I was fortunate to be crew chief on the B-36 when Jimmy was at Carswell to film Strategic Air Command” in our squadron. After completing college I worked at Convair as a test engineer on the B-58. What a privilege to witness all of this and to watch the filming of that movie. Wm F. Britt
Behind the scenes: there was no air conditioning at all on the base. Jimmy and the entire crew used our Forms Room to relax because we had an evaporative cooler that cooled the room. It was a busy place because all aircraft logs were kept there and that was were we went to determine what needed to be repaired on each B-36 after a flight. All in the filming crew and actors allowed us to come and go to do our job when they could have had that room set aside for them. Except for the cameras outside and the actual filming of the movie there was no interruption of work. I am so glad that I can still watch that film and see things as they were.
@@frankbritt419 That was a great film indeed!! I used to love watching it on TV when I was a boy. In later years I saw it on cable and was just blown away by the inclusion of a couple of scenes that I'd never, ever, seen because they'd been cut to allow for more commercials!
TheRjjrjjr The SR-71 is quite a bit faster than the B-58 and holds many speed and altitude records. However, it's not a bomber, so the B-58 still holds many of those records. I suppose the XB-70 could have taken some of those, but it was never accepted by the USAF for production and only 2 prototypes were built. Convair was absorbed or maybe purchased by General Dynamics during the B-58 program. It was then sold to Lockheed Martin during the F-16 program in the late 1980's and remains LM to this day, finishing out the F-16 program and ramping up the F-35 program in the same circa 1941 factory that built the B-24, B-32, B-36, B-58, F-111, F-16, and now the F-35. General Dynamics also modified other air frames for the USAF, one is the Martin B-57, several of which went through the Convair bomber plant at one time or another.
Mr. Britt; As a Canadian, let me also thank you for your service. I have often wondered what ever happened to the Hustler. It seemed like "all of a sudden" it was there, then "all of a sudden" it wasn't! From 1965 to 1970 I lived in Goose Bay Lab, on Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, "the Canadian side" next to Goose Air Force (S.A.C.) Base, "the American side". They had a squadron of KC-135 fuelers and a squadron of F-102s replaced by Voodoos. It took about a week to get used to the 3:00 A.M. "bang-bang-bang" of scrambled interceptors off to chase Soviet bombers a little too close to our coast! What was really exciting to us 12 year olds was the occasional B-52 bomber on its way to Thule Greenland! Exciting days indeed! We never saw a Hustler although we did have our share of "secret flights"; occasionally we would see the green flare of take off permission because of radio silence. Now the Soviet Union is gone (Thank-you God! Amen!) but our dangers are elsewhere and more cowardly!!!! I thank God for the American military and the protection that we (if we are honest) get from you. God Bless you, Mr. Britt and God Bless America! Amen!!!! John B. Shaw Calgary Alberta Canada.
This video just showed up. My father-in-law, Major William H.Woolbright USAF ret., flew for SAC on B-52 and B-58. He logged over 5000 hours on B52 and flew many missions in Vietnam incl. Linebacker I and II. He met Jimmy Steward in Guam and they flew a Vietnam mission together. Later on he was the recipient of the distinguished flying cross for the saving the aircraft over Hanoi (counter measure warfare officer). He flew on B-58 for 1,5 years until they got scrapped and went back to flying on B-52. Quote: “went back from a Ferrari to a tractor”. When I asked him how Jimmy Steward was in private he said”just like in the movies, very nice and humble”. Needless to say that he was also a member of the Mach 2 club. I have all his awards, photos and items (like a mug that flew Mach 2 with a B-58 on it). He passed away a year ago and 87, I miss him dearly. He was an office and gentleman ! More over, he was like a father to me. RIP, Bill,
BG Jimmy Stewart was a very humble and brave man, he never boasted about his exploits in WWII or the USAFR, I think he realized how lucky and privileged he was to have come back from WWII when so many of his friends did not. I liked his acting as well, he was an American 'everyman. Good job Jimmy.
Jimmy Stewart'John Wayne, Audie Murphy these were not spoiled little liberals that thought the world owed them something,todays actors should take note.
My Dad flew the B58...as well as the B36 and B52 ...and others...I sat in the cockpit when I was about 9 years old and at that point I decided I wanted to do this pilot stuff!!.. Thanks Dad...RIP
I was stationed at LRAFB and on one occasion, a B-58 had a locked nose gear. It was quite dramatic watching the pilot make a perfect landing and at the last moment as the nose was starting to stall guided it into the grass between the runway and the tarmac - I recall it was nearly slo-mo to see that finish.
One of the Pilots (mentioned a couple of times as both pilot and record-breaker) was Dutchendorf, or "Dutch" as my father knew him. Dutch was also the father of John Denver the folk singer. I have 78 RPM vynal records of my father, Dutch, and a couple of other pilots singing in their barber shop quortette while stationed at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson.
I was 8 years old in 1969 when I built my Revelle B-58 Hustler Model. MACH 2 back then was screaming fast. Air Superiority. It inspired me to build more planes and helicopters. Radio control started back then and our hobby today is awesome. We dreamed of those Jet Turbines. We have them now!
I'm waiting for that golden moment for a B-58 to be produced in an EDF model. Already have several F-18s, F-16s, F-22s, F-35s on the market. We need more cold war jets!
George Rivera The B 58 didn't leak fuel, you've got it mixed up with the SR 71. Those leaked until the skin was heated up and it could be fueled in flight. They only took off with enough fuel to heat up the skin and meet the KC 135 for its fuel load.
When this was filmed, Jimmy was a Brigadier General, but in 1986, President Reagan ordered him out of retirement, promoted him to Major General, and retired him again the next day. I met him when he came to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for the Air Force's 40th anniversary celebration. No more genuine and humble man ever lived. He made you feel like meeting you was the high point of his day.
I was stationed at Pease AFB in 1962 when one of these landed at our base and when we went down to see it, it was guarded by armed air policeman. Wanted to see the cockpit couldn't get within 15 ft. of the plane. Watched it take off and they buzzed the runway at top speed. We could barely see it when they flew by. It was a beautiful aircraft!
I knew Colonel Ray Waggoner. He went on to fly the SR 71 but told me he always loved his Hustler time. He was a great man. He passed just a few years ago in Alaska.
I was in aircraft mechanic school (A&P) at James Connelly Technical Institute in Waco, Texas, when the B-58s were retired. The Air Force had just completed their move off James Connelly Air Force Base. General Dynamics was doing IRANS on the 58s at the time and the last 3 or 4 went straight to mothball in Arizona. One pilot let our class know about the show to come and we watched him light the afterburners (that's what they said) and climb out of sight. The pilot of the very last one let us know and we watched him light the burners and pull up and do a couple of slow rolls as he went out of sight. People probably will not believe this, but there were a couple of dozen witnesses. I figured the pilots were retiring as well and had little to lose. Wish we'd had smart phones then.
Brigadier General Stewart also played the part of Major Glenn Miller in the movie called "The Glenn Miller Story". One USAF hero honoring another. And if you don't know who Glenn Miller was, please search for him on You Tube. You'll have NO trouble finding him on here.
When I was 9 or 10, a pair of these broke mach BELOW our house level, out in NW Missouri. They were flying NOE over a field across the road from the house, the field being considerably lower than our place. Rattled all the windows nearly to breaking and knocked a lot of stuff off shelves. They were spaced about 30 seconds apart, so, when I ran out to see what happened after the first sonic boom, I got to see the 2nd bird repeat the show. Thought it was the coolest thing, ever. Mom wasn't so thrilled, understandably.
+Brian Bass Partly correct: no bias, not misleading. Intent to influence our enemies IS propaganda. In this case to influence restraint when considering an attack against our country. Promotional to who? The U.S. Air Force was the only customer for this airplane. The Air Force and Convair were not in the entertainment business, films like these were costly to produce but were not meant to entertain.
+AVhistorybuff No ---------they were meant to imbue. !!!!!!!!!!!! Imbue the idea that there was a threat. a very tangible threat, from a USSR that was recovering from the devastation it suffered during WW2 (GPW) a war in which the USA was virtually unscathed. There was NO THREAT ----- but it sure made a lot of money for the US Military/Industrial complex.
+slimchancetoo Apart from the soviet nuclear and space programmes, and fielding the largest army of the time. The willingness of the soviet leadership to devote so much of their nation's scarce resources to military development when they were struggling with the devastation of WWII gives some indication of their priorities.
webtoedman It certainly does -- the Soviet Leadership was not prepared to be the target of a second invasion from the north south east or west and so built up a massive defence force to deter any thoughts lurking in the minds of those capable of launching another surprise attack. Among others Curtiss Le May of the USAF was hell bent on provoking the 'Kremlin" by continued overflights of Soviet territory - just as the Germans made more than 200 overflights in the lead up to Barbarossa. Churchill of course is well remembered for his dream of de nazifying the German armed forces, reequipping and supplying them and sending them back into the USSR with Allied assistance. General Patton is similarly remembered. That the Soviets managed to basically rebuild their devastated cities economy and infrastructure while maintaining a huge defence force speaks much praise to the Soviet leadership. I live for three months of every year in Moscow - in a Krushchev Apartment as they are known (hastily built to rehouse millions of dispossessed) and a small village just to the west of it on the road to Minsk. I tour the country extensively while I am there - particularly the sites of the major battles and sieges. To be sure there is still evidence of the hardship endured but when you see pics taken in 1944-45 and again in 1955-56 and the 60's you can only be amazed at what was achieved without assistance from the West. It is true Russia was offered participation in the Marshall Plan but declined it. The figures are dated now but the cost to the USSR of the GPW - as the Second World War is known there - more than doubled the cost to the Western Allies combined. It cannot be truly calculated but in the 60's and 70's I read figures of 100 trillion USD. In thos days a BILLION was an unimaginable sum of money. All that and they still managed to beat the US into space -- dropping out of the race when they realised there was little point apart from prestige in continuing with the Space Race.
Which argues for a failure of perception on the part of the Politburo. The major threat to the USSR wasn't the USA, whose stated policy vis-a-vis communism was one of "containment", which basically meant military posturing tokee the public on side, and the occasional proxy war. The real threats were internal, from the
My father, SMSGT Frank Gysin, was a ground crewman on 58s at Bunker Hill AFB (Grissom in later years) in the early 60s. I was a young boy, but I can remember at least two instances of him coming home late and my mom taking his uniform and boots outside and hosing them down to remove the firefighting foam from them. The 58 was as tough to fly as she was beautiful. Later, when I was an adult, one night over beers and a campfire, my dad related a story of having to recover a B 58 crash sight at the end of the runway at Bunker Hill. He was still emotional about having to walk the sight and pick up parts of the crewman. He found the wallet of the B/N and as he opened it, he saw pictures of the Captain's wife and baby. It haunted him 30 years later.
We had a copy of that same resin cast model shown in this film. Dad worked for GE Jet Engine Division in San Diego and we got to see B-58s fly and meet one of the test pilots. Powered by those fabulous General Electric J79-GE-5A afterburning turbojets. Great to find this film on RUclips. 👍
I love actor James Stewart play pilot of movies . I was kid walked as feeling loud noise from sky then looked at beautiful B-58 Hustler bomber flew over Stevens Point , Wisconsin as I said " WOW !!!! Big jet bomber ! I ran and look at sky but gone . I told my mother about airplane flying over me as show model plane B-58 Hustler bomber with red wing point down on rubber fin to my mother as she heard loud noise from sky , said "" you saw B-58 Hustler bomber flew low level as slow speed , four big engines loudly ! " . I said " yes Mom , I saw it , beautiful plane ! " . I grow up to 60 yrs old man . I am saddened about B-58 Hustler bombers were retirement from service in 1970 because B-58 Hustler bomber aren't easy flying because too many crashes lead pilots with crews killed or injured badly . They are displayed inside museums and one sit on junkyard museum where they are destroyed in junkyard . B-1B bomber aren't faster as B-58 Hustler can do flying at Mach 2 on low level as 500 feet . But B-1B bomber can fly low level as 100 feet at over 700 mph . Honoring greatest pilots and crews flew B-58 Hustler bombers .
One of my favorite films - Brig. Gen. Stewart is a wonderful narrator, and his own experience in having flown the Hustler at full tilt gives him great credibility. As for the Hustler, I've always loved it - Ballistic performance, and such a big fright to the Soviets at the time, that the MiG-25 program was a response to both it and the even scarier XB-70 !
Touching to see Jimmy STEWART not only fly the HUSTLER, but also narrate this documentary. He was with the mighty 8th in WW II. He risked his life in part for my parents and grand parents (and for me). Great achievement the HUSTLER. A pity ECM technology at the time was not as advanced as the airplane itself. Still, CONVAIR had once again proven itself. These were the great days when the US had at least a dozen military airplane manufacturers. Now I believe we are down to two: Northrop-Grumman, and Lockheed-Martin-Boeing (the Boeing people are in the same group as Lockheed-Martin aren't they?).
+Philippe Renaud About 20 years ago, someone told me there were only 3 people left at his shop that could run the machinery that built critical parts for the landing gear for the C-5. We are losing our manufacturing edge.
+obsolete professor Professor, are we talking about the C-5A GALAXY??? This is a tragedy! We're speaking about a giant transport aircraft that can carry 100 Metric Tons of essential material and equipment! Could it be that the DOD is allocating all of its heavy air-transport budget to the C-17 GLOBEMASTER III? (80 Metric Tons capacity).
+Philippe Renaud Yup.. Side story. However much it may have been propaganda, it was said that many Japanese soldiers came from rural farms and that many American soldiers came from mechanized farms. There were instances where Japanese transports would break down full of farm boy soldiers and they would have to wait for a mechanic to show up. The American kids would all jump under the hood. These days, I see a dumbing down of American kids. I now work in an auto parts store and I see a terrible lack of basic understanding. A number of the parts we sell get returned as "defective" because someone stripped out a hole or cracked a housing. There are a few very bright kids out there, but the dumb ones will make your jaw drop. HG Rickover, father of the nuclear fleet, talked about how this dumbing down was going to come about.
+obsolete professor I have 4 sons myself. Alas I see the same kind of dumbing down to a degree. Some of it might come from too much TV brainwashing (to say nothing of computer games). A lot of parents who just cut off TV service to only stream from the internet see a highly positive change taking place with their kids and their growth. As to the propaganda aspect of the side story, I say highly possible: I bet the DOD sprays many side stories like these to keep the Russians second guessing.
+Philippe Renaud May your sons be a blessing to you and the world. Perhaps we are being too hard and missing the old ways. I myself cannot shoe a horse or build a fire with two sticks, but I can fix a flat tire.
Always respected Jimmy Stewart. Damn good pilot, and knew his stuff. Flew as a bomber pilot during ww2 leaving his movie star status behind. When he returned to the big screen I think he was also a much better actor taking on more dramatic roles.
@@hendo337 "Hard to beat Vertigo and Rear Window." Bingo👍. I was trying to remember those two films without looking them up. Paired with the master, Alfred Hitchcock, they were great films. Kim Novack, was a great looking lady and actress. I recently found out in an interview, she was self assured and her own person, which may explain why she didn't get scripts after a while. I didn't realize she was still alive. It rankles me that H'wood has a way of screwing over talented people if they don't brown nose and feed a lot of egos. My apologies for going off an a slight tanget.
I was lucky that my Dad took me up to Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana, for Armed Forces Day several times. I got to see the B-58 there behind ropes with guards. Later I joined the Civil Air Patrol and got to spend two weeks on the base. They brought the ramps up and we got to see the cockpits.
I too was lucky that my dad took me (along with my brother and sister) to the military section of Chicago's O'Hare Field for Armed Forces Day in 1964. On display were numerous USAF bombers, fighters, transports and a Convair B-58 Hustler. Best thing was we got to watch the bomber right in front of us fire up its four engines, taxi out and then takeoff in the distance. My guess is that it was one stationed at Bunker Hill AFB.
What I love most, is that Jimmy Stewart usually plays uncertain, conflicted men... and yet here he is confident, assured - he knows what is doing and the subject matter he is talking about.
As a young kid living in Ohio, I recall the Hustler going supersonic. That was an exciting time for me. Building model airplanes of those great aircraft was about as close as I would get. Until, I was older as an engineer, doing some work for Goodyear Aerospace where they had an F-16 Simulator. We were allowed to look at it, but no touch. They would not even give me a "ride" in the Simulator. It was a full F-16 cockpit without blacked out canopy. That was no B-58, but was still exciting.
I was at the '66 SAC Combat Competition (Bomb Comp) with the 68th A&E as an airborne nav repairman for the APN-89 doppler on our G model bird. We brought along our B-52G #255 of the 68th BW to compete. I believe there were 2 B-58 wings there and it was a huge thrill for us to see these speed demons. At this point they were near the end of their lifetime. These aircraft seem to spend more time on the end of the ramp for engine repairs than they did in the air practicing bomb runs. They were a high maintenance bird representative of the then leading edge design and performance. That being said it was exciting to witness what this aircraft would do, especially at takeoff with full afterburners glowing. It was fast just sitting on the ramp with the engines running.😀
Air Force sends out a specification.... Same as the Air Ministry here in England... Manufacturers create what they think will do the job. If it's accepted you can't blame the aircraft, it was what they asked for. The B-58 is just one of those creations that is awe inspiring, raw power, and beauty. I think it's one of the best U.S. aircraft of the era.
I only saw one these aircraft when I was in the USAF 65-69; I was stationed at Offutt at the time and a B-58 from Little Rock AFB came up (summer 1966). I watched it takeoff at dusk when it left; an impressive sight with all 4 afterburners lit, definitely a clean design.
It still looks "cutting edge" today, 60 years later. General Stewart was a great guy and the Hustler was a fabulous airplane. Never be another of either one!
He didn't pilot the B-58. He flew in the back as a passenger on one. They made it look like he did when he got out of the jet in this video from the front seat, but he did *not* pilot the B-58, not once, not ever.
@@williamreynolds7194 At 6'3", he would have had a tough time fitting in the Hustler's escape pod. The plane he's getting out of is the dual control TB-58 trainer, which had regular ejection seats.
@@pepper13111 Good let's hand them M4 rifles strap em into some parachutes and kick em in the ass when they exit the plane over a hostile drop zone. Let's see if the soy boys that are called actors today come home on their feet or in a body bag.
@Tixe 100 : If you have the balls to go in harm's way. You either let your training kick in or you risk taking the big dirt nap. You know you want to live. Jimmy Stuart, Rod Serling, Audy Murphy and others had hot lead and steel hurled at them. How about making moves with vets in today's world.
There is an axiom in aviation circles. If a plane looks good it will fly good too. That has been said about planes like the B-17, P-51, F-86 and it seems the B-58. Would love to have flown one. What a gorgeous airplane.
the B-58 was ahead of its time, the aerodynamics were really slick for the time you have to remember they didnt use computers it was all done manually.
Weapon systems exist only for fighting; the B 58 existed as a political statement and a statement of national resolve in this way it was critically important at that moment in international relations further it was a viable part of a total defense system it was something that was meant to spread an atmosphere of and be a clear warning that anyone had to think very very carefully about the nuclear option in this way it was very very worthwhile as a system certainly it was not a robust system or a mainline development system so its not a B 52 everybody understands that But you need a small attack bomber in a total defense system, many many very knowledgeable people would argue, so for that reason it was important. You know it's interesting I remember when I was a kid my father worked on the electronic countermeasures on the B 58 I also remember as a part of the media madness which sadly developed Around this in many worthwhile system, Buick began running major ads in leading large format publications, telling readers to try a test drive in a "B-58 Buick" It was the real America back then....
Yep, you're absolutely right. If the B-58 Hustler just simply struck fear into the hearts of would-be aggressors without ever seeing actual combat, it more than served its purpose and was well worth the investment.
Cindy S. Yes the B-58s scarred the shit out of the commies, if they'd ever admit it BACK then. Pres Kennedy put his foot down in Cuba - Ruskies backed off "with their tails between their commie legs!"
My dad flew '24s in WWII, as did GEN Stewart. And I also think he had a burnin' for the B58. He got "me" a model of one when I was FIVE. And truth be told, whenever I run across something like this or a random magazine article & such, well, I get a bit "stimulated" because the 'Hustler is HOT....
In 1968 I was at Spartan school of aeronautics in Tulsa OK. Got a night job at Hays international located at Tulsa airport repairing B47s wing cracks . Some of the aircraft were very sad to see. But I enjoyed the experience.
I got a big kick out of watching the Sunday flights of the B-58 during 'cold-water testing' in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1959. Those four J-79's produced so much heat on takeoff in that cold air that the runway would be socked in from ice fog for thirty minutes. It was fun to refueling them later in the '60s. Much smaller receptacle than in this video. If I recall correctly, it was the Viking receptacle, a sliding gate type.
@Duke Of Prunes, John Denver died, because he had his head in the cockpit. (He was watching instruments, instead of looking out the "front window.") steve
My hat is off JIMMY!!! THATK YOU HUGE FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!!✈🛩 A class act you were..... JIMMY STUART AND CHUCK YEAGER ARE MY FAVORITE HEROES. ITS A TIE TO ME.....
@@bayindostudio In Vietnam, he flew as an observer on a B-52, during a tour of active duty. He was not the pilot but was there. He flew as a pilot on combat missions during WWII and Korea. He also piloted SAC aircraft (B-47 and B-36) in the late 1940's and early 1950's.
I was in SAC, 8th Air Force, 43rd Bomb Wing. The B58 was going out of service just as I joined and I got a chance to see the last ones at Kelly Field. It was sexy, but somewhere along the line of design and construction, some engineer needed to get his head slapped for those stupid landing gears and under size tires. Had they moved the engines higher onto the wing and not needed that convoluted gear system, it probably could have lasted a lot longer in SAC than it was given.
There is a story in Yeager's book where he describes being able to slow the Hustler down to 60 knots in ground effect while everyone else was scared poopless of the airplane and always landed it too fast.
I remember my dad who was career USAF commenting on how the avionics especially the electrical system was a nightmare on the B-58's But what a beautiful bird!!! What a great predecessor to the B-!, what a gorgeous delta wing!!!
Wow my father also would do that we would drive around Chanute Air Force Base and look at all the static display aircraft and he would always point to the b-58 and would say very high maintenance maybe too fast I would love it just listening to him about all the birds on the base and they had quite a few before Chanute Air Force Base closed
@@roberthill4652 I grew up as a military brat. And my early, formulative years starting at 4 and 5 years old starting at Stead A.F.B. cultivated a love of jet aircraft for me from the T-33's to the the F-100s and the 104's and 105's and 102's and 106's and F4C's that I saw on the flight line and watching them fly sorties at the various bases that we were stationed at every 3 years in my Dad's career in the U.S.A.F. I cherish those memories and enjoyed the F-111's and BUFFS, 121 Connies and 141's and C-5A's and SR71's that I saw in my four years as a Military police K-9 handler with SAC and TAC commands.
@@Mr1963corvette yes I was born on Keesler Air Force Base and then went to Bergstrom Air Force Base back to Keesler and then to Chanute Air Force Base as a kid my father served in World War II Korea and Vietnam he retired in 69 I sure do miss him thank you for your service
@@Mr1963corvette he went in the Navy in 1945 just as the war was ending he went to work for General Electric for 2 years on the railroad and then join the airforce retiring as a master sergeant
@@roberthill4652 Outstanding! God rest his soul and I am thankful for his service. My late father was a mustang officer who went from E-1 to O-6 in the military from 1944 to 1972. He then went civil service and worked for another 10 years before he retired from the government. I am proud to have been raised as a miltary dependent.
when I go back to practicing plastic scale model for sure this beauty will be in my collection. and I swear you put a lot of effort into it. will be the most realistic scale model ever made by an amateur just for passion.
I have a couple of the Italeri 1/72 kits unbuilt in my loft still. Built one a few years ago and it's a superb kit. That's why I bought two more. Not sure how well the Monogram 1/48 scale one goes together. Perhaps someone reading this can comment.
@@WALTERBROADDUS Absolutely agree! Back in 2003 I visited the AMARG military aircraft boneyard in Tucson. I was beyond shocked to see what looked to be excellent condition newer B-1 bombers being guillotined while somehow old decrepit 1950s era B-52s were still flying. Geez the B-52 was already old and tired way back when I was an F-4E Phantom fighter jet crew chief (mechanic) during the late Vietnam War (1970-1974). Several B-52s from our SJAFB SAC wing exhibited wrinkled forward fuselage skins. This was due to the stress of too many flight hours, even then. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought it possible that dinosaur Biffs would still be in the USAF inventory in the 21st century 'defending' our nation. (What a joke!) That these slow, unstealthy, super-vulnerable prehistoric beasts are still flying is an absolute embarrassment to America and America's military. It clearly shows how incompetent USAF leaders as well as the 'duly elected' miscreants in DC, who keep extending the life of these pterodactyls-at our peril-really are. OK, getting off my soapbox now. Cheers from Thailand!
I worked with a retired AF guy for about 20 years (I've worked for the DoD for 35 years). We hunted and socialized a lot and we both worked for the DoD so I learned a lot from my buddy. He was at Yokota AFB in October 1962 when we went on High Alert for the "real deal", Nuclear War. In Japan I guess they had a Squadron of B58's. He said during the Cuban Missile Crisis they sat out on the edge of their strip with the Nukes loaded and a full tank of fuel. The pilots joked that their "range was doubled since they didn't have to come back". Absolute Gallows Humour. We had a lot of dark humour in about 1984/85 when those of us in "the bubble" knew how close we came to an all out Nuclear War. The Soviets last chance was in about 1984 to Launch EVERYTHING they had in a 'Bolt from the Blue', First Strike. Use it or lose it and the USA was seriously ready to USE IT. Thank God the Soviets threw in the towel. The USA would have NEVER surrendered our freedom and way of Life the way the Soviets did in the late 80's. People were scared of the Soviets but actually WE were the ones who were ready to do the First Strike. I think most Americans actually do believe; "Better Dead than Red" but now, in 2015 its not a question we have to ask. I pray my 5 grandkids can grow up without the fear that hung over our heads during the height of the Cold War.
+randy109 I attended kindergarden where we were taught duck and cover. I grew up with daily sonic booms and dad, who had just come out of Korea told me it was the sound of freedom. With my first pair of binoculars, I could read the tail numbers off the B-52's from Castle AFB that would circle my house.
Randy, few people understand all of the CSI and clandestine events that took place. I grew up in remote and secret locations in exotic and remote facilities in Africa and the Bahamas etc. and was privy to some amazing insights. I have heard for years stories of just how close we got in in the mid 80's, The USSR knew it was going down. Fascinating time. A better time in some ways.Thanks!
randy109, I also hope your grandkids don't have to sweat out the old cold war nightmares especially since they have a full set of new nightmares of their own to worry about. The thread of nuclear terror and the thread posed by rogue nations such as Iraq and North Korea are more than enough to worry about as I see it. Keep praying.
Thinking about my Uncle, Retired Colonel James W. Colford , while watching this terrific Video ! He was an Aviator for this beautiful Aircraft and later flew the F-111 ! Salute to you Uncle Jim !
My cuz flew Hustlers. Has some great stories. That thing was FAST. It was the tip of the spear in its day. I have flown a Foxbat in Russia. M 2.5. That was a hoot. Not sure they still do that. It was a company called MiGs etc. The Foxbat flight was 9 grand for an hour to 75,000 feet. There are few people who have flown faster than my cuz. I'm one of them.
@Broadsidejohn Around the mid 1980s, I came across a paperback, at a thrift store, thinking it was an aviation action novel. It was Viktor Belenko's Mig 25 story. It was a great read. I still have that book.
When I was stationed at Davis Mothan AFB in Tucson we would tour the Boneyard now and then. There were lots of B 58 Hustlers there in 1970. The one with the best name one the side of it was The Pussy Hustler! I have a picture of it somewhere in my old slides!
I remember when they flew the CA to NY run and back to break the record at that time. I was in junior high school in NJ and the shock wave when they past over moved the blinds on the open windows. My father worked on the power supply for the B-58 and was fortunate to be invited with his team to CA to see the first squadron of B-58's. I got to see one up close at Andrew AFB many years ago.
Magnificent Aircraft. Still looks futuristic today!...The Supersonic Spearhead of the SAC. The only operational bomber to ever fly at SUSTAINED Mach 2 speed, even today.👍
I love the shot of the fight crew in the cockpit, donning their helmets in their blue uniforms, so you knew they were captains, then in the next shot, they are in flight suits.
The problem with the B-58, despite its high maintenance costs and difficult handling (fuel had to be shuttled carefully to match airspeed to keep the center of gravity correct), was that is was a single mission aircraft. All it could do was deliver a single nuke. That it. No conventional capability. It was designed in a time when the F-105 was made. Different time, different mission. Once the USSR developed high altitude SAMS and ICBMs, that was it. That said, it is hand down one of the sexiest aircraft ever built. To get Mach 2 performance out of a bomber, in the 50's, with its "package" hanging out for all to see was quite an achievement.
I never knew this about Jimmy Stewart. Simply amazing. The video itself is simply awe inspiring. The hustler seems like it had a short lived history. Its appeal is still amazing to me. I never knew the history of such an awesome plane. The message it it sent when in service must of been very exact and to the point. Just amazing. Thank you for a great history lesson. I was born in 62 when this plane came out. I've been fascinated by it when I first saw a picture of it. To of been a pilot of a Hustler would of been the greatest job of all time.
Sorry about that, your right. It did come way before 62. I guess I was making a reference to something else. At the time of the posting I had a lot of ideas running around I must of lost my train of thought. A simple error on my part. If I'm not mistaken, in the early 1950's I believe... regardless it's still a fascinating plane.
B-58's make great decorations for AFB gates! They had a unique problem in that if they tried to drop their nukes at mach 2+, the bombs would be carried along in the shock wave made by the plane....the B-58 had to slow down to drop! Wow! At 21;30, I had a flashback to "FailSafe!" B-58's were the planes involved in that nail-biter. But what a bird!
Cliff Yablonski not really- You don't see the glareshield Greenhouse tinted plastic that real B-52's have there in front of the pilots in the film versions' B-52G cockpit.
@@warplanner8852 The B-58 was a marvelous, sleek looking aircraft but due to it's swept wing design and speed, it developed wing cracks that caused it to be withdrawn from active service.
this was just a stepping stone, things evolved quickly in those years. this plane looks like a quick and dirty solution. XB70 valkyrie now that was more high tech.
I love this stuff my dad was SAC retired now after 26 years of service I use to love riding my bike down to the run ways in the 1970s and watchung the bombers coming and going I could spend hours down there watching those planes
Watching this makes me want to watch "Strategic Air Command" again. (Though I doubt my wife does LoL) I watched a RUclips channel by the name of 'Wonderhussey' she does travel blogs. She was looking around an abandoned B58 sat in the desert someplace. Well worth watching.
![Megan Thee Stallion - Bigger In Texas [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QxTkZTLWdo4/mqdefault.jpg)
I was fortunate to be crew chief on the B-36 when Jimmy was at Carswell to film
Strategic Air Command” in our squadron. After completing college I worked at Convair as a test engineer on the B-58. What a privilege to witness all of this and to watch the filming of that movie.
Wm F. Britt
Thank you for your service !!
Behind the scenes: there was no air conditioning at all on the base. Jimmy and the entire crew used our Forms Room to relax because we had an evaporative cooler that cooled the room. It was a busy place because all aircraft logs were kept there and that was were we went to determine what needed to be repaired on each B-36 after a flight. All in the filming crew and actors allowed us to come and go to do our job when they could have had that room set aside for them. Except for the cameras outside and the actual filming of the movie there was no interruption of work. I am so glad that I can still watch that film and see things as they were.
@@frankbritt419 That was a great film indeed!! I used to love watching it on TV when I was a boy. In later years I saw it on cable and was just blown away by the inclusion of a couple of scenes that I'd never, ever, seen because they'd been cut to allow for more commercials!
TheRjjrjjr
The SR-71 is quite a bit faster than the B-58 and holds many speed and altitude records. However, it's not a bomber, so the B-58 still holds many of those records. I suppose the XB-70 could have taken some of those, but it was never accepted by the USAF for production and only 2 prototypes were built. Convair was absorbed or maybe purchased by General Dynamics during the B-58 program. It was then sold to Lockheed Martin during the F-16 program in the late 1980's and remains LM to this day, finishing out the F-16 program and ramping up the F-35 program in the same circa 1941 factory that built the B-24, B-32, B-36, B-58, F-111, F-16, and now the F-35. General Dynamics also modified other air frames for the USAF, one is the Martin B-57, several of which went through the Convair bomber plant at one time or another.
Mr. Britt; As a Canadian, let me also thank you for your service. I have often wondered what ever happened to the Hustler. It seemed like "all of a sudden" it was there, then "all of a sudden" it wasn't! From 1965 to 1970 I lived in Goose Bay Lab, on Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, "the Canadian side" next to Goose Air Force (S.A.C.) Base, "the American side". They had a squadron of KC-135 fuelers and a squadron of F-102s replaced by Voodoos. It took about a week to get used to the 3:00 A.M. "bang-bang-bang" of scrambled interceptors off to chase Soviet bombers a little too close to our coast! What was really exciting to us 12 year olds was the occasional B-52 bomber on its way to Thule Greenland! Exciting days indeed! We never saw a Hustler although we did have our share of "secret flights"; occasionally we would see the green flare of take off permission because of radio silence.
Now the Soviet Union is gone (Thank-you God! Amen!) but our dangers are elsewhere and more cowardly!!!! I thank God for the American military and the protection that we (if we are honest) get from you. God Bless you, Mr. Britt and God Bless America! Amen!!!!
John B. Shaw
Calgary Alberta Canada.
This video just showed up. My father-in-law, Major William H.Woolbright USAF ret., flew for SAC on B-52 and B-58. He logged over 5000 hours on B52 and flew many missions in Vietnam incl. Linebacker I and II. He met Jimmy Steward in Guam and they flew a Vietnam mission together. Later on he was the recipient of the distinguished flying cross for the saving the aircraft over Hanoi (counter measure warfare officer). He flew on B-58 for 1,5 years until they got scrapped and went back to flying on B-52. Quote: “went back from a Ferrari to a tractor”. When I asked him how Jimmy Steward was in private he said”just like in the movies, very nice and humble”. Needless to say that he was also a member of the Mach 2 club. I have all his awards, photos and items (like a mug that flew Mach 2 with a B-58 on it). He passed away a year ago and 87, I miss him dearly. He was an office and gentleman ! More over, he was like a father to me. RIP, Bill,
Bs
How do you get all this information from veterans personnel files? Really Creepy!
BG Jimmy Stewart was a very humble and brave man, he never boasted about his exploits in WWII or the USAFR, I think he realized how lucky and privileged he was to have come back from WWII when so many of his friends did not. I liked his acting as well, he was an American 'everyman. Good job Jimmy.
Edmund Charles. Charles Lindberg had his critics- but watch Jimmy Stewart in THE SPIRIT OF SAINT LOUIS.
An example to every young boy to follow,he expressed all that is great about being human.
What remains wonderful about him is that he was a pilot and serviceman first, and an actor second.
MartiMar
Wat a great actor and what a great American
Jimmy Stewart'John Wayne, Audie Murphy these were not spoiled little liberals that thought the world owed them something,todays actors should take note.
B.G. Jimmy Stewart: The man who could talk the talk BECAUSE he walked the walk first. A human to be honored and emulated.
Nothing he would have ever admitted to. He knew the real hero's were awarded headstones
incredibly well said, and true to his honorable approach to service of his country. @@genebohannon8820
My Dad flew the B58...as well as the B36 and B52 ...and others...I sat in the cockpit when I was about 9 years old and at that point I decided I wanted to do this pilot stuff!!..
Thanks Dad...RIP
Amazing. As a historian and hobbyist, it's my favorite aircraft, and I'm building that as well as a B47.
More time has passed since this film was made than the time from the first Wright Brothers flight to the making of this film...
I was stationed at LRAFB and on one occasion, a B-58 had a locked nose gear. It was quite dramatic watching the pilot make a perfect landing and at the last moment as the nose was starting to stall guided it into the grass between the runway and the tarmac - I recall it was nearly slo-mo to see that finish.
When was that? My dad was a B-58 crew chief at LRAFB in 1967-68. He hated the B-58 because they needed so much maintenence.
One of the Pilots (mentioned a couple of times as both pilot and record-breaker) was Dutchendorf, or "Dutch" as my father knew him. Dutch was also the father of John Denver the folk singer. I have 78 RPM vynal records of my father, Dutch, and a couple of other pilots singing in their barber shop quortette while stationed at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson.
John Denver was a Junior as well.
Reminds me it's time to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" again.
Thank you, General Stewart. God bless, be with Gloria.
Ron Jon. Watch him in the original "Flight of The Phoenix."
Stewart also played Lindberg in The Spirit of St. Louis.
I was 8 years old in 1969 when I built my Revelle B-58 Hustler Model. MACH 2 back then was screaming fast. Air Superiority.
It inspired me to build more planes and helicopters. Radio control started back then and our hobby today is awesome. We dreamed of those Jet Turbines. We have them now!
I built that model. The external fuel tank directly underneath the fuselage was as long as a WW2-era Heinkel 111 bomber.
I'm waiting for that golden moment for a B-58 to be produced in an EDF model. Already have several F-18s, F-16s, F-22s, F-35s on the market. We need more cold war jets!
We recently built the Lindberg kit...
do you still have that model?
One of the best looking planes ever -- and FAST !! I love it.
It was, but it leaked fuel like crazy.
@@Wildcat5181 the B-58 ? I've heard and read of the SR-71 leaking fuel before it's skin was heated and expanded by super sonic speeds.
It's the best looking design. To me.
I always liked the looks of the plane. It was very difficult and dangerous to fly and many were lost in accidents.
George Rivera
The B 58 didn't leak fuel, you've got it mixed up with the SR 71. Those leaked until the skin was heated up and it could be fueled in flight. They only took off with enough fuel to heat up the skin and meet the KC 135 for its fuel load.
When I was a kid , this was the badass of all badass looking airframes .
Still Is!
Jimmy Stewart a real man ...and a REAL role model.
I was in love with this plane when I first saw it. When I was a kid a had a plastic one.
.
So did I!
I had a model of the B-58 too !
Me too!!! Made my mom buy it, I'll never forget that red plastic, from Kresge 5 & Dime store in the Bronx on Simpson st!!!
I had one also, red plastic. My favorite plane.
Me too. It was first of many and always my favourite. A thing of great beauty.
When this was filmed, Jimmy was a Brigadier General, but in 1986, President Reagan ordered him out of retirement, promoted him to Major General, and retired him again the next day. I met him when he came to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for the Air Force's 40th anniversary celebration. No more genuine and humble man ever lived. He made you feel like meeting you was the high point of his day.
I remember when 58's flew out of Carswell, and sonic booms were just another part of the week. Thanks for posting.
PoppaBlue59 I grew up by Edwards Air Force Base in California when sonic booms were virtually every day, I loved them!
Me too, living in Arlington.
I miss those days with periodic sonic booms.
What a time to be alive! I too lived next to an Air Force base but it only had Orions but every so often a high speed visitor would visit!,
I was stationed at Pease AFB in 1962 when one of these landed at our base and when we went down to see it, it was guarded by armed air policeman. Wanted to see the cockpit couldn't get within 15 ft. of the plane. Watched it take off and they buzzed the runway at top speed. We could barely see it when they flew by. It was a beautiful aircraft!
TOMIBM I lived at Pease also. Used to love watching the planes land there.
I knew Colonel Ray Waggoner. He went on to fly the SR 71 but told me he always loved his Hustler time. He was a great man. He passed just a few years ago in Alaska.
Jimmie is awesome. I've always been a fan
I was in aircraft mechanic school (A&P) at James Connelly Technical Institute in Waco, Texas, when the B-58s were retired. The Air Force had just completed their move off James Connelly Air Force Base. General Dynamics was doing IRANS on the 58s at the time and the last 3 or 4 went straight to mothball in Arizona. One pilot let our class know about the show to come and we watched him light the afterburners (that's what they said) and climb out of sight. The pilot of the very last one let us know and we watched him light the burners and pull up and do a couple of slow rolls as he went out of sight. People probably will not believe this, but there were a couple of dozen witnesses. I figured the pilots were retiring as well and had little to lose. Wish we'd had smart phones then.
Brigadier General Stewart also played the part of Major Glenn Miller in the movie called "The Glenn Miller Story". One USAF hero honoring another.
And if you don't know who Glenn Miller was, please search for him on You Tube. You'll have NO trouble finding him on here.
When I was 9 or 10, a pair of these broke mach BELOW our house level, out in NW Missouri. They were flying NOE over a field across the road from the house, the field being considerably lower than our place. Rattled all the windows nearly to breaking and knocked a lot of stuff off shelves. They were spaced about 30 seconds apart, so, when I ran out to see what happened after the first sonic boom, I got to see the 2nd bird repeat the show.
Thought it was the coolest thing, ever. Mom wasn't so thrilled, understandably.
No bias. Not misleading. Not propaganda. Promotional yes. Accurate, yes.
+Brian Bass Partly correct: no bias, not misleading. Intent to influence our enemies IS propaganda. In this case to influence restraint when considering an attack against our country. Promotional to who? The U.S. Air Force was the only customer for this airplane. The Air Force and Convair were not in the entertainment business, films like these were costly to produce but were not meant to entertain.
+AVhistorybuff
No ---------they were meant to imbue. !!!!!!!!!!!!
Imbue the idea that there was a threat. a very tangible threat, from a USSR that was recovering from the devastation it suffered during WW2 (GPW) a war in which the USA was virtually unscathed.
There was NO THREAT ----- but it sure made a lot of money for the US Military/Industrial complex.
+slimchancetoo Apart from the soviet nuclear and space programmes, and fielding the largest army of the time. The willingness of the soviet leadership to devote so much of their nation's scarce resources to military development when they were struggling with the devastation of WWII gives some indication of their priorities.
webtoedman
It certainly does -- the Soviet Leadership was not prepared to be the target of a second invasion from the north south east or west and so built up a massive defence force to deter any thoughts lurking in the minds of those capable of launching another surprise attack.
Among others Curtiss Le May of the USAF was hell bent on provoking the 'Kremlin" by continued overflights of Soviet territory - just as the Germans made more than 200 overflights in the lead up to Barbarossa.
Churchill of course is well remembered for his dream of de nazifying the German armed forces, reequipping and supplying them and sending them back into the USSR with Allied assistance. General Patton is similarly remembered.
That the Soviets managed to basically rebuild their devastated cities economy and infrastructure while maintaining a huge defence force speaks much praise to the Soviet leadership.
I live for three months of every year in Moscow - in a Krushchev Apartment as they are known (hastily built to rehouse millions of dispossessed) and a small village just to the west of it on the road to Minsk. I tour the country extensively while I am there - particularly the sites of the major battles and sieges.
To be sure there is still evidence of the hardship endured but when you see pics taken in 1944-45 and again in 1955-56 and the 60's you can only be amazed at what was achieved without assistance from the West.
It is true Russia was offered participation in the Marshall Plan but declined it.
The figures are dated now but the cost to the USSR of the GPW - as the Second World War is known there - more than doubled the cost to the Western Allies combined. It cannot be truly calculated but in the 60's and 70's I read figures of 100 trillion USD. In thos days a BILLION was an unimaginable sum of money.
All that and they still managed to beat the US into space -- dropping out of the race when they realised there was little point apart from prestige in continuing with the Space Race.
Which argues for a failure of perception on the part of the Politburo. The major threat to the USSR wasn't the USA, whose stated policy vis-a-vis communism was one of "containment", which basically meant military posturing tokee the public on side, and the occasional proxy war. The real threats were internal, from the
My father, SMSGT Frank Gysin, was a ground crewman on 58s at Bunker Hill AFB (Grissom in later years) in the early 60s. I was a young boy, but I can remember at least two instances of him coming home late and my mom taking his uniform and boots outside and hosing them down to remove the firefighting foam from them.
The 58 was as tough to fly as she was beautiful.
Later, when I was an adult, one night over beers and a campfire, my dad related a story of having to recover a B 58 crash sight at the end of the runway at Bunker Hill. He was still emotional about having to walk the sight and pick up parts of the crewman. He found the wallet of the B/N and as he opened it, he saw pictures of the Captain's wife and baby. It haunted him 30 years later.
John Denvers dad was indeed a pilot in the 43Rd bomb wing! He flew b29's, b50's, b47's and the b58 hustler.
Richard Johnson Didn't John die piloting his own plane?
+Frederick Kruse Yes he did.
+Virgil Scott His Rutan designed homebuilt Long EZ.
And John Denver was a bad pilot.
If. I. Recall. John. Denver. Died. From a. Bird. Strike in. His. Private. Plane. Over. Pacific. Ocean. Off. Of. California. Coast. RIP..
We had a copy of that same resin cast model shown in this film. Dad worked for GE Jet Engine Division in San Diego and we got to see B-58s fly and meet one of the test pilots. Powered by those fabulous General Electric J79-GE-5A afterburning turbojets. Great to find this film on RUclips. 👍
I love actor James Stewart play pilot of movies . I was kid walked as feeling loud noise from sky then looked at beautiful B-58 Hustler bomber flew over Stevens Point , Wisconsin as I said " WOW !!!! Big jet bomber ! I ran and look at sky but gone . I told my mother about airplane flying over me as show model plane B-58 Hustler bomber with red wing point down on rubber fin to my mother as she heard loud noise from sky , said "" you saw B-58 Hustler bomber flew low level as slow speed , four big engines loudly ! " . I said " yes Mom , I saw it , beautiful plane ! " . I grow up to 60 yrs old man . I am saddened about B-58 Hustler bombers were retirement from service in 1970 because B-58 Hustler bomber aren't easy flying because too many crashes lead pilots with crews killed or injured badly . They are displayed inside museums and one sit on junkyard museum where they are destroyed in junkyard . B-1B bomber aren't faster as B-58 Hustler can do flying at Mach 2 on low level as 500 feet . But B-1B bomber can fly low level as 100 feet at over 700 mph . Honoring greatest pilots and crews flew B-58 Hustler bombers .
A B-58 flew low over our farmyard in NE Iowa one summer day. Loudest plane I ever heard!
One of my favorite films - Brig. Gen. Stewart is a wonderful narrator, and his own experience in having flown the Hustler at full tilt gives him great credibility. As for the Hustler, I've always loved it - Ballistic performance, and such a big fright to the Soviets at the time, that the MiG-25 program was a response to both it and the even scarier XB-70 !
He did not fly this jet. He flew IN it, as a passenger.
You still have to find a Vindicator Grady
Touching to see Jimmy STEWART not only fly the HUSTLER, but also narrate this documentary. He was with the mighty 8th in WW II. He risked his life in part for my parents and grand parents (and for me). Great achievement the HUSTLER. A pity ECM technology at the time was not as advanced as the airplane itself. Still, CONVAIR had once again proven itself. These were the great days when the US had at least a dozen military airplane manufacturers. Now I believe we are down to two: Northrop-Grumman, and Lockheed-Martin-Boeing (the Boeing people are in the same group as Lockheed-Martin aren't they?).
+Philippe Renaud About 20 years ago, someone told me there were only 3 people left at his shop that could run the machinery that built critical parts for the landing gear for the C-5. We are losing our manufacturing edge.
+obsolete professor Professor, are we talking about the C-5A GALAXY??? This is a tragedy! We're speaking about a giant transport aircraft that can carry 100 Metric Tons of essential material and equipment! Could it be that the DOD is allocating all of its heavy air-transport budget to the C-17 GLOBEMASTER III? (80 Metric Tons capacity).
+Philippe Renaud Yup.. Side story. However much it may have been propaganda, it was said that many Japanese soldiers came from rural farms and that many American soldiers came from mechanized farms. There were instances where Japanese transports would break down full of farm boy soldiers and they would have to wait for a mechanic to show up. The American kids would all jump under the hood. These days, I see a dumbing down of American kids. I now work in an auto parts store and I see a terrible lack of basic understanding. A number of the parts we sell get returned as "defective" because someone stripped out a hole or cracked a housing. There are a few very bright kids out there, but the dumb ones will make your jaw drop. HG Rickover, father of the nuclear fleet, talked about how this dumbing down was going to come about.
+obsolete professor I have 4 sons myself. Alas I see the same kind of dumbing down to a degree. Some of it might come from too much TV brainwashing (to say nothing of computer games). A lot of parents who just cut off TV service to only stream from the internet see a highly positive change taking place with their kids and their growth. As to the propaganda aspect of the side story, I say highly possible: I bet the DOD sprays many side stories like these to keep the Russians second guessing.
+Philippe Renaud May your sons be a blessing to you and the world. Perhaps we are being too hard and missing the old ways. I myself cannot shoe a horse or build a fire with two sticks, but I can fix a flat tire.
Always respected Jimmy Stewart. Damn good pilot, and knew his stuff. Flew as a bomber pilot during ww2 leaving his movie star status behind. When he returned to the big screen I think he was also a much better actor taking on more dramatic roles.
Hard to beat Vertigo and Rear Window.
@@hendo337 "Hard to beat Vertigo and Rear Window." Bingo👍. I was trying to remember those two films without looking them up. Paired with the master, Alfred Hitchcock, they were great films. Kim Novack, was a great looking lady and actress. I recently found out in an interview, she was self assured and her own person, which may explain why she didn't get scripts after a while. I didn't realize she was still alive. It rankles me that H'wood has a way of screwing over talented people if they don't brown nose and feed a lot of egos. My apologies for going off an a slight tanget.
I was lucky that my Dad took me up to Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana, for Armed Forces Day several times. I got to see the B-58 there behind ropes with guards.
Later I joined the Civil Air Patrol and got to spend two weeks on the base. They brought the ramps up and we got to see the cockpits.
I too was lucky that my dad took me (along with my brother and sister) to the military section of Chicago's O'Hare Field for Armed Forces Day in 1964. On display were numerous USAF bombers, fighters, transports and a Convair B-58 Hustler. Best thing was we got to watch the bomber right in front of us fire up its four engines, taxi out and then takeoff in the distance. My guess is that it was one stationed at Bunker Hill AFB.
Favorite plane of the cold war era, right up there with the F-105. Always gives me chills seeing in person at the USAF museum in Dayton.
i love the thuds. and the F4 and F8 turn me on too
Yeah, the Hustler was my fav Cold War bomber. They used them in the movie, Fail Safe, nicknamed Vindicator.
nothing could catch the 105 on the deck,,,,even today
What I love most, is that Jimmy Stewart usually plays uncertain, conflicted men... and yet here he is confident, assured - he knows what is doing and the subject matter he is talking about.
That was John Denver’s father that was piloting the record..
As a young kid living in Ohio, I recall the Hustler going supersonic. That was an exciting time for me. Building model airplanes of those great aircraft was about as close as I would get. Until, I was older as an engineer, doing some work for Goodyear Aerospace where they had an F-16 Simulator. We were allowed to look at it, but no touch. They would not even give me a "ride" in the Simulator. It was a full F-16 cockpit without blacked out canopy. That was no B-58, but was still exciting.
I was at the '66 SAC Combat Competition (Bomb Comp) with the 68th A&E as an airborne nav repairman for the APN-89 doppler on our G model bird. We brought along our B-52G #255 of the 68th BW to compete. I believe there were 2 B-58 wings there and it was a huge thrill for us to see these speed demons. At this point they were near the end of their lifetime. These aircraft seem to spend more time on the end of the ramp for engine repairs than they did in the air practicing bomb runs. They were a high maintenance bird representative of the then leading edge design and performance. That being said it was exciting to witness what this aircraft would do, especially at takeoff with full afterburners glowing.
It was fast just sitting on the ramp with the engines running.😀
Bob P : Just like a Ferrari or Gina Lollobrigida (lol) of the day. Fast, sexy and high maintenance!
J79s became very reliable engines and they were tough.
My father flew this bird and loved every minute of it
There will NEVER be another Jimmy Stewart.
TRUEBLUEGOBLUE Tom Hanks.
Although without the military experience. Different times.
Air Force sends out a specification.... Same as the Air Ministry here in England...
Manufacturers create what they think will do the job. If it's accepted you can't blame the aircraft, it was what they asked for. The B-58 is just one of those creations that is awe inspiring, raw power, and beauty. I think it's one of the best U.S. aircraft of the era.
Also the most expensive! Only the U.S. could afford it.
difference is the US created the contract system and the UK just copies-as usual but the US will always do it better respectfully
I only saw one these aircraft when I was in the USAF 65-69; I was stationed at Offutt at the time and a B-58 from Little Rock AFB came up (summer 1966). I watched it takeoff at dusk when it left; an impressive sight with all 4 afterburners lit, definitely a clean design.
It still looks "cutting edge" today, 60 years later. General Stewart was a great guy and the Hustler was a fabulous airplane. Never be another of either one!
Beautiful and impressive plane. My Dad worked for Convair during this time, so we got to see it fly over our house.
Jimmy Stewart flew a B-58? Well. I never knew that. He should have run for President.
He could fly a B-24 - why not?
He didn't pilot the B-58. He flew in the back as a passenger on one. They made it look like he did when he got out of the jet in this video from the front seat, but he did *not* pilot the B-58, not once, not ever.
ruclips.net/video/Haox1h7JSOQ/видео.html
@@karlchilders5420 Jimmy Stewart was tall. I think most B58 crew were quite short.
@@williamreynolds7194 At 6'3", he would have had a tough time fitting in the Hustler's escape pod. The plane he's getting out of is the dual control TB-58 trainer, which had regular ejection seats.
Very interesting video, many thanks for sharing. I always had great respect for James Stewart, not only a great actor but a true patriot.
Jimmy Stewart yes! When actors were REAL men, NOT the weak "sissy boys" we have today! Clark Gable also served and flew.
That's so true about the "SISSY-BOYS" that are in big numbers today for sure ....
Coiled Steel
Benny Goodman as well, lost over English Channel
Actors much better now, trained and able do any parts. Old ones were studio made
@@pepper13111 Good let's hand them M4 rifles strap em into some parachutes and kick em in the ass when they exit the plane over a hostile drop zone. Let's see if the soy boys that are called actors today come home on their feet or in a body bag.
@Tixe 100 : If you have the balls to go in harm's way. You either let your training kick in or you risk taking the big dirt nap. You know you want to live. Jimmy Stuart, Rod Serling, Audy Murphy and others had hot lead and steel hurled at them. How about making moves with vets in today's world.
Cool plane.. Thanks from NZ ✈️🇳🇿👍
There is an axiom in aviation circles. If a plane looks good it will fly good too. That has been said about planes like the B-17, P-51, F-86 and it seems the B-58. Would love to have flown one. What a gorgeous airplane.
the B-58 was ahead of its time, the aerodynamics were really slick for the time you have to remember they didnt use computers it was all done manually.
Jimmy Stewart: A great American, and he knew which bathroom to use.
Weapon systems exist only for fighting; the B 58 existed as a political statement and a statement of national resolve in this way it was critically important at that moment in international relations further it was a viable part of a total defense system it was something that was meant to spread an atmosphere of and be a clear warning that anyone had to think very very carefully about the nuclear option in this way it was very very worthwhile as a system certainly it was not a robust system or a mainline development system so its not a B 52 everybody understands that But you need a small attack bomber in a total defense system, many many very knowledgeable people would argue, so for that reason it was important.
You know it's interesting I remember when I was a kid my father worked on the electronic countermeasures on the B 58
I also remember as a part of the media madness which sadly developed
Around this in many worthwhile system, Buick began running major ads
in leading large format publications, telling readers to try a test drive in a "B-58 Buick"
It was the real America back then....
Yep, you're absolutely right. If the B-58 Hustler just simply struck fear into the hearts of would-be aggressors without ever seeing actual combat, it more than served its purpose and was well worth the investment.
Cindy S. Yes the B-58s scarred the shit out of the commies, if they'd ever admit it BACK then. Pres Kennedy put his foot down in Cuba - Ruskies backed off "with their tails between their commie legs!"
Yep the real America,lynchings and everything.
The most beautiful aircraft ever made ,better even than the B 47 . Thank God they never were used in anger .
Excellent documentary! Nobody narrates a story like Jimmy Stewart! A real American!
My dad flew '24s in WWII, as did GEN Stewart. And I also think he had a burnin' for the B58. He got "me" a model of one when I was FIVE.
And truth be told, whenever I run across something like this or a random magazine article & such, well, I get a bit "stimulated" because the 'Hustler is HOT....
Yep- made out of metal too, not junk plastic. We'll never see again the toys made in the 1950s and 1960s.
Well, the model was made by Revell, I think, and "we" put it together in an evening. "Airplane glue" is almost a time machine to me these days.
I remember Hustlers out of Carswell,and B-36s too.What a thrill they were!
What a magnificent aeroplane, flown by a great man.
In 1968 I was at Spartan school of aeronautics in Tulsa OK. Got a night job at Hays international located at Tulsa airport repairing B47s wing cracks . Some of the aircraft were very sad to see. But I enjoyed the experience.
He could of been the president if he ever ran....
Not worth all the liberal press hounding and trying to drive out of office.
I got a big kick out of watching the Sunday flights of the B-58 during 'cold-water testing' in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1959. Those four J-79's produced so much heat on takeoff in that cold air that the runway would be socked in from ice fog for thirty minutes.
It was fun to refueling them later in the '60s. Much smaller receptacle than in this video. If I recall correctly, it was the Viking receptacle, a sliding gate type.
OMG, the Glory Days.
Big fan of the B-58 and Jimmy Stewart. I really enjoyed this. Thanks!
Maj. Henry J. Deutschendorf , who Mr. Stewart refers to in this video, had a son, Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. Or, as we knew him, John Denver.
@Duke Of Prunes, John Denver died, because
he had his head in the cockpit. (He was watching
instruments, instead of looking out the "front
window.")
steve
My hat is off JIMMY!!! THATK YOU HUGE FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!!✈🛩
A class act you were.....
JIMMY STUART AND CHUCK YEAGER ARE MY FAVORITE HEROES. ITS A TIE TO ME.....
And Jimmy Stewart wasn't "play acting" at being General and pilot! He was the real deal!
He flew combat missions in WW II, Korea and Vietnam!
Whaaaaaa!?!?
@@bayindostudio In Vietnam, he flew as an observer on a B-52, during a tour of active duty. He was not the pilot but was there. He flew as a pilot on combat missions during WWII and Korea. He also piloted SAC aircraft (B-47 and B-36) in the late 1940's and early 1950's.
@@kelleysauer1693 Wow! The B-47 and B-36 Peacemaker were serious business during its time of operations...
I was in SAC, 8th Air Force, 43rd Bomb Wing. The B58 was going out of service just as I joined and I got a chance to see the last ones at Kelly Field. It was sexy, but somewhere along the line of design and construction, some engineer needed to get his head slapped for those stupid landing gears and under size tires. Had they moved the engines higher onto the wing and not needed that convoluted gear system, it probably could have lasted a lot longer in SAC than it was given.
There is a story in Yeager's book where he describes being able to slow the Hustler down to 60 knots in ground effect while everyone else was scared poopless of the airplane and always landed it too fast.
obsolete professor Not the Hustler, but its ancestor the Convair XF-92.
jimmy stewart was my uncle harold’s commanding officer and pilot,said he was a skilled pilot and always cared for his men and crews
I remember my dad who was career USAF commenting on how the avionics especially the electrical system was a nightmare on the B-58's But what a beautiful bird!!! What a great predecessor to the B-!, what a gorgeous delta wing!!!
Wow my father also would do that we would drive around Chanute Air Force Base and look at all the static display aircraft and he would always point to the b-58 and would say very high maintenance maybe too fast I would love it just listening to him about all the birds on the base and they had quite a few before Chanute Air Force Base closed
@@roberthill4652 I grew up as a military brat. And my early, formulative years starting at 4 and 5 years old starting at Stead A.F.B. cultivated a love of jet aircraft for me from the T-33's to the the F-100s and the 104's and 105's and 102's and 106's and F4C's that I saw on the flight line and watching them fly sorties at the various bases that we were stationed at every 3 years in my Dad's career in the U.S.A.F. I cherish those memories and enjoyed the F-111's and BUFFS, 121 Connies and 141's and C-5A's and SR71's that I saw in my four years as a Military police K-9 handler with SAC and TAC commands.
@@Mr1963corvette yes I was born on Keesler Air Force Base and then went to Bergstrom Air Force Base back to Keesler and then to Chanute Air Force Base as a kid my father served in World War II Korea and Vietnam he retired in 69 I sure do miss him thank you for your service
@@Mr1963corvette he went in the Navy in 1945 just as the war was ending he went to work for General Electric for 2 years on the railroad and then join the airforce retiring as a master sergeant
@@roberthill4652 Outstanding! God rest his soul and I am thankful for his service. My late father was a mustang officer who went from E-1 to O-6 in the military from 1944 to 1972. He then went civil service and worked for another 10 years before he retired from the government. I am proud to have been raised as a miltary dependent.
when I go back to practicing plastic scale model for sure this beauty will be in my collection. and I swear you put a lot of effort into it. will be the most realistic scale model ever made by an amateur just for passion.
I have a couple of the Italeri 1/72 kits unbuilt in my loft still. Built one a few years ago and it's a superb kit. That's why I bought two more. Not sure how well the Monogram 1/48 scale one goes together. Perhaps someone reading this can comment.
It would be interresting if they remade the B-58 with a modern fly by wire system and newer jets.
Exactly, they were a mechanical nightmare but updated they would be one lethal aircraft. I like the way you think.
WALTERBROADDUS It has been said that, with updated engines, the Hustler would serve well as a bomber today.
The Lancer is 15 meters longer, with 25 meters greater wingspan, and a completely different crew seating configuration.
@@ericoberlies7537 It's sad the B-1B is being retired early. The 52 should finally fade away.....
@@WALTERBROADDUS Absolutely agree! Back in 2003 I visited the AMARG military aircraft boneyard in Tucson. I was beyond shocked to see what looked to be excellent condition newer B-1 bombers being guillotined while somehow old decrepit 1950s era B-52s were still flying.
Geez the B-52 was already old and tired way back when I was an F-4E Phantom fighter jet crew chief (mechanic) during the late Vietnam War (1970-1974). Several B-52s from our SJAFB SAC wing exhibited wrinkled forward fuselage skins. This was due to the stress of too many flight hours, even then.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought it possible that dinosaur Biffs would still be in the USAF inventory in the 21st century 'defending' our nation. (What a joke!)
That these slow, unstealthy, super-vulnerable prehistoric beasts are still flying is an absolute embarrassment to America and America's military. It clearly shows how incompetent USAF leaders as well as the 'duly elected' miscreants in DC, who keep extending the life of these pterodactyls-at our peril-really are.
OK, getting off my soapbox now. Cheers from Thailand!
When I was a kid I wanted to meet Jimmy Stewart so bad I never thought I'd be fortunate enough to meet him but I was
I worked with a retired AF guy for about 20 years (I've worked for the DoD for 35 years). We hunted and socialized a lot and we both worked for the DoD so I learned a lot from my buddy. He was at Yokota AFB in October 1962 when we went on High Alert for the "real deal", Nuclear War. In Japan I guess they had a Squadron of B58's. He said during the Cuban Missile Crisis they sat out on the edge of their strip with the Nukes loaded and a full tank of fuel. The pilots joked that their "range was doubled since they didn't have to come back". Absolute Gallows Humour. We had a lot of dark humour in about 1984/85 when those of us in "the bubble" knew how close we came to an all out Nuclear War. The Soviets last chance was in about 1984 to Launch EVERYTHING they had in a 'Bolt from the Blue', First Strike. Use it or lose it and the USA was seriously ready to USE IT. Thank God the Soviets threw in the towel. The USA would have NEVER surrendered our freedom and way of Life the way the Soviets did in the late 80's. People were scared of the Soviets but actually WE were the ones who were ready to do the First Strike. I think most Americans actually do believe; "Better Dead than Red" but now, in 2015 its not a question we have to ask. I pray my 5 grandkids can grow up without the fear that hung over our heads during the height of the Cold War.
+randy109 I attended kindergarden where we were taught duck and cover. I grew up with daily sonic booms and dad, who had just come out of Korea told me it was the sound of freedom. With my first pair of binoculars, I could read the tail numbers off the B-52's from Castle AFB that would circle my house.
Randy, few people understand all of the CSI and clandestine events that took place. I grew up in remote and secret locations in exotic and remote facilities in Africa and the Bahamas etc. and was privy to some amazing insights. I have heard for years stories of just how close we got in in the mid 80's, The USSR knew it was going down. Fascinating time. A better time in some ways.Thanks!
randy109, I also hope your grandkids don't have to sweat out the old cold war nightmares especially since they have a full set of new nightmares of their own to worry about. The thread of nuclear terror and the thread posed by rogue nations such as Iraq and North Korea are more than enough to worry about as I see it. Keep praying.
Major Dutchendorf had a son. You knew him as singer John Denver.
From a time when actors were patriots, not jackasses.
Heavy Training. NO "sissy boys" allowed then.
nowadays they are communists with iPhone in the pockets.
That's some kind of idiotic comment there Mr Dufus.
No WootTootZoot he speaks the truth, todays celebrities are socialist loving morons
So true
Thinking about my Uncle, Retired Colonel James W. Colford , while watching this terrific Video ! He was an Aviator for this beautiful Aircraft and later flew the F-111 ! Salute to you Uncle Jim !
My cuz flew Hustlers. Has some great stories. That thing was FAST. It was the tip of the spear in its day. I have flown a Foxbat in Russia. M 2.5. That was a hoot. Not sure they still do that. It was a company called MiGs etc. The Foxbat flight was 9 grand for an hour to 75,000 feet. There are few people who have flown faster than my cuz. I'm one of them.
@Broadsidejohn Around the mid 1980s, I came across a paperback, at a thrift store, thinking it was an aviation action novel. It was Viktor Belenko's Mig 25 story. It was a great read. I still have that book.
When I was stationed at Davis Mothan AFB in Tucson we would tour the Boneyard now and then. There were lots of B 58 Hustlers there in 1970. The one with the best name one the side of it was The Pussy Hustler! I have a picture of it somewhere in my old slides!
The B58 Hustler is my favorite multi engine aircraft and just about the coolest looking plane ever made.
A true patriot! Love his westerns!. Fantastic actor
Jimmy Stewart was quite a guy, I wish I could have met him.
I had a fan club for him in So. CALIF. Late in his life. He drew and signed HARVEY sketch for me. Such a kind and humble man. I miss him.
I remember when they flew the CA to NY run and back to break the record at that time. I was in junior high school in NJ and the shock wave when they past over moved the blinds on the open windows. My father worked on the power supply for the B-58 and was fortunate to be invited with his team to CA to see the first squadron of B-58's. I got to see one up close at Andrew AFB many years ago.
Great presentation done by a great man.
Magnificent Aircraft. Still looks futuristic today!...The Supersonic Spearhead of the SAC. The only operational bomber to ever fly at SUSTAINED Mach 2 speed, even today.👍
I love the shot of the fight crew in the cockpit, donning their helmets in their blue uniforms, so you knew they were captains, then in the next shot, they are in flight suits.
The problem with the B-58, despite its high maintenance costs and difficult handling (fuel had to be shuttled carefully to match airspeed to keep the center of gravity correct), was that is was a single mission aircraft. All it could do was deliver a single nuke. That it. No conventional capability. It was designed in a time when the F-105 was made. Different time, different mission. Once the USSR developed high altitude SAMS and ICBMs, that was it. That said, it is hand down one of the sexiest aircraft ever built. To get Mach 2 performance out of a bomber, in the 50's, with its "package" hanging out for all to see was quite an achievement.
Michael Wilson ONE nuclear weapon makes a stronger statement than a dozen B-52s dropping a full load.
That's why she is wearing glasses.
I never knew this about Jimmy Stewart. Simply amazing. The video itself is simply awe inspiring. The hustler seems like it had a short lived history. Its appeal is still amazing to me. I never knew the history of such an awesome plane. The message it it sent when in service must of been very exact and to the point. Just amazing. Thank you for a great history lesson. I was born in 62 when this plane came out. I've been fascinated by it when I first saw a picture of it. To of been a pilot of a Hustler would of been the greatest job of all time.
hungrychowhound11612 huh...this plane was “ out “ years before 62 .
Sorry about that, your right. It did come way before 62. I guess I was making a reference to something else. At the time of the posting I had a lot of ideas running around I must of lost my train of thought. A simple error on my part. If I'm not mistaken, in the early 1950's I believe... regardless it's still a fascinating plane.
The engines were load speakers pointed backwards that ran on jet fuel.
real footage and sound, how lucky I m,many thanks for sharing
That is dang impressive piece of equipment!
"Well, gee... thanks... but what do you think of the B-58?" ~ Jimmy Stewart
@@chezsnailez Jim youre a helluva a man, especially paired with June Allyson. (You devil, you) And the Hustler was a helluva a piece of equipment.
What a great time. I was a little boy in elementary school. And the B58 was my favorite plane. I used to draw pictures of it fighting.
"if you can't find it, you can't hit it..."...oh, i know, jimmy...i've dated some BBWs myself in my time...
Zing!
jnordne2. Porn Hub?
I saw one parked at Chanute Air Force base in 1979. Static display. "Greased Lightning" Such an impressive plane. S.A.C. forever!
B-58's make great decorations for AFB gates! They had a unique problem in that if they tried to drop their nukes at mach 2+, the bombs would be carried along in the shock wave made by the plane....the B-58 had to slow down to drop!
Wow! At 21;30, I had a flashback to "FailSafe!" B-58's were the planes involved in that nail-biter.
But what a bird!
Yep, great movie (and book)....in the story they were called Vindicators I think....
Cliff Yablonski not really- You don't see the glareshield Greenhouse tinted plastic that real B-52's have there in front of the pilots in the film versions' B-52G cockpit.
I want a red button on my couch to play videos on my tv too. State-of-the-art tech.
Always loved this bomber, so sleek, fast, beautiful, to bad it didn't stay in service long but the BUFF seen to that.
+TheLeadSled I always thought this was one of the sexiest Jets ever made....It Just Looked Awesome.
But the Blackbird is another story.
As part of a treaty with the USSR, it was withdrawn from the inventory. (That's how scared of this weapon system the Soviets was.)
+William Phinizy and would that have been the JFK administration? Wonder what we gained from the USSR for pulling these birds off the line?
The F-111 replaced the B-58 and out-performed it in many ways.
@@warplanner8852 The B-58 was a marvelous, sleek looking aircraft but due to it's swept wing design and speed, it developed wing cracks that caused it to be withdrawn from active service.
I was stationed at Bunker Hill from May of 64- Dec of 65. In the 45th MMS on a neuclear weapons load crew. What memories.
this was just a stepping stone, things evolved quickly in those years.
this plane looks like a quick and dirty solution.
XB70 valkyrie now that was more high tech.
I love this stuff my dad was SAC retired now after 26 years of service I use to love riding my bike down to the run ways in the 1970s and watchung the bombers coming and going I could spend hours down there watching those planes
Watching this makes me want to watch "Strategic Air Command" again. (Though I doubt my wife does LoL)
I watched a RUclips channel by the name of 'Wonderhussey' she does travel blogs. She was looking around an abandoned B58 sat in the desert someplace. Well worth watching.
Jimmy Stewart rules. Such a classic actor and genuine hero like all WWII vets. All of them!