On February 12, 1953, the Air Force gave Convair a go-ahead to begin detailed Phase I work on the XB-58 and XRB-58. At this point, only the basic concept had been approved, not any detailed design. On March 20, the Air Force indicated its acceptance of a firm configuration with a 60-degree delta wing with the trailing edge swept forward by ten degrees. A small amount of leading edge camber was provided to reduce drag due to lift. The aircraft was to be powered by four General Electric J79 turbojet engines, with the two inboard units mounted on underwing pylons and the two outboard engines mounted on the wing upper surface.

In the meantime, the Strategic Air Command was unhappy with the B-58. At the end of 1954, Gen. Curtis LeMay, Commander-in-Chief of SAC noted that, 'after a thorough analysis of the B-58 program, it is concluded that the B-58 can not be developed to encompass sufficient radius of action and defensive capability required for an acceptable Strategic Bombardment Weapons System' and that the aircraft 'was ntot desired in the SAC inventory'. LeMay did note that the B-58 should possibly be continued as a purely developmental program, but he emphasized that a more conventional bomber would be preferred for the SAC intercontinental bombardment role.

SAC, even in consideration of LeMay's feelings toward the aircraft, remained relatively supportive and continued to think of the B-58 in terms of being a replacement for all or part of the Boeing B-47 fleet. SAC regarded the greatest advantages of the B-58 to be its small size and its ability to operate supersonically at high bomb delivery to operate supersonically at high bomb delivery altitudes. With one refuelling 2,500 miles from its takeoff in the 'zone of interior', it appeared to have sufficient range reserve for most targets.. The aircraft, SAC believed, would be dependent upon forward bases for deep penetration, but it could be operated as an intercontinental bomber on a limited basis in the event that advance bases were denied. All delivery was predicated on nuclear systems, and the B-58 would, in service, practice this at the peace-time rate of 40 flying hours monthly; and be utilized 106 hours monthly during time of war.

By july, 1956, construction of the prototype B-58, was now being revealed to the public as the world's first delta wing bomber and officially assigned AF serial no. 55-660, was well along. The name Hustler also was officially applied to the aircraft at this time, though somewhat surprisingly, it had been in use in-house at Convair and the AF since 1952. The AF later adopted Hustler as the program code word, and in later years, it became the aircraft's official name.

On June 11, 1959, the Air Force announced that it planned to purchase 290 B-58s, including the 30 pre-production and test aircraft. They would be used to equip a 5-wing force. It was anticipated that the first tactical wing would be ready in November of 1960

On november the 11th 1956, 55-0660 made its maiden flight, taking off from the Convair Fort Worth facilities at Carswell AFB, Texas. The underfuselage pod was not fitted, the maximum speed reached on the first flight was Mach 0.9. Supersonic flight was first achieved on December 30, at which time Mach 1.17 was attained.

The first combat-ready production aircraft (B-58 number 31, 59-2428) was ready in the spring of 1959. In the meantime, the B-58 program was in jeopardy. On July 14, 1959, General Thomas Power was informed by the Pentagon that there were insufficient funds to satisfy all of SAC's needs. There would have to be major cutbacks. By December of 1959, SAC had scaled back its plans and was now going to buy only 148 aircraft instead of 290. The cost of the 118 aircraft now scheduled through FY 1961 was estimated at about 3 billion dollars, which made each B-58 literally worth more than its weight in gold.

By mid-1960, the combination of a shortage of funds, competition from other weapons systems, and a variety of technological difficulties had combined to cause a delay in the B-58's initial deployment. Although the aircraft had been scheduled to become operational in June, it appeared that the first wing would not be activated until January of 1961. SAC was still planning on three B-58 wings, since they concluded that a small, fully operational B-58 force would force the Soviet Union to develop a fleet of Mach 2 interceptors that would cover all possible targets or accept the amount of destruction that a three-wing force could inflict. Most of the major targets west of the Urals would be vulnerable to an attack by refueled B-58s, with the B-52 and B-47 fleets providing mutual support for penetration of Soviet early warning and defense nets. With Mach 2 high altitude performance, the B-58 would greatly improve the overall strategic capability of SAC.

However, a third wing was never realised. The two wings were formed at Carswell AFB and Bunker Hill AFB. In January, 1960, the AF announced its decision to activate its first B-58 Wing. This was to be the 43rd Bomb Wing which, at that time, was still located at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ. The AF's intention was to move the 43rd from Davi-Monthan to Carswell starting March 1.

Five months after receiving its first aircraft, the 43rd entered its first bombing competition at Bergstrom AFB, TX. Held annually, the bomb meet was scored using a point system based on accuracy, timing, and a number of miscellaneous parameters. This was a highly competitive event featuring some of the very best bomber crews in the USAF. Somewhat miraculousy, the B-58's performance proved extraordinary- particulary in cosideration of the fact that it had been assigned for the 43rd for less than six months. Six B-47 crews and six B-52 crews gathered at Bergstrom AFB for the event.
The aircraft and its crews (the ground crew members wre special blue coveralls with gold lettering) eventually logged the best pair of radar bombing scores and the top individual high-level navigation run to accumulate a total of 1,046 points and place fifth overall (137 points behind the first place B-52 team). Two minor mechanical malfunctions, a broken spring in the tracking control lever and a jammed film magazine kept the aircraft from winning the competition outright.
It is interesting to note that one of the two B-58 teams in contention also set a 'scramble' record that may not have been superceded to this very day....the B-58 was 'rolling' in 2 minutes 10 seconds-almost half the time required for the rest of the competition aircraft.

SAC and the AF, in what was to become a highly successful effort to publicize the extraordinary performance capabilities of the B-58, in late 1960, elected to fund attempts to recapture a lengthy series of world absolute records held by the Soviet Union and older US aircraft.

One of the records was achieved on May 10, 1961, by 59-2451 of the 43rd BW, crewed by Maj. Elmer Murphy, Maj. Eugene Moses, and Lt. David Dickerson. After departing Edwards AFB, they flew a 669.4 mile (1,073 kilometer) closed course at an average speed of 1,302.07 mph for more than 30 minutes (the actual record setting time for the circuit was 30 minutes 43 seconds), thus winning outright the prestigious Bleriot Trophy.

Some two weeks later on May 26, 59-2451, nicknamed The Firefly of the 43rd BW, enroute to the 1961 Paris Airshow with Maj. William Payne, Capt. William Polhelmus, and Capt. Raymond Wagener as crew, set a New York-to-Paris speed record, covering the 3,626.46 statute miles in 3 hours 19 minutes and 58 seconds (average speed was approximately 1,089.36 mph). The crew was awarded the prestigious Mackay and Harmon Trophies for this flight. Sadly, the return flight crew, consisting of Maj. Elmer Murphy, Maj. Eugene Moses, and Lt. David Dickerson, the same crew that had won the Bleriot Trophy some two weeks earlier, crashed in 59-2451 on June 3, following departure from Le Bourget.

Another record was set on March 5, 1962, 59-2458 of the 43rd BW with Capt. Robert Sowers, Capt. Robert MacDonald, and Capt. John Walton as crew set a transcontinental speed record by flying non-stop from Los Angeles-to-New York and back again. The first leg, from Los Angeles to New York was completed in 2 hours 0 minutes and 56.8 seconds (the old record was 2 hours 47 minutes set by a McDonnell F4H-1) at an average speed of 1,214.71 mph. The return leg from New York to Los Angeles was completed in 2 hours 15 minutes48.6 seconds (the old record was 3 hours 36 minutes set by a McDonnell RF-101C) for an average speed of 1,081.77 mph. The total round trip time was 4 hours 41 minutes 11.3 seconds (the old record was 6 hours 46 minutes set by a McDonnell RF-101C) and the round trip average speed was 1,044.96 mph at a cruising altitude of approximately 50,000'. This record-setting flight won for its crew both the Bendix Trophy and the Mackay Trophy.

A final record setting flight was conducted on October 16, 1963, when 61-2059, assigned to the 305th BW and with Maj. Sidney Kubesch, Maj. John Barrett, and Capt. Gerard Williamson as crew, flew supersonically from Tokyo to London (RAF Greenham Common) during operation 'Greased Lightning'. Four days were spent at Kadena AFB, Okinawa preparing for the flight, and on October 16th, the mission was cleared for takeoff. The route included inflight refuellings between Tokyo (at which point the aircraft would accelerate to supersonic speeds) and the Aleutian Islands; over Shemya; over Anchorage, AK; near Thule, Greenland; and off the southeastern coast of Greenland. They set a new world record time of 8hr 35min 20sec flying 8,028 miles.

By the mid-1960's with its record-setting days behind it, operational use of the B-58 settled into a marginally routine service career that made it a functional and modestly effective weapon delivery system. By the end of 1963, AF crews had made over 10,500 flights and logged some 53.000 hours (1,150 supersonic including 375 at Mach 2).

However, SAC concerns over the B-58's viability as a weapons delivery vehicle , fueled by the aircraft's never-completely-overcome range limitations, advances in Soviet anti-aircraft capability, and its significantly higher than anticipated production, maintenance, and support costs, continued to plague its 'raison d'etre' throughout the latter half of the 1960's. And because of the B-58's unique (for a bomber) high speed capabilities and the dynamics of operating a heavy aircraft in that environment, there was every indication that the B-58 would, by the end of the 1960's, begin reaching the end of its airframe fatigue life.

Less noticeable, but just as important from a supportability standpoint , was the poor safety record image the B-58 had in SAC circles. Its accident record, though during the second half of the decade becoming fairly average, still haunted it. Flight test program and early operational career accidents had been numerous and spectacular, and because of this there was more than a slight residual dislike for the aircraft among SAC and AF hierarchy.

This led to an announcement on October 27, 1969, by then-Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird that stated cutbacks in military spending would force to reduction of operations at 307 military bases in the US and overseas, including Little Rock AFB and Grissom AFB. These two facilities would, though remaining intact as air bases, would lose their two wings of B-58's. The aircraft would, in fact, be removed from the inventory by January 31, 1970 and be scrapped.




resources: 'Convair B-58 Hustler, The World's First Supersonic Bomber' by Jay Miller (Aerofax, ISBN 1 85780 058 3). If you're interested in the Hustler, this book has got all the information you need...