Time to tell them, Earl!
About all I know are stories related to me by Capt Jim Knox, a 1st officer on a RB-36C, which could fly as high as 55,000 feet! The Air National Guard gys from Texas would do practice intercept over the gulf of Mexico. They would get behind about 50 or 60 miles or so, go supersonic, zoom up and get a gun camera shot on the way up, his engine would flame about 50K, then the RB-36 would turn one way or the other and the trick for the 104 pilot was to get a gun camera shot on the way back down. I wasn't there, but I can just guess the wild ride by the 104 guys trying to maneuver to get that shot on the way back down. Must of been a lot of fun. The G-32 came into play as they tracked the 104 on his first pass, timing a turn to try to avoid the camera shot.
The ANG gys flying F-84F's and F-100's couldn't get anywhere close to the 36, but I was told they tried all the time. Of course, in real time in combat, the Mig 21's and 23's, with air to air rockets would have made mince meat out the 36! While the B-36 was a dangerous weapon as far as Russia was concerned, I have often wondered how many would have actually got to their assignment if actual war had broke out between us.
