First flight of an aircraft with a functioning nuclear reactor (80 tons) on board: the aircraft was the NB-36, a modified version of the B-36; 47 flights were made until March 28, 1957, when the Air Force abandoned the project. The engines studied ranged from the Pratt & Whitney (indirect cycle through molten metal) to the General Electric (direct cycle). The project called for multiple shielding of the reactor and a Marine plane to accompany the nuclear aircraft in the event of an accident. The project was eventually abandoned in favor of the nuclear submarine that the Navy was already designing.
