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 Aircraft by type

McDonnell Douglas
Convair B-58 Hustler
Losses & Ejections

 

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OR
ADD / AMEND ANY DETAILS
 

Recommended web site www.b58hustlerassn.net
Date

Air Force

A'cft     Unit / Serial

based

crashed crew photo seat
 

16th December 1958


ARDC

Convair
YB/RB-58A
Hustler
58-1008

6592nd TS
43rd BW

Loss of control during normal flight. Crashed 38 n. miles NNE of Canon AFB, NM  
     
Air Force pilot
Maj. Richard Smith
Killed
AF Nav/bombardier
Lt. Col. George Gradel
survived
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt. Daniel Holland
survived
 
 

1st February 1959


ARDC

Convair B-58
Hustler
  Eielson AFB the plane landed at Eielson without problems  
     
Pilot
OK
Captain Perry Amidon
ejected at 24,000 feet
thought aircraft out of control
Recovered by helo
??
OK
 
 

1959


ARDC

Convair B-58
Hustler
58-1012


43rd BW
Carswell AFB
Convair facility

Ground loss. Fuel leak, ground fire. Two Convair ground support people killed  
     
     
 
 

27th October 1959


ARDC
 

Convair B-58
Hustler
55-669

Convair

Loss of control during normal flight. Crashed 7 miles W of Hattiesburg, MS  
     
Convair pilot
Everett L. Wheeler
(survived)
Convair flight engineer
Michael F. Keller
(survived)
Convair flight engineer Harry N. Blosser
killed
 
 

16th September 1959


ARDC

Convair YB/RB-58A
Hustler
58-1017

43rd BW
Carswell AFB, TX

destroyed tire failure during takeoff roll and aborted takeoff  
     
AF pilot
Maj. Kenneth Lewis
survived
AF Nav/bombardier
Maj. Willis Edgecomb

killed
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt. Lee Barnett

killed
 
 

7th November 1959


ARDC
 

Convair B-58
Hustler
55-664

Convair

Exploded in flight. Crashed 25 miles SE of Lawton, OK  
     
Convair pilot
Raymond Fitzgerald

killed
Convair flight engineer
Donald A. Siedhof

killed
Unoccupied
 
 

22nd April 1960

Convair B-58
Hustler
58-1023 Convair Corporation
Fort Worth
 Loss of flight control. Crashed 58-mile NW Ogden, UT into the Great Salt Lake  
pic    
Convair pilot
Ray Edwin Tenhoff

killed
Convair test engineer
Walter Simon

killed
Convair test engineer
Kenneth G. Timpson
ejected
survived
 
 

5th June 1960


USAF

Convair B-58
Hustler
55-667

Convair Division of General Dynamics

On flight to Fort Worth from Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, NM. Crashed 40 miles east of Lubbock, TX  
     
Convair pilot
Jack Lee Baldridge

ejected
Dragged through rugged terrain in bad weather
Killed
Convair flight engineer
Hugh D. Coleman

ejected
Dragged through rugged terrain in bad weather
Killed
Convair flight engineer
Charles T. Jones
ejected
Dragged through rugged terrain in bad weather
Killed
 
Jack Baldridge Pilot: Hugh Coleman, Charley Jones Flight Systems (all killed while ejecting from B58 # 8 above 45000' in a violent storm in West Texas):
 

3rd June 1961


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler


The Firefly
USAF Convair B-58A Hustler 59-2451
    Low-altitude aerobatic flight. Crashed 5 nautical miles ENE of Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France  
59-2451
"
The Firefly"
 
pic pic
AF pilot Maj. Elmer Murphy
killed
AF Nav/Bombardier Maj. Eugene F. Moses
killed
Defensive-Systems Operator 1st Lt. David F. Dickerson
killed
 
 

27th December 1961


USAF

Convair YB/RB-58A
Hustler
58-1020


SAC
43rd BW
Carswell AFB

Ruptured fuel manifold resulting in engine flame-out. Crashed 4.3 n. miles NE of Camp Cole, MO  
     
AF pilot
Capt. Clarence Montgomery
survived
AF Nav/bombardier
Capt. Louis Hughes
survived
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt. John Roddy
survived
 
FEEDBACK

The B-58: site says that accident was caused by engine flameout. The real cause was fuel manifold rupture. I spent half my air force career working on the engines of B-58. Implication was engine caused. Should say Ruptured fuel manifold resulting in engine flame-out.
No B-58 was ever lost because of engine problem.

Thanks,

Jimmy Jean
in email 14th May 2009

58-1020                27 YB/RB-58A           n/a

Eventually modernized/upgraded to operational aircraft for SAC; assigned to 43rd BW; destroyed 12/27/61 -- 4.3 n. miles NE of Camp Cole, MO.; cause of accident was engine flameout due to ruptured fuel manifold during normal flight; AF pilot Capt. Clarence Montgomery (survived); AF nav/bombardier Capt. Louis Hughes (survived); AF DSO was Capt. John Roddy (survived).

 
 

15th February 1962


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler
59-2447
"
Rapid Rabbit"

43rd BW
Carswell AFB

Loss of aircraft control due to system malfunction. Crashed 38 miles E. of Lawton OK  
     
AF pilot
Maj. John Irving
survived
AF Nav/Bombardier
Capt. John Fuller
survived
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt. Donald Avallon
survived
 
 

5th March 1962


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler
59-2459

43rd BW
Carswell AFB

Mechanical failure of the flight control system. Crashed at Carswell AFB, TX  
     
AF pilot
Capt. Robert Harter
killed
AF Nav/Bombardier
Capt. Jack Jones

killed
Defensive-Systems Operator
1st Lt. James McKenzie

killed
 
 

12th April 1962


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler
59-2462

305th Bomb Wing
Bunker Hill AFB

Control system failure shortly after takeoff. Crashed near Bunker Hill AFB  
     
AF pilot
Capt. William Hale
survived
AF Nav/bombardier
Capt. Duane Dickey

killed
Defensive-Systems Operator
1st Lt. George O'Connor
survived
 
 

14th September 1962


USAF

Convair B-58
Hustler
61-2057

305th Bomb Wing
Bunker Hill AFB

Control system failure during normal flight. Crashed 2 n. miles NE of Butlerville, Jennings County, IN  
     
AF pilot
Lt. Col. John J. Trevisani
killed
AF Nav/bombardier
Capt. Arthur Freed

killed
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt. Reinardo Moure

killed
 
 

26th August 1963


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler
61-2063

305th Bomb Wing Bunker Hill AFB, IN

Hard landing mishap  
     
AF pilot
Maj. William Brandt
survived
AF Nav/bombardier
Maj. William Berry

killed
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt. William Bergdoll
killed
 
 

17th September 1964


USAF

Convair B-58
Hustler
 

305th Bomb Wing Bunker Hill AFB, IN

Right landing gear collapsed at Carswell AFB. Had flown a circuit for over an hour before landing  
     
Capt. Collins C. Welsh
safe ground egress
Captain William J. Stoner
safe ground egress
Captain Glen R. Ludy
safe ground egress
 
 

8th December 1964


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler
60-1116

305th Bomb Wing
Bunker Hill AFB, IN

Landing gear collapsed during taxi, Bunker Hill AFB, IN  
     
AF pilot
Capt. Leary J. Johnson
survived
AF Nav/Bombardier
Capt. Manuel Cervantes, Jr.

killed
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt. Roger L. Hall
survived
 
 

20th May 1965


USAF

Convair YB/RB-58A
Hustler
58-1016

43rd BW
Carswell AFB

Hard landing near Little Rock AFB, AR  
     
AF pilot
Capt. Ralph Semann
survived
suffered minor burns
AF Nav/bombardier
Capt. Steve Kichler, Jr.
killed
Defensive-Systems Operator
1st Lt. Ronald Smetek

survived
suffered minor burns
 
 

15th June 1965


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler
59-2443
"Bye Bye Birdie"

43rd BW
Carswell AFB

Crashed at Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France  
     
AF pilot
Lt. Col. Charles Tubbs

killed
AF Nav/Bombardier
Maj. Harold Covington
survived
Defensive-Systems Operator
Maj. Vincent Karaba
survived
 
 

22nd July 1965


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler
60-1128

305th Bomb Wing
Bunker Hill AFB, IN

 Fire broke out shortly after the plane touched down. Left runway on landing at Bunker Hill AFB, IN  
     
AF pilot
Capt. John P. Noonan
survived)
AF Nav/Bombardier
Capt. Lawrence C. Arundel
survived)
Defensive-Systems Operator
1st Lt. Kenneth Leatherbarrow
survived)
 
 

12th December 1966


USAF

Convair B-58
Hustler
60-1119

305th Bomb Wing
Bunker Hill AFB, IN

Collision with ground during low level bomb run. Crashed 1.3 n. miles west of McKinney, Lincoln County, KY  
     
AF pilot
Maj. Richard F. Blakeslee
killed
AF Nav/Bombardier
Capt. Floyd E. Acker

killed
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt. Clarence D. Lunt

killed
 
 

23rd February 1967


USAF

Convair B-58
Hustler
59-2454 Little Rock AFB, AR Structural failure during taxi  
     
AF pilot
Lt Col Bruce A Ellis
survived
AF Nav/Bombardier
Captain Robert A. Hendrickson
survived
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt Arlan W. Rohl
survived
 
 

14th June 1967


USAF

Convair B-58
Hustler
61-2061

305th Bomb Wing
Bunker Hill AFB, IN

Weather damage. Aircraft abandoned 6 n. miles SSW of Darrozett, Lipscombe Co. TX  
     
AF pilot Maj. Clinton Brisendine
survived
AF Nav/bombardier Capt. William Bennett
killed
Defensive-Systems Operator Capt. Gary Cecchett
survived
 
 

13th November 1967


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler
61-2065

SAC
305th Bomb Wing
Bunker Hill AFB, IN

Loss of control during initial climb after takeoff. Crashed 9 miles SW of air base near Galveston Indiana  
     
AF pilot
Maj. Galen A. Dultmeier
killed
AF Nav/bombardier
Capt. Ronald E.  Schmidt

killed
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt. Leroy J. Hanson

killed
 
 

18th April 1968


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler
61-2062

305th Bomb Wing
Bunker HIll AFB, IN

Mechanical failure shortly after takeoff from Bunker Hill AFB, IN. Crashed and burned on the runway encapsulated ejection system
   
AF pilot
Maj. Donald N. Close
killed
AF Nav/bombardier
Maj. Eugene R. Harrington

killed
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt. Johnny Douglas Eubanks

killed
 

16th July 1968


USAF

Convair B-58
Hustler
59-2437

Little Rock AFB, AR

Landing gear damage on takeoff.  Landing gear collapsed on landing  
     
AF Pilot
Maj George R. Tate
survived
 AF Nav/bombardier
Capt Ray G. Walters
survived
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt Francis Mosson
survived
 
 

3rd April 1969


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler
61-2073

305th Bomb Wing
Bunker Hill AFB, IN

Systems failure. Crashed 1/2 n. mile east of Rokeby, Lancaster Co., NE Stanley Encapsulated Ejection Seat
     
AF pilot
Capt. Thomas Hogg
survived
AF Nav/bombardier
Capt. James Richard McElvain
survived
Defensive-Systems Operator
Capt. Richard Nauman
survived
NOTE: On 18 December 1972 Maj. James R. McElvain was flying a USAF F-111 68-0027  “Snug 40”with Col. Ronald Jack Ward when they were shot down over North Vietnam on a mission against the Hanoi International Radio complex . Neither were recovered. Believed to have ejected and killed on the ground by their captors.

18th April 1969


USAF

Convair B-58A
Hustler
61-2056

305th Bomb Wing
Bunker Hill AFB, IN

System problems, 7 n. miles NNW of Danville, IL  
     
AF pilot
Maj. Press McCallum Jr.
survived
AF Nav/bombardier
Capt. Robert A. Graf
survived
Defensive-Systems Operator
Maj. Victor I. Mayer
survived
 
 
 


USAF

Convair B-58
Hustler
       
     
     
 

 

 

Flight Testing the Stanley Encapsulated Ejection Seat

   

1958 -

The well known test pilot Lieutenant Colonel John "Jack" E. Allavie flew the B-58 for the Stanley escape capsule system tests. These tests were conducted from 70 knots on the runway to Mach 2 at 46,000 feet.

 

Testing the Stanley Encapsulated Ejection Seat
October 1961
Airman Bruce Barwise was the "human Guinea Pig" who live tested the survival capabilities of the Stanley Capsule in a three day test in the icy waters of Buffalo Bay

Live Testing the Stanley Encapsulated Ejection Seat

358 KEAS HUMAN EJECTION
20,000 feet
Warrant Officer Edward "Ed" Muray
26th February 1962
 

 
"No sweat, I feel fine"

 

 

        

Testing the Stanley Encapsulated Ejection Seat
21st March 1962
Edwards Air Force Base, California, USA
tranquilized two year old female black bear ejected at  35,000 feet,  supersonic speed of 850 mph
The bear landed safely, and becoming the first living creature to survive a parachute jump from an aircraft flying faster than sound

Testing the Stanley Encapsulated Ejection Seat
6th April 1962
Edwards Air Force Base, California, USA
"Big John", a tranquilized brown bear ejected at  45,000 feet,  supersonic speed of 1,060 mph

this was reported in Flight International for 19th June 1962 under the title
"Who's Been Sitting in my Chair?"

 

Escape Capsules

SIR,—We note with interest the small news-item on page 599 of your April 19 issue headed "Who's Been Sitting in my Chair?" and announcing an ejection of a live bear in an escape capsule.

We would point out that the capsule is designed and manufactured by the Stanley Aviation Corporation. Far from being the first of a test programme, as implied by your announcement, it was the ninth ejection from a B-58 aircraft at speeds and heights varying from lOOkt taxying on the runway to Mach 1.6 at 45,000ft.

The seventh test of this series contained a human occupant. He was ejected at Mach 0.8 at 20,000ft and landed in his capsule quite safely.

In addition, over 40 ejections were made from rocket sleds at speeds from lOOkt to 700kt, the tests being at Edwards Air Force Base or at the Hurricane Mesa test facility in Utah. A live chimpanzee was used in one high-speed ejection and a live bear was used in another.

It would appear that little is known in England of this important development in high-speed escape from aircraft.

Briefly, its purpose is to provide complete protection for each member of the crew of an aircraft during high-speed ejection, during descent to ground and on ground landing. Broadly speaking, the operation of our escape capsule is as follows: Operation of the "pre-ejection" handles retracts the occupant's legs, tightens his shoulder harness, closes and locks the capsule doors, and pressurizes the capsule. The pilot's capsule is equipped with a control column which allows the aircraft to be flown down to a more amenable altitude if the conditions permit.

Operation of the "ejection" handles ejects the capsule from the aircraft, after which the stabilization, recovery, and ground landing systems operate automatically. The occupant only emerges after landing. If the capsule lands in water, it will float. It can be used as a habitation whether on land or water and it contains survival gear enough to feed a man for 72 hours and to provide hunting and fishing equipment to maintain life thereafter.

We at Stanley Aviation will be pleased to provide further information should you or your readers so desire. Incidentally, a demonstration capsule with a Stanley representative will be at RAE Farnborough from July 16 for examination by the RAF and such branches of the industry as might be concerned.

Denver, Col                 STANLEY AVIATION CORPORATION
F. I. Tallentire

FLIGHT International, 5 July 1962

 

 


                                                                          photo USAF

Yogi Makes Ejection History

 Yogi, the two year old female black bear, who was  ejected at  35,000 feet,  supersonic speed of 850 mph

 

                              

 

 

 

Ground testing the Stanley Encapsulated Ejection Seat from 55-0661 at Edwards Air Force Base


 

     
     

 

Acknowledgements

to be added to

Convair.
Hugo Mohrlock - Convair
Stanley Aviation
Dick Frost
John Paul Stapp
Sigrid O'Dell
Mr Valentine
Mr Schaffer
Tom Hogg (Capsule Ejectee)
Freida Johnson (AFFTC/HO)
LtCol B. J. Brown USAF (retired)
 

References

to be added to

Flight International
New York Times
The Aeroplane

NOTES

To Add

Early Convair Seat
SAC Seat
Ground ejection tests with bears / chimpanzees

Only two USAF Bomb Wings operated the B-58:
 

  • 305th Bomb Wing, Bunker Hill AFB (renamed Grissom AFB in May 1968)

     
    • 364th Bomb Squadron (Medium)

       
    • 365th Bomb Squadron (Medium)

       
    • 366th Bomb Squadron (Medium)


     
  • 43rd Bomb Wing, Carswell AFB

     
    • 63rd Bomb Squadron (Medium)

       
    • 64th Bomb Squadron (Medium)

       
    • 65th Bomb Squadron (Medium)