Thank you so much for this in-depth video! It is by far the best I have ever seen on RUclips about the B-58, and I have seen them all. My first assignment after USAF SAC tech school was in Little Rock AFB. I was stunned to learn the bomber I had admired since age 10 was the plane I would be working with. The '58 is still the most beautiful and sleekest airplane ever built -bar none! Imagine my horror when only 3 years later at Davis-Monthan AFB I saw them all sealed up and aligned in a row in the "boneyard". With a lump in my throat, I exited my car took several slide photographs, and said farewell to this magnificent bird. My job at LRAFB in 1967 was in the Release Shop separating and testing the systems in the TCP. Fortunately, I was released from SAC when I was sent overseas to Japan (PACAF) where I was trained on the F-4 Phantom II until I was discharged six years thereafter.
Thank you very much, I thought I knew a thing or two about the Hustler, but in the making of this video i found out so much more that it was a pleasure to make. How cool it is to have been able to work with the B-58, I would have been as giddy as a child, any good stories? :-) Joe
Thank you all for taking the time to stop by and check out my homage to the brilliant Hustler There is an issue with the J-79 jet engine audio, not quite sure what happened there, was fine during editing, must be something I missed. Anyway, gives you an idea how loud the engines were. I hope you enjoy the story, Please, leave a like if you could on the way out, really helps the channel.
@@AviationRepublic On the subject of disspelling the myths, enough please with the "scared the Russians to the point that her mere existence may have prevented a nuclear war". This plane, the Chrome Dome that'd preceded her, and operation re~dsox after her (remove the tilde) were all offensive, escalatory steps against the Soviet ideological threat that'd forced the US to maintain a healthy, wealthy, educated, empowered middle class so they don't get commie ideas. (Which middle class was being "rolled back" since, tracking the diminishing perceived & actual viability of the Soviet system). The USSR didn't launch its nukes despite having received a high-confidence false positive (due to a freak weather condition) from its nuclear attack early warning system. The USSR didn't launch during the miscommunication in the course of Able Archer. The USSR didn't even launch during a major US black-out when its nuclear missile silos' generators ran out of gas and its nuclear deterrent posture was critically degraded. It's fair to say the USSR wasn't sitting there itching to launch if it hadn't been for some gizmo the US had just made (as is fashionable, and in human relations a recognized psychopathic trait, to ascribe them in justifying the action/gizmo in question). All these gizmos' real intent was, as Reagan had transparently put it, to "spend the Soviets into oblivion", as developing countermeasures consumed the Soviets' limited budget and best cadre whereas the US was spending "on credit" (debt and printing money) relatively consequence free initially, and had the post-war conditions to hoover up great cadre from the rest of the world. Excellent video otherwise, thanks for making it.
Well done! I especially appreciate the cost comparisons. The argument about her cost is blown away, especially when considering high altitude and low altitude capabilities. I believe the 58 would be unstoppable today, especially if upgraded with newer engines (not just the J58, but newer ones such as on the B-1 or F-15). Upgraded avionics, such as that continually being done for the aging B-52, would make this a truly spectacular ship even today. McNamara screwed up everything he ever touched IMHO. RIP B-58. By the way, many really nice model kits are available today, not just old Revell and Monogram kits.
Thank you, the book "The B-58 Blunder: How the U.S. Abandoned its Best Strategic" by George Holt is worth a read by any B-58 fan, also check out his interview in the description. Robert "Strange" McNamara did have his sticky finger prints on a lot of projects.
Thank you very much, 1/48 Models are still about for the B-58, saw a few on ebay, but going for over $130 each. I don't think my missus would to thrilled. :-) Joe
@@AviationRepublicLike you, I feel in love after seeing the first photos of the Hustler. It just looked like a sleek super fast predator standing still. I did manage to buy the Revell (?) model kit from odd jobs in the neighborhood...it was the pride of my warbird collection. The B-58 and the SR-71, IMO, remain the most beautiful designs ever. Thanks for the comprehensive presentation...the level of detail answered questions I didn't know to ask. A masterwork, I will return to several times.
I was going to save this to watch later. Brilliant documentary. Did anyone else spot the reference to Red Dwarf? There's so much stuff in this video I never knew about the Hustler and the astro navigation system is mind-blowing, considering this was in the 1950s. Well done!
I was friends with a few 58 crew and was offered membership in the B-58 Hustler club. They're probably passed by now. Dad worked for Convair as a designer.
Part of what made the Soviets hesitate to attack was a Mach 2 Bomber the appearance of which always put me in mind of an Angry, Winged, Venomous Insect. The Hustler always reminded me of that. Another was the Look on the face of General Curtis LeMay. I felt Safe.
great video.. thanks . grew up as a kid in a household of aircraft manufacturers dinner table chat occasionally centered round dead test pilots . i even had a part from one fatal wreck... it was in my collection along with brass shells for 20 mm cannons and starting jet engines.. now i'm old i just see waste.. sorry but yourr perspective alters as you get older.. but it was a truly awesome machine.
Thank you very much, I get your point regarding changing of perspectives. As much as we all love these machines, we must always keep in mind the reasons they were created, and that is to end life, even the beautiful Spitfire is essentially a platform to carry guns to end life. Sobering when i think about it.
Pretty good video. As a SAC-trained killer, I can assure you, that nobody EVER spelled out the acronym... we said "sack" as in what testicles are carried in. The B-58 was retired before I served. I worked on many other aircraft, but always admired the B-58 as a concept.
My compliments on the effort you put into this video. In 1971 or 72, while on my way to Hamilton AFB, I remember stopping in at Davis Monthan AFB for fuel. The pilot flying the other aircraft in our formation, had heard from a friend that a large number of the B-58s had been sent to Davis Monthan to be scrapped. While our aircraft were being refueled, we commandeered a ride over to the boneyard to have a look, and what a sorry sight it was to see over 50 of those beautiful aircraft all lined up waiting for the axe to fall. I was told that the moaning sound the J-79 engines made, was because of the design of either the inlet compressor or the afterburner.. I never heard the noise from the B-58, but I am quite familiar with the moaning sound the F-104 made, while taxiing when the throttle was advanced, and hearing distinctive moan of the aircraft in flight when it they were in the traffic pattern. You didn't hear the sound in the cockpit in flight. .
hey man just wanted to say this is a great video i can’t imagine all the work you put into it plus seeing all the comments you gave thought out replies to is really nice aswell. You gained a new sub for sure, hope to see you keep growing!
Thank you for subbing. Work wise, well let's just say that the missus was not too pleased I spent the entire holiday reading up on the Hustler. :-) Joe
Hey you remind me of myself, I was a young kid in 1974 and I saw this plane model in a hobby shop, and I had to have it, I thought that this plane was bad ass, it was a Monogram plastic model later on in my life I found an article about this plane and they down played this plane because of the large pod under it's fuselage that was it's armament once dropped the plane was vulnerable and unarmed, I felt sad that this plane was a failure but I had much admiration for this plane for it's modern design over the B-52 but wondered what happened to it, but now the total explanation has been explained. Still to this day I still have the model in the box fully built with my other models on a shelf in my room closet at my mom and dads house from decades ago, one bad ass plane
You need to get that model out of the closet and have it on display in a glass case. Oh, how I wish I had kept all my models. I left them all at my parents house when I fled the nest, they have all since been "Decommissioned" It's interesting how a machine can have such profound effects on us when we were young. :-) Joe
I used to know a retired Air Force test pilot out of Edwards after flying 29s in Korea. He few the B29, B36, B47 & B58. They flew the B58 half way across the US southwest at Mach 1 at very low level and when they landed they all urinated blood due to the buffeting. He also set a record flying from Louisiana to the UK. He later moved here to Houston and went to work for NASA to work on the Mercury Program.
I am very envious, I used to love listening to the stories that some of the old boys used to tell, this was a while back, all gone now, but I am a firm believer no one truly dies so long as we keep telling their stories for future generations.
The howl came from the Variable Stator Vanes located in front of the first set of rotating blades at the front of the compressor. The variable pitch blades were necessary because with a compressor that has that many stages of compression, the air becomes unstable in it's last few stages at high RPM.
This is why I love doing this, no matter how much I look around for the answers online, books, journals, I can always rely on you guys to have the answers. Love it. :-) Joe
This is inaccurate. It is not the last stages that become "unstable", and the problem is also not at high, but at low rpm. The angle of attack of the blades of the first compressor stages at slow airflow is too high, and without VSV the blades would be effectlively stalled and unable to bring the engine to self-sustaining speed. The VSVs change the angle at which the airflow encounters the blades during engine start, allowing them to work effectively. Even at flight idle, the VSV are already fully open, and do not move in flight at all. Only the first stages have variable stator vanes, and they are only needed for starting. I recommend some of AgentJayZ's videos on the J79, particularly its VSV system. I'm not exactly sure where any B-58 engine howl originates, but the Starfighter howl originated in the nozzle. Turbojet engine compressor intakes usually scream, and don't howl. High-bypass turbofans also often "growl", but that's a different phenomenon again.
@@pinkdispatcherI still think the Best engine starting Howl's are the DC 8 with the air compressor start used to o call that the wolf mating call and second would be the L1011 sounds like a hover vacuum cleaner
BTW: Something in your story reminded me of this tidbit of supersonic trivia. The first commercial aircraft to go supersonic (on purpose), was the Rolls Royce Conway powered Douglas DC--8/43. owned and operated by Canadian Pacific Airlines. I don't know exactly how it was arranged for the testing to take place, but shortly after the aircraft entered service with CP, it was sent back to Douglas specifically for the purpose of doing a Mach run. The flight was flown at Edwards AFB in 1961 by Douglas, test pilots, There was a brass plaque in the cockpit on the bulkhead near the inside of the entry door. Douglas, had apparently signed a contract with CP, guaranteeing a certain minimum range performance, and the aircraft CP purchased, did not meet the specification, which forced Douglas to redesign the leading edge. After leafing the air force in 1973, I started with CP on the DC-8, and always got a kick to think I was still flying supersonic capable aircraft.
I was five years old when a B-58 went howling over my house at about 1000 ft AGL. That was the last time I ever saw one in flight, and my best memory of them. There is mothballed one on display at the Pima Aerospace Museum at Tuscon, AZ, that is in such good condition it looks as though it could be serviced and flown.
Being faster isn't enough for a fighter to reliably intercept a bomber, you really need at least a 25% speed advantage. The reason for this is that the bomber isn't just going to fly in a straight line it's going to gently maneuver to throw off the intercept geometry. The MiG-25 is the only fighter that can reliably counter the B-58.
Assuming the bomber knows where the intercepters are early enough. And of course, if long range missiles make a distant intercept possible without full closure.
@@Eleolius Of course, however as long range missiles get better then the bombers get fitted with more capable radar, ESM and ECM systems, as happened with the B-52 during its life.
My most prized model as a child was the hustler. It had plastic "flames" coming out of the engines. As a young USAF officer, I served as a Titan II launch officer, 74-79.
1 minute in and I’ve already liked and subscribed. Gotta love it when RUclips uncovers a hidden gem like your channel so early on your journey to me! Happy to be apart of it now. Look forward to watching all of your content and what’s to come ! Here’s to you and your hard work mate! God speed !
Welcome aboard, thank you very much for subbing, means a lot. it's an absolute pleasure to make these videos since it gives me the excuse now to tell my wife I am going on day trips to museums...not the pub.....honest..... :-) Joe
To me, the B-58 was the most beautiful bomber ever built. Still one of my all-time favorites of any planes. 👍 BTW, excellent vid…subscribed and liked ! 😉👌
am I odd or the only one who loves seeing their drafting accessories on those historic boards? drafting; machine, templates, triangles all of it still works after many years.... sadly none on such cool projects... mostly , architectural projects
I don't think you are alone, I believe there are plenty of us who still remember and appreciate the old tools. I still have my old slide rule from many years ago, it's a work of art. I might post a picture of it on the channel. - Joe
The B58 was before artificial stabilization. The CG had to be ahead of 25% of the mean chord. Fuel was shuttled around to do so. This is common to the Delta platform planes like the Concorde, and Vulcan. But it’s a chore you have to stay atop off. If a plane is in an uncoordinated turn the fuel will run to the down side. Tanks are baffled to damp this, but if the turn is sustained enough fuel weight might be shifted to overwhelm the controls. B58 pilots were excellent and unlikely flew uncoordinated unless an engine failed. D
Thanks for that, very interesting. I did read a fair bit about the fueling processes, there was one account of having to tied down the nose wheel while refueling to prevent the B-58 from sitting on its tail. :-) Joe
JOE!! Congratulations on an engaging and thoroughly interesting video! I had hoped for long that one day I would find a watchable deep dive video on this futuristic bomber. All the other content around seems to be either too short and shallow or old and uninteresting, like the films made in its era. Thank you!
Hello there, thank you very much. More long form deep dive videos on the way. I have a list of requests in my inbox at the moment. I will need to stop watching cat videos and get on with it........but they are sooooo cute :-) jOE
There is one little known remnants of a B-58 on the edge of the lake bed at Edwards stripped the below bones. It was snoopy, a modified 58 hustler. It has a long droopy nose, and there’s not much left of it, but if you know where to look you can drive right up to it.
I did read that just after Yeager broke the sound barrier, the designer, Robert Widmer, asked his boss if he could start work on a supersonic bomber, but he refused, so he designed it in his spare time!
And oh, BTW, My father and a big crew from Sperry on Long Island, worked extensivly on the electronic countermeasures on the B-58. There were two generations of ECM systems for the B 58. They used some of the first integrated circuits. They also installed the stress sensors monitorimg conditions in the airframe. It was a magic time.....
I have always found it amazing how it was possible to create such complex machines without the assistance of powerful, sophisticated computer technology, nothing but slide rules and sheer brains. impressive stuff. I bet you heard some interesting stories from your father .
Nice job Bud thanks for narrating this yourself. I hate how lazy some are using AI narration. Jeez 🙄 what are they thinking they deserve to earn from that? ❤️🖖🏼🇺🇸
Thank you, A.I can be ok, provided the creator of the video pays attention to the output, a lot of videos that use A.I have zero quality control and that leads to preventable mistakes. But imagine where it'll be in a few years time, it's insane.
Great video of a beautiful and underappreciated aircraft. Sadly, with the short range and the lack of internal bomb storage of the B-58 it was doomed from the start. Tech was just moving so fast in those days the F-111 was less than a decade away (first flight 1962) and was a good enough aircraft to serve until almost 2011 (Dec 2010). Not taking away from the B-58 which for its era was an absolute monster in the performance realm. The thin flight envelope of the plane limited it move to any other uses than recon but could never match the SR-71 or proposed XB-70 in performance.
I'm glad to see you appreciate the achievement this airplane was. However, I have to say that no airplane which can do over 1,100 knots and fly at Mach 2 above 60,000 feet after lifting off at around 200 knots has a "razor thin flight envelope". You must have meant to say something else.
@@playanddisplay3636 Differ with what, that the plane did not have a razor thin flight envelope? That would make them as ill-informed as you now appear to be. Perhaps you don't know what the term flight envelope actually means.
@@gort8203 The term is somewhat loosely applied, and can also refer to other measurements such as maneuverability. For example, when a plane is pushed, for instance by diving it at high speeds, it is said to be flown "outside the envelope", something considered rather dangerous. During vehicle test programs, flight envelope simply means that part of the aircraft or spacecraft's design capabilities that have already been successfully tested, and have therefore moved from theoretical or designed capability into a demonstrated/certified capability.
@@playanddisplay3636 I'm silly? You're just a bs artist. Of course flying outside the approved envelope is risky. Stating something that is true now does not change the fact that your claim that the B-58 had a razor thin envelope is untrue. You are trying to defend your silly statement by saying words can mean anything you want them to. Why not just admit that you chose your words poorly instead of just providing more proof that you are talking smack instead of fact.
For sure, I can never decide if she resembles a hornet, wasp, praying mantis or speeding rabbit, (I love the name "Rapid Rabbit" given to one of the Hustlers) and if you noticed in the video before the start of the chapter "High Bars" there was called "Little Joe". :- ) Joe
At 40:49 I am amazed at the thought of all the contact tracks it must have. Nice copper circular tracks with sliding spring loaded tipps, had to be what, 20 or more. Ugh...
Yeap, he did indeed, and if you know that and then listen to John Denver's songs "Leaving on a Jet plane" makes more sense. I think that was a song about not knowing where he truly belonged. Anyway, here is an ear worm, for you "Take Me Home Country Roads" :-) Joe
I appreciate the time and effort you put into this excellent, well-researched documentary. However, us old timers don't recognize when you call "SAC(k)" spelled out as S-A-C. Just call it "SACk." My father flew those for "SAC (sack)."
An absolutely gorgeous-looking, gazelle of an aircraft but I think the pod system was probably it's Achille's heel. Overly complex and limiting. The lack of an internal bomb bay on a designed from-the-ground-up bomber is always going to raise questions.
Dad worked for Convair when the B58 was operational. The B58 was built when unlimited budgets were available to defend the USA. The B58 was built when jet engines were horrible and A-bombs gigantic. This resulted in the B58 being designed with what was possible. This resulted in an expensive aircraft that was quickly non optimal as engines improved and A-bomb shrunk.
@@AviationRepublic no reds under my bed, and the bad thing then is that evil people in this country destroyed good people by labeling them reds. Of course a lot of boys died in Korea fighting the red peril. My understanding is that B29s killed about 1/2 million Chinese troops and the PRC erased it from their history. We did not win that war, in fact it never officially ended
The B=47, it should be noted, had an inherent design flaw, wherein the wings could snap off near the root. Given the high risk task allocated to this aircraft, perhaps it is remarkable that more were not lost.
Just about any aircraft you can name will snap it's wings off if mishandled, when the early P51B's were starting their work up in England they were snapping their wings off across the gun access doors at such an alarming rate they were all grounded until North American Aviation designed a fix that was incorporated in the assembly line and retrofit kits were rushed to England and had to be installed in every one before they were allowed to fly. Even after a wing redesign for the P51D they still would snap wings off which is exactly how the legendary Hub Zempke, leader of the 56th Fighter Group, the most successful USAAF fighter group in Europe wound up in a POW camp, the 56th famously flew P47's exclusively and refused to turn their's in to switch over to the P51, Gen Doolittle considered Zempke his best fighter group leader and sent him on a temporary assignment to straighten out a newly formed P51 unit that was tagged with being a "hard luck" outfit, while leading from the front which was Zempke's style they got into a fight with some German fighter's, after getting one on his tail Zempke attempted a trick he'd pulled off many times in P47's where he'd duck into a cloud and through a series of high G maneuvers would typically emerge from it having reversed his position on his pursuer, but unfortunately the wings of the P51 wasn't up to it and his snapped off forcing him to bail out over German territory and wind up as a POW for the last months of the war. Japanese Zeros despite having a reputation for being maneuverable also had notoriously fragile wings that could snap off, that's exactly how the US Navy pilot called "Swede" shot down 3 of them in a dogfight flying an SBD dive bomber, he knew it being a dive bomber had wings rated to a higher G rating than the Zero so he just kept forcing them to turn in the horizontal, none of them could match his turns and by staying inside of them he kept forcing them one at a time into head on passes eventually shooting down all 3.
Almost unstoppable after refueling from a KC135. It was practically a rocket plane at a full dash. The crew had to stay ahead of the machine. With three crew, the workload was intense, and they couldn't fall behind the jet they were operating. The two back seaters claimed they rarely ever had time to look out their repsective side windows. The Hustler was expensive, but between it's very existence, and the looming possibility of the XB70, the Soviets probably spent alot more developing and deploying an effective air defence against these High speed bombers. And after said air defense became a reality, it too became less relevent as the U.S. abandon high speed bombers in favor of ICBMs and SLBMs, not to mention medium range ballistic missles. The bomber was not nearly as relevant. The B52 fleet was huge, and still useful as a conventional bomber force. And could be used as a show of force, whereas a Hustler was designed to get in and out fast, with only enough loitering to refuel. Funny how the B1 all the sudden needed to be. Better range I guess. In summary, I think the Soviet response to the Hustler cost them more than the Hustler cost us. The Russians never used that defensive screen, though the Mig25 Foxbat did produce some sales later on. As did the sam systems, and radars that guided them. What a hotrod! Love the B58. Awesome doc! I loved it.
Unquestionably, a marvel of engineering, It's always shocking to me that these machines are from the minds of humans, only a few hundred years ago we were rolling around in the mud and now we are building magic. MAGIC :-) Joe
Coke Bottle fuselage, area rule, the Grumman F11 Tiger was the first aircraft to sport this. The F11 was quickly replaced by the F8 Crusader. But it was flown by the Blue Angels from 1958 thru 1969.
@AviationRepublic yout welcome, I saw the Bible Angels flying the F11 at an air show my dad took me to at Grumman. My dad was a tool and die supervisor ar Grumman.
@@AviationRepublic Your welcome. I saw the Blue Angels flying F11 Tigers at an air show my dad took me to in 1968, at Grummans Calverton plant. He was a tool and die supervisor at Grumman.
Well I KNOW the B-58 could be intercepted by the Mig-25 but that plane was a decade later. Mach 1.3 is fast, but not as fast as most fighters they had a decade or so later.
General Dynamics owned Convair. They focused on the F-111. It was faster, had a weapon bay for SRAM missiles, better equipment, a terrain following system, and planned to use it as an interceptor.
This was one of my earliest model kit builds, either Revell or Monogram around 1962. Too advanced for a child of ny age but my father did most of the work as he 'helped' me. The B-58 looked like alien technology compared to contemporary aircraft except maybe the F-104 Starfighter.
Lucky you, I drove my parents mad with my constant demands for models. Nothing better than spending time with the old man building models. I have built loads of models with my son, or to be more accurate, I have built lots of models while he watched.....i am a terrible parent :-) Joe
There was a proposal at the end of the B58 service life to convert them into bomber interceptors. The idea was that on detection the B58 would launch and fly to intercept attacking Soviet bombers. A new pod would carry powerful air to air radar and air to air missiles. The USAF didn't want to invest in updating an old design when newer concepts were being developed including the YF12A.
The Lightning was the only aircraft out of many, that actually intercepted Concorde at M2 speed. So it's not out of the question theat it could intercept the fantastic B58.
The EE Lightning was the only fighter to accomplish a Mach 2 Concorde interception during a NATO exercise. The Hustler would have been in the same situation. Two that never shoot in hanger.
Well, ar least she saw active service. That wasn't the case for some other extraordinary aircraft like the XB-70 Valkyrie, the BAC TSR-2, the Avro CF-105 Arrow and the Sukhoi T-4 Sotka.
My hunch is that the B-1A program shifted money away from the B-58 operating & upgrade budget. Was it a case of the Bomber Mafia wanting the next gen hardware that they were willing to risk the gap years without a supersonic bomber?
If you can, try to find a copy of "Bombers of the West" By Bill Gunston, it's about 50 years old, but its written around the right time, just when the B-58 was dropped, he presents a very interesting case for the B-1
Thank you so much for this in-depth video! It is by far the best I have ever seen on RUclips about the B-58, and I have seen them all. My first assignment after USAF SAC tech school was in Little Rock AFB. I was stunned to learn the bomber I had admired since age 10 was the plane I would be working with. The '58 is still the most beautiful and sleekest airplane ever built -bar none! Imagine my horror when only 3 years later at
Davis-Monthan AFB I saw them all sealed up and aligned in a row in the "boneyard". With a lump in my throat, I exited my car took several slide photographs, and said farewell to this magnificent bird. My job at LRAFB in 1967 was in the Release Shop separating and testing the systems in the TCP. Fortunately, I was released from SAC when I was sent overseas to Japan (PACAF) where I was trained on the F-4 Phantom II until I was discharged six years thereafter.
Thank you very much, I thought I knew a thing or two about the Hustler, but in the making of this video i found out so much more that it was a pleasure to make.
How cool it is to have been able to work with the B-58, I would have been as giddy as a child, any good stories? :-) Joe
Hey man you really went above and beyond the call of duty here, great job
Thank you very much, it did take a while to put it together. Glad you enjoyed it. :-) Joe
Thank you all for taking the time to stop by and check out my homage to the brilliant Hustler
There is an issue with the J-79 jet engine audio, not quite sure what happened there, was fine during editing, must be something I missed. Anyway, gives you an idea how loud the engines were.
I hope you enjoy the story, Please, leave a like if you could on the way out, really helps the channel.
A lovely episode on a virtually forgotten, or rarely spoken of aircraft.
Thank you, very kind of you to say so.
Excellent episode!!! My dad had a model of one of these as a child in the 60s.
@@AviationRepublic On the subject of disspelling the myths, enough please with the "scared the Russians to the point that her mere existence may have prevented a nuclear war". This plane, the Chrome Dome that'd preceded her, and operation re~dsox after her (remove the tilde) were all offensive, escalatory steps against the Soviet ideological threat that'd forced the US to maintain a healthy, wealthy, educated, empowered middle class so they don't get commie ideas. (Which middle class was being "rolled back" since, tracking the diminishing perceived & actual viability of the Soviet system).
The USSR didn't launch its nukes despite having received a high-confidence false positive (due to a freak weather condition) from its nuclear attack early warning system. The USSR didn't launch during the miscommunication in the course of Able Archer. The USSR didn't even launch during a major US black-out when its nuclear missile silos' generators ran out of gas and its nuclear deterrent posture was critically degraded.
It's fair to say the USSR wasn't sitting there itching to launch if it hadn't been for some gizmo the US had just made (as is fashionable, and in human relations a recognized psychopathic trait, to ascribe them in justifying the action/gizmo in question). All these gizmos' real intent was, as Reagan had transparently put it, to "spend the Soviets into oblivion", as developing countermeasures consumed the Soviets' limited budget and best cadre whereas the US was spending "on credit" (debt and printing money) relatively consequence free initially, and had the post-war conditions to hoover up great cadre from the rest of the world.
Excellent video otherwise, thanks for making it.
You've the zeitgeist, your channel will thrive, keep it up. If this very early example of your doco making, great things await.
Thanks for this presentation on the Hustler!
It was always amongst my favourite cold war era aircraft.
And now I know a great deal more about them!
Thank you very much for watching. She is quite the machine. I am almost tempted to go out an buy another Model Hustler. :-) Joe
Time to put my feet up, grab a cup of tea and some biscuits and watch this. So happy you made such a long video on one of my favourite planes
Nice, what sort of Bics? (I am a bit of biscuit connoisseur myself)
Digestive
Rich Tea
Hobnobs
Jammie Dodgers
Bourbon
Custard Creams
Nice
Garibaldi
Shortbread
Fig Rolls
Malted Milk
Ginger Nuts
Lincoln
Viennese Whirls
Pink Wafers
Party Rings
Anzac Biscuits
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Gingersnaps
Snickerdoodles
Biscotti
Amaretti
Ladyfingers
Macarons
Florentines
Linzer Biscuits
Palmiers
Speculaas
Stroopwafels
Pfeffernüsse
Lebkuchen
Springerle
Pfefferkuchen
Mandelhörnchen
Zimtsterne
Pizzelle
Sablé
Biscoff (Speculoos)
Tuiles
Madeleines
Danish Butter Cookies
Brunkager
Berlinerkranser
Galletas Maria
Oreos
Nutter Butter
Chips Ahoy
Tim Tams
Wagon Wheels
Iced VoVos
Monte Carlo
Kingston
Yo-Yo Biscuits
Melting Moments
Sablés
Rusk
Tunnock’s Teacakes
Mallomars
Fig Newtons
Milanos
Petit Beurre
Langues de Chat
Chocolate Digestives
Ouma Rusks
Romany Creams
Tennis Biscuits
Rusks
Grasmere Gingerbread
Caramel Wafers
Viennese Fingers
Crinkles
Butterkekse
Petit Écolier
Kipferl
Sandies
Breton Biscuits
Choco Leibniz
Eccles Cakes
Empire Biscuits
Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers
Mallowpuffs
Snowballs
Fortune Cookies
Alfajores
Rosettes
Russian Tea Cakes
Polish Pierniki
Kolaczki
Kourabiedes
Melomakarona
Koulourakia
Galettes
Parle-G
Tiger Biscuits
Bourbon Creams
Jaffa Cakes
Mikado
Petit Beurre
Prince Biscuits
Pim’s Cookies
Butter Biscuits
Ladyfingers
Krumkake
Lebkuchenherzen
Ghriba
Galletas Marías
Kango
Keks
Plätzchen
Digestive Thins
Nutella Biscuits
Ginger Thins
Butterfinger Biscuits
Florentines
Well done! I especially appreciate the cost comparisons. The argument about her cost is blown away, especially when considering high altitude and low altitude capabilities. I believe the 58 would be unstoppable today, especially if upgraded with newer engines (not just the J58, but newer ones such as on the B-1 or F-15). Upgraded avionics, such as that continually being done for the aging B-52, would make this a truly spectacular ship even today. McNamara screwed up everything he ever touched IMHO. RIP B-58. By the way, many really nice model kits are available today, not just old Revell and Monogram kits.
Thank you, the book "The B-58 Blunder: How the U.S. Abandoned its Best Strategic" by George Holt is worth a read by any B-58 fan, also check out his interview in the description. Robert "Strange" McNamara did have his sticky finger prints on a lot of projects.
I actually had the B-58 model as a kid! I wish they would re-pop it today. What a great memory it would bring back, to build it now! Great video!
Thank you very much, 1/48 Models are still about for the B-58, saw a few on ebay, but going for over $130 each. I don't think my missus would to thrilled. :-) Joe
@@AviationRepublicLike you, I feel in love after seeing the first photos of the Hustler. It just looked like a sleek super fast predator standing still.
I did manage to buy the Revell (?) model kit from odd jobs in the neighborhood...it was the pride of my warbird collection. The B-58 and the SR-71, IMO, remain the most beautiful designs ever.
Thanks for the comprehensive presentation...the level of detail answered questions I didn't know to ask.
A masterwork, I will return to several times.
I was going to save this to watch later. Brilliant documentary.
Did anyone else spot the reference to Red Dwarf?
There's so much stuff in this video I never knew about the Hustler and the astro navigation system is mind-blowing, considering this was in the 1950s. Well done!
Thank you so much. i did wonder if anyone would catch the homage to Ace Rimmer. He was quite the guy. :-) Joe
@@AviationRepublic What a guy!
I was friends with a few 58 crew and was offered membership in the B-58 Hustler club. They're probably passed by now. Dad worked for Convair as a designer.
Part of what made the Soviets hesitate to attack was a Mach 2 Bomber the appearance of which always put me in mind of an Angry, Winged, Venomous Insect. The Hustler always reminded me of that. Another was the Look on the face of General Curtis LeMay. I felt Safe.
Which the cockpit hatches open, she looks like a Rabbit, maybe that's why one B-58 had the name "Rapid Rabbit". :-) Joe
great video.. thanks . grew up as a kid in a household of aircraft manufacturers dinner table chat occasionally centered round dead test pilots . i even had a part from one fatal wreck... it was in my collection along with brass shells for 20 mm cannons and starting jet engines.. now i'm old i just see waste.. sorry but yourr perspective alters as you get older.. but it was a truly awesome machine.
Thank you very much, I get your point regarding changing of perspectives. As much as we all love these machines, we must always keep in mind the reasons they were created, and that is to end life, even the beautiful Spitfire is essentially a platform to carry guns to end life. Sobering when i think about it.
Pretty good video. As a SAC-trained killer, I can assure you, that nobody EVER spelled out the acronym... we said "sack" as in what testicles are carried in. The B-58 was retired before I served. I worked on many other aircraft, but always admired the B-58 as a concept.
It's a habit I have to get over. Anyway, I'm married, Mine are in my wife's handbag :-) Joe
My compliments on the effort you put into this video. In 1971 or 72, while on my way to Hamilton AFB, I remember stopping in at Davis Monthan AFB for fuel. The pilot flying the other aircraft in our formation, had heard from a friend that a large number of the B-58s had been sent to Davis Monthan to be scrapped. While our aircraft were being refueled, we commandeered a ride over to the boneyard to have a look, and what a sorry sight it was to see over 50 of those beautiful aircraft all lined up waiting for the axe to fall.
I was told that the moaning sound the J-79 engines made, was because of the design of either the inlet compressor or the afterburner.. I never heard the noise from the B-58, but I am quite familiar with the moaning sound the F-104 made, while taxiing when the throttle was advanced, and hearing distinctive moan of the aircraft in flight when it they were in the traffic pattern. You didn't hear the sound in the cockpit in flight. .
hey man just wanted to say this is a great video i can’t imagine all the work you put into it plus seeing all the comments you gave thought out replies to is really nice aswell. You gained a new sub for sure, hope to see you keep growing!
Thank you for subbing. Work wise, well let's just say that the missus was not too pleased I spent the entire holiday reading up on the Hustler. :-) Joe
Hey you remind me of myself, I was a young kid in 1974 and I saw this plane model in a hobby shop, and I had to have it, I thought that this plane was bad ass, it was a Monogram plastic model later on in my life I found an article about this plane and they down played this plane because of the large pod under it's fuselage that was it's armament once dropped the plane was vulnerable and unarmed, I felt sad that this plane was a failure but I had much admiration for this plane for it's modern design over the B-52 but wondered what happened to it, but now the total explanation has been explained. Still to this day I still have the model in the box fully built with my other models on a shelf in my room closet at my mom and dads house from decades ago, one bad ass plane
You need to get that model out of the closet and have it on display in a glass case. Oh, how I wish I had kept all my models. I left them all at my parents house when I fled the nest, they have all since been "Decommissioned"
It's interesting how a machine can have such profound effects on us when we were young. :-) Joe
I used to know a retired Air Force test pilot out of Edwards after flying 29s in Korea. He few the B29, B36, B47 & B58. They flew the B58 half way across the US southwest at Mach 1 at very low level and when they landed they all urinated blood due to the buffeting. He also set a record flying from Louisiana to the UK. He later moved here to Houston and went to work for NASA to work on the Mercury Program.
Now that's a story I wish I had known before hand, he must have a been a hell of a guy to listen to. Was the Louisiana to the UK in a B-58?
@@AviationRepublic yes
He was friends with Chuck Yeager since he worked on the B29 to x1 adaption there. I could listen to him for hours telling about his experiences.
I am very envious, I used to love listening to the stories that some of the old boys used to tell, this was a while back, all gone now, but I am a firm believer no one truly dies so long as we keep telling their stories for future generations.
The howl came from the Variable Stator Vanes located in front of the first set of rotating blades at the front of the compressor.
The variable pitch blades were necessary because with a compressor that has that many stages of compression, the air becomes unstable in it's last few stages at high RPM.
This is why I love doing this, no matter how much I look around for the answers online, books, journals, I can always rely on you guys to have the answers. Love it. :-) Joe
This is inaccurate. It is not the last stages that become "unstable", and the problem is also not at high, but at low rpm. The angle of attack of the blades of the first compressor stages at slow airflow is too high, and without VSV the blades would be effectlively stalled and unable to bring the engine to self-sustaining speed. The VSVs change the angle at which the airflow encounters the blades during engine start, allowing them to work effectively. Even at flight idle, the VSV are already fully open, and do not move in flight at all. Only the first stages have variable stator vanes, and they are only needed for starting.
I recommend some of AgentJayZ's videos on the J79, particularly its VSV system.
I'm not exactly sure where any B-58 engine howl originates, but the Starfighter howl originated in the nozzle. Turbojet engine compressor intakes usually scream, and don't howl. High-bypass turbofans also often "growl", but that's a different phenomenon again.
@@pinkdispatcherI still think the Best engine starting Howl's are the DC 8 with the air compressor start used to o call that the wolf mating call and second would be the L1011 sounds like a hover vacuum cleaner
The Hustler is the sexiest plane the US Air Force ever adopted. CHANGE MY MIND!!
I would encourage you not to change your mind, she is out of this world stunning. :-) Joe
B-1 .... Just sayn'
F-106 bumps B-58 to (a very close) number 2 in my book.
I agree, it’s the slickest
Have I stumbled on a community of plane f**kers. The way you (and the intro) talk about this is freaking creepy. and stop saying "she".
BTW: Something in your story reminded me of this tidbit of supersonic trivia. The first commercial aircraft to go supersonic (on purpose), was the Rolls Royce Conway powered Douglas DC--8/43. owned and operated by Canadian Pacific Airlines. I don't know exactly how it was arranged for the testing to take place, but shortly after the aircraft entered service with CP, it was sent back to Douglas specifically for the purpose of doing a Mach run. The flight was flown at Edwards AFB in 1961 by Douglas, test pilots,
There was a brass plaque in the cockpit on the bulkhead near the inside of the entry door.
Douglas, had apparently signed a contract with CP, guaranteeing a certain minimum range performance, and the aircraft CP purchased, did not meet the specification, which forced Douglas to redesign the leading edge.
After leafing the air force in 1973, I started with CP on the DC-8, and always got a kick to think I was still flying supersonic capable aircraft.
I was five years old when a B-58 went howling over my house at about 1000 ft AGL. That was the last time I ever saw one in flight, and my best memory of them. There is mothballed one on display at the Pima Aerospace Museum at Tuscon, AZ, that is in such good condition it looks as though it could be serviced and flown.
I can imagine that one event left a real impression on five year old rescue270. :-) Joe
@@AviationRepublic
I'm 62 years old now, if that means anything...
Sure does.
Being faster isn't enough for a fighter to reliably intercept a bomber, you really need at least a 25% speed advantage. The reason for this is that the bomber isn't just going to fly in a straight line it's going to gently maneuver to throw off the intercept geometry. The MiG-25 is the only fighter that can reliably counter the B-58.
Assuming the bomber knows where the intercepters are early enough. And of course, if long range missiles make a distant intercept possible without full closure.
@@Eleolius Of course, however as long range missiles get better then the bombers get fitted with more capable radar, ESM and ECM systems, as happened with the B-52 during its life.
If there not replacing the Eingines. Phoenix might be a good choice as well. Mig anything?
My most prized model as a child was the hustler. It had plastic "flames" coming out of the engines. As a young USAF officer, I served as a Titan II launch officer, 74-79.
You have a well-developed program, which covers the key historic elements of aircraft. You deserve more Viewers.
Thank you, much appreciated. I am pleased you think so. On wards and upwards with the next one :-) Joe
1 minute in and I’ve already liked and subscribed. Gotta love it when RUclips uncovers a hidden gem like your channel so early on your journey to me! Happy to be apart of it now. Look forward to watching all of your content and what’s to come ! Here’s to you and your hard work mate! God speed !
Welcome aboard, thank you very much for subbing, means a lot. it's an absolute pleasure to make these videos since it gives me the excuse now to tell my wife I am going on day trips to museums...not the pub.....honest..... :-) Joe
To me, the B-58 was the most beautiful bomber ever built. Still one of my all-time favorites of any planes. 👍
BTW, excellent vid…subscribed and liked ! 😉👌
Thank you very much for the sub. Yeap, 100% she is just stunning to look at. :-) Joe
am I odd or the only one who loves seeing their drafting accessories on those historic boards? drafting; machine, templates, triangles all of it still works after many years.... sadly none on such cool projects... mostly , architectural projects
I don't think you are alone, I believe there are plenty of us who still remember and appreciate the old tools. I still have my old slide rule from many years ago, it's a work of art. I might post a picture of it on the channel. - Joe
The B58 was before artificial stabilization. The CG had to be ahead of 25% of the mean chord. Fuel was shuttled around to do so. This is common to the Delta platform planes like the Concorde, and Vulcan. But it’s a chore you have to stay atop off.
If a plane is in an uncoordinated turn the fuel will run to the down side. Tanks are baffled to damp this, but if the turn is sustained enough fuel weight might be shifted to overwhelm the controls. B58 pilots were excellent and unlikely flew uncoordinated unless an engine failed. D
Thanks for that, very interesting. I did read a fair bit about the fueling processes, there was one account of having to tied down the nose wheel while refueling to prevent the B-58 from sitting on its tail. :-) Joe
JOE!! Congratulations on an engaging and thoroughly interesting video!
I had hoped for long that one day I would find a watchable deep dive video on this futuristic bomber.
All the other content around seems to be either too short and shallow or old and uninteresting, like the films made in its era.
Thank you!
Hello there, thank you very much. More long form deep dive videos on the way. I have a list of requests in my inbox at the moment. I will need to stop watching cat videos and get on with it........but they are sooooo cute :-) jOE
@AviationRepublic please allow me to add to your requests, lol. The Australian CAC Boomerang or Kangaroo
As an aviation nerd myself I must say your videos are by far my favorite
Thank you so much, I am loving making these videos. more to come, got some really interesting aircraft coming up. :-) Joe
Just found this video, and you did a wonderful job on the research and presentation of a frequently misunderstood aircraft. Well done, sir!
Thank you so much, this means a lot, researching and writing up this doc was very enjoyable, the B-58 is such a great machine. :-) Joe
Another freekin masterpiece Sir. Perfectly poised. Thanks from NZ
Nicely done! Thank you for going to the effort and sharing this.
Thank you, much appreciated. It's great to be able to make these stories that others enjoy. :-) Joe
Thanks! A whole lot more tech involved than I imagined. Radio tubes in a Mach 2 bomber?! Crazy.
There is one little known remnants of a B-58 on the edge of the lake bed at Edwards stripped the below bones. It was snoopy, a modified 58 hustler. It has a long droopy nose, and there’s not much left of it, but if you know where to look you can drive right up to it.
Ooooh, any photos? do you live nearby?
Another great video Joe! I'm learning so much about aviation history, you're making me a plane geek 😂
Thank you, if you are going to be a geek, may as well be an aviation geek, the coolest type of geek. :-) Joe
I did read that just after Yeager broke the sound barrier, the designer, Robert Widmer, asked his boss if he could start work on a supersonic bomber, but he refused, so he designed it in his spare time!
Yeah, I read that too, I think it probable that he did, I mean the guy was a genius.
And oh, BTW, My father and a big crew from Sperry on Long Island, worked extensivly on the electronic
countermeasures on the B-58. There were two generations of ECM systems
for the B 58. They used some of the first integrated
circuits. They also installed
the stress sensors monitorimg conditions in the airframe. It was a magic time.....
I have always found it amazing how it was possible to create such complex machines without the assistance of powerful, sophisticated computer technology, nothing but slide rules and sheer brains. impressive stuff. I bet you heard some interesting stories from your father .
An excellent, factual and very informative programme. Thanks for your work.
Thank you very much, very pleased you liked the content, more to come.
Nice job Bud thanks for narrating this yourself. I hate how lazy some are using AI narration. Jeez 🙄 what are they thinking they deserve to earn from that? ❤️🖖🏼🇺🇸
Thank you, A.I can be ok, provided the creator of the video pays attention to the output, a lot of videos that use A.I have zero quality control and that leads to preventable mistakes. But imagine where it'll be in a few years time, it's insane.
Great video of a beautiful and underappreciated aircraft. Sadly, with the short range and the lack of internal bomb storage of the B-58 it was doomed from the start. Tech was just moving so fast in those days the F-111 was less than a decade away (first flight 1962) and was a good enough aircraft to serve until almost 2011 (Dec 2010). Not taking away from the B-58 which for its era was an absolute monster in the performance realm. The thin flight envelope of the plane limited it move to any other uses than recon but could never match the SR-71 or proposed XB-70 in performance.
I'm glad to see you appreciate the achievement this airplane was. However, I have to say that no airplane which can do over 1,100 knots and fly at Mach 2 above 60,000 feet after lifting off at around 200 knots has a "razor thin flight envelope". You must have meant to say something else.
@@playanddisplay3636 Differ with what, that the plane did not have a razor thin flight envelope? That would make them as ill-informed as you now appear to be. Perhaps you don't know what the term flight envelope actually means.
@@gort8203 U R silly.....
@@gort8203 The term is somewhat loosely applied, and can also refer to other measurements such as maneuverability. For example, when a plane is pushed, for instance by diving it at high speeds, it is said to be flown "outside the envelope", something considered rather dangerous. During vehicle test programs, flight envelope simply means that part of the aircraft or spacecraft's design capabilities that have already been successfully tested, and have therefore moved from theoretical or designed capability into a demonstrated/certified capability.
@@playanddisplay3636 I'm silly? You're just a bs artist. Of course flying outside the approved envelope is risky. Stating something that is true now does not change the fact that your claim that the B-58 had a razor thin envelope is untrue. You are trying to defend your silly statement by saying words can mean anything you want them to. Why not just admit that you chose your words poorly instead of just providing more proof that you are talking smack instead of fact.
nicely done,one of the iconic aircraft designs me thinks.
For sure, I can never decide if she resembles a hornet, wasp, praying mantis or speeding rabbit, (I love the name "Rapid Rabbit" given to one of the Hustlers) and if you noticed in the video before the start of the chapter "High Bars" there was called "Little Joe". :- ) Joe
I went through USAF basic training with a guy that had a B-58 weapon pod land in his father's ranch in TX.
Why....how....what? How did he manage to snag that?
Great video mate,loved the whole show and lm wit you beast bad ass beasty 😊😊😊
Thank you, very glad you enjoyed the video, she is indeed a bad beastie.... :-) Joe
Really good video. Really in depth and informative. I now have full knowledge of B-58 Hustler.
Thank you very much, more to come. :-) Joe
I was excited as a kid to fly on a fast Delta Airlines Convair 880. That had the civilian version of the B58s engines
Now, that was a very beautiful machine. :-) Joe
Just like it's big brother, the B-36, the Hustler never fired a shot in anger. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED - WITH STYLE!🤌❤🔥 Excellent video Sir!👍
What would have been the est. Mach number for the B36 mothership arrangement?
Pretty cold how they covered the Paris Air Show back in the day.
My thoughts exactly, different times. - Joe
In 1970 I was training at Davis Monthan. About seventy of these were parked there in the bone yard.
Did you have the opportunity to sit in them? Imagine how many museums around the world would have loved to have received a B-58.
At 40:49 I am amazed at the thought of all the contact tracks it must have. Nice copper circular tracks with sliding spring loaded tipps, had to be what, 20 or more. Ugh...
Can you imagine the brain power expended to build it. simply amazing.
Really great video, well researched and presented
Thank you very much, in all honesty, this beauty deserves more praise.
The J79 powered a few 1+mach airframes F4, A5, B58, F104 are the ones brought to my mind
John Denver's father used to fly them. I've always loved the Hustler from afar ❤🥰
Yeap, he did indeed, and if you know that and then listen to John Denver's songs "Leaving on a Jet plane" makes more sense. I think that was a song about not knowing where he truly belonged. Anyway, here is an ear worm, for you "Take Me Home Country Roads" :-) Joe
Excellent job on this! 🙂👍
Thank you so much, it was a very enjoyable subject to research and I got to gawp over more pictures of the Hustler than I normally do. :- )Joe
Love your wrap up! 👍🏽
Thank you 😊 i am more chuffed that you watched to the end. You are a champion. :-) Joe
Heroic Hustle !
alliterations, love them. :-)
I appreciate the time and effort you put into this excellent, well-researched documentary. However, us old timers don't recognize when you call "SAC(k)" spelled out as S-A-C. Just call it "SACk." My father flew those for "SAC (sack)."
Good point, i need to remember that in the future. Also, I am pleased you enjoyed the video, more to come :-) Joe
This Aircraft was featured in "Fail Safe"..so it's always given me the creeps!!
Great film, chilling, what would we have done in that situation?
excellent video; well done 😊
Thank you very much! More to come :-) Joe
An absolutely gorgeous-looking, gazelle of an aircraft but I think the pod system was probably it's Achille's heel. Overly complex and limiting. The lack of an internal bomb bay on a designed from-the-ground-up bomber is always going to raise questions.
Dad worked for Convair when the B58 was operational. The B58 was built when unlimited budgets were available to defend the USA. The B58 was built when jet engines were horrible and A-bombs gigantic. This resulted in the B58 being designed with what was possible. This resulted in an expensive aircraft that was quickly non optimal as engines improved and A-bomb shrunk.
Very true, back then, there was a red under every bed and money was no object.
@@AviationRepublic no reds under my bed, and the bad thing then is that evil people in this country destroyed good people by labeling them reds. Of course a lot of boys died in Korea fighting the red peril. My understanding is that B29s killed about 1/2 million Chinese troops and the PRC erased it from their history. We did not win that war, in fact it never officially ended
fantastic information here, thanks for the great video!
Glad you enjoyed it! It was a pleasure to research and make it. More videos to come :-0 Joe
Anyway, great video, best I've seen on the 58 - nice work! :)
great video on a complicated beast!
Glad you liked it! One of the classics of Aviation no doubt and will always be a beauty :-) Joe
Great presentation!!!!
Glad you liked it! More to come. :- ) Joe
Yogi _looks_ like could tell you Mach 1 ejection stories
Just a curiosity: notice the close looks of B-58's nose profile with the F-111 and F-16
F-111mmmm, that's interesting, a little bit I suppose.
@AviationRepublic Convair/General Dynamics
The B=47, it should be noted, had an inherent design flaw, wherein the wings could snap off near the root. Given the high risk task allocated to this aircraft, perhaps it is remarkable that more were not lost.
What a hell of a design flaw, pilot briefing, "She'll be fine....until the wings snap off"
Just about any aircraft you can name will snap it's wings off if mishandled, when the early P51B's were starting their work up in England they were snapping their wings off across the gun access doors at such an alarming rate they were all grounded until North American Aviation designed a fix that was incorporated in the assembly line and retrofit kits were rushed to England and had to be installed in every one before they were allowed to fly.
Even after a wing redesign for the P51D they still would snap wings off which is exactly how the legendary Hub Zempke, leader of the 56th Fighter Group, the most successful USAAF fighter group in Europe wound up in a POW camp, the 56th famously flew P47's exclusively and refused to turn their's in to switch over to the P51, Gen Doolittle considered Zempke his best fighter group leader and sent him on a temporary assignment to straighten out a newly formed P51 unit that was tagged with being a "hard luck" outfit, while leading from the front which was Zempke's style they got into a fight with some German fighter's, after getting one on his tail Zempke attempted a trick he'd pulled off many times in P47's where he'd duck into a cloud and through a series of high G maneuvers would typically emerge from it having reversed his position on his pursuer, but unfortunately the wings of the P51 wasn't up to it and his snapped off forcing him to bail out over German territory and wind up as a POW for the last months of the war.
Japanese Zeros despite having a reputation for being maneuverable also had notoriously fragile wings that could snap off, that's exactly how the US Navy pilot called "Swede" shot down 3 of them in a dogfight flying an SBD dive bomber, he knew it being a dive bomber had wings rated to a higher G rating than the Zero so he just kept forcing them to turn in the horizontal, none of them could match his turns and by staying inside of them he kept forcing them one at a time into head on passes eventually shooting down all 3.
The men who crewed the B-58 would very often have 3 different aeronautical ratings. Smart dudes.
During the research for this video, I discovered that the crews where incredibility highly trained, very smart dudes, indeed :-) Joe
Nothing compared to Thunderbird one! Had sweep wing technology and VTOAL capabilities. Vertical take off and landing. Cool aircraft.
True, I was always a Thunderbird 2 heavy-equipment transporter fan. Wow, we are going back a few years :-) Joe
Im 2min into video, do u know about the front landing gear???? Hope so.
I've seen photos of a B-58 tucked up under a B-36 and wondered what the real story was. They were always explained as a ferry mission or something.
yes, it's true, there is a photo of one B-58 with the vertical find removed tucked halfway into the belly of the B-36.
"supersonic bears". I feel guilty to have laughed at this moment.
feeling guilty, means you are human, but for laughing, you owe those bears 50 push ups and those bears want their 50 push ups. :-) Joe
Best video I ve ever seen on this wonderful plane by the way. Great job. 💪
Thank you, very kind of you. Had to show the missus your comment so she would leave me in peace to continue on the next project. :-) Joe
Almost unstoppable after refueling from a KC135. It was practically a rocket plane at a full dash. The crew had to stay ahead of the machine. With three crew, the workload was intense, and they couldn't fall behind the jet they were operating. The two back seaters claimed they rarely ever had time to look out their repsective side windows.
The Hustler was expensive, but between it's very existence, and the looming possibility of the XB70, the Soviets probably spent alot more developing and deploying an effective air defence against these High speed bombers. And after said air defense became a reality, it too became less relevent as the U.S. abandon high speed bombers in favor of ICBMs and SLBMs, not to mention medium range ballistic missles. The bomber was not nearly as relevant. The B52 fleet was huge, and still useful as a conventional bomber force. And could be used as a show of force, whereas a Hustler was designed to get in and out fast, with only enough loitering to refuel. Funny how the B1 all the sudden needed to be. Better range I guess.
In summary, I think the Soviet response to the Hustler cost them more than the Hustler cost us. The Russians never used that defensive screen, though the Mig25 Foxbat did produce some sales later on.
As did the sam systems, and radars that guided them.
What a hotrod! Love the B58.
Awesome doc! I loved it.
This plane was much more awesome than I ever imagined.
Unquestionably, a marvel of engineering, It's always shocking to me that these machines are from the minds of humans, only a few hundred years ago we were rolling around in the mud and now we are building magic. MAGIC :-) Joe
Coke Bottle fuselage, area rule, the Grumman F11 Tiger was the first aircraft to sport this. The F11 was quickly replaced by the F8 Crusader. But it was flown by the Blue Angels from 1958 thru 1969.
Interesting, this is why I love doing this, little nuggets knowledge make it worth the effort. Thank you. :-) Joe
@AviationRepublic yout welcome, I saw the Bible Angels flying the F11 at an air show my dad took me to at Grumman. My dad was a tool and die supervisor ar Grumman.
@@AviationRepublic Your welcome. I saw the Blue Angels flying F11 Tigers at an air show my dad took me to in 1968, at Grummans Calverton plant. He was a tool and die supervisor at Grumman.
The B-58 that you show being at Edwards is named Snoopy, for its elongated research nose. Been to it a few times.
Got to love those names. I love the name "Rapid Rabbit" but she was sadly lost.
The absolute most badass jet ever, tied with XB-70 and dare I say the English electric lightning even..
XB-70 was something else, she was just sublime.
Well I KNOW the B-58 could be intercepted by the Mig-25 but that plane was a decade later. Mach 1.3 is fast, but not as fast as most fighters they had a decade or so later.
Really outstanding job of detailing this weapons system.
Thank you, the systems were something else. I might make a video just on the various Pods alone.
@AviationRepublic I'd watch it!
It has been said that no aircraft in Air Force history could blow a tire easier than the Hustler.
There was a saying that each Hustler cost more than its weight in gold.
Really, but totally worth it :- )Joe
I absolutely love the B-58...one of the most beautiful aircraft ever made.
Couldn't agree more! :-) Joe
im 45 and still build legos that look like this , with my son
Nothing better than spending time with the lad, mine is almost off to Uni, time flies...
General Dynamics owned Convair. They focused on the F-111. It was faster, had a weapon bay for SRAM missiles, better equipment, a terrain following system, and planned to use it as an interceptor.
This was one of my earliest model kit builds, either Revell or Monogram around 1962. Too advanced for a child of ny age but my father did most of the work as he 'helped' me. The B-58 looked like alien technology compared to contemporary aircraft except maybe the F-104 Starfighter.
Lucky you, I drove my parents mad with my constant demands for models. Nothing better than spending time with the old man building models. I have built loads of models with my son, or to be more accurate, I have built lots of models while he watched.....i am a terrible parent :-) Joe
There was a proposal at the end of the B58 service life to convert them into bomber interceptors. The idea was that on detection the B58 would launch and fly to intercept attacking Soviet bombers. A new pod would carry powerful air to air radar and air to air missiles. The USAF didn't want to invest in updating an old design when newer concepts were being developed including the YF12A.
The Lightning was the only aircraft out of many, that actually intercepted Concorde at M2 speed. So it's not out of the question theat it could intercept the fantastic B58.
Ooooh, good point.
B-1 side profile minus the wings are very close with B-58 Hustler’s profile.
Actually, come to think of it, you are right, the same sort of curves....area rule rules!!!
The EE Lightning was the only fighter to accomplish a Mach 2 Concorde interception during a NATO exercise. The Hustler would have been in the same situation. Two that never shoot in hanger.
I love this aircraft too and I was born in 1958.
She's your soul aircraft.
Well, ar least she saw active service. That wasn't the case for some other extraordinary aircraft like the XB-70 Valkyrie, the BAC TSR-2, the Avro CF-105 Arrow and the Sukhoi T-4 Sotka.
True, true, true, how many aircraft that would have been legends never got their moment in the sun. TSR2, looking at you.
My hunch is that the B-1A program shifted money away from the B-58 operating & upgrade budget. Was it a case of the Bomber Mafia wanting the next gen hardware that they were willing to risk the gap years without a supersonic bomber?
If you can, try to find a copy of "Bombers of the West" By Bill Gunston, it's about 50 years old, but its written around the right time, just when the B-58 was dropped, he presents a very interesting case for the B-1
They have one parked at Chanute AFB in Champaign Urbana. At least they did when I was there.
It's pronounced Pa-tow-mic.
Noted for next time, thank you for pointing that out. :- ) Joe
40,000 ft by end of runway? No
The B-58 should've been scaled up to a Airliner transport! it could be still flying now...
There were plans, but the US administration were not too keen on an SST
Well, each of the eight MLG tires on each gear was inflated to 440 psi. No chance of danger there!
Indeed, nothing to worry about. :-) Joe
The B-58 and the F-104 looked like air racers not combat aircraft beautiful .
That is very true, both very good looking machines.
How about you do that 2 hour pod video!👍
Don't give me any ideas, I was thinking about it a few days ago.
@@AviationRepublic This would be a subject that has NEVER been covered in video format! You research was excellent for this video!
Loudest? I thought that was the Thunderscreech.
I might have to dig out some notes to see if the Thunderscreech was louder, I wonder if there are any decibel logs any where. Interesting thought.
"The Poto Mack..."