The “Monster,” also known as the B-58 Hustler, is equipped with the most cutting-edge nuclear weaponry and reconnaissance technology
Designed to fly at high altitudes and at supersonic speeds, the United States Air Force‘s Convair B-58 Hustler was actually the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flights. The B-58 was developed in the 1950s for the Air Force’s Strategic Air Command (SAC), and relied on speed as its primary defense. The thinking at the time was that with an aircraft that flew fast enough and even high enough, the enemy couldn’t shoot it down. Image B-58 Hustler: A Bomber with a Purpose For its time, the B-58 Hustler was revolutionary in many ways. It featured a radical delta wing shape, but it also included sophisticated inertial guidance navigation and bombing system, as well as a slender “wasp-waist” fuselage and extensive use of heat-resistant honeycomb sandwich skin panels in the wings and fuselage. However, the thin fuselage limited the ability to carry a bomb internally and instead was fitted with a two-component pod beneath the fuselage. It contained a nuclear weapo...