B-58A Hustler by Testors/Italeri

1/72 scale
Kit No. 694
Retail: $40.00
Decals: Two versions – 1) 43rd Bombardment Wing, Little Rock AFB, 1968; 2) unnamed unit based at Eglin AFB, 1967-68
Comments: Engraved panel lines, detailed cockpits feature unique clamshell ejection seats and interior sidewall detail, optional position cockpit doors

History

When it entered service with the U.S. Air Force in March 1960, the Convair B-58 Hustler was the world’s first supersonic bomber, capable of exceeding Mach 2. Developed as a nuclear deterrent during the Cold War, the Hustler set numerous speed and altitude records but never saw combat. With the arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union becoming more intense in the late 1950’s, Soviet jet interceptors and surface-to-air missiles were a greater threat to American bombers than ever before. The Hustler was a critical part of America’s nuclear deterrence during perhaps the most turbulent period of the Cold War, with the U-2 Incident, the downing of an American spy plane over Russia, occuring just four months after the B-58 entered service.

The Hustler was a direct successor to the B-47 Stratojet, and represented such cutting edge technology that it was only deployed to U.S. air bases. The advent of aerial refueling and the growing concerns of U.S. allies about having aircraft designed for nuclear strikes based on their soil influenced the decision about where to base the B-58. Convair’s first strategic bomber was the B-36 Peacemaker which fulfilled the role of America’s main strategic bomber from its introduction in 1948 through much of the 1950’s. It’s long range allowed the B-36 to carry hydrogen bombs across oceans. But the introduction of the MiG-15, designed specifically to bring down American bombers, posed a lethal threat to the slow-moving B-36.

The Hustler bore no resemblance to the Peacemaker. Delta-winged with four huge engines, the B-58 could exceed Mach 2 while carrying a combination nuclear weapon/fuel tank slung under its belly. Launched from U.S. bases and supported by a ring of orbiting KC-135 tankers, the B-58 could penetrate Soviet airspace at high speed and high altitude, evading Soviet interceptors and delivering its nuclear load to a variety of different targets. During its brief career it set no less than 19 absolute records for speed, altitude and payload. B-58s also won five different aviation trophies, including the Bendix and Mackay trophies.

The B-58 was developed in the era before the great nuclear powers relied upon ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) in the event of war. ICBM’s, the most destructive weapons in history, were being developed in the mid- to late 1950’s but had not yet come online. Anyone familiar with the 1960’s films Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove knows that military planners of the era on both sides relied on jet bombers to penetrate enemy air defenses and deliver nuclear weapons to their assigned targets. In this environment, the U.S. Air Force needed advanced Mach-capable strategic bombers fast enough to penetrate Soviet airspace, evade state-of-the-art jet interceptors and surface-to-air missiles alike, and get through to deliver their nuclear payload.

Like many of the early delta wing aircraft, the Hustler was a monster to fly. It had eccentric landing, take-off, stall and spin characteristics, which pilots often struggled to master. The Hustler also had an ambitious set of controls that did not always accord with the experience and capabilities of its pilots. The maintenance demands of the aircraft, which had many specialized systems, were also extremely high. All of this led to a startling accident rate. Twenty-six of the 116 Hustlers were lost to accidents, resulting in a total loss rate of 22.4 percent over a service life of ten years. Although many aircraft in the early years of jet aviation suffered high accident rates, the Hustler stood out as one of the worst offenders, especially given the high unit cost. This was a major factor in the B-58’s early retirement.

The Hustler was never deployed to Vietnam; a Mach 2 bomber was not needed in Southeast Asia, and in light of its advanced technology, high-maintenance reputation and unusually high accident rate, it would not have been a logical choice. It continued in its nuclear deterrent role while the older B-52 dropped conventional ordnance on North Vietnam.

Although the Air Force emphasized the need for a high-performance penetration bomber, it never particularly loved the B-58. General Curtis Lemay, leader of Strategic Air Command, effectively exploited the B-58’s shortcomings to argue for the B-70 Valkyrie, an even faster, higher flying bomber that would replace the B-52. For good or ill, however, the B-70 fell victim to the same forces as the B-58, including a Secretary of Defense (Robert McNamara) who was convinced that high altitude SAMs and fast, missile-carrying interceptors would render the bomber obsolete.

The moment when ICBM’s became the weapon of choice for all-out war between East and West was probably the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. Jet bombers at that time had already become the secondary weapons, since an ICBM could reach and destroy a target in a fraction of the time it would take even a supersonic bomber to fly there, although both sides continued to deploy them for decades. But when the B-58 entered service in 1960, it was the tip of the spear. In addition to the Hustler’s delta wing shape, distinctive features included a sophisticated inertial guidance navigation and bombing system, a slender “wasp-waist” fuselage and an extensive use of heat-resistant honeycomb sandwich skin panels in the wings and fuselage. Since the thin fuselage prevented the carrying of bombs internally, a two-component pod that could be jettisoned was carried beneath the fuselage containing a nuclear weapon — along with extra fuel, reconnaissance equipment or other specialized gear. The B-58 crew consisted of a pilot, navigator/bombardier and defense systems operator.

Enter Convair’s B-58 Hustler
Design work on the B-58 began in early 1949 when the Air Force’s Air Research and Development Command issued a proposal for design studies for a supersonic bomber. After eliminating several other proposals, the USAF issued Convair a development contract in 1952. Four years later, the B-58 took its first flight on November 11, 1956. It would be another four years before it entered service due to its many advanced systems and the need to identify and work out the “bugs” inherent in any aircraft incorporating multiple new features, each of them representing advanced technology. No less than 18 pre-production aircraft were built and tested for that purpose.

Two of the most novel features were the encapsulated “clamshell” ejection seats and the fuselage weapons pod. The ejection seats were designed to close clamshell-like, completely containing individual crew members so that they could be ejected from the plane and any speed or any altitude.

With a small window in the front of the pilot’s capsule and the control yoke protruding into it, the plane could be flown from within the pilot’s capsule before separating from the aircraft. Each seat was buoyant should it come down in water, and held enough survival equipment and provisions to keep a man alive for one week. The use of the under-belly pod gave the B-58 almost unlimited stores capability. Pods could be configured as missiles, bombs, photo-reconnaissance platforms, fuel tanks, passenger compartments, gun bays, research facilities, or any variation of combination thereof.

During its long development period its potential operational environment changed. With the shoot-down of CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers’ U-2 reconnaissance plane over the Soviet Union in 1960, the Air Force was put on notice of the Soviet Union’s continuously improving radar and anti-aircraft defenses. This would eventually lead to a switch in the Hustler’s mission profile from high-altitude penetration of Soviet airspace to low-altitude penetration.

Despite its remarkable performance, the B-58 Hustler was in active service with Strategic Air Command for only 10 years, from 1960 to 1970. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered the B-58 fleet retired in 1965, which the Air Force completed by 1970. The Hustler spent just a decade in service. Its mission shifted back to the B-52, which could conduct low-altitude penetrations into Soviet airspace much more effectively than the Hustler. The conventional bombing role of the traditional medium bomber shift to the fighter-bomber, first the FB-111 Aardvark (an aircraft with its own long set of struggles), and then multi-mission fighters such as the F-15, F-16, and (eventually) the F-35. The advent of precision-guided munitions meant that weapons load no longer dictated the effectiveness of a bomber.

The B-58s most lasting contribution came in popular culture, where its futuristic, dangerous appearance made it attractive to artists and directors. Most famously, a group of B-58s (redubbed the “Vindicator”) destroyed Moscow in the 1964 film Fail-Safe. Mistakenly ordered to attack Moscow, the bombers evaded Soviet air defenses and dropped their nuclear payloads, forcing the President of the United States to order the destruction of New York to prevent all-out nuclear war.

The trend of precision guided anti-aircraft weapons continued throughout the decade and led to the downing of scores of American aircraft over North Vietnam with Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missiles. These developments altered the B-58’s mission profile to one of low-altitude penetration, but it had been designed specifically to operate at high altitude, and ultimately could not be successfully adapted to the low-altitude role. Fortunately, the B-58 never had to go to war, but it remains an unmistakable icon of Cold War aviation.

Specifications

Armament: One 20mm cannon in tail; nuclear weapons in pod or on under-wing pylons
Engines: Four General Electric J79s of 15,000 lbs. thrust each (with afterburner)
Maximum speed: 1,325 mph
Range: 4,400 miles without aerial refueling
Ceiling: 64,800 ft.
Span: 56 ft. 10 in.
Length: 96 ft. 10 in.
Height: 31 ft. 5 in.
Weight: 163,000 lbs. maximum

The Kit

Testors/Italeri’s B-58 Hustler is injection molded in silver grey plastic and consists of 120 parts, including six clear parts for the windscreen and windows. The kit features engraved panel lines and cockpits that faithfully recreate the clamshell ejection seats. The fuselage halves each bear raised detail for the cockpit sidewalls. There is an option to display the overhead cockpit doors open or closed, and the instructions bear a reminder to add a nose weight (at least 1/ ounce) before sealing up the fuselage.

The initial impression one gets upon opening the box is of the B-58’s great size. The fuselage is over 12.5 inches long, minus the nose cone. While the massive weapons pod is carried on the center line of the B-58’s belly, there is an option for additional external stores (bombs) to be carried beneath each wing, inboard of the main landing gear. If modeler’s select this option, it will be necessary to open up corresponding holes in the lower wing parts.

The four J79 turbojet engines feature intake cones and burner cans, and the landing gear are quite well detailed. The weapons pod consists of seven parts, including a separate nose cone and four tail fins. The instructions call out paint colors in the Testors line, but also make reference to Federal Standard colors.

Markings

The kit decals are manufactured by ScaleMaster, and have realistic color, clear resolution, and are fully in register with a nice satin finsh. They provide for two different versions of the B-58A. The first is for an aircraft of the 43rd Bombardment Wing based at Little Rock AFB, Arksansas in 1968. This B-58 appears in overall Aluminum with Gull Grey ailerons and the rear half of each jet engine nacelle in Steel.

The second version is for a B-58A based at Eglin AFB, in the Florida panhandle near Pensacola during 1967-68 although according to the instructions the paint scheme dates from 1970. This B-58 appears in a camouflage scheme of Dark Green, Blueish Green, and Greenish Tan over Gloss Black undersurfaces. There is little information on this aircraft, but its paint scheme indicates a role of night intruder; as it was based in Florida, it may have been deployed for some classified operation against Cuba or another part of Latin America.

Conclusion

This is a sleek and impressive kit of the most iconic strike aircraft of the Cold War. Its engraved panel lines and supplemental ordnance are welcome refinements, as is the option to display the cockpits in the open position. One big attraction of this kit is the reputation of both Testors and Italeri for producing kits that do not confront modelers with major construction headaches. As for the aircraft the kit represents, the B-58 was a widely known symbol of American airpower of the 1960’s, its role at that point in history cemented by at least two memorable Cold War films. It is ironic that, as futuristic looking as it was, the B-58 Hustler was essentially a design of the 1950’s. Very highly recommended.

References

• www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org
• https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil
• www.nationalinterest.org
• Kit instructions