Designed to replace the subsonic Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bomber, the B-58 became notorious for its sonic boom heard on the ground by the public as it passed overhead in supersonic flight.

[6] Convair, which had built the XF-92A and other delta-wing fighters, evaluated swept and semidelta configurations, then settled on the delta wing, which offered good internal volume for support systems and fuel.

[7] Most of the configurations studied mated the delta wing to a relatively slender fuselage housing a crew of two and powered by a pair of jet engines.

[7] A key feature of the design was to store consumables, both weaponry and most of the fuel, within a large external pod, which enabled a smaller fuselage.

During this period, Convair took advantage of recent developments by General Electric and replaced the two large J53 engines with four smaller J79s optimized for supersonic flight.

Convair was required to devise or subcontract everything associated with the aircraft's operation, from the engines to training manuals, spare components, and software, in excess of one million items.

During the late 1960s, some refinements to the existing fleet were developed and introduced, such as slender bomb racks (known as "multiple weapons capability") and additional pods.

It incorporated a large delta wing with a leading-edge sweep of 60°, and was powered by an arrangement of four General Electric J79-GE-1 turbojet engines.

To protect against the heat generated while cruising at Mach 2, the crew compartment, wheel wells, and electronics bay were pressurized and air conditioned.

[22] The structure itself made up 13.8% of the aircraft's gross weight, an exceptionally low figure for the era, while the wing was considered to be extremely thin, as well.

Several key features of the engine, including the nacelle and the inlet, were unlike any existing aircraft, having been devised from guidance by aerodynamicists.

This movement was automatically controlled, but significant noise and asymmetric thrust were generated in the event of a single inlet malfunctioning.

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.

[33] The aircraft had unusual takeoff requirements, with a 14° angle of attack needed for the rotation near 203.5 knots (376.9 km/h; 234.2 mph) for a 150,000-pound (68,000 kg) combat weight.

[34] This poor takeoff performance was evident with the high landing speed, necessitating a drogue parachute for braking, which was also required for B-47 and B-52 aircraft.

[35] Defensive armament consisted of a single 20 mm (0.79 in) T-171E-3 rotary cannon with 1,200 rounds of ammunition in a radar-aimed tail barbette.

[35][36] It was remotely controlled through the Emerson MD-7 automated radar fire-control system, only requiring the DSO to lock on a selected target blip on his scope and then fire the gun.

[37] This had the added benefit of allowing the pilot to "clean up" the aircraft for fuel efficiency or in case of emergency, while still retaining the (somewhat) slimmer weapon.

[citation needed] From 1961 to 1963, the B-58 was retrofitted with two tandem stub pylons under each wing root, adjacent to the centerline pod,[38] for B43 or B61 nuclear weapons.

General Curtis LeMay was never satisfied with the bomber, and after a flight in one declared that it was too small, far too expensive to maintain in combat readiness, and required an excessive number of aerial refuelings to complete a mission.

[citation needed] By the time the early problems had largely been resolved and SAC interest in the bomber had solidified, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided that the B-58 was not a viable weapon system.

[50] Because of dense air at low altitudes, the B-58 could not fly at supersonic speeds and its moderate range was reduced further, negating the costly high-speed performance of the aircraft.

In 1963 it flew from Tokyo to London (via Alaska), a distance of 8,028 miles (12,920 km), with five aerial refuelings in 8 hours, 35 minutes, 20.4 seconds, averaging 938 mph (1,510 km/h).

[60][61] Singer John Denver's father, Lieutenant Colonel Henry J. Deutschendorf Sr., USAF, held several speed records as a B-58 pilot.

Three civilian crew members were aboard: the pilot, Everette Wheeler, and two flight engineers, Michael Keller and Harry Blosser.

[75] In September 1961, a B-58 on training flight from Carswell Air Force Base suffered a fire and failure of the left main gear.

Through the night, eight sessions of aerial refuelling were conducted, using an improved technique and, once daylight broke, a successful emergency landing was made at Edwards Air Force Base.

[83] Today there are eight B-58 survivors:[84] [85] Data from Quest for Performance[97]General characteristics Performance Armament Avionics Jimmy Stewart, a bomber pilot during World War II and a brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve, appeared in the Air Force documentary film B-58 Champion of Champions.

60's Model Kits of the B58 from Aurora & Revell were modified and used/partially used in the Anderson Science Fiction series "Fireball XL5", "Stingray" and "Thunderbirds" as spacecraft or futuristic aircraft.