In March 1949 the US Air Force's Air Research and Development Command (ARDC) invited proposals for a supersonic bomber, and after submissions had been reduced to two, from Boeing and Consolidated-Vultee's Fort Worth Division, the latter was selected in August 1952 to develop its Convair Model 4 designed to the hardware stage under contract MX-1964. On 10 December 1952 the designation B-58 was allocated and late in that year Convair received a contract for 18 aircraft, to be powered by a new J79 engine for which General Electric received a development contract at the same time. The performance requirement for the new aircraft demanded considerable advances in aerodynamics, structures and materials. The resulting design, one of the first to incorporate the NACA/ Whitcomb-developed area-rule concept, was a delta-winged aircraft with four engines in underslung pods, a slim fuselage and, perhaps its most novel feature, a 18.90m long under-fuselage pod to carry fuel and a nuclear weapon. The three-man crew, in individual tandem cockpits, were provided with jetti-sonable escape capsules.
In June 1954 the 18-aircraft order was reduced to two XB-58 prototypes and 11 YB-58A pre-production examples, together with 31 pods. The first of these was rolled out at Fort Worth on 31 August 1956, making its first flight on 11 November piloted by B. A. Erikson. On 30 December, still without a pod, the XB-58 became the first bomber to exceed Mach 1. A further 17 YB-58As were ordered on 14 February 1958, together with 35 MB-1 bomb pods, to bring to 30 the number of aircraft available for the manufacturer's test programme and ARDC service trials with the 6592nd Test Squadron and the 3958th Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron at Carswell AFB.
A total of 86 production B-58A Hustler bombers was ordered between September 1958 and 1960, supplemented by 10 YB-58As which were brought up to production standard to equip the 43rd Bomb Wing, initially at Carswell but later assigned to Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, and the 305th Bomb Wing at Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana. The first was handed over to the 65th Combat Crew Training Squadron at Carswell on 1 December 1959 and the 43rd Bomb Wing, activated as the first B-58 unit on 15 March 1960, became operational on 1 August 1960. The 116th and last B-58A was delivered on 26 October 1962 and the type was withdrawn from Strategic Air Command service on 31 January 1970.
With such outstanding performance it was clear that the B-58A had record-breaking potential. On 12 January 1961 Major Henry Deutschendorf and his crew secured the 2000km closed-circuit record at 1708.8km/h and on 14 January Major Harold E. Confer's aircraft raised the 1000km record to 2067.57km/h. On 10 May Major Elmer Murphy won the trophy presented by Louis Bleriot in 1930 for the first pilot to exceed 2000km/h for a continuous period of 30 minutes. Sixteen days later Major William Payne and his crew flew from Carswell to Paris setting, en route, record times of 3 hours 39 minutes 49 seconds from Washington and 3 hours 19 minutes 51 seconds from New York; sadly the Hustler crashed at the Paris Air Show on 3 June with the loss of the crew. Other flights included a supersonic endurance record of 8 hours 35 minutes from Haneda, Tokyo to London, on 16 October 1963.
Convair B-58 Hustler on YOUTUBE
Specification
MODEL
B-58
CREW
3
ENGINE
4 x General Electric J79-GE-5A turbo-jets, 69.3kN with afterburner
WEIGHTS
Take-off weight
73936 kg
163002 lb
DIMENSIONS
Wingspan
17.32 m
57 ft 10 in
Length
29.49 m
97 ft 9 in
Height
9.58 m
31 ft 5 in
Wing area
143.25 m2
1541.93 sq ft
PERFORMANCE
Max. speed
2229 km/h
1385 mph
Ceiling
18290 m
60000 ft
Range
3219 km
2000 miles
ARMAMENT
1 x 20mm cannon, nuclear bombs inside the container under the fuselage
My Company Distribute Aire of Salt Lake City Utah disasembled the last B58 that was located at Carswell AFB TX and relocated it to the Lone Star Flight Museum at Galveston Island TX with the help of Les Chapman Trucking Company moving the Fuselage with wings attached 22 Feet in width after removing the outer wings and Tail .Quite a Logistical move . I hope it withstood the Hurricanes
I was statioed at Shepard AFB in Whichita Fall Texas in 1959. As I came out of the Chow hall I and a couple of others looked up to see a B-58 streaking across the sky at high speed, then going into a cloud, the problem was, it went into its own cloud when it exploded. What I had heard is that one of the engine inlet spikes had failed along with the above problems that Gerald Churchill described. The next day a detail from Shepard was sent to help the recovery.
My good old Dad was a DSO on B-58's at the 43rd around 64-66. He eventually retired as a Col. I remember these aircraft taking off and landing in that characteristic nose high attitude (with all that noise). I asked him how the bomb runs on the deck were, and he verified they were rock steady. Dad informed me that when the DSO wasn't operating radios, jammming equip, firing the gun, balancing the fuel load and other checklist-related tasks, they conducted all of the timing for the bomb release when the aircraft was on the deck. He also related to me a story that began with Carswell tower calling his aircraft as they entered the pattern, reporting a fuel leak in the wing. The small tires and brakes tended to heat up when landing, so his pilot flared the B-58 long and ate up all of the runway until the aircraft stopped. As they did the fuel continued to drain out and steam on the hot main gear tires and brakes. Dad told me about his aircraft encountering a B-52 in flight and the last minute hard break required to clear it. He also mentioned an unlimited departure and climb out that his aircraft performed without the pod. This aircraft was a precision delivery platform for nuclear weapons that kept our adversary at bay. Dad eventually served his SE Asia tour for the most part in the back of a EB-66C, jamming enemy SAM radar. I am honored that after all of this he allowed a novice pilot(me)to fly him around in a rented Cessna. One dark note is that I remember sitting in the back seat of the family car when Dad and his pilot drove out to look at the crash scene of a B-58 that had crash-landed gear up (near Little Rock AFB). The ejection pod wasn't designed for low altitude and a crew member was killed. They were looking at something on the ground but I stayed in the car. The picture of Dad and his crew in front of their B-58 still hangs on the wall at home.
I checked out as pilot on the 58 in 64 and flew it to the end of 66. It was a very stable aircraft and not difficult to fly except for the landing. With no flaps or other lift devices we crossed the end of the runway at not less than 210 Knots. I enjoyed flting it a lot! Vern
I was stationed at Bunker Hill AFB as a security guard with the 305th Security Police Sq. around 1968 /69 and was there during the ceremony for the base name change to "Grissom", and was on duty when a TB-58 crashed on takeoff. The wreckage was placed in a hangar which I had to guard once or twice. (I have some melted metal and a small piece of one of the engines, fan blades, from that crash.
I was working on a ranch in northern Arkansas sometime in the late 60's when a pair of black 58s at extremely low altitude flew directly overhead. It was in the middle of summer so the windows in the ranch house were fully open, they began rattling in their frames and then the curtains gently blew out the windows instead of in. This got my attention instantly and I ran outside to see what the hell was going on! I have never seen a daylight photo of a black Hustler but I know I saw 2 of them flying together. Any comments regarding this instance?
My father was the nagivator on the crew that picked up the last B-58 from the factory in Ft. Worth, Texas in October 1962. I'm trying to locate the photos that were taken that day so that I may give one to my father for his 79th birthday in early September. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thank you!
10 /23 /1962 First flight Assigned to 305th BW
Last B-58A built. First Flight 10 /23 /62; accepted by the AF and delivered on 10 /26 /62.
01 /06 /1970 Arrived MASDC Sent to MASDC but saved and placed on static at Pima Co. Aerospace Museum, Tucson, AZ.
Pima County Aerospace Museum 6000 E. Valencia Rd. Tucson, Arizona 85706 (520) 618-4800
In the early 60's, fresh out of the Army (82nd Airborne) I was a Quality Control inspector at General Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. My first inspection job was 100% inspection of all parts that went into the tires for the B-58.
My father, CMSGT James C. Ash ( Bill ), was responsible for the Maint. inspection manuel on the 58. '57-'61. Transferred to Edwards in '62. The unit at Carswell lost one on the runway with 2 fatalities. Major Lewis was only survivor. Dad passed this last November 6th. He had retired in '68, the night I left for RVN to fly Otters for the Army. Tailwinds, cliff ash
The highlight of my USAF career was flying as a nav /bombardier for 6 years in the B-58. I have a site, b58hustler.net and our association has a site, b58hustlerassn.net -- I built both sites! Cheers, BJ Brown
Col William R Payne (Maj. Payne in 1962) Was the commander of the 4200 OE&T test force at Edwarss AFB 1969-1975. Most outstanding man I ever met in the Air Force. Proud to have him as a friend and fishing buddy.
I was at Bunkerhill AFB (Now Grissom AFB) during the mid to late 1960's as a young airman. During this time we had two B58's to go down, one, the first one, I help pick-up. Why is there no information about these events?
While living in Ann Arbor I had the great priviledge of being a neighbor of and getting to know William L. Polhemus, the navigator on the record setting Washington - New York - Paris flight. Bill was incredibly proud that the in-flight refuelings were within a minute of the original flight plan that he prepared. He also told the story of coming into French airspace when the control of the navigation was turned over to the French air traffic control who then guided the flight path. Bill realized that the course being set by them would cause the plane to miss the right pylon and therefore invalidate the entire mission. He told the pilot to bring the aircraft "left" as hard as possible but the on-ground radar operator assured the pilot that there was no problems ... until a few seconds later when the air traffric controller started yelling "au gauche" into the microphone. Bill than had to yell that it was French for "to the left" at which the pilot brought the aircraft into an extremely tight left turn and just barely cleared the pylon to complete the official finish and the speed record. The other interessting implication of this flight was that the Rose Garden event that Bobby and Jack Kennedy spoke about cancelling during the Cuban Missile cirses (and which the president refused to cancell lest it be interpreted that the government was in crises) was none other than the presidential presentation to Bill and the other members of the crew. Bill proudly displayed in his home in Jeffersonville, Vermont the picture of the President with a congratulatory note and the October date, one of the most important in the history of the United States. Bill was a great friend and my family and me spent many wonderful days with his in the Vermont home until he died several years ago. I still miss him deeply and would love to hear from any of his friends or family.
Dave Carlson Senior Vice President and Chief Technoloogy Officer IHS Englewood, Colorado
The B-58 crash near Lawton, OK in 1959 was witnessed by me. Not the crash but I witnessed the bomber overhead in Lawton. it was trailing fire from the left wing. The local radio station had broadcast the plane was on fire over the city. I was 4 at the time. My parents loaded me and my sister in the car and we drove to the crash site. The B-58 came down in a field well East of Lawton. We drove as close as we could. Oklahoma State Troopers stopped all traffic about a mile away from the crash.
Does anyone remember my father, Col. Richard E. Evans? He was the first (I was told) B-58 Test Squadron Commander at Careswell AFB. I lived on Careswell AFB with my family. I'll never forget the experience of standing on the tarmac and watching that beautiful jet fly in or take off. It was a thrill even to us, the youngsters. Thank you, Barbara Evans Kinnear
Gerald L. Churchill, Msgt USAF, e-mail, 11.09.2009 14:09
I was a ground crew member (Mechanic) during the Test and Development of the B-58 at Carswell and later at Little Rock AFB, AR. I came from the B-47 (600MPH) to a Mach 2.7 bomber. What a qauntum leap in technology. I was and am amazed. I have worked on aircraft military and commercial since 1950. Some of my best memories are of the B-58.
The crash near Lawton mentioned above was a test of inflight shutdown and restart of the engines at supersonic speed. A failure of the Yaw Dampner cause the aircrfaft to yaw a supersonic speed and the shock wave entered Nbr 4 engine while Nbr 3 was shut down resulting in a flat spin at supersonic speed and the aircraft broke apart. I believe a Convair crew was flying the aircraft at the time. We had installed a lot of strain gages in the wings and fuselage of the aircraft to record stresses on the aircraft during flight. What was learned for the development of that aircraft is still in use today, of course with improved technology.
I just recieved a set of cufflinks that were on the May 26, 1961 flight from New York to Paris that set records (3hrs. And 19 min.)They came from a family named Roberts, Norman Roberts had something to do with NASA and this flight. I am doing research on the flight and Robert's family. Chuck U.S.A.F 1962 to 66
