The B-36 was probably the single piece of engineering most responsible for my Horrified Fascination with Cold War technology. But this is the forst time I've heard it mentioned as "fast". High-flying, long range, able to maneuver at altitude in a way early jets couldn't come close to - but fast? Cruising speed was listed at a blistering 230 mph.

For non-aficionados, the B-36 was somewhat larger than a B-52 and in operational versions, deployed for only about 5 years, had six pusher piston engines plus 4 jet engines on pods near the wingtips for that extra bit of oomph. Its design dates to the early dayes of World War II, when the US brass were nervous that they might find themselves at war with Germany and not be able to stage from the UK, so the basic requirement was more or less "dump a lot of bombs on Berlin flying straight from the US". It actually flew a few years after the war, and was the primary US nuclear deterrent in the mid-1950s. There were experiments in carrying its own jet fighters for escort, either internally and deployed on a trapeze or clamped on the wingtips, since the range of what the USAF hoped would amount to an aircraft carrier on wings was vastly beyond what they could match with jet fighters. Best on-screen appearance was in "Strategic Air Command" with Jimy Stewart, where the aerial cinematography actuall made these beasts show up as graceful.