4 Key Points on B-58 Hustler – The Convair B-58 Hustler was the U.S. Air Force’s first operational supersonic bomber, a Mach 2 marvel that set 19 world speed and altitude records during its brief career.
-Despite its incredible performance, the B-58 was ultimately a strategic failure.
-Its high-altitude attack profile was quickly rendered obsolete by sophisticated new Soviet surface-to-air missiles.
-Plagued by a high accident rate and exorbitant operating costs compared to the B-52, the Hustler was retired in 1970 after only a decade of service, having never once flown in combat.
The B-58 Hustler Was All Looks and No Success?
To movie buffs, The Hustler is a 1961 motion picture directed by Robert Rossen and starring Paul Newman, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott, Jackie Gleason, and Myron McCormick. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards.
To Cold War military veterans and military aviation history buffs, though, “the Hustler” has an added historical meaning: The B-58 Hustler was the U.S. Air Force’s first operational supersonic bomber.
B-58 Hustler Initial History
The B-58 was built by the now-defunct Convair Division of General Dynamics, which was also famous for producing the F-106 Delta Dart interceptor and the massive B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber (the largest mass-produced piston-engine aircraft ever built).
Planned as a replacement for the B-47 Stratojet – America’s first strategic jet bomber – the Hustler made her maiden flight on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, 1956. The B-58 was officially introduced into operational service with the Air Force on March 15, 1960.
A total of 116 B-58 airframes were built: 30 test and pre-production aircraft, and 86 specimens for operational service.
B-58 Technical Specifications and Vital Stats
Crew: Three: A pilot,a radar navigator/bombardier, and a defense systems operator
Fuselage Length: 96 feet, 9 inches
Wingspan: 56 feet, 10 inches
Height: 29 feet, 11 inches at the tail
Empty weight: 55,560 lb.
Max Takeoff Weight: 163,000 lb.
Powerplant: 4 x General Electric J79-GE-5A afterburning turbojets generating 15,000 lbs. of thrust each (with afterburner)
Max Airspeed: Mach 2.0 (1,319 miles per hour)
Ferry Range: 4,400 nautical miles
Combat Range: 1,740 nautical miles
Rate of Climb: 17,400 ft/min
Armament: Max payload capacity of 19,450 lbs. (1x Mark 39 or B53, or 4× B43 or B61 nuclear bombs); one 20 mm cannon in tail
The Hustler’s J79 was the first GE engine designed for supersonic aircraft, and it was the most advanced turbojet of its time.
Distinctive features of the Hustler included a delta wing shape; a sophisticated inertial guidance navigation and bombing system; a slender “wasp-waist” fuselage; and extensive use of heat-resistant honeycomb sandwich skin panels in the wings and fuselage.
Operational History
Alas, for all of the Hustler’s impressive capabilities, the warbird never saw combat. The bomber was stymied by mechanical issues and the changing capabilities of adversary aerial defenses. As noted by David Cenciotti, former Italian Air Force officer and founder and editor of The Aviationist, “The phaseout of the fleet was ordered at the end of 1965, when the Soviets introduced highly accurate surface-to-air missiles and it was felt that the Hustler’s high-altitude attack profile could no longer guarantee success against increasingly sophisticated Soviet air defenses.
“Moreover, the aircraft was substantially more expensive to operate than other bombers, such as the (almost immortal) Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, and also suffered from a high rate of accidental losses.”
That said, during the B-58’s relatively brief career, the warbird set 19 world speed and altitude records, earning five different aviation trophies for its aircrews along the way.
In addition, the plane gained a wee bit of filmic fame, thanks to the 1964 nuclear-war suspense thriller Fail Safe. Therein, the B-58 portrays the “Vindicator,” a fictitious bomber inadvertently tasked with dropping the bomb on Moscow.
The Air Force retired the B-58 on Jan. 31, 1970.
We Got Within Inches of a Real B-58 Hustler Bomber
Of the 116 Hustlers built, eight specimens have been preserved for posterity. One of them, a B-58 bearing Tail No. 59-2458 and with the nickname “Cowtown Hustler,” sits proudly the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in the vicinity of Dayton, Ohio.
Cowtown Hustler set three speed records while flying from Los Angeles to New York and back on March 5, 1962. For this effort, the crew received the Bendix and Mackay Trophies that year. The airframe was donated to the museum in December 1969.
As luck would have it, National Security Journal’s own intrepid editor in chief, Mr. Harry Kazianis, had the honor and privilege of visiting the USAF Museum and getting multiple good photos and video of the B-58A display. We present them here for your viewing pleasure.
More B-58 Hustler Bomber. Image Credit: Harry J. Kazianis/National Security Journal.
Top of B-58 Hustler Bomber. Image Credit: Harry J. Kazianis/National Security Journal.
Side Angle of B-58 U.S. Air Force Museum. Image Credit: Harry J. Kazianis/National Security Journal.
B-58 Hustler in the Air Force Museum. Image Credit: National Security Journal.
B-58 Hustler Bomber National Security Journal Photo All Rights Reserved.
Other museum options include:
–Tail No. 55-0663, a TB-58A (trainer version) at Grissom Air Museum, Grissom Air Reserve Base, Peru, Indiana. This is the oldest remaining Hustler – the fourth ever built.
–Tail No, 61-2080 at the Pima Air & Space Museum, adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona. This was the last B-58 ever to be delivered.
–Tail No. 61-2059 “Greased Lightning” at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum near Ashland, Nebraska. This Hustler earned her page in the history books by averaging 938 nautical mph while flying 8,028 nautical miles from Tokyo to London in 8 hours and 35 minutes in October 1963.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU).
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