Convair B-58 Hustler

The Convair B-58 Hustler is an American four-engine supersonic strategic bomber built by Convair, entering United States Air Force service in 1960 as the world's first operational bomber capable of sustained supersonic flight. Built with a distinctive delta wing and a large jettisonable pod slung beneath the fuselage that carried its nuclear weapon, fuel or reconnaissance equipment depending on the mission, the B-58 achieved genuinely exceptional performance for its era, setting numerous speed and altitude records during its operational life, but its complex systems, demanding handling characteristics and relatively short range made it expensive to operate and difficult to fly safely, contributing to a high accident rate among its pilots. The B-58 was retired from service in 1970 after only a decade of front-line use, replaced in the American strategic bomber fleet by aircraft judged to offer a better balance of capability and operating cost, but it remains remembered as a landmark early demonstration of sustained supersonic bomber flight.