Postcard from Tucson

I must admit I am a bit of a military aircraft fan boy…not overly crazy, just always loving to see these marvels of aircraft engineering… old and new. I’ve prowled the halls of the Imperial War Museum in London looking at WWII aircraft hanging from the ceiling. I’ve been to several air shows on military bases to see more modern aircraft on display. I even found some great older aircraft on my recent visit to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

And, I am lucky enough to live in a city that houses a huge collection of great airplanes from our past. The Pima Air and Space Museum is a wondrous place for people like me…hundreds of aircraft from all over the world are permanently on display here, both in hangers and outside (not a place to visit in the summer).  As a bonus, the museum sits right next to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, where thousands of military airplanes are stored, some to be repaired, some to be salvaged for parts and others to be destroyed. The place is nicknamed “The Bone Yard.” You can take a tram car tour of the base directly from the museum. Well worth it.

I’ve shown you a couple of aircraft pictures before on these pages, and today I am sharing another one:  This is a B58-A bomber (nicknamed the Hustler), formerly used by the Strategic Air Command.  It could carry up to four nuclear bombs and was flown by a three man crew.  Here is more about the B58 from Wikipedia:

“The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber, and the first capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the late 1950s. Originally intended to fly at high altitudes and speeds to avoid Soviet fighters, 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. This led to a brief operational career between 1960 and 1969. Its specialized role was succeeded by other American supersonic bombers, such as the FB-111A and the later B-1B Lancer.”

In my much younger days, I always thought this was a cool airplane and secretly wanted to fly one. It never happened of course, but I still think it is a cool.