Speed Freak
In the 1950s, the Mach 2+ B-58 Hustler seemed a safe bet to win the arms race.
- By Dale Smith
- Air & Space magazine, January 2006
THE DESIGN OF U.S. FRONTLINE FIGHTERS and bombers—the F-117, F-22, and B-2—is primarily based on a simple defensive strategy: If they can’t see you, they can’t shoot at you. But way back when radar was young and stealth technology was a far-off dream, the Air Force bet on a different strategy: They may see you, but they sure won’t catch you. In the 1960s, the Air Force relied on speed to penetrate enemy airspace, and the airplanes built to be uncatchable were as radical in their time as the first stealth aircraft were in the 1980s and ’90s. One of them, the Convair B-58 Hustler, looks radical even today
With its long, slender fuselage, dramatically swept delta wing, and four big engines, the B-58 looked fast even when it was on the ground. It was one of the first aircraft to take advantage of the knowledge that the way to overcome drag in supersonic flight is to sweep the wings at such an angle that the aircraft flies within the Mach cone, a three-dimensional bow wave formed around a body moving through the air at supersonic speed. When the wings are within that cone, the airflow over them remains subsonic. So successful were the Convair aerodynamicists at managing supersonic flight that on October 15, 1959, the first production Hustler flew faster than Mach 2 for more than an hour. Refueling once, the aircraft traveled 1,680 miles in 80 minutes.
The world’s first supersonic bomber inherited its delta wing from earlier Convair projects: The XF-92A was the world’s first delta wing aircraft and the foundation for Convair’s F-102, the world’s first supersonic interceptor.
Early in the development phase, engineers on the XF-92A discovered during wind tunnel tests that the highly swept, narrow-chord wing was very unstable. A Vultee aerodynamicist, Ralph Shick, suggested a solution to Adolph Burstein, chief technologist, and Frank Davis, test pilot and head of Aero and Flight Test: “Why don’t we just fill in the area between the two wing tips?” Shick hypothesized that changing to a single, triangle-shaped wing would generate more stability and control. He was right.
Although the delta wing concept first appeared during World War II in Germany, Bill Chana, a former XF-92A flight test engineer, says the XF-92A’s design was a Convair original. “A lot of people think Burstein and Shick got the delta idea from the Germans,” says Chana. “That’s just not true. Their delta wing configuration for the Convair interceptor was their own thinking.”
By early 1953, Convair had begun work on the XB-58 and XBR-58. They relied on their findings from the XF-92A program (retired in 1953) and 10,000 design configurations they explored to advise the Air Force, under a general study, of the designs that would promise the best performance for supersonic bombers.
“The original mission profile for the B-58 was to cruise to the target area at .91 Mach, then dash at Mach 2-plus above 50,000 feet for approximately 500 miles,” remembers Harold “Hal” Confer, the second Strategic Air Command pilot to be certified as operational in the B-58. “We’d drop the pod containing the nuclear weapon and return to home base at .91 Mach cruise. We could outrun and out-distance all of our fighters of that era, which certainly brought a smile to the face of this old bomber pilot.”
“When the B-58 was designed, [the Russians] hadn’t really perfected a surface-to-air-missile system and didn’t have a high-altitude supersonic fighter yet,” says Ben Baddley, a B-58 navigator/bombardier. “The B-58 was created to take advantage of that situation.”
Related topics: Aerodynamics Air Force Jet Aircraft Bombers Cold War Era
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Comments (18)
I remember Joe Cotton when he was a test pilot at Bell Aircraft Corp. He was a great test pilot and lucky to escape alive out of the Bell X-1 during during a ground test when thev Hydrogen peroxide fuel became activated. He alo was a good helicopter test pilot at Bell. I enjoyed going up in the chopper with him when coducting tests...Felix (Phil) Grycel
Posted by on June 27,2008 | 01:30 AM
Did a little research on the hustler since one of the starting pilots was Maj.Cosimo Mallozzi who came from Barre, MA, a small NE town of 4,000. I dare say 99% of the people now there would not know of his exploits. He grew up in a neighborhood called Skunk Hollow, South Barre. Think of it Skunk Hollow, to the Skunk Works. His plane set a speed record from Bunker Hill to Alaska and back,taking recon. photos after a major earth quake.
His brother Nick, God Bless him, was my barber, and Nick's telling of "Chaz's" being picked for the SR-71, convinced a couple of us into going to USAF Officer's Training in 1963. Chaz is a spitting image of Nick!
Posted by harry corbett on August 25,2008 | 04:20 PM
I remember in Dec 1966 the B-58 that crashed near McKinney, Ky. I was watching TV when I saw a fire ball and then heard the explosion. It was 8:16 at night. I have the time and date written down so I can always remember. Of course it wasn't until later that we found out it was a B-58 Hustler. Any one needing to talk can e-meil me: carl.coleman@cox.net
Posted by Carl Coleman on September 14,2008 | 09:52 AM
I was taken by Carl Coleman's recollections of the B-58 crash near McKinney in 1966. My father, Major Richard Blakeslee was the pilot of that aircraft. I gained some insight into the crash when I visited McKinney four years ago and spoke with a local man who helped me find the crash site and he spoke of the night of the accident. Since the aircraft was completely destroyed, the site is the final resting place of the three crew members that flew from Bunker Hill Air Force Base on the 12th of December, 1966. In the future I hope to erect a marker at the road-side to commemorate their sacrifice and the other airmen who served during the cold war. Apparently Carl Colemans email address is not in his comment, so I am listing mine in the hope that he can contact me. My email address is: Blakesleedesign@aol.com .
Posted by Rob Blakeslee on December 31,2008 | 03:46 PM
I was a Crew Chief on Acft 2065 it crashed on take-off. I also launched the last aircraft to the Bone yard from Grissom AB,Indiana. I dream of working on the plane even today, 39 years later. I was stationed Bunker Hill/Grissom AB for 11 years. I saw the B-58A come and Go.
Posted by Nelson B. Sharp,Msgt Retired on February 24,2009 | 03:53 PM
As a kid in 1959-1961 I remember sitting outside the gates at Convair watching B-58's taking off and landing. Those who flew and landed the B-58 were very "Brave Men"!
Posted by J.P. Parker, Editor on June 20,2009 | 12:05 AM
I worked on B-58's at Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana (later renamed Grissom AFB) from 1962 until 1970, when they went to the boneyard. Although I retired from the Air Force in 1981 and have since been working on commercial aircraft for over 20 years, I still consider the B-58 as one of the best and most impressive aircraft I ever had the privilege of working on. It is a time in my life that I will never forget.
Posted by John Carlson on August 14,2009 | 11:09 AM
I vividly remember the tragic loss of a B-58 Hustler near McKinney, Kentucky in December of 1966. I was 14 at the time; my family's farm is between the communities of Mt. Salem and McKinney. I was watching TV with my parents that night, when the power abruptly went off for a few seconds. The night sky lit up and there was a vibrating boom to the east over McKinney. I rushed to the livingroom window and saw what looked like a giant Christmas tree. Thousands of fragments were showering down through the night sky about a mile and a half away. My folks initially thought it was a nuclear attack, but of course it was not. We instantly got in our car and drove over to the crash site. Again, I have vivid memories of that night and would be happy to share them with anyone who is concerned. We lost three heroes that night and I have often thought about them, their families, and that tragedy over the past 43 years. Sincerely, Darrell Hovious Cincinnati, OH 45219
Posted by Darrell N. Hovious on December 10,2009 | 08:31 PM
I entered the B-58 program at Little Rock, AR., in late 1966. I came there from flying the B-52H at Minot, ND.
The B-52H had a flight director system and advanced autopilot functions for low level, air refueling, etc. I was amazed that the B-58 for all its advanced flight control and engine design had such a basic flight guidance system. That said, I enjoyed flying the B-58. When it worked correctly, it was a joy to fly...very responsive..with LOTS of power. It was a very sad day when I flew one to Tuscon, AZ to have it placed in the aircraft graveyard there.
Posted by Darrell Schmidt on January 10,2010 | 12:48 PM
My pop was a navigator on the B-58 Hustler. We lived in Indiana from '62-'70, during which time Bunker Hill was renamed Grissom Air Force Base after the fallen astronaut. My baby sister is a Hoosier. These planes were a way of life to us kids who grew up on a flight base. To this day there is something comforting to me about a man in a flight suit.
Posted by Maria Zefo on January 10,2010 | 06:18 PM
I flew As a DSO in the B-58 From Test Force days 1960 til Dec. 1969. Started at Carswell AFB Tex ended at Grissom AFB In.Thought the aircraft was a blast to fly and made friends with a great bunch of guys. Visited my oldest daughter (Nancy) inHouston Tx for Thanksgiving 2009. Saw TB58 662 at the Air Museum. really took me back. Hi to all the troops. Roche
Posted by Roche Zefo Lt.Col. USAF Retired on January 19,2010 | 04:44 AM
Greetings to Roche and all the folks that maintained and flew the B-58. I was at Bunker Hill/Grissom from '65 to '69, a memorable time in my life.
Posted by Paul Hoynacki Maj. USAF Retired on January 26,2010 | 02:26 PM
I bought a book for my brother written by North American Test Pilot Al White. Al is perhaps most famous for being PIC in the Valkrie crash that took the lives of Joe Walker (F-104) &
XB70 Co-Pilot Maj. Carl Cross.
I was astonished to read in Al's book that they would routinely make dead-stick landings in the Hustler as part of training for X-15 flights. Granted, they did have quite a a runway at Edwards!!
Fascinating & brave men in amazing machines. God Bless.
Posted by Mark Conner on June 9,2010 | 02:14 AM
I have been working with some family members and eyewitnesses of the above-mentioned crash at Mckinney, Lincoln County, Kentucky. It is our goal to see a Kentucky Historical Society road side marker placed at the crash site. You can read about our progress and get more information about the crash at www.b58memorial.com.
Thank you.
Chris Bennett
Columbia, KY
Posted by Chris Bennett on July 30,2011 | 07:42 AM
I am glad to play a part in the marker at McKinney, Ky. After I joined the the Air Force in 1967, I revisited the site when I came home on leave. Each December I would remember the date in prayer. I will be there when the marker and ceremony takes place as well as my wife, Becky.
Posted by Carl Coleman on September 25,2011 | 10:18 AM
I was an engine tech on the B58 at Grissom AFB from 67 thru 69. The first time I ran the engines of the B58 was to test maintance performed on the outboard afterburners. Glad I was tied to the ground. Upon bringing the engines out of afterburner the right engine linkage hung up, the throttle would not move. The plane was trying to spin to the left then the engine would start to stall. As the plane came back to the right the afterburner would kick back in and I would spin to the left again. I could see people running away from my plane. As panic and thoughts of jumping out of the cockpit crossed my mind, with both hands on the throttles the engine finally idled down. Just one of my fond memories of the B58. I loved working on that plane.
Posted by Terry Williams SGT. Retired disability Oct. 1969 on December 4,2011 | 12:31 PM
I was stationed at Bunker Hill AFB from 1966 to 1967. I accidently just came across the article that was written on the B-58 Hustler. I was part of the AFCS group, who were responsible for all the air traffic control functions at this base. I was a lowly Airman who kept the electronics working but after spending many hours in the Radar Approach Control Buiding and the Control Tower, I can only say that the crews that flew the B-58s were some of the bravest patriots that ever flew in the defense of this country. They were also good guys. They went to work everyday and there was a very good chance they would never come back and yet they came home to their families and tried to live normal lives. This is true courage and I will always admire them for their unbelievable and unselfish contributions to the United States and to world freedom. They are the true unsung heroes of my generation. These men won the "cold war."
Posted by Ken Hoeflich on December 4,2011 | 12:21 AM