Presented in newly restored and upscaled high-definition archival film, this comprehensive documentary chronicles the development, flight testing, operational deployment, and crew survival engineering of the Convair B-58 Hustler—Strategic Air Command's first operational Mach 2 bomber. The film opens at Convair's Fort Worth facility on October 29, 1956, as the first B-58 moves under its own power with test pilot B.A. Erickson, flight observer J.D. McEachern, and observer C.L. Harrison aboard. Following low- and high-speed taxi evaluations reaching 138 knots, the delta-wing bomber makes its historic 38-minute maiden flight on Veterans Day, November 11, 1956, accompanied by Convair YF-102A and F-94C chase aircraft. Transitioning into Strategic Air Command service, the footage documents the B-58's versatility across altitude regimes. On September 18, 1959, a Hustler flies from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, to California at near-sonic speed without exceeding 500 feet above the terrain to prove low-level radar penetration. In November 1960 at the Holloman Test Range, the aircraft executes an automated Mach 2 weapon pod release at 50,000 feet. That same autumn at Bergstrom Air Force Base, crews of the 43rd Bomb Wing debut in the SAC Combat Competition, rolling from alert in two minutes and ten seconds, taking on 40,000 pounds of fuel in under eight minutes, and winning the High and Low Level Bombing Award. In January 1961 at Edwards Air Force Base, 43rd Bomb Wing crews shatter six Fédération Aéronautique Internationale world speed records—five previously held by the Soviet Union—reaching ground speeds of 1,425 mph and averaging 1,284 mph over a 1,000-kilometer closed course. Next, the film examines Operation Open Road III in January 1963, where six B-58s from the 43rd and 305th Bombardment Wings test Minimum Interval Takeoff (MITO) procedures at gross weights up to 163,000 pounds, launching in day and night scrambles with intervals as tight as 6.5 to 15.4 seconds. We then follow the 1960 conversion and flight testing of the dual-control TB-58A trainer before concluding with an in-depth look at the Stanley Aviation encapsulated ejection seat—featuring Hurricane Mesa supersonic rocket sled trials, a 72-hour winter survival test on Lake Erie, a 100-knot runway ejection, and the first manned Mach 2 ejection over Edwards Air Force Base in February 1962.
Source: High – Speed Strategic Strike: The Convair B – 58 in New Restored Archival Film
