Convair B-36 Peacemaker Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions - Paperbackby United States Air Force (Created by), Convair Corporation (Created by) The largest piston powered airplane ever mass produced, Convair's B 36 "Peacemaker" was also the world's first thermonuclear bomber. The genesis of this behemoth can be traced to WWII, when U. S. planners determined that if the British were defeated, a very long range bomber would be needed to battle the Nazis. The prototype B 36 flew in 1946 and was quickly upgraded as the need