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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. B-58 (modified): US Air Force· Public domain
- 2. An escape pod from a Convair B-58 Hustler displayed in the open position: Aaron headly· CC BY 4.0
- 3. B-58 Hustler: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
- 4. B-58 weapons pod castle: Anthony Maw / Anthonymaw at en.wikipedia· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. Convair B-58A Hustler front view 061101-F-1234P-021: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
- 6. Convair B-58 Ejection Capsule 3-4 front view 061101-F-1234P-012: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
- 7. Convair B-58 Hustler 'Greased Lightning - 61-2059: Aaron headly· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 8. Convair B-58 Hustler USAF: This image was released by the United States Air Force with the ID 050321-F-1234P-004 (next) . This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still req· Public domain
- 9. Convair XB-58 Hustler during takeoff 061101-F-1234P-008: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
- 10. Convair B-58 capsule ejection static test from XB-58 55-0661, December 8, 1964: USAF· Public domain
what is it?
The Convair B-58 Hustler is a supersonic strategic bomber, the first capable of Mach 2 flight. Designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Convair, a division of General Dynamics, the B-58 was developed during the 1950s for the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air Command (SAC). To achieve the high speeds desired, Convair chose a delta-wing design used by contemporary interceptors such as the Convair F-102.
How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · delta wing · 17.3 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 70 years ago, in 1956.
- Top speed is 16.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.7 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
- Wingspan of 17.3 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 13 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Range of 7,593 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
- Can fly 2.2× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1956-11-11
- introduced
- 1960
- retired
- 1970
- status
- retired
- number built
- 116
- role
- supersonic strategic bomber
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Convair
- engines
- 4× General Electric J79-GE-5A / General Electric J79
- length
- 29.5 m
- wingspan
- 17.3 m
- height
- 9.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 80.2 t
- top speed
- 2,122 km/h
- cruise speed
- 982 km/h
- range
- 7,593 km
- ceiling
- 19,324 m
- wings
- delta wing
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q599891, Wikipedia: Convair B-58 Hustler (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.