Blog Post #2 Supersonic Bombers Jonathan Smithers

For several decades in the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s the United States tried to develop a supersonic bomber. A large amount of the Air Force’s research money went to the development and testing of supersonic bombers. This is evidenced by three main programs; the B-58, the XB-70, and the B-1. I am only listing and talking about the aircraft that were specifically designed to be bombers, not Fighter-Bomber, like the FB-111. Each program laid the foundation for the next supersonic research project. The B-58 and the B-1 were the only two to make it into production; the XB-70 was canceled before it could make it out of the development stage.

The first and most produced supersonic bomber is the B-58 Hustler; this aircraft could fly at a maximum speed of Mach 2. It was designed to be so fast that by the time the Russians realized that it was there and had time to shoot a missile at it, it was already gone. The B-58 looks like a fighter, just a whole lot bigger. The entire program cost was approximately $2 billion, including the purchase of 116 of the aircraft.

The only supersonic bomber on this list to not make it out of development is the XB-70. The air force hoped that this would also fill in the same hole as the B-58. This aircraft again was designed to be gone before the Russians knew what was happening. The XB-70 reminds me of the BAC Concorde, which was a supersonic commercial airliner. The XB-70 also looks like the B-58 with a more stretched out neck.  XB-70 was powered by six jet engines that allowed it to fly at a maximum speed of Mach 3.1. The only surviving XB-70 is currently at the National Air Force Museum’s Research and Development hanger. The total program cost of the XB-70 was $1.5 billion and that was for only two planes. Out of the three aircraft on this list, it is by far the most expensive per plane.

The last and only one to currently still be in use, is the B-1 Lancer. The B-1A was originally developed in the 1970’s but was canceled but was canceled in 1977, because of the cost. The B-1A had a number of mechanical problems, including the wings cracking because of the force being exerted on them at supersonic speeds. The wings of the B-1 were designed to fold backwards in order to reduce the drag of the aircraft, thus increasing the speed of the aircraft. There were some weak links in this design and the wings had problems with cracking. The B-1 program was restarted in 1983 as the B-1B program. Under this program 100 B-1B’s were built for a total program cost of approximately $30 billion.

Each of these bombers has paved the way for future supersonic aircraft. They are each beautiful examples of the ingenuity of America. By the way, some of the development and flight testing of the XB-70 and B-1 was done at Wright-Patterson Air Force base.