B-58 Hustler at 70: Three Supersonic Bomber Types Remain in Service as the US Builds the Subsonic B-21
The Convair B-58 Hustler, the US Air Force's first operational supersonic bomber, first flew on November 11, 1956; 70 years on, three supersonic bomber types serve in two countries, according to GlobalMilitary.net data.
The Convair B-58 Hustler made its first flight 70 years ago this week, on November 11, 1956. It went on to become the US Air Force's first operational supersonic bomber. Today three supersonic bomber types remain in service in two countries, according to GlobalMilitary.net data, and the next American bomber is a subsonic design.
"The U.S. Air Force's first operational supersonic bomber, the B-58 made its initial flight on Nov. 11, 1956," the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force says in its fact text on the B-58A. Convair built 116 B-58s, the museum says: 30 test and pre-production aircraft and 86 for operational service. Hustlers flew in Strategic Air Command between 1960 and 1970, according to the museum.
The museum describes an aircraft with a three-man crew of pilot, navigator/bombardier and defensive systems operator. Its design featured a "wasp-waist" fuselage and a honeycomb sandwich skin, the museum says, and a droppable two-component pod under the fuselage carried a nuclear weapon, extra fuel or reconnaissance equipment. The B-58's maximum speed is 2,123 km/h in GMN's specifications.
B-58s set 19 world speed and altitude records and won five different aviation trophies, according to the museum. Its own aircraft set three speed records on a Los Angeles-New York-Los Angeles flight on March 5, 1962, winning the Bendix and Mackay trophies for 1962, the museum says.
The program moved quickly in its first months. The first prototype rolled out on August 31, 1956, flew on November 11 and first went supersonic on December 30, 1956. The type entered service on March 15, 1960. By then the threat of Soviet surface-to-air missiles was pushing the bomber toward low-level penetration, and the B-58 was retired on January 31, 1970. It was succeeded by the FB-111A.
Few aircraft have followed it. GMN's inventory data, which reflects current fleet estimates, counts three supersonic bomber types in service in two countries, for a total of 117 airframes, against the 116 B-58s that Convair built. The B-1B Lancer is the only one in American service, with 45 active.
The Russian fleet holds the other two types. The Tu-160 Blackjack accounts for 17 active aircraft. The Tu-22M Backfire, a long-range medium bomber rather than a strategic one, accounts for 55.
The rest of the American bomber force is subsonic, according to GMN data. The B-52 Stratofortress numbers 75 in service and the B-2 numbers 20.
The next US bomber follows the same pattern. The B-21 Raider is a subsonic stealth bomber, with 3 in service and 97 on order in GMN's data. The Air Force plans it as the successor to the B-1B and the B-2, which means the only supersonic bomber in US service is due to give way to a subsonic one.
The B-21 build-up is the next milestone for the US bomber force: 97 aircraft remain on order in GMN's data.
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