Defensive Systems and Electronics

The Emerson MD-7 radar for the tail gun was located in a bullet fairing above the tail cone. The MD-7 radar was a Ku-band unit. Data from the radar was fed to a computer mounted directly behind the gun and was then relayed electromechanically to the gun itself. Mach number and relative air density information were automatically supplied to the fire control system by the air data computer. The gun was aimed remotely by the fire control system in the tail, but there was a radar (automatic) fire control panel and a manual fire control panel located at the DSO's station, and the gun was actually fired by a button located there.

A total of 1200 rounds could be carried. Ammunition was drawn from a box in the fuselage just forward of the turret. The firing zone was any target within a 30-degree cone. During firing, spent ammunition shells were ejected through a ventral door.

The defensive electronic countermeasures system provided an early warning of the presence of enemy radar systems and could be used to deceive, confuse or jam them. The system consisted of AN/ALR-12 radar warning equipment and an AL/ALQ-16 radar track breaking equipment. An AN/ALE-16 chaff dispensing system was installed in each upper main gear fairing, with chaff being ejected through mechanically-actuated slots in the tops of each wing fairing. The AN/ALQ-16 radar track breaker was a repeater type jammer that generated deceptive radar jamming signals as a function of RF energy received from enemy tracking radars. When tracking radar signals were received, the track breaker generated and transmitted deceptive angle and range information, causing the tracking radar servo system to generate false antenna positioning information which in turn caused the tracking radar to compute false range information.

The aircraft was equipped with a Raytheon Ku-band (16-17 GHz) search radar. There was also a daytime-nighttime Lollsman Instruments KS-39 astro-tracker which automatically tracked a preset celestial body via a photocell mounted in a telescope and was so designed that it held the observed body in the center of the field of view.

The navigation/bombing system was the Sperry AN/ASQ-42 system. This system consisted of six major subsystems.

1. An aft-fuselage mounted AN/APN-113 Doppler radar which determined the ground velocity of the aircraft and also calculated airspeed and wind.
2. The heading subsystem including the astro-tracker and the remote compass transmitter which determined the true heading of the aircraft.
3. A navigation subsystem which continuously computed the latitude and longitude of the aircraft.
4. A sighting subsystem which consisted of the nose-mounted search radar and radio altimeter which established the position of the aircraft relative to a given point on the Earth.
5. An indicator subsystem which contained controls used by the navigator and pilot in the operation of the primary navigation system. In addition, it generated the pod release signal during the bombing run.
6. A malfunction system used to detect failures in the primary navigation system while also providing for alternative methods for completing the mission.

The primary navigation systems were provided by Bendix and Motorola. It was basically a Doppler inertial system using the astro-tracker for a primary heading reference. While en route, the position and course were continually computed by a precise dead reckoning system. Periodic search radar sightings were used to check the accuracy of the dead reckoning, and corrections were made as necessary.

Midway through its operational career, the B-58 was also fitted with a voice warning system with a pre-recorded female voice that would inform the crew when an emergency was taking place. After consulting with psychologists, it was determined that a female voice would "cut through" normal communications in a more effective manner in the event of an emergency. Of course, the all-male crews affectionately referred to the disembodied female voice as "the bitch", because she never had anything good to say! Every major event from an engine fire to a hydraulic failure was included in the set of events, and a total of 20 emergencies could be programmed into the system from 50 inputs.

The Magnavox communication system provided a means of crew intercommunication, plus normal and emergency air-to-air and air-to-ground communication. In an interesting throwback to a bygone era, there was a primitive pulley system installed to physically carry a note from crew station to crew station in the event of a failure of the interphone. An AN/APX-47 IFF system was installed. Also included were AN/ARN-69 TACAN, AN/ARN-50 VHF navigation equipment, as well as AN/APN-136 and AN/APN-135 beacons.

Offensive Systems and the Pod The TB-58A Trainer Operational History Aftermath Reconnaissance Testbed ALBM Proposed Origin and Development Fuselage Structure and Crew Stations Engines and Fuel System Wings, Tail, Control Systems and Landing Gear Defensive Systems and Electronics

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