Convair B-58 Hustler Medium Bomber (1960)
With the need for high-altitude bombers all but gone, the B-58 was limited to just 86 A-models.
The B-58's designs were, in fact, based on German data captured after the Second World War. The design concept of the B-58 revolved around a simplistic yet aerodynamic fuselage with bare minimums in terms of exterior protrusions. Thusly, the system was designed with a simple delta-dart appearance and a single rudder component at aircraft fuselage aft.
The B-58 made its initial flight on Nov. 11, 1956 and flew supersonically on Dec. 30, 1956. Distinctive features of the B-58 included sophisticated inertial guidance navigation and bombing systems. The fuselage was termed as "wasp-waist" due to its slender appearance. Extensive use of heat-resistant honeycomb sandwich skin panels were integrated into the construction of the wings and fuselage for high altitude-high velocity flight.
The thin fuselage provided some engineering issues early on as it prevented internal carriage of bombs and the required amount of fuel to power the four turbojet engines and allow for any reasonable operating radius to be achieved. As a result, a large external droppable two-component pod was affixed to the underside of the fuselage. This pod contained extra fuel and a nuclear weapon along with other mission-specific specialized gear. Later versions were fitted with reconnaissance equipment in place of the armaments in the form of the RB-58A. Crew accommodations for the B-58 Hustler consisted of a pilot, navigator-bombardier and defense systems operator - all sitting in tandem escape capsules.
The United States Air Force ordered 86 total Hustlers, which were operational in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) between 1960 and 1970. B-58s as a whole set 19 world speed and altitude records and won five different aviation trophies during their operational run - a vast engineering achievement realized. Despite these performance successes, the B-58 still suffered from limitations in operating range, payload capacity and overall series growth potential.
There were a total of 116 B-58s built that broke down as 30 test and pre-production aircraft and 86 for official operating inventory use. The last B-58 would be officially retired in January 1970, about three months after the first FB-111 Aardvark was accepted into frontline service by SAC. The simple fact remained that the B-58 Hustler came along when the high-altitude bomber concept has become a thing of the past. The aircraft was phased out of the USAF inventory after only 10 years of service. Nonetheless, the engineering feats achieved during development surely played a role in further bomber and turbojet development for decades to come. Text ©2003-2013 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • No Reproduction Permitted
MilitaryFactory.com does NOT sell equipment/weaponry. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance or general operation. Please consult manufacturers for such information. Our disclaimer. Email corrections / Comments to MilitaryFactory at Gmail dot com.
Specifications for the
Convair B-58 Hustler
Medium Bomber
Country of Origin: United States
Manufacturer: Convair - USA
Initial Year of Service: 1960
Production: 116
Focus Model: Convair B-58A Hustler
Crew: 3
Length: 96.75ft (29.49m)
Width: 56.82ft (17.32m)
Height: 31.50ft (9.60m)
Weight (Empty): 55,561lbs (25,202kg)
Weight (MTOW): 163,001lbs (73,936kg)
Powerplant: 4 x General Electric J79-GE-3B turbojet engines generating 15,600lbs of standard thrust with reheat capability.
Maximum Speed: 1,321mph (2,126kmh; 1,148kts)
Maximum Range: 5,124miles (8,247km)
Service Ceiling: 62,999ft (19,202m; 11.9miles)
Rate-of-Climb: 0 feet per minute (0m/min)
Hardpoints: 1
Armament Suite:
1 x 20mm cannon
1 x Under-fuselage pod carrying up to 19,450lbs of conventional ordnance, nuclear ordnance or tactical reconnaissance equipment.
Variants:
Model 4 - Convair Proposed Model Prototype
XB-58 - Prototype Designation of which only 2 were produced from an original 18 ordered.
YB-58A - Preproduction Model Designation of which 11 were produced.
B-58A - Production Model based on the YB-58A.
RB-58A - Reconnaissance Conversion Models of the latter-half of the YB-58A production; fitted with ventral reconnaissance pods.
TB-58A - Conversion Trainer Models of YB-58A of which 8 existed.
Operators: United States of America
BY DECADE:
• 1900 to 1909
• 1910 to 1919
• 1920 to 1929
• 1930 to 1939
• 1940 to 1949
• 1950 to 1959
• 1960 to 1969
• 1970 to 1979
• 1980 to 1989
• 1990 to 1999
• 2000 to 2009
• 2010 to 2019
• 2020 to 2029
• VIEW ALL
• Compare Aircraft
BY TYPE:
• Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)
• Attack Helicopters
• Bomber Aircraft
• Medium Bombers
• Heavy Bombers
• Close-Air Support (CAS)
• Commercial Aircraft
• Dive Bombers
• Electronic Warfare Aircraft (EWA)
• Experimental / X-Planes
• Fighter Aircraft
• Floatplane Aircraft
• Flying Boat Aircraft
• Aerial Refueling Tankers
• Helicopters (ALL)
• Interceptor Aircraft
• Multi-Role Aircraft
• Navy Carrier Aircraft
• Night Fighters
• Reconnaissance / Scout
• Search & Rescue (SAR)
• Scout Helicopters
• Special Purpose
• Torpedo Bombers
• Trainer Aircraft
• Transport Aircraft
• Transport Helicopters
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
• Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs)
COLLECTIONS:
• 4th Generation Fighter Aircraft
• 5th Generation Fighter Aircraft
• US X-Planes
• Classic US Warbirds
• French Military Helicopters
• Grumman "Cats"
• Howard Hughes Aircraft
• Indian Air Force
• Israeli Air Force
• Libyan Aircraft
• Modern Chinese Aircraft
• Modern Chinese Fighters
• Modern Military Aircraft
• Modern North Korean Aircraft
• Modern Trainer Aircraft
• Modern US Aircraft
• Mikoyan Aircraft
• Sukhoi Aircraft
• Syrian Aircraft
• Top 10 Fighter Aircraft of All Time
AIRCRAFT BY CONFLICT:
• Arab-Israeli War (1948)
• Cuban Missile Crisis (1959-1962)
• Falklands War (1982)
• Indo-Pak War (1965, 1971)
• Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)
• Lebanon War (1982)
• Operation Allied Force (1999)
• Operation Desert Storm (1991)
• Six Day War (1967)
• Spanish Civil War (1936)
• Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989)
• Yom Kippur War (1973)
MISCELLANEOUS:
• Aircraft Cockpits
• Aircraft Manufacturers List
• Aircraft Timeline
WORLD WAR 2:
• 1939 Aircraft
• 1940 Aircraft
• 1941 Aircraft
• 1942 Aircraft
• 1943 Aircraft
• 1944 Aircraft
• 1945 Aircraft
• 1946 Aircraft
• Australian Aircraft
• Battle of Britain Aircraft
• Bombers
• Four-Engine Bombers
• British Aircraft
• British Bombers
• British Transports
• Dive Bombers
• Canadian Aircraft
• Fighters
• Chinese Aircraft
• French Aircraft
• German Aircraft
• German Fighters
• German Flying Boats
• German Jets
• Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe
• Italian Aircraft
• Imperial Japanese Aircraft
• Imperial Japanese Fighters
• Mitsubishi Bombers
• Navy Aircraft
• Pearl Harbor
• Polish Aircraft
• Romanian Aircraft
• US Aircraft
• US Bombers
• US Navy Aircraft
• Soviet Aircraft
• Torpedo Bombers
• Trainer Aircraft
• Transport Aircraft
• Tuskegee Airmen Aircraft
• W.A.S.P. Aircraft
• WW2 Aircraft Ranked by Speed
• VIEW ALL
WORLD WAR 1:
• 1914 Aircraft
• 1915 Aircraft
• 1916 Aircraft
• 1917 Aircraft
• 1918 Aircraft
• Aircraft Timeline
• Austro-Hungarian Aircraft
• Bomber Aircraft
• British Aircraft
• Fighters
• Flying Boats
• French Aircraft
• Imperial German Aircraft
• Italian Aircraft
• Scout Aircraft
• Russian Empire Aircraft
• US Aircraft
• WW1 Aircraft Ranked by Speed
• VIEW ALL
KOREAN WAR:
• Australian Aircraft
• Korean War Aces
• Korean War Jets
• North Korean Aircraft
• US Military Aircraft
• VIEW ALL
VIETNAM WAR:
• Helicopters
• North Vietnam Air Force
• US Airpower
• VIEW ALL
COLD WAR:
• 1950s French Aircraft
• British V-Bombers
• Cold War Bombers
• Soviet Aircraft
• Soviet Bombers
• Soviet Interceptors
• Soviet Helicopters
• Strategic Air Command
• US Aircraft
• US Bombers
• US Interceptors
• VIEW ALL
©2013 www.MilitaryFactory.com • Content ©2003-2013 MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Site Contact Email: militaryfactory at gmail dot com. The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® trademarks and protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws.
Top MF Stuff: 2013 Military Pay Scale | Military Ranks | WW2 Weapons | Sniper Rifles | Kts to Mph | WW1 Aircraft | Automatic Rifles | Aircraft Cockpits | Vietnam War Weapons | Main Battle Tanks | Submachine Guns | Shotguns | French Military Victories
Most photographic images appearing on this site are courtesy of the United States Department of Defense and are approved for public use. Other images acquired through the public domain. Digital art work courtesy of Dan Alex. Business Consulting by Kyle Williams. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance or general operation. Please consult manufacturers for such information.
