|
|
| Arctic Hustler |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| DESCRIPTION |
|
| 16 x 11.5 Inch Collector Size Unframed Lithograph $40.00
No bomber made so definite a break with the past as the Convair B-58 Hustler. Reversing the trend towards ever-larger bombers the world's first supersonic bomber the B-58 was ordered by the Air Force in 1954. This was also the final year of the production of the huge Convair B-36. From the beginning of its operational career the Hustler set a string of performance records that may never be matched by another military bomber. Alone in its class the B-58 could fly faster than twice the speed of sound pinpoint targets from an altitude of 60000 feet and avoid radar detection in low level supersonic flight. Powered by four General Electric J79 engines delivering 15600 pounds of thrust each the Hustler was faster than any other bomber and had a range of 4500 miles without aerial refueling. The B-58's electronic bombing and navigational systems were ten times more precise than those on earlier bombers. To reduce drag the aircraft's designers utilized the "area rule" principle in the design giving the Hustler its sleek shape. Very strong honeycomb skin material was utilized to further reduce weight and allow the bomber to withstand the high temperatures of supersonic flight. Utilizing its very strong but extremely light weight design a fully loaded B-58 (after in-flight refueling) would carry a gross weight equal to seven times the aircraft's dry weight. It first entered service in 1960. In September of 1962 a B-58 piloted by Fitzhugh Fulton carried an 11000 payload to the incredible altitude of 85000 feet breaking the world record. With a length of 99 feet and a wing span of 57 feet the Hustler was a small aircraft compared to the B-36. Hustlers were operated by three-man crews including a pilot navigator-bombardier and defense systems operator. Each crewmen had his own cramped cockpit with its own ejection system. The B-58 was unique in that it lacked an internal bomb bay. Instead all weapons were carried in an externally mounted under-fuselage pod. The B-58 could carry a weapons load of up to 19500 pounds. The pod could also be used to carry additional fuel. Some B-58s were equipped to carry a stand-off rocket propelled weapon (a precursor of today's modern cruise missiles) with a range of 160-miles. The Hustler utilized the delta wing configuration of Convair's fighters (F-102 & F-106.) Although the B-58 was conceived as a very high altitude long-range bomber capable of penetrating Soviet air space it became apparent during the 1960s that Soviet ground-to-air missile technology had improved to the point that high altitude high speed bombers would be very vulnerable to interception. This revelation lead to both a re-focusing of the B-58s role to a lower altitude radar-beating mission and a faster phase-out of this aircraft from service then was originally planned. This was somewhat influenced by the aircraft's price tag which was four times that of a B-52 and ten times that of a B-47. As depicted in Stan Stokes' painting entitled Arctic Hustler a B-58A flying out of Elmendorf AFB in Alaska is put through its radar-beating paces in the mid-1960s.
|
|
|