Soviet Espionage - B-36

What did they know and when did they know it? The extent of Soviet espionage against the B-36 program is very poorly documented, but surely must have been extensive. The B-36 was the first bomber capable of striking the Soviet Union directly from bases in the United States. The B-29, which clearly had attracted Soviet espionage interest, which initially billed as a "Hemispheric Defense Weapon" for an isolationist America, and in any event could not strike the Socialist Motherland except with the help of bases in the Eurasian landmass.

But the B-36 "Peacemaker" was aimed a striking Eurasia directely from North America. Initially conceived as a means of striking the Axis Powers, the ever-suspicious Stalin would have immediately grasped the potential uses of such a weapon once the fascist forces had been defeated, and the inevitable conflict between capialism and socialism resumed.

But there is preciously little evidence on this front. The trail of espionage against the Manhattan Project is well documented. There is fragmentary evidence of Soviet espionage operations against the B-29. But the trail is cold with respect to Soviet espionage collection against the B-36.