowing it to be launched and later recovered in flight. Because the B-36 faced developmental delays, the widely availab