MOD wrote:BTW I suppose these were before your Dad's time?? I really regret never getting to see one of these.
http://www.b-58hustler.com/
Ian
So all this talk about strategic bombers got me thinking about the Convair B-58 Hustler on display in San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio has two active USAF Bases and two closed USAF Bases, one of the latter is Kelly AFB which has been closed since 2001. Back in the day Kelly used to overhaul the entire USAF fleet until that duty was taken over by Tinker AFB in Oklahoma. As such a lot of unique aircraft passed through San Antonio from time to time. At one point the entire B-58 Hustler fleet was overhauled at one time or another in San Antonio. Over the years as aircraft were retired from the USAF fleet, many were put on display in San Antonio and several were placed on display at Kelly AFB. One such aircraft is B-58 Hustler 59-2437.
This Hustler has an interesting post-Air Force History.The fuselage was stranded at Kelly AFB for years after the Hustlers left the USAF in 1970, but in 1991 a group of dedicated individuals from the 2954th Combat Logistics Squadron refurbished her using spare parts from scrapped Hustlers and refabricating other parts.
I took these photos of her today.















Are any preserved? Smithsonian Museum? Does NASA have a Museum? I could google but it is 23.15 GMT and I am signing off now.




