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The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight.〔Wilson 2000, p. 38.〕 The aircraft was designed by Convair engineer Robert H. Widmer and developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the 1960s.〔Martin, Douglas. ("Robert H. Widmer, Designer of Military Aircraft, Dies at 95." ) ''The New York Times,'' 2 July 2011.〕 It used a delta wing, which was also employed by Convair fighters such as the F-102, with four General Electric J79 engines in pods under the wing. It carried five nuclear weapons; four on pylons under the wings, and one nuclear weapon and fuel in a combination bomb/fuel pod under the fuselage, rather than in an internal bomb bay. Replacing the Boeing B-47 Stratojet medium bomber, it was originally intended to fly at high altitudes and supersonic speeds to avoid Soviet fighters. The B-58 received a great deal of notoriety due to its sonic boom, which was often heard by the public as it passed overhead in supersonic flight.〔("B-58's Sonic Boom Rattles Kentuckians." ) ''Chicago Daily Tribune'', 19 December 1961. Retrieved: 2 November 2009.〕 The introduction of highly accurate Soviet surface-to-air missiles forced the B-58 into a low-level penetration role that severely limited its range and strategic value, and it was never employed to deliver conventional bombs. This led to a brief operational career between 1960 and 1970, when the B-58 was succeeded by the smaller, swing-wing FB-111A. ==Design and development== The genesis of the B-58 program came in February 1949, when a Generalized Bomber Study (GEBO II) had been issued by the Air Research and Development Command (ARDC) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.〔Miller 1976, p. 24.〕 A number of contractors submitted bids including Boeing, Convair, Curtiss, Douglas, Martin and North American Aviation. Building on Convair's experience of earlier delta-wing fighters, beginning with the XF-92A, a series of GEBO II designs were developed, initially studying swept and semi-delta configurations, but settling on the delta wing planform. The final Convair proposal, coded ''FZP-110'', was a radical two-place, delta wing bomber design powered by General Electric J53 engines. The performance estimates included a 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h; 870 kt) speed and a 3,000 statute mile (4,800 km; 2,600 nmi) range.〔 The USAF chose Boeing (MX-1712) and Convair to proceed to a Phase 1 study. The Convair ''MX-1626'' evolved further into a more refined proposal redesignated the ''MX-1964''. In December 1952, the Air Force selected the MX-1964 as the winner of the design competition〔Miller 1985, p. 26.〕 to meet the newly proposed SAB-51 (Supersonic Aircraft Bomber) and SAR-51 (Supersonic Aircraft Reconnaissance), the first General Operational Requirement (GOR) worldwide for supersonic bombers. In February 1953, the Air Force issued a contract for development of Convair's design.〔Miller 1985, p. 28.〕 The resulting ''B-58'' design was the first "true" USAF supersonic bomber program. The Convair design was based on a delta wing with a leading-edge sweep of 60° with four General Electric J79-GE-1 turbojet engines, capable of flying at twice the speed of sound. Although its large wing made for relatively low wing loading, it proved to be surprisingly well suited for low-altitude, high-speed flight. It seated three (pilot, bombardier/navigator, and defensive systems operator) in separated tandem cockpits. Later versions gave each crew member a novel ejection capsule that made it possible to eject at an altitude of 70,000 ft (21,000 m) at speeds up to Mach 2 (1,320 mph/2,450 km/h). Unlike standard ejection seats of the period, a protective clamshell would enclose the seat and the control stick with an attached oxygen cylinder, allowing the pilot to continue to fly even "turtled up" and ready for immediate egress. The capsule would float, and the crewmember could open the clamshell, using it as a life raft.〔On display at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum.〕〔(2008 p. 107. )〕 In an unusual test program, live bears and chimpanzees were successfully used to test the ejection system.〔Miller 1985, pp. 53–54.〕 The XB-70 would use a similar system (though using capsules of a different design). Because of heat generated at Mach 2 cruise, not only the crew compartment, but the wheel wells and electronics bay were pressurized and air conditioned. The B-58 utilized one of the first extensive applications of aluminum honeycomb panels, which bonded outer and inner aluminum skins to a honeycomb of aluminum and fiberglass.〔Loftin, Laurence K. Jr. ("Quest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft. Part II: The Jet Age. Chapter 12: Jet Bomber and Attack Aircraft. Two Pioneering Explorations." ) ''National Aeronautics & Space Administration'', 2004. Retrieved: 1 December 2014.〕 The pilot's cockpit was fairly conventional for a large multiengine aircraft.〔Miller 1985, p. 94.〕 The electronic controls were ambitious and advanced for the day. The navigator and DSO's cockpits featured wraparound dashboards with warning lights and buttons, and automatic voice messages and warnings from a tape system were audible through the helmet sets. Research during the era of all-male combat aircraft assignments revealed that a woman's voice was more likely to gain the attention of young men in distracting situations. Nortronics Division of Northrop Corporation selected actress and singer Joan Elms to record the automated voice warnings. To the men flying the B-58, the voice was known as "Sexy Sally."〔("Voice warning systems message priority." ) ''palaamar.com''. Retrieved: 14 September 2015.〕〔"Sexy Sally Sounds Off." ''San Francisco Examiner'', 30 July 1966, reprinted in ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'', November 1966.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Convair B-58 Hustler」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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