Convair’s remarkable B-58 Hustler was supposed to be a supersonic replacement for the B-52, but its high cost saw it retired after less than 10 years.

During the Cold War, America was pushing the limits of what military aviation could do. One way it did this was to create the Convair B-58 Hustler. A supersonic bomber designed to replace the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. While the huge B-58 looked promising on paper, the reality is that it was a huge letdown. In fact, it may have been the worst bomber ever flown by the US Air Force.

A terrible accident rate, a huge operating cost and problems at low altitude meant the B-58 was really no better than the B-52. As such, after barely ten years in service the B-58 was quietly retired. Yet the B-52 continues to fly in service to this very day.

The Convair B-58 Was A Supersonic Replacement For The Boeing B-52

Even though the Boeing B-52 was still relatively new, the US Air Force was looking for something that could outperform it. The Air Force wanted something that could outrun interceptors from the Soviet Union. Plus, fly at high altitudes and drop its payload quickly before escaping at speed. Convair would win the contract over rivals including Boeing and North American. The first flight of the B-58 would be on November 11th 1956. And it would become the world’s first bomber capable of Mach 2 flight.

Powering the B-68 were four General Electric J79-GE-5A afterburning turbojets. These would give the B-58 a maximum speed of 1,319 mph or Mach 2.0, the bomber achieving the aim set out by the US Air Force. However, while the early signs were promising, reality would soon set in for the Air Force. The B-58 would prove to have a somewhat negligible advantage over the B-52. The bomber would enter service in March 1960, but less than ten years later, the B-58’s retirement came, in January 1970. All this while the B-52 remained in frontline service with the US Air Force.

Convair’s B-58 Was Very Expensive To Operate

The Air Force soon found out that the B-58 was tricky to fly, and the three-man crew was always busy. And the overall performance levels while good, had some limitations. Firstly, there B-58 carried a much smaller weapon load compared to the proven B-52. And it had been an expensive project for Convair and the Air Force. Much like the later F-22 Raptor. The total program cost was $3 billion, a staggering $22 billion in today’s money. More shocking though was how expensive the bomber was to operate. The earlier B-47 from Boeing cost just $361 per flying hour. The B-52 was more expensive at $1,025 per flying hour.

But the B-58 was more expensive still. It cost $1,440 per flying hour to operate the large bomber. All this while carrying less payload, and being more taxing on the crews. More staggering was the fact that two operation wings of B-58s, with 39 aircraft per wing, equaled the cost of six wings of B-52s, although they had 15 aircraft each. Although, this was still 78 B-58s compared to 90 B-52s. The Air Force then could have an extra 12 aircraft, with a bigger payload, at the same cost of less B-58s. It was clear that despite its speed advantage, the B-58 had more cons than pros.

The B-58 Had A High Accident Rate In Service

More of a worry for the B-58 was the high accident rate that it suffered in service. The aircraft suffered many losses, with 26 lost during accidents in its service life. That was a loss of 22.4% of the total production number of the B-58. What made it worse was that more than half of the losses occurred during flight tests. Not during any operational sorties. Not only were lives lost in accidents, but hugely expensive aircraft as well. This all added up to an air of unease about the aircraft within the Air Force.

Just two SAC bomb wings would operate the B-58 during its service life. Several issues surrounding the B-58 would get resolved. And the aircraft soon worked up a solid reputation. However, the threat of Soviet surface-to-air missiles added another problem for the B-58. When the B-58 switched to low level flying, the aircraft couldn’t fly at supersonic speeds thanks to dense air. The aircraft’s range was also further reduced.

The B-58 Was Quietly Retired After Barely Ten Years Of Service

The B-58 did have several high-profile allies within the US Air Force. But they were all effectively overruled by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. The last B-58s were quietly retired from service in January 1970. Just a couple of months before the aircraft’s ten-year service anniversary. The fleet was then placed into storage for several years, and most were sadly scrapped. Just eight B-58s survive today. Reminding us of how awesome the aircraft looked, while equally just how troubled it was in service. And after all that, the B-52 soldiers on in US Air Force service to this very day.