Aviones que cambiaron el Mundo| Convair B-58 Hustler
Video from the channel Hora de Vuelo about Convair, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 17:21. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
Documentary about the Convair B-58 Hustler, the United States Air Force's supersonic bomber: its origins, its design, its brief operational life and the records it set.
Historical context
In 1949 the US Air Force requested proposals for a supersonic bomber. After an initial phase with Boeing's MX-1712 and Convair's MX-1626 designs, in August 1952 it selected Convair's, which acted as prime contractor for the entire weapons system. The first aircraft rolled out of the factory on August 31, 1956, flew on November 11, and exceeded Mach 1 on December 30; it entered service on August 1, 1960. The advance of Soviet surface-to-air missiles relegated it to low-altitude penetration, a role it was not designed for, and its cost and accident rate, with 26 aircraft lost, hastened its retirement on January 31, 1970.
Key facts
It had a 60-degree delta wing, four General Electric J79 engines and a top speed of Mach 2. It carried its weapons and much of its fuel in a ventral pod, and its three crew members, seated in tandem, had escape capsules. 116 were built, 30 of them test aircraft, operated by the 43rd and 305th Bombardment Wings. It set 19 speed records; in 1963 it covered more than 12,900 km between London and Tokyo via Alaska in 8 hours and 35 minutes, with five in-flight refuelings.