Late in the war, Consolidated restructured the company and changed the name to Convair. The Convair B-32 was to become the last American bomber designed during WWII to go into action. The bomber began its short career in May, 1945.

The development of the B-32 Dominator and the B-29 Superfortress began at the same time. The B-32 was designed and engineered as an alternative to the pressurized Boeing B-29 in the event it did not perform to standards, and was to be able to carry the atomic bomb. When the B-29 did in fact exceed expectations, the B-32 was re-engineered as a non-pressurized aircraft. However, the Consolidated Aircraft plants were involved with production of the B-24 Liberator(18,188) and PB4Y2 Privateer(739), and the PBY Catalina(~4,000), causing the work on the B-32 to take a low priority.

By the time the B-32 was ready for combat testing, it was late in the war and the outcome appeared inevitable. Only the intervention by Army Air Force Chief, General Hap Arnold prevented the project from being scrapped altogether. The operative career of this aircraft began in the Philippines in May 1945. After several test missions the aircraft were moved to Okinawa, Japan for further testing and evaluation.

After a ceasefire was declared on August 13, 1945, the B-32s were assigned to photo reconnaissance duty to insure the Japanese were complying with the cease-fire agreement. These missions were by no means without danger; on the night of August 17th, a flight of three B-32s was attacked by no less than 14 Japanese fighters. As one can imagine, not all the Japanese military favored the ceasefire and many preferred to die in battle rather than surrender. These fanatics were usually high-ranking military officers with great experience. One of these officers was Saburo Sakai, Japan’s highest scoring ace to survive the war, in one of his last combat actions. The B-32 crews were flying aircraft that they had not previously proven in battle. During the battle, one B-32 was damaged and three Japanese fighters were shot down.

This one engagement showed the great potential of this aircraft. However, it was potential that was gone more quickly than it arrived. All 118 B-32s built were destroyed after the end of World War II. Today no B-32s exist except as model airplanes.