B-58 Hustler the Cold War Super Sonic Bomber
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- The Convair B58 Hustler was the world's first operational Mach 2 bomber. Designed to fly high and fast to quickly penetrate the soviet union and deliver its nuclear payload, The B58 served for nearly a decade from March of 1960 until January of 1970. Everything about the B58 was designed for speed: its narrow fuselage with the three crew members sitting in tandem, a delta wing, and surprisingly the lack of a bomb bay. Ordinance was carried in an external streamlined pod which housed bombs and additional fuel. Almost as soon as it was introduced, the Soviets had developed high altitude surface to air missiles to counter the Hustler. This caused the B58 to adapt and employ low level air defense penetration techniques, which both limited its range and strategic value. Despite this the B58 remains an iconic and memorable aircraft, having set some 19 world records.
The Hustler was intended to replace the B-47 Stratojet
The Hustler was difficult to fly, and pilots would train on the
f102 delta dagger before transitioning to the B-58.
Aside from the Hustler, Convair also developed the f-102 delta dagger and F106 Delta Dart.
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"The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement."
B-58 Greased Lightning Photo:
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It's all about the Hustle
Sigma plane
That image of a B-58 rolling past the B-29 was a perspective placer for sure
I did a double take of that too. Its insane how quickly aircraft technology was evolving during that time period.
Thanks, I made sure to include that clip as there are some great aircraft in that shot!
A good family friend was an engineer on the B-58 and to this day he is still immensely proud of the airplane. He was the engineer that was flown up in a jet to inspect the landing gear when they had an issue. It's cool to hear him talk about it. He believes it was cancelled because it didn't have a tandem dual pilot layout making it impossible for a general to "fly" it to set new records. At the time it was standard practice for generals to sit in the co-pilot's seat while new planes set records so that the general's name could be tied to the record. He also said the rear gun worked extremely well and gets a bad rap because it's not as effective at supersonic speeds.
I did not know that about the Generals but it makes sense. I am glad you enjoyed the video, more on the way!
If it was :standard practice" as you say then you should have no problem listing a few of those record holding Generals. Asking for a friend.
The TB-58 had dual controls. So much for that silly theory.
@@FIREBRAND38 like I said, these are the words from one of the lead engineers on the B-58 not mine but here is a quote I found, "Despite his own inclination to avoid it, LeMay became a celebrity as SAC’s commander, in small part because he continued flying and setting records."
@@dukeford8893 the trainer version of the B-58 would never be used to set records especially with someone who wasn't trained on that specific aircraft because the forward cockpit for the pilot in training and and rear cockpit for the trainer weren't connected and were sealed off from each other. The instructors rear cockpit was offset by only 10° to give him some visibility but he had no raised canopy or anything like that so it required a pilot with some training and observation from the third seating position in the rear before they could fly in the forward cockpit. The B-58 had a difficult high take off and landing speed which was difficult in particular for landing because it required a higher angle of attack. The trainer aircraft were also constructed from the initial test aircraft that were built for the B-58 so they weren't built to the same levels of the operational B-58s so they would never be used to set any speed records. All of the tactical equipment was removed - there was no autopilot, no primary navigation system, no bombing system, no defensive electronic countermeasures system, and no active defense system. The B-58 was an amazing aircraft and did everything it was designed for. I wonder if it had a more conventional bomb bay if it would have found other uses in the military.
The B-58 was badass!
Well done. There are several videos on CZcams about the B-58, and I’ve watched all of them. Yours does a great job of providing facts and visuals without being repetitive or stretching it out just to be lengthy. 👍
Thank you very much! I try to get as much information as I can in about 12 to 15 minutes.
Great video as usual. This plane was way ahead of its time, wing lamination, composites, engine nacelles just to name a few of the advancements if showcased. Hoping for a F-104 Starfighter video at some point. I remember the roar and smoke those planes made as a kid at airshows! One of my all time favourite planes.
I saw the B-58 yesterday at the Pima air and space museum here in tuscon, best museum ever, my dad’s b 52’s, so many planes.. btw great video, as always!
Thank you and the B-58 must be amazing in person!
@@PilotPhotog it is! I wish I had a chance to fly it in the future
You need to check out the US Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio. It's only rival is the Smithonian.
@@4FunCycle indeed! I plan a trip there soon.
@@4FunCycle i went there when I was younger, the only thing I remember is seeing my dads b 52 noseart “LETS MAKE A DEAL” with Donald Duck, I really want to go back there.
IT WAS A WORK OF ART
A BEAUTIFUL AIRCRAFT
Thank you for the great video. One of my favorite vintage designs, still think this is way ahead of its time leading up to the B1A & B. McNamara was a killer of all technology innovations, all in the name of cost.
Awesome video. I LOVE the old vintage video footage. The colors, the low video resolution, the specks on the screen. Great history of aviation and American engineering
Thank you glad you enjoyed the video!
@@PilotPhotog You got it. the B58 is a gorgeous airplane. Mach 2 is amazing. american aviation engineering from WW2 through the 90s/2000 (F22 Raptor) is the best in the world
I flew the 58 and your video is the most accurate I have seen. Some of the others have inaccurate information. Thanks
Thank you very much! I cannot get a better comment than from someone who was there and flew the 58. Thank you for your service!
The b58c with higher internal fuel and underwings hard points would have made a fantastic missile delivery platform. The b58 needed a fuselage redesign to double the internal volume, and delete the defensive gun/operator and external pod.
Indeed - I think there was a missed opportunity there. Thanks for commenting!
Personally I never really saw the point of a defensive gun
@@spartanx9293 The defensive cannon on the B58 is a good example of perfect engineering to the current threat, but not the future threat. Against a cannon armed fighter it would have been devastating. This is because the the 20mm cannon/round being fired has the longest effective range(aircraft mounted).Due to it's very high muzzle velocity (3450FPS) ,and excellent ballistic coefficient. Because of the B58's role as a very high speed/altitude bomber intercepting fighters would nearly always have to chase the B58. Imagine trying to run down a B58 with your engine at full emergency power afterburner on while a radar guided 20mm rotary cannon lights up your aircraft at 6000RPM for over a minute! As you try to close into gun range, and that includes a massive IF you have sufficient fuel reserves, top speed, and your engine can endure ten plus minutes at full emergency power with afterburner. Russian turbofan engines where not known for their build quality while the B58's where made to go the distance. The gun took engaging a B58 from very difficult to nearly impossible by 1960 fighters. Cheers
@@alt5494 I disagree Soviet fighters like the mig-19 and mig-21 could probably do it
@@spartanx9293 The MIG-19 was 400mph too slow, and the MIG-21 was roughly the same speed, but with six thousand feet less service ceiling. Even assuming the mig could make altitude kinda the same speed does not work. The fighter needs at least a 10% speed advantage to attempt to catch up to the b58 before running out of fuel. Even then the 20mm Vulcan can begin engaging the mig from several miles away. While the mig has to close to point blank range before it's gsh-23l cannon with it's 2350fps muzzle velocity has any chance of hitting a aircraft flying at mach 2(2250fps). Until the sidewinder missile and the Russian clones the b58 simply wasn't in significant danger from fighters. The main threat to it was ground based anti missiles that where built like mini ICBMS.
Well you are always ready with the facts and information, thanks so much.
Well done! Yours is easily the best summary of the B-58. In the late 1940's and most of the 1950's, most every jet plane was "new age" when the contracts were signed and nearly obsolete by the time the jet went service. Just the way it is when R&D redefines what is possible weekly. The B-58 was over designed enough to carry on until it's replacement (F-111) hit the runways. It lives as a great plane.
Thank you very much, I am glad you enjoyed the video and am working on videos on the F-111 and XB-70
3:35 oh I thought it was because it was made by convair and Delta wings are like crack to them
Convair did like their delta wings...
@@PilotPhotog and they made them well they don't call the f106 the ultimate interceptor for nothing
The b-58 was cool. I feel like it could’ve gotten some modifications to be more efficient at low altitudes, but then we may not have had the f-111 ewwwww and the b-1 based
B1 based lmao
One of my favorite aircraft. Actually the f106 and f102a are my favorite.
Great video!!
😎🇺🇸
Can't believe 26 were lost in accidents. 😳
Thanks for commenting and the Delta Daggers and Darts will get their own videos soon. And yes, tragically too many Huslters were lost in accidents.
Anoather excellent video convair develope some really good aircraft
Thank you and indeed!
Always really liked this plane, it looked wicked fast and wicked cool just sitting there. What a sexy plane.
wow, this is one of my all time favorites! great job!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
This is one of those planes that had so much potential that was lost. Had the necessary resources been given to the project, the issues it had could have been overcome and the later variants could have been game changing.
"Strange" McNamara did much damage in his tenure as Secretary of Defense.
"... No bloody 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D' or 'E'!!!"
WOW.... I didn't know about those variants .... I CAN'T imagine a B-58 with SR-71 engines!!!
"Hang on to........... MY GOD!!!!"
That's such a good looking plane!
Thank you so very much for this video. I have been a fan of this aircraft since I was a kid. I learned more from your video than any book I have read ever.
Thank you that means a lot to me, let me know what other aircraft you'd like to see a bio on.
@@PilotPhotog well it's big brother of course, the XB-70.
@@erikerice9068 indeed. I plan a video on the XB70 as well
A bad-ass, rapid, quick- in, hit hard, and 'get the hell out of it faster than the speed of sound x2' bomber. A very good aircraft indeed; sleek and purposeful looking, yet like so many other aircraft of it's 'type', on both sides of the 'curtain', soon out-dated and rendered obsolete in it's domain in relation to S.A.M / A.A.M tech advancement. Happily though, the Blackbirds could profit from the finance that was 'saved' by McNamara pulling the plug on Hustler manufacture.
Ahead of its time in terms of raw performance compared to other aircraft but clearly behind the times considering SAMs made it obsolete on arrival. The external bomb pod is also just goofy and its inability to carry conventional weapons was the final nail in the coffin.
Other aircraft like the B-52 have shown a lot more longevity because of their versatility, even if it isn't setting speed records. Even the B-1, which also started out as a supersonic nuke-dropper, has managed to stick around post-cold war mainly not because of its speed but because of its payload.
The Hustler would not be useful today as a nuclear bomber. Even the B-1 had to be modified for low level penatration. It was an amazing aircraft. But 50's thinking became obsolete fast, for reasons your video points out. What a machine!
Does someone just upload facts about this plane every time I think about it??
Yes, yes indeed 😎 Thanks for commenting!
Well done
Thank you!
I respect the Hustle
I'd say the B-58 was a plane OF its time rather than before its time. It was a certainly impressive machine, but many design solutions put into it would not be dome today if the requirements were to be reissued (accounting for current technical levels)
Favorite model of mine. If looks could kill, the B58 would win hands down.
Looks fast, flies fast!
For it's time most definitely but my favorite bomber will always be the B1
@@spartanx9293 B-1 video in the works!
2:30 it's an INERTIAL guidance system, so named because it measures inertial forces i.e g forces and rotation rates to navigate
Imagine if the B-58 Hustler had been modernized by replacing its four General Electric J79 turbojets with four Pratt & Whitney PW1120 turbofans?
The Pratt & Whitney PW1120 low-bypass turbofan is a derivative of the Pratt & Whitney F100 which powers the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. It is often referred to as a "leaky turbojet" by various sources due to its very low bypass ratio of 0.36:1. It was originally designed for the proposed Boeing Super Phantom which would have replaced the F-4 Phantom's two J79s with a pair of PW1120s. It was also the proposed powerplant for Israel's cancelled IAI Lavi and IAI Nammer fighter jets.
I've always considered the B58 unique. Glad to see it get covered here :)
Thank you and thanks for commenting!
The B58 might be revolutionary but it could not perform the role it was supposed to thus the reason for its early retirement
Unless this new modernized Hustler can perform tactical strike missions that are relevent to today's battlefield, I dont see it making a return.
Fair point
I built a model of the B-58 when I was in high school. I thought at the time it was a beautiful plane and still think it is to this day. I was real sorry to see it have such a short life span but I'd also heard that it was plagued with gremlins.
The day has come (:
The B-58 is my favorite, so I say this in jest: the Lanc’ carries more :). Oh, come on. That was funny.
Seriously, though, it’s hard to look away from her once you start. When I saw it a Pima, I thought.
good thing it was almost near the middle bc I barely remember any aircraft after it.’ I’d have loved to see a flight line full of the Hustler, as well as on the assembly line. Being fortunate enough to be assigned maintaining or flying the B-58 must have felt like the high point of one’s career.
There is no reason why the B-58 couldn't have been developed into a much more reliable bomber, more so then what it already was. In weapons development history there are several examples of weapons systems being unreliable at the start of development and issuance to the military for use. The best example I can remember is the M-16 service rifle. It started out as unreliable and in some cases hated. But look at it now. One of the most used military/civilian fire arms in production today. There is also the matter of the B-52 bomber. This aircraft looks as if it will be around possibly for a hundred years. Go figure. The Husler could have fallen into that type of category with proper mods, technology development, and support. Also, look who put a caboose to the program, McNamara. He wasn't known for his fare sighted abilities when it came to supporting the military with the ability to defend the county from it's enemies. One of the example of this is the development of the XB-111 which he had a extensive involvement with it's development. History will prove the point.
This is an addition to my previous statement, to clarify the FB-111 is and was a great aircraft for what it was designed to do. But McNamara was wanting to make this aircraft a single plane for all the services and missions (USAF, Navy, and USMC) much like the F-4 Phantom. The Ardvark wasn't capable of conducting all the missions he wanted it to do. I remember these event because I was old enough to witness them. This was based on money/expenditures and not on real world situations. Any military pilot will tell you it is impossible to design one aircraft for all jobs. Example, I would like to see a FB-111 to do the job of, let us say a AC-130J gun ship. See the point?
There is one on display at Grissom Areoplex near Bunker Hill Indiana.
One of my favourite Cold War planes. To be honest i haven't seen this video yet, but i intend to soon. I have a request: Could you make a video on the F117? i will give feedback on the Hustler video once i see it.
I think the guys making a video on the Apache next
As ODST Spartan points out, Apache is next, likely followed by B-1, and yes I have plans for the Nighthawk, stay tuned!
@@PilotPhotog Can't wait to see it (and the others) 😀
Wow, i never get tired of seeing these videos, they always put me in a good mood! Thanks for another great documentary. Aviation development during the Cold War has an air of nostalgia which just adds to the experience of watching this content.
@@amcds2867 glad you enjoyed the video - working on an F-117 vid
Bring it back we got the technology right now to make it right I don’t understand why they decommissioned it the B-52 is slower and they act like a surface to air missile cannot touch b52 Still haven’t retired them
A b58 with four SR-71 engines. Let that sink in. Four SR-71 engines.
and Mach 2 supercruise
Wellll, not quite. The SR had P&W J58s, although initially it used the J75 for early testing until the J58s became available. Edit - oops, didn’t watch it all the way through, I hadn’t caught the B-58C concept.
B58 Grustle
Great aircraft it looked like mach 2 just setting on the ground more like an over sized fighter it was a fast penetration bomber for the western urals of ussr a small radar cross section and high speed attack ! It would have done this job well if called on but high maintenance costs were its weakness !super sonic is always expensive allways has been look at today you have b52 b2 etc the aging b1 is the last ss bomber we have super sonic is still a HARD problem !i forgot the 111 still flys ha ha
No, the F-111s are all retired.
Strange how this aircraft was ahead of it’s time, yet was outpaced by technology itself, including SAM’s.
Man! Almost forgot to hit the thumbs up! While I'm here, wasn't the Hustler the first to use the area rule fuselage?
It used AR, but Convair used it on the F-102 prior.
@@ronjon7942 Correct. I should have sited "Convair" instead of the Hustler. The F-102 was released and in service before the B-58. Both were Convair products and were developed in parallel but the B-58 suffered in the developmental faze. As a result the F-102 was certified first. The Northrup F-5 was another that used the area rule fuselage with great success.
Just me or does the b-58 look like a giant f-16, of course the engine placement is different, but it looks like it, sameish nose type
12:25^^^^^b58
Grandpa was flying all over for SAC peddling the Hustler and engines to Allies. Plus who knows whatever other clandestine stuff.
His cars of choice at the time ? Big Caddies and Ford Tbird… had to be big ass V8’s and fast as F! Well hanging around the 58 Hustler will do it Lol
Obligatory DO THE HUSTLE
This.
Did enybody know that there almost was build a supe hustler.
Soon to be the subject of it's own video - I have a 3D model of it that I will use.
Was the Mirage IVA a supersonic bomber before or after the B58
Interesting question. After: the B-58 entered service in 1960, the Mirage, 1964.
The B-58 is the Studebaker Golden Hawk(awesome car google it) of bomber design. A bit too ahead of it's time.
No… The B-58 was actually a bit late to the party. Had it been in service even 5 years earlier, it would have made itself a place in history far beyond where it rests today. Speed just wasn’t enough by the time it hit the skies. Soviet SAM technology was just too good (they punched WAY above their weight in that arena for several decades).
It’s a beautiful airplane but it just arrived a bit too late.
The discardable bomb bay pod is a stupid idea.
Narrator reading the Wikipedia article on this aircraft.
"LET'S TAKE A LOOK" ❤