B-58.com - The B-58 Hustler Page

History of the B-58

Offensive Systems and the Pod

The MB-1C pod was the standard free-falling unit that was carried underneath the B-58 fuselage on the centerline. It was basically a finned aerodynamic shell for a pair of fuel tanks plus a variable-yield thermonuclear bomb. The pod was 75 feet long with a diameter of about 5 feet. Empty weight was 2500 pounds without the fuel and the warhead, but when fully loaded with fuel and carrying the standard W39Y1-1 warhead it weighed 36,087 pounds. The pod was attached to the aircraft by three hooks. The pod had an equipment bay, a forward fuel tank, a bay for the thermonuclear weapon, an aft fuel tank, a tail cone and fins, plus an attachment pylon. The four fins were mounted at 45 degrees from the horizontal centerline and were slightly offset to give the pod a slow spin during free-fall. The warhead was fused by a set of barometric switches, set to trigger the weapon when the preset pressure was reached. Fuel and fuel pressurization disconnects released and closed instantly when the pod was released.

AN/ASH-15 Indirect Bomb Damage Assessment equipment was installed inside the aircraft to give continuous pod position data to the aircraft after pod release. This data was saved on an in-flight recorder inside the aircraft. At the time of warhead detonation, a photocell in the aircraft recorded the light intensity of the burst, and from the data recorded the yield, pressure altitude of the burst, the pod-to-aircraft range, and azimuth from aircraft could be determined.

Some MB-1C pods were modified to incorporate a Fairchild KA-56 camera in a forward compartment. When so modified, the pod was redesignated LA-1. The system consisted of the camera and magazine, a scanner and converter, a control panel, and associated air conditioning and electrical systems. The pod camera control panel was located at the navigator's position and replaced the weapons monitor and release panel when the photo-reconnaissance pod was installed.

The MB-1C pod had a relatively short service life because there were persistent problems with fuel leakage into the weapon bay. Several years of fighting with this problem lead to the introduction of the two-component pod.

The Two-Component Pod (or TCP) had the same overall profile as the older MB-1 and used the same attachment points. However, it was built in two separate sections. The TCP was actually two pods, an upper BLU 2/B-1 bomb pod and a lower BLU 2/B-2 fuel pod. The warhead unit could be retained while discarding the lower fuel pod.

The 35-foot long upper component contained two fuel tanks, separated by a warhead cavity. Maximum diameter was 3.5 feet. A pylon and three fins were fitted. Two of the fins were mounted on the sides of the pod at 30 degrees above the horizontal, and the third (lower) fin was retracted within the upper pod while the lower pod was still attached. It deployed automatically upon lower pod release. The gross weight of the upper component when equipped with maximum fuel and a Mk. 53 nuclear warhead was 11,970 pounds.

The lower component was also divided into two tanks separated by a common bulkhead. It was supported underneath the upper pod by one forward and one aft releaser. There were no fins, but a pivot strut was mounted on the aft end of the pod to facilitate proper separation from the aircraft during release. The large lower pod was expendable and was released during flight when all the fuel in both the upper and lower components was consumed. The bomb pod remained with the aircraft for release during the delivery run. The empty weight was 1900 pounds, whereas the gross weight was 26,000 pounds.

Both the MB-1 and the TCP remained in the active inventory until the end of the B-58 program. Because of its several advantages, the TCP was the preferred pod, but the MB-1 pod accommodated a much larger warhead.

Midway throughout its career, the B-58 was reconfigured to carry four Mk. 43 thermonuclear weapons on external pylons underneath the wings between the fuselage and the main landing gear bays. Two weapons were carried on either side of the fuselage in tandem. The Mk. 43 weapon was about 12 feet long, 1.5 feet in diameter, weighed about a ton, and had a variable yield of up to 1 megaton.

The MA-1C pod was a proposed rocket-propelled version of the MB-1 free-fall pod, designed to give the B-58 a stand-off capability. The pod was to be powered by a Bell Aerospace LR81-BA-1 rocket engine, fueled by a combination of JP-4 and red fuming nitric acid. The maximum range was expected to be 160 miles. During the flight to target, a maximum altitude of 108,000 feet and a maximum speed of Mach 4 was to be obtained. A Sperry guidance system was to control the pod during its flight to the target. The MA-1C pod was cancelled before it could be deployed.

The MC-1 was a proposed dedicated photo-reconnaissance pod. In 1953, the Fairchild Camera and Instrument Company was given a contract to develop a dedicated photo-reconnaissance pod for the B-58. The system could be installed within the standard MB-1C pod, and the only actual airframe modification would be the replacement of the package and bomb system equipment in the second crew station by photo-navigation equipment. The MC-1 was to have a multi-camera system consisting of three 36-inch format cameras installed in a stabilized mount, a tri-camera system consisting of 3 6-inch cameras, one 3-inch forward oblique camera, a camera control system, a nose-mounted television view finder, a fan of five 3-inch cameras, a Melpar recording system, a Sperry navigation system, and a Raytheon search radar scope camera. However, in early July of 1955, the reconnaissance pod was cancelled due to funding limitations. The program was reinstated in September of 1955, when funding was again made available. However, the program was cancelled for good in early 1958, after only one pod had been completed. This pod was never actually flown under a B-58, although 55-0671 had been scheduled as the testbed aircraft.

The MD-1 was a proposed electronic reconnaissance pod which used many of the shell components of the standard MB-1 free-fall pod. It was equipped with a wide range of electronic sensors to analyze and record all enemy radar signals that reached the aircraft. Only one example was actually completed, but it was never flown.