Please note that our logo is used on our website images only and does not appear on our products.
| Killer Bs by Stan Stokes.
High altitude strategic bombing played a major role during WW II, and in the Cold War era which followed long-range, high altitude, bombers would continue to be a focus area. The Convair B-36 represented a transitional aircraft between the WW II era aircraft and the supersonic jets that would follow. Convairs B-58 Hustler was extremely fast, but the downing of Gary Powers U-2 in 1960 pointed out the possible vulnerability of all high flying bombers despite their speed. The B-58 was phased out as cost ineffective, and the backbone of Americas manned strategic bomber force became the Boeing B-52. The B-52 has had an unprecedented life span. With improved avionics and the ability to launch cruise missiles hundreds of miles away from the ultimate target, the B-52 remained viable for decades longer than expected. The Rockwell B-1 bomber, the aircraft planned to replace the aging B-52, had a very long and controversial gestation period. The B-1 was planned to thwart Soviet air defenses by carrying a nuclear payload to its target at treetop levels and at speeds in excess of 900-MPH. Originally conceived in 1965 the initial procurement contract was awarded in 1970 with the first flight occurring in 1974. At one point 244 B-1 Lancers were planned, but the B-1 program was cancelled during the Carter Administration with only five aircraft completed. In 1982, the B-1 was resurrected during President Reagans term. One hundred aircraft, at a cost of $28 billion (or $280 million each) were ordered. The first operational B-1 reached the Strategic Air Command in 1985. One hundred of these large aircraft have been produced. With an extended wingspan of 137 feet the B-1B is capable of operating from shorter airfields than normal, and with its wings in their fully swept position the aircraft can reach speeds approaching Mach 1.5. The B-1 can carry a whopping weapons load of more than 60 tons. It can fly at very low altitude and launch multiple cruise missiles at targets hundreds of miles away. The B-1 was the worlds most expensive aircraft at the time of its production, but that title now belongs to the B-2 stealth bomber, which costs almost 9 times that of a B-1, or upwards of $2.5 billion a copy. Compared to the B-1 , the smaller Northrop B-2 uses technology to hide itself from opposing air defenses. The B-2 has many similarities to the line of flying wings pioneered by Jack Northrop in the 1940s. The B-1 Lancer was first utilized in combat during bombing raids against Iraq. Reconfigured to carry convention weapons the B-1s typically carries up to 84 Mk-82 nonprecision bombs plus 30 anti-tank cluster bombs. This allowed the B-1 to attack Iraqi tank battalions with devastating results. B-1s were utilized in Yugoslavia, as is the B-2, which was first used in combat in March of 1999 - flying, non-stop from Missouri to Yugoslavia to bomb key Serbian military command and control targets.
VIEW ALL STAN STOKES AVIATION ART
VIEW ALL LANCER AIRCRAFT ART
VIEW ALL STEALTH AIRCRAFT ART
|