Convair Hustler's evolution: B-58B art

[archipeppe]

The B-58 was conceived as conventional bomber for USAF, it was essentially a stretched version of the B-58A (5 feet) with four GE J79-9 engines, extended wing and tail surfaces and small canards.
It was cancelled during 1959, if built probably any FB-111 and B-1A would be realized...

 

[foiling]

Beautiful drawing: again thanks Archipeppe.

 

[PlanesPictures]

very nice, but are you really sure - is this design of B-58B? It is very important for me. I want to start huge project where B-58B will have important role and its real design is for me still open matter due to more different sources

 

[archipeppe]

very nice, but are you really sure - is this design of B-58B? It is very important for me. I want to start huge project where B-58B will have important role and its real design is for me still open matter due to more different sources

Sure enough to spent time (several days of work) to draw it....

 

[PlanesPictures]

Then thank you very much

 

[yasotay]

At the risk of appearing to be overly critical, it would appear that the delta canards would run right through the fore part of the Navigator or weapons officers cabin space. Just a thought having been around those insidious aerospace engineers who ruin all of my ideas for sensible aircraft. ;D

 

[Michel Van]

At the risk of appearing to be overly critical, it would appear that the delta canards would run right through the fore part of the Navigator or weapons officers cabin space. Just a thought having been around those insidious aerospace engineers who ruin all of my ideas for sensible aircraft. ;D

let take a look on this Convair illustration

for the rest here http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,4471.0.html

 

[Orionblamblam]

That doesn't really match what I've got for the "B-58B." The artwork from the FISH report matches the "B-58B (Early)" display model on page 144 of Jay Miller's B-58 book, with new engines, beefed-up tail and small canards, but not the drooping wingtips. Same page of Miller also presents a three-view of "B-58B Dimensional Data" which has a stretched fuselage, new engines and leading edge root extensions, but stock tail and no canards. Page 146 shows a model of the B-58MI which has the drooping wingtips, but normal tail and fuselage except for side-by-side seating in the cockpit.

 

[PlanesPictures]

I have that book at home, too and I thought the same three-view drawing.

And what about old good German system -B1, -B2, ... -BN? Maybe realy more B designs were presented

 

[jstar]

In 'From Rainbow to Gusto' (alas, not with me as I write ) the meeting in which the B-58B proposal is presented to LeMay is described.


The B-58B as mentioned has the side-by-side cockpit, which is mentioned as being what LeMay wanted. Reportedly, when Convair told LeMay he would have to buy three more wings of B-58's, he stormed out of the room, and that was that.


Perhaps, someday, we will find out just what that proposal looked like. I'm guessing the B-58MI as in Millers book, but without the drooping wing tips.

 

[archipeppe]

I wanna thanks all the folks for the comments, any other bit of information is always welcomed.

I've also found that all the B-58B's description are somewhat confusing and don't match all together, anyway I'm willing to update or modify the enclosed drawing if further detail regarding the latest approved design will come up in future.

 

[jstar]

While re-reading Miller's book on the B-58, I found the following:


"1957-ln March, a Model Improved B-58 was proposed as a "split mission" aircraft. In this configuration, the fuselage was extended 8'; one crew station was eliminated and the two remaining crew members were placed side-by-side; the design gross weight was increased to 185,400 lbs. maximum; fuel load was increased to 116,800 lbs; wing area was increased to 1,581 sq.ft, and the wingtips were made foldable. Additionally, the aircraft was equipped with a more powerful ECM package and General Electric X-207's (advanced J79's) for propulsion. One interesting feature of the growth version was the proposed use of jettisonable outboard nacelles. This was designedto increase the B-58MI range performance. The B-58MI was eventually referred to as the B-58B (see 1958)."

and

"1958-During the spring, the Model Improved B-58 as proposed by Convair was revised and presented as the B-58B. In this configuration, the
aircraft had nose mounted canards and more powerful J79-GE-19 engines."


In November of 2010, OBB posted a picture on his blog of a B-58 variant that is probably closest to the 'B' of any illustration so far, and appears to closely resemble the first quote above.

 

[CaseyKnight]

From what I remember, the early B-58B had a canard which was later replaced with a double delta. The B-58MI was a different aircraft that had a windscreen that almost resembled the F-111

 

[codeone]

We cleaned up that illustration for our FISH article. See it here:

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/images/media/13_B58B_rationale_2_1267828237_5861.jpg

--C1

 

[jstar]

From the Saturday Evening Post of long ago, the B-58B in a low level attack :

 

[Orionblamblam]

I believe that's promo art for the movie "Failsafe."

 

[jstar]

That's the October 13, 1962 cover from the 'Saturday Evening Post',


http://www.coverbrowser.com/covers/saturday-evening-post/43


The movie didn't come out until 1964. Don't think that art was ever used for the movie promos ( could be wrong) but that cover image has stayed with me since it first came out.

 

[pathology_doc]

Brings back the line from film and book about making the run-in at 5000ft (though that picture looks even lower). In this day and age it would be more like FIFTY feet.

 

[starviking]

That's the October 13, 1962 cover from the 'Saturday Evening Post',


http://www.coverbrowser.com/covers/saturday-evening-post/43


The movie didn't come out until 1964. Don't think that art was ever used for the movie promos ( could be wrong) but that cover image has stayed with me since it first came out.

And as the cover states, the serialization of the Fail Safe novel starts in that issue.

 

[F-14D]

That's the October 13, 1962 cover from the 'Saturday Evening Post',


http://www.coverbrowser.com/covers/saturday-evening-post/43


The movie didn't come out until 1964. Don't think that art was ever used for the movie promos ( could be wrong) but that cover image has stayed with me since it first came out.

And as the cover states, the serialization of the Fail Safe novel starts in that issue.

And weren't those supposed to be depicting the stories "Vindicator" bombers? At the time the novelist and artist would be unlikely to know of the B-58B proposal, and maybe what we see here is a fortuitous coincidence resembling the B-58B. Blurry B-58 exterior clips were used in the movie 'cause it was the coolest, yet most menacing looking bomber around at the time.

 

[GeorgeA]

In the novel, the Vindicator is described as an intermediate step between the current (1962) force and the RS-70, although it had long-range low-level supersonic performance.

 

[jstar]

Yeah, I knew they were called 'Vindicators' in the novel and the art work is maybe coincidence ( or inspired:the B-58B was proposed in 1957-58, and art work for the proposed C was published in AvWeek in 1960 if not earlier,so..), but much as the F-102 morphed into the F-106, with corresponding name change, I'm gonna believe the 'Vindicator' was a B-58B so transfigured it needed a new name, but is still a B-58B in its heart.

 

[Orionblamblam]

And now, with even less accuracy...

 

[pathology_doc]

@ GeorgeA - interesting. I've read the novel as a stand-alone (it was a hardback, so possibly even a first edition) - and as I recall, the foreword doesn't mention what the Vindicators are derived from, save that the technology in the book was derived by taking current weapon systems (at the time the book was written) and extrapolating their performance. I accept that any authors' notes tied directly to the serialisation - or an updated foreword in a later edition - could well have put things in a more specific context.

 

[starviking]

[And weren't those supposed to be depicting the stories "Vindicator" bombers? At the time the novelist and artist would be unlikely to know of the B-58B proposal, and maybe what we see here is a fortuitous coincidence resembling the B-58B. Blurry B-58 exterior clips were used in the movie 'cause it was the coolest, yet most menacing looking bomber around at the time.

It could just be the case that the artist was copying the B-58 as a time/ thought saver and added in canards to 'add originality'.