- Yes
- No
Hello everyone. I’d like to suggest the Convair B-58A Hustler and discuss its place in War Thunder as a possible addition to the US aviation tech tree. Indeed, the B-58 never had operationally used conventional bombs, and, fear not, the aircraft did use and had dropped the iron bombs briefly during an experimental Project Bullseye. It was a program that evaluated the B-58’s effectiveness with the iron bombs in low-level tactics in 1967. However, due to the evolving military technology and air doctrine, the use of iron bombs never materialized at the operational level. Therefore, the aircraft I am suggesting in this post was a modified B-58A to accommodate conventional bombs from Project Bullseye. For more information on Project Bullseye and the use of iron bombs, please refer to the Project Bullseye section below after the History section.
Key Characteristics
- Supersonic strategic bomber capable of Mach 2 flight
- Delta-wing design with 4 x General Electric J79-GE-5A afterburning turbojet engines
- Four hard points for the iron bombs of varying weights up to 3,000 pounds
- T-171E-3 six-barrel 20-mm rotary tail gun and chaff dispensers for the defense
History
Design and DevelopmentThe Convair Company of Fort Worth, Texas, USA, began conceptual studies on a supersonic bomber in October 1946, with the investigation designated Generalized Bomber (GEBO) by the US Air Force. GEBO explored the possibility of a delta-winged aircraft weighing about 150,000 pounds. The Air Force awarded Convair a contract given that the company had previous experience with delta-winged aircraft, such as the experimental Convair XF-92.
Since the US aircraft corporations had been studying captured German reports on delta-winged aircraft, Convair researchers worked on the delta wing on the XF-92 experimental aircraft in 1948. The experimental aircraft provided valuable data that would lead to the development of Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and its follow-on successor, the F-106 Delta Dart. With the data obtained from the XF-92, the USAF requested Convair to continue its study on the development of future long-range supersonic bombers, so GEBO eventually led to a second and more practical study designated GEBO-II in March 1949, when the Cold War started to heat up a little. That was two years after Boeing had test-flown the first modern jet bomber, the B-47 Stratojet, and three years before the B-47’s successor, the B-52 Stratofortress. At the time, there were no supersonic combat bomber aircraft in operational service. Anyways, the Convair designers and engineers focused and formalized the studies of the delta wing for their supersonic bomber in June 1949. GEBO II focused on the specifications for the supersonic bomber capable of attaining cruising speed of more than 450 knots, a combat altitude greater than 35,000 feet, a radius of 1,200 to 2,500 miles with a 10,000-pound bomb load, and a takeoff distance of less than 5,000 feet.
In January 1950, the Convair engineers initially focused on the parasite bomber concept, involving a relatively small supersonic bomber to be carried by a B-36 to the target area. This concept was not to be pursued in favor of a more conventional bomber concept after receiving some opposition from the officials of USAF’s Strategic Air Command. On January 26, 1951, following the completion of the detailed study, Convair proposed the development of a long-range supersonic reconnaissance bomber under the project designation of MX-1626.
After a test program involving wind tunnel models in October 1952, the USAF requested that Convair develop a full-scale supersonic bomber prototype. Convair was not the only contractor in this study; Boeing, Curtiss, Douglas, Martin, and North American Aviation submitted bids for GEBO II. Most of their submissions were straightforward, ambitious, and expensive. Consequently, only Convair and Boeing received the most points and proceeded to the phase 1 study. During this period, Convair made a redesign to its design by replacing the two large J53 engines with four smaller J79s optimized for supersonic flight, which would be the powerplant for several famous American supersonic aircraft, including the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. Convair redesigned their renewed submission MX-1964.
In mid-1952, the Air Force designed the Convair bomber “XB-58” and the Boeing bomber"XB-59." In August 1952, Convair’s XB-58 design was judged superior, and, in October 1952, the USAF selected the Convair XB-58 for further development. On December 2, 1952, it was announced that the designation of the new bomber would be B-58. In February 1953, it awarded Convair a contract for two prototypes, including one XB-58 bomber prototype and one XRB-58 reconnaissance aircraft prototype. They were also known by the USAF “weapon system” designations of “WS-102A” and “WS-102L” respectively, and jointly by the company designation of “Convair Model 4.” Many revisions of the Convair MX-1964 design were to follow in the meantime.
In August 1954, the final B-58 design was chosen. It incorporated a large delta wing with a leading-edge sweep of 60 degrees. It was to be powered by an arrangement of four General Electric J79-GE-1 turbojet engines on individual underwing pylons. All fuel was contained internally and in the podded lower component. The fuselage was aligned to the modified transonic area for supersonic speeds. The external wing tanks were eliminated, and the tail area was increased to 160 square feet. Finally, in December 1955, a definitive contract was issued to Convair for 13 aircraft. A second contract was issued on May 25, 1956, providing additional funds to maintain B-58 production at a minimum sustaining rate through October 1956. The USAF would have to see and decide if it should buy more aircraft by the fall of 1956.
PrototypeThe first prototype (55-660) was rolled out on August 31, 1956 under high security. On November 11, 1956, the prototype first flew, and, on December 30, 1956, it exceeded Mach 1 for the first time. The second prototype was completed and designated XB-58, not XRB-58, and it first flew in February 1957. The flight-test program involving 30 aircraft continued until April 1959.
ProductionThe first production B-58 bomber was delivered in February 1959; in October 1959, the B-58 flew at Mach 2 for over an hour, achieving the first “supersonic cruise.” The Hustler name was given by the Convair engineering crew, and the Air Force expressed approval of the naming. A total of 116 B-58s were produced, with 30 trial aircraft and 86 production B-58A models. Most of the trial aircraft were later upgraded to operational standards.
The B-58 was built with aluminum honeycomb panels, which bonded outer and inner aluminum skins to a honeycomb of aluminum or fiberglass. The structure made up 13.8% of the aircraft’s gross weight, an exceptionally low figure for the era, while the wing was extremely thin. The entire wing served as an integral fuel tank. The aircraft had a long tricycle landing gear to allow ground clearance for the engines and weapons pod.
The B-58 was operated by a crew of three: pilot, radar navigator/bombardier, and defense systems operator. They were seated in separated tandem cockpits, although the space was cramped and claustrophobic. Later versions of the B-58 provided each crew member with a protective, enclosed ejection capsule that could eject at 70,000 feet (21,000 meters) at speeds up to Mach 2.
The B-58 only had a single 20-mm T-171E-3 six-barrel 20-mm rotary cannon, with a maximum firing rate of 4000 rounds per minute, in a radar-aimed tailed barbette. It was remotely controlled through the Emerson MD-7 automated radar fire-control system, only requiring the DSO to lock on a selected target blip on his scope and then fire the gun. However, its firing arc was very limited as the tailgun was faired to conform to the rest of the aircraft The DSO also controlled the AN/ALQ-16 active jammer and AN/ALE-16 chaff dispensers to interfere with enemy radars.
The B-58 was equipped with a sophisticated Sperry AN/ASQ-42 bombing/navigation system that provides a heading reference. It had the AN/APN-133 Doppler radar that provides ground speed and wind speed data, along with a radar altimeter and search radar to provide range data for bomb release and trajectory.
The B-58 only had a single 20-mm T-171E-3 six-barrel 20-mm rotary cannon, with a maximum firing rate of 4000 rounds per minute, in a radar-aimed tailed barbette. It was remotely controlled through the Emerson MD-7 automated radar fire-control system, only requiring the DSO to lock on a selected target blip on his scope and then fire the gun. However, its firing arc was very limited as the tailgun was faired to conform to the rest of the aircraft The DSO also controlled the AN/ALQ-16 active jammer and AN/ALE-16 chaff dispensers to interfere with enemy radars.
The standard MB-1C weapons pod with tailfins was mounted on the centerline of B-58. It carried a W39Y1-1 multi-megaton nuclear weapon and fuel in a gigantic pod as its sole offensive armament. The pod was mounted slightly off-center from the aircraft’s centerline. It would spin-stabilize after jettison. Problems with fuel leaks led to the development of a new two-component pod system that used twin stacked pods, with the upper nuclear bomb pod and the lower fuel pod. The fuel pod would be independently jettisoned during an operational mission once exhausted.
Operational ServiceOn August 1, 1960, the B-58 was declared operational nine months after delivering the first aircraft to the USAF. One month later, a single B-58 participated in the annual SAC Competition at Bergstrom. Unsurprisingly, the B-58 proved superior to competing Boeing B-47 Stratojets and B-52 Stratofortresses, securing first place in high-level and low-level radar bombing exercises.
The B-58 was difficult to fly, and its three-man crew was constantly busy, but its overall performance was exceptional in the era. Because of the 60-degree sweepback of delta wing platforms, the B-58 required a much higher angle of attack than a conventional aircraft, up to 9.4 degrees at Mach 0.5 at low altitudes. If the angle of attack exceeded 17 degrees, the bomber could pitch up and enter a spin. The aircraft must take off at a 14-degree angle of attack near 203.5 knots for a 150,000-pound combat weight. Combined with poor takeoff performance and unconventional stall characteristics, the B-58 was exceptionally challenging to fly. Only very experienced crews were selectively assigned to operate the B-58s.
After production ended in the fall of 1962, two SAC bomb wings only operated the B-58s. The 43rd Bombardment Wing operated the B-58s from 1960 to 1964 in Texas, and the 305th Bombardment Wing operated the aircraft from 1964 to 1960 in Arkansas. From 1961 to 1963, the B-58 was retrofitted with two tandem stub pylons under each wing root, adjacent to the centerline pod, for B43 or B61 nuclear weapons. These allowed the aircraft to carry a total of five nuclear weapons. However, Secretary of Defense McNamara declared the B-58 was not a viable weapon system. When the Soviet Union introduced and deployed SA-2 Guideline, a high-altitude surface-to-air platform, it arguably rendered B-58 useless, and the “solution” to this problem was to fly at low altitudes, minimizing the radar and reducing exposure time. Thus, the B-58 could not fly at supersonic speeds, and its moderate range was reduced further since the air was dense at low altitudes, negating the high-speed performance of the aircraft.
Despite efforts to keep the B-58 longer in service, McNamara ordered the retirement of the B-58 by 1970. The B-58 was more expensive to operate than other bombers, such as the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, and required more frequent aerial refueling and constant specialized maintenance. The B-58 costs one-third more to operate than the B-52, which means with the cost of operating two B-58 wings, the SAC could operate six B-52 wings. Compounding these expensive costs, the B-58 also had a high accident rate; 26 of 116 B58 aircraft were lost in accidents, or 22.4% of total production, and more than half of the losses occurred during flight tests. Consequently, its service lifetime was shortened when the Department of Defense announced on October 29, 1969, that the B-58 would be withdrawn from service on January 31, 1970. At that time, the last B-58s were retired and placed into storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. They remained intact until 1977 when all aircraft were sold for scrap.
As a weapon system, the B-58 was effectively replaced by the F-111 Advardarks. The aircraft was a cheaper and more flexible aircraft designed for low-altitude attack, with the carriage of conventional weapons and less expensive to produce and maintain.
The B-58 set 19 speed records and the longest supersonic flight in history. In one instance, the B-58 flew from Tokyo to London (via Alaska) in 1963, with a distance of 8,028 miles (12,920 km), averaging 938 mph (1,510 km/h). It was the longest non-stop supersonic flight, with five air refuelings for 8 hours and 35 minutes. This record remains unbroken for the time being.
Project Bullseye
Although B-58 never operationally carried conventional bombs, the US Air Force experimented with several B-58s using and releasing conventional bombs in Project Bullseye in April 1967 to evaluate the usefulness of B-58s in a tactical warfare scenario. During the project, several B-58s of the 305th Bomb Wing were modified at Eglin AFB, Florida, employing standard multiple ejection bomb racks and ordnance from 750-lb M117s up to 3,000-lb M118s on the wing root bomb racks, which had earlier been added to accommodate four Mk.43 thermonuclear weapons. The B-58s utilized Multiple Ejector Racks and Triple Ejector Racks in the testing.
If I am to understand correctly, these ejector racks were mounted on the four external pylons under the fuselage of the B-58 with the absence of the centerline pod, and these could hold up to three to six individual bombs on each pylon. For example, the B-58 could carry three 750-lb bombs on each pylon TER, totaling twelve 750-lb bombs.
So, these B-58s flew on low-level strike test missions and successfully dropped iron bombs at 600 knots, below 1.0 Mach. They had bombed weapons ranges at Eglin AFB, Nellis AFB, and Matagorda Island. However, almost all the drops were visual, with the AN/ASQ-42 bombing/navigation system rarely being used. In one flight, a bomb or fragments of a bomb had ricocheted into a B-58 following the delivery, but the damage was minor, and the aircraft landed without incident. The B-58s had flown 75 test sorties for 27 days of the project.
The iron bomb tests proved feasible and verified that the aircraft could be used for the required mission profile. However, the testing revealed difficulty maintaining visual contact within a formation during bad weather. Another concern was that, with advances in Soviet SAM technology and mass production, the aircraft was very susceptible to the threat of SAM when flying in the required tight formation. The aircraft also had a flawed weakness in that its highly susceptible integral wing tanks would be vulnerable to ground fire during the required low-altitude delivery modes. This means once it caught on fire, it was beyond saving the aircraft. These disadvantages concluded Project Bullseye’s unsatisfactory results to argue for the operational use of B-58s in the supposed Vietnam War.
Below is a screenshot of the page that showed the loading of conventional bombs by ground crew. As far as I know, these are the only existing photos with the use of iron bombs since Project Bullseye was held in high confidentiality away from the public eye.
Screenshot
Specifications
Convair B-58A HustlerGeneral Characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 96 ft 10 in (29.51 m)
- Height: 29 ft 11 in (9.12 m)
- Span: 56 ft 9 in (17.30 m)
- Wing area: 1,542.5 sq ft (143.3 sq m)
- Powerplant: 4 × General Electric J79-GE-5A afterburning turbojet engines
→ 62,400 lbf (278 kN) thrust A/B
→ 40,000 lbf (178 kN) thrust dry- Internal Fuel: 11,113 US Gal. (42,067 L)
- Oil Tankage: 24 US Gal. (90.85 L)
- Empty Weight: 51,061 lb (23,161 kg)
- Gross Weight: 107,250 lb (48,648 kg)
- Max. Takeoff Weight: 158,000 lb (71,668 kg)
Engine Ratings
Max.
→ 15,600 lbf with afterburner @ 7,460 rpm
Military
→ 10,000 lbf @ 7,460 rpm
Normal
→ 9,700 lbf @ 7,460 rpm @ continuous
Performance
- Thrust-to-Weight Ratio: 0.58
- Critical Altitude Speed: 1,320 mph (2,124 km/h)
- Wing Loading: 69.5 lb/sq ft (339.3 kg/sq m)
- Takeoff Distance: 5,870 ft (1,790 m)
- Rate of Climb: 14,780 - 38,000 fpm (75 - 193 m/s)
- Service Ceiling: 63,600 ft (19,385 m)
- Combat Radius: 2,690 miles (4,329 km)
- Max. Range: 6,483 miles (10,433 km)
Armament
- Avionics:
- AN/ASQ-42 navigation/bombing system
- AN/ALQ-16 jammer
- AN/ALR-12 radar warning receiver
- Turret:
- 1 x 20-mm M-61 Vulcan in a remote-controlled tail turret (1,040 - 1,200 rounds)
- Rate of Fire: 4,000 rounds per minute
- Tracing Rates: ¼ degrees to 60 degrees per second
- Firing Zone: +/- 30 degrees azimuth and evaluation
- Lethal Range: 1,500 yards (1.37 km)
- Bombs:
- 4 x 3,000-lb M118 bombs
- 4 x 2,000-lb Mk 84 bombs
- 12 x 1,000-lb Mk 83 bombs
- 12 x 750-lb M117 bombs
- 24 x 500-lb Mk 82 bombs
- 24 x 250-lb Mk 81 bombs
- Others:
- AN/ALE-16 Chaff Dispensers
Conclusion | Why it should be in the game
The Convair B-58A Hustler was the first supersonic jet bomber designed for the US Air Force in the 1950s-1960s. It had never seen any wartime action, and the aircraft received its modifications throughout its service years.
The modified B-58A Hustler from Project Bullseye could be a solid addition to War Thunder since it could hold a bomb load of up to 3,000 pounds on each pylon, with four special pylons. I estimate that the B-58 in-game would behave like Yak-28B but super fast and carrying the heaviest bomb load at possibly a higher BR than the Yak-28B. The B-58 would have to resort to its supersonic speed, tail gun with limited arc, and chaffs as its main weapons to survive. In addition, the B-58 could be added as another nuclear bomber for 2,500 points in ground battles should the initial proposal of a modified B-58 be ruled out.
- 3068 Standard Aircraft Characteristics B/RB-58A Hustler (10 July 1959)
- 3070 Standard Aircraft Characteristics B/RB-58A Hustler (10 July 1959)
- T.O. 1B-58A-1 Flight Manual USAF Series B/RB-58A Aircraft (28 August 1959)
- T.O. 1B-58A-1 Flight Manual B-58A USAF Series Aircraft (28 March 1969)
- Convair B-58 Hustler and Variants (1978)
- Convair B-58 Hustler: The World’s First Supersonic Bomber (1997)
- Combat Aircraft 130: B-58 Hustler Units (2019)
- General Dynamics B-58 & North American XB-70
- Origin of Convair B-58 Hustler
- Convair B-58A Hustler
- Service of B-58 Hustler with USAF
- Convair B-58 Hustler - Wikipedia
Thank you for taking the time to read my suggestion! 😃