I thought it might be fun to do a series on interesting aircraft from around the world. I’ve got a particular fascination for Cold War planes; the mission requirements made for very interesting designs and capabilities. The B-58 Hustler is a great place to start.
In the late 1940s, the boys at Wright-Patterson were already trying to capitalize on the supersonic breakthrough of 1947, when Chuck Yeager popped the sound barrier in the Glamorous Glennis (more formally known as a Bell X-1, aircraft #46-062). Those beautiful minds at Convair (cf. B-36 Peacemaker) came up with a sharp-nosed, wasp-wasted, delta wing design:
The wasp shape was deliberate; such a shape smoothes out shock waves generated by supersonic flight.
Under the wings were four J79 engines from General Electric, good for 15,600 lbs of thrust each (a version of the J79 also powered the F-104 Starfighter, the Corvette of fighter planes and subject of a future post). These were good for a speed of about Mach 2, if the plane could operate at altitude as designed.
Other unique features include the large pod, designed to carry nuclear weapons (either a B43 or a B61); a strange escape capsule (image credit to Wikipedia user J_Clear) designed to protect each crew member during a super-sonic ejection; and an early and sophisticated inertial navigation system.
Improvements in Russian surface-to-air missile technology drove the Hustler into a low-altitude penetration role. The range of the plane was already problematic, and flying at low altitude made things worse. The B-58 was not an easy plane to fly; nearly a quarter of all production aircraft were lost to accidents. These drawbacks got the Air Force thinking about the B-1 Lancer program (and were pretty much ignored with the ultra-crazy B-70 Valkyrie).
The B-58 is high up on my list of personal favorites. It’s a beautiful aircraft with extraordinary capabilities. If you’re ever in Dayton, go over to WPAFB and check it out.
Note – I’m an amateur enthusiast, and so I’m always open to feedback and corrections to any information.
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