 More runway improvements were completed in July 1949, allowing the 28 BMW to switch from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.In April 1950, the Air Staff reassigned the base from 15th Air Force to 8th Air Force.In March 1953, an RB-36 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe, killing all 23 aboard, including Brigadier General Richard E. Ellsworth, commander of the 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing.