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For educational purposes
Great Planes looks into the stories behind the most influential, innovative and intriguing machines that ever took flight.
The U.S. Air Force B-1B took off at the end of a long line of American strategic bombers, dubbed the "born-again bomber," this sleek stealth based aircraft flies low and fast to avoid enemy radar.
Great Planes looks into the stories behind the most influential, innovative and intriguing machines that ever took flight.
The U.S. Air Force B-1B took off at the end of a long line of American strategic bombers, dubbed the "born-again bomber," this sleek stealth based aircraft flies low and fast to avoid enemy radar.
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LearningTranscript
00:00The
00:30This is Rockwell's B-1 bomber. It is one of only four prototypes ever produced. Had it been accepted
00:50by the United States Air Force, it would have been the fastest and highest flying bomber ever to go
00:55into service. The paradox is that the plane that ultimately did seize service, although looking
01:02almost identical, flew at half the speed of the B-1, but was much more effective. In many ways,
01:11development of the B-1 paralleled development to the very first strategic bomber, the B-17,
01:16in that the B-17 also had to deal with an array of problems.
01:20The history of the B-17 began when the Army Air Corps circulated a specification for a multi-engine
01:30bomber. They probably only expected manufacturers to respond with a twin-engine design, but the
01:36Boeing Company, showing what was to be characteristic foresight, offered a four-engine plane.
01:50As advanced as it may have been, Boeing's model 299, as the prototype was known, was not very well
01:59received. An accidental crash in the early trials, and a belief in some quarters that large four-engine
02:05planes would be too difficult to fly in combat, cost Boeing the initial order. And yet certain
02:12factions in the Air Corps encouraged Boeing to continue development of what was, for its time,
02:18a massive aircraft. Using much of its own money and fighting government cutbacks, the company
02:24continued to develop what was ultimately to be a most important plane. World events were to justify
02:33this decision. The emergence of the Axis powers caused the Roosevelt administration to rethink its
02:39attitude to long-range aerial bombardment, a role in which the B-17 would excel.
02:45But the first flying fortresses to see action were twenty examples sent to Britain's Royal Air Force,
02:52as much for evaluation as for strategic bombing.
02:58The British exercise could never be claimed as a major success. Although welcomed by a nation short on
03:04armament, the high-flying long-range B-17s, the British called Fortress 1s, were to have a short and checkered career.
03:12By flying at 30,000 feet, RAF crews had hoped to evade German fighters. But the high altitude did not deter
03:30the Germans, and the limited defensive firepower of the B-17s proved inadequate against the Luftwaffe.
03:36With RAF results in hand, Boeing's designers went back to the drawing board. If the plane was to survive,
04:02it would have to be rethought. Substantially more armor, which might reduce the plane's bomb load,
04:08would have to be added. With a wartime effort underway, women joined the workforce, and production
04:14of the B-17, the plane that at one time no one wanted, was considered a strategic priority.
04:20Another major modification to the second-generation flying fortress was the completely redesigned tail fin,
04:34which remedied the stability problems of earlier models. But the major improvement was to defensive
04:40firepower. The revised rear fuselage now bristled with gun positions, some in the form of power-operated
04:46turret. An effective but difficult-to-operate ball turret was a challenge to the courage of any gunner.
05:03Bombing by day, B-17s over Europe would continue to suffer heavy losses.
05:08It was only the later addition of the escort fighter that radically reduced the toll.
05:19Even so, without their added gun positions, flying fortresses would have been easy pickings for the Luftwaffe.
05:37Despite the high cost in lives, there is little doubt that the theory of strategic bombing was well-proved,
05:55disrupting German industry and slowing down the Nazi war machine. It was an effective but very expensive
06:02way of waging war. Throughout the conflict, Germany never had a four-engine equivalent to the B-17.
06:11But its scientists did produce a novel and potentially very effective weapon that risked very few German
06:17lives and caused considerable panic to its opponents. Powered by an air-breathing pulsejet engine,
06:24the V-1 was the forerunner of a new generation of weaponry. Its main achievement was to cause blind
06:32panic among civilian populations because, with limited guidance, pinpoint targeting was not possible.
06:39Although a very clever weapon, the V-1 could be brought down by ground fire and by fast-flying fighters.
06:45But there was no defense for Hitler's second vengeance weapon, the V-2 ballistic missile. A brilliant and
06:58sinister product of the von Braun team which brought the technique of aerial bombardment to a totally new
07:03level, one unforeseen by any of the Allies.
07:18Meanwhile, American scientists had developed the automated fire control system and had worked to
07:24perfect the pressurized fuselage, enabling high-flying bomber crews to operate without the
07:29restrictions of earlier planes like the B-17.
07:41Their philosophy was to perfect existing technology that could quickly be mass-produced.
07:46These innovations, together with many others, came together superbly in the B-29.
08:01This was the ultimate development of the conventional piston engine bomber, utilizing America's enormous
08:07production capability. But B-29s were never used in Europe. Their principal target was Japan.
08:29In the Pacific theater, automated gunnery proved itself a markedly better defense for air crews
08:34than anything that had been available to the B-17s. Still, the B-29 was a conventional weapon,
08:41in keeping with the American philosophy of perfecting what was known. There was one notable exception,
08:49the atomic bomb, the ultimate high-technology weapon of the Second World War. It required only one B-29
08:57to carry such a weapon to carry such a weapon and change the course of history.
09:27Humanity had lost its innocence. Given the enormous destructive power demonstrated throughout the war by
09:56heavy allied bombers, culminating in the awesome destruction of the atomic blasts. There can be no doubt
10:02that by the end of the war, the long-range heavy bomber had become the era's most important weapon,
10:08or at least the means of delivering it.
10:13Nevertheless, there was also great interest in captured German V-weapons.
10:17Shipped back to the United States, V-2s in particular were tested by American scientists,
10:22although their limited range suggested their usefulness might not be great.
10:26But a more serious challenge to the dominance of the long-range bomber was also emerging.
10:31Even as early as 1946, the proposed SNARK intercontinental missile offered an extremely
10:36useful range of over 5,000 miles. Although not to be operational until the early 50s,
10:42this extensive redevelopment of the V-1 concept was to be a major success.
10:46Still, delivery of atomic weapons in the late 1940s was exclusively assigned to the traditional
10:55long-range heavy bomber, and the B-36 assumed the role as the first truly intercontinental bomber.
11:02It would protect its enormous bulk by using a large number of gun positions
11:07to defend what some considered to be the indefensible.
11:17Sometimes referred to as the big stick or the peacemaker, the B-36 used a combination of piston
11:24and jet power to extend the American Strategic Air Command's reach to any potential target.
11:29In 1947, V-2 rockets, originally built in Pinamunda, Germany, were enhanced with an American-made second stage,
11:42providing a range which made the Air Force very interested.
11:46Interest was increased by the belligerent acts of the Soviets in Berlin and Czechoslovakia the following year.
11:52The Soviet Union, an American ally of the Second World War, caused additional concern when in 1949,
12:00it demonstrated its own capacity to detonate a nuclear device, initiating one of the deadliest races in history.
12:11In the early 1950s, conventional aircraft, now with swept wings and fully jet-powered,
12:17was still considered to be the most reliable nuclear delivery systems, and therefore the best deterrent
12:23against what was fast emerging as the Soviet threat. A distinct cooling in relations between
12:28the two superpowers was heightened even further by the conflict in Korea, and the stage was set for a
12:34cold war with nuclear sabers rattling on both sides. Crucial to this game of brinkmanship was the best
12:41means of delivery, and as far as conventional aircraft were concerned, the U.S. Air Force had no better
12:48vehicle than the first intercontinental all-jet bomber, the famous Boeing B-52.
13:02The already considerable range of the B-52 was enhanced by enormous auxiliary fuel tanks,
13:08which could be jettisoned after use, giving the aircraft maximum improved aerodynamics.
13:19The best means for delivery of atomic weapons, the B-52 was also the logical, if not only choice,
13:26for the scientific development of the new and still more lethal hydrogen bomb.
13:30Here, at a high security base in the Pacific, technicians install a new generation nuclear device,
13:42similar in size to the A-bomb which devastated Hiroshima, but more than 100 times more powerful.
13:57North Korea was the largest fuel tension in the sea.
14:14It had even made the Uno-Wing War, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Air Force.
14:21Russia gave a great boost to American defense.
14:23Right from the onset of the Cold War, American research had borrowed from the achievements of Pina Munda and White Sands.
14:30They utilized the nation's largest financial commitment to a single defense system and developed the first arsenal of truly intercontinental ballistic missiles.
14:40With the urgency of a war of threats and technology, America's talent for mass production was set to work on a defense system that would totally eclipse the manned bomber program.
14:53From this stage on, intercontinental ballistic missiles became the prime means of delivering America's nuclear deterrence.
15:05They confronted an equal if not greater number of Russian missiles, which combined with other weapons on both sides in a bizarre formula referred to as mutually assured destruction.
15:17This arrangement did, however, succeed in maintaining a balance.
15:21With so much devastation available, neither side could seriously consider nuclear warfare without ensuring its own extinction.
15:30But there was a downside.
15:35Missilery was an all-or-nothing option.
15:38On the other hand, the manned bomber could be sent towards its enemy in a fine mixture of saber-rattling and brinkmanship.
15:46B-52s stayed in service, equipped with short-range air-launched missiles.
15:51They could be released at a safe distance from the target.
15:55Some, like the Hound Dog, were supported by a conventional wing and powered by an air-breathing jet,
16:01a concept not totally removed from the V-1 technology of Pina Munda.
16:06A quantum leap in the evolution of the manned bomber came with the remarkable XB-70 Valkyrie.
16:13The B-52 would be a hard act to follow, but North American aviation put forward a submission that was as courageous as it was brilliant.
16:21The XB-70 program still stands today as an example of the combination of ingenuity and high technology to achieve otherwise unattainable results.
16:31Air Force parameters for the new bomber stated that it should fly three times the speed of sound at extreme altitude,
16:38beyond the range of Soviet defense systems.
16:40The XB-70 would certainly have secured its own defense through performance,
16:44and in spite of the coming dominance of the ICBM, still offered Air Force generals a flexible manned bomber alternative.
16:52It was a valuable card in the game of political brinkmanship.
16:56But suddenly the program was abandoned.
16:59Confidence in very fast high-flying bombers were shattered with one single act.
17:04The missile was to be the nemesis of the manned bomber when the Soviets demonstrated the accuracy of ground-to-air anti-aircraft rocketry.
17:13Once again, the technology of wartime Germany suggested the next step.
17:18The variable sweep wing design had been under development in Germany in the final stages of the war.
17:24Later, it had been developed by the American X-Plane program.
17:29It took many years of research to perfect the swing wing concept.
17:33The first practical use came with the most remarkable aircraft.
17:36General Dynamics F-111 proved the theory of the variable swept wing,
17:41which allowed the pilot to change configuration from a high-speed delta to a conventional straight wing position for target approaches below enemy radar.
17:51General Dynamics F-111 proved the theory of the
18:14Essential to the success of low flying was the development of terrain following radar.
18:27This enabled the pilot to select impressively low altitudes to which the F-111 would automatically
18:33adjust following the contours of the ground below.
18:49But although the F-111 proved the effectiveness of flying undetected under enemy radar, it was
18:54not a heavy bomber, perhaps the same technology could be developed on a larger scale.
19:03The Air Force's request for proposal released in 1969 asked, among other things, for low
19:09altitude ride control and nuclear hardness, the ability of the aircraft's electronic system
19:15to resist the effects of a nuclear explosion.
19:19Again the North American company took the lead.
19:21Now, under its new banner, Rockwell, it put forward a concept that embraced all the
19:26latest innovations, including swing-wing technology, but in the proportions of a long-range heavy
19:33bomber.
19:34To prove the concept, an exhaustive wind tunnel program tested the shape, proportions and
19:40function of Rockwell's proposed swing-wing penetrator.
19:44In miniature, every flight characteristic and operational idiosyncrasy of what was to be
19:49the B-1 project underwent the closest scrutiny.
19:56Even to prove the
20:25models were used in many different ways. Here, another scale replica of the V-1, using the same
20:31non-radar reflective materials as the final aircraft is tested. On a movable rig, its ability
20:37to hide from radar coming from any angle is thoroughly examined. The biggest and most impressive
20:48model in this process was the final full-scale mock-up. This faithful representation of the
20:54designer's ideas gave the manufacturer and the Air Force the feel of the final aircraft. In those
21:01years before computer technology made it unnecessary, the mock-up gave the last opportunity to explore the
21:07practicality of the concept before committing to the expense of production. Even details like hinged
21:14doors and access panels are faithfully modeled so that ground and flight crews alike can assess
21:19almost every physical detail of the finished aircraft. A variety of model weapon loads, both
21:27outside the aircraft and inside the bomb bays, look absolutely convincing and provide the closest
21:32possible insight to the real thing. So does the layout of the cockpit, and even the swinging mechanism of
21:39the wing works just the way it will on the production version. This level of perfection is a test to the
21:46model maker. But manufacture of the real thing was to challenge the engineer far more. There had been
21:52problems with the early F-111 wing box on which the swing wing pivoted. The B-1B would carry a load many times
22:00greater than the F-111. So this facet of its operation was tested in the most punishing way.
22:18As always with United States military aircraft, the greatest consideration was placed on the service's most
22:25indispensable asset. The preservation of aircrew was a major priority. And with the B-1 project, it would prove a
22:33substantial challenge.
22:34Rockwell's engineers tackled the problem of crew survivability from a stricken plane in exactly the
22:54same way General Dynamics had with the F-111 crew capsule. But for the B-1 with a crew of four, it would have to be
23:01much larger and tolerances would be greater. There was always concern about the effects on aircrew, not only from
23:12the force of ejection, but more importantly, from the impact of landing. The F-111 capsule had worked well, but at
23:20this scale, and at a weight of 9,000 pounds, the problems were multiplied.
23:30There was a real danger of spinal damage to crews on impact, so rapid-action airbags were developed to cushion the effect of
23:37the module as it hit the ground. Because of the nature of the B-1's mission, the airbags would have to work on land and water.
23:45Meanwhile, at Palmdale, California, construction of three prototypes began. The B-1 project was now underway,
24:14even if its long-term future was far from certain. Funding, as in most major defense projects, was to be a
24:21continuing problem. Senate criticism of the enormous cost of the B-1 and the usual inter-service competition for the
24:28military budget were as difficult for Rockwell executives to handle as the new technology was for Rockwell's engineers.
24:35Here, the dedicated test rig is used to assess tolerance to stress, to prove the integrity of the B-1's basic design.
24:48That integrity would have to be confirmed before any plane with the performance expectations of the B-1 could be allowed to fly in service.
24:57Eventually, after years of gestation and months of production, the first B-1 was displayed to the public on October 26, 1974.
25:12Its sleek lines were emphasized by its glossy white finish. At the time, it was the largest swing-wing aircraft in the world.
25:21The first B-1, serial number 74-0158, rolled down the Palmdale runway on December 23, 1974, for its maiden flight.
25:32Originally, plans called for five flying prototypes and two for structural testing, but because of cuts in the program, only three planes were ordered.
25:42The second and third of these were not to be available for flight testing for over a year.
25:47So, on the first flight of the first plane, more than usual precautions were taken.
25:52Without a ready replacement, loss of this prototype could cause the whole program to collapse.
25:58Little surprise, then, that the first short flight to Edwards should be accomplished with wheels down.
26:03Nor was any attempt made to alter the position of the enormous swinging wings.
26:08But the two-man crew did adjust the jet exhaust system.
26:11This complicated arrangement is sometimes referred to as the turkey feathers, for obvious reasons.
26:17To control the final stages of up to 30,000 pounds of thrust with full afterburner is a difficult but vital function.
26:26And the midway, and the time part is an important connection.
27:12Edwards is the traditional base for testing. Once called Muroc, this Air Force facility has been the home of many major test programs. Here, from the dry Californian desert, the first B-1 with the hopes of Rockwell and the Air Force in the balance would undergo the most thorough flight testing. All the while, its detractors looked for the slightest flaw to capitalize on.
27:35Already, there had been problems with cost overruns. These had been added to by the government decision to produce fewer test planes, substantially increasing the unit cost. Also, the decision to stretch the early delivery schedule created problems with the aircraft's 3,000 subcontractors. Logistics must have been a nightmare.
27:56Although the first short flight of the B-1 was a totally successful exercise, its future was still far from secure, and much of the real flack the program was to encounter had little to do with the plane's performance.
28:10Rather, the arguments were of need, philosophy, and politics. Did the Air Force really require a new bomber? How valuable was a recallable man deterrent?
28:23Genuinely informed assessments of whether the B-1 might be able to achieve its mission requirements were less easy to find.
28:32And against this backdrop of uncertainty, engineers and test pilots would have to prove Rockwell's super bomber.
28:53As the testing continued, the sole flying example of the B-1 was carefully put through various stages of the test program.
29:05Soon, the enormously powerful and complex landing gear was to be retracted and extended.
29:11Years earlier, when Rockwell was still called North American, and it was testing the XB-70 Valkyrie on its first prototype mission,
29:19the gear failed to retract properly, but the B-1's initial attempt at a clean-profile flight was a total success.
29:27With something as complicated as the undercarriage, tremendous effort is expended in testing prior to flight,
29:33but in the end, the one that really counts is in the air.
29:49Throughout 1975, Rockwell's single-flying B-1 ran a gauntlet of tests,
29:58including the crucial wing-sweep function from straight wing to delta shape.
30:05There was a comprehensive testing of the four General Electric F-101 fan jet engines,
30:10and of the delicate task of aerial refueling, necessary even for a plane with the B-1's range.
30:15It was tested in high-level flight at over 50,000 feet,
30:20then down to the deck for the all-important below-the-radar barrier trials,
30:25flying over 600 miles an hour at less than 200 feet.
30:32In these circumstances, the small veins of the low-altitude flight control system were vital.
30:40Government cuts to the program meant that only three prototypes were to be built.
30:44The first of these was to fly, and the second was for structural testing.
30:49By the end of 1975, the stress tests were complete,
30:53and the aircraft was released to be fitted out for flying.
30:56But it would not be available till May of the following year.
31:02In January of 1976, the third aircraft, built for flight testing, came online.
31:08This aircraft would concentrate on much of the complex avionics equipment used in the B-1 program,
31:13especially the Boeing-built offensive electronic system,
31:17a vital part in the B-1 mission.
31:27Inside the cockpit of these prototypes,
31:29a complicated array of dials and meters surrounds the cathode ray tubes.
31:33If you look closely, you can see the fighter-like control columns,
31:37unusual in a large aircraft.
31:44Directly behind the pilot and co-pilot,
31:46the other two crew members sit in their positions.
31:49The defensive and offensive systems operations
31:51use the high point of radar development,
31:54not only to identify and target the enemy,
31:56but also to fend off attacking opposition fighters.
31:59It's a far cry from the air gunner huddled in the rear of the B-17.
32:04The B-1 crew fly in comfort,
32:06but in combat, they'd face the same old risks,
32:09fighting off late 20th or 21st century bandits.
32:14As the testing of the first three aircraft continued,
32:17with the speed and altitude envelope being constantly pushed,
32:20a fourth plane, authorized for August 1976 production,
32:24started its early stages of construction.
32:26With this latest B-1 underway,
32:29it seemed the program had gained sufficient momentum
32:32to survive its critics.
32:34With so much research behind it,
32:37and so many of the problems solved,
32:39it appeared certain the Rockwell bomber
32:41would continue into production.
32:43But then, on June 30th, 1977,
32:46the recently elected Carter administration
32:49canceled the project,
32:50and the B-1 program came to a halt.
32:53A unit cost of over $100 million
32:56was not the least of the reasons for cancellation,
32:59but there were others.
33:02One influential factor
33:03was the earlier successful testing
33:05of a unique combination
33:06of two proven pieces of American hardware,
33:10a Minuteman missile,
33:11and a C-5 transport aircraft.
33:14If it could be demonstrated
33:15that the C-5 was capable
33:17of launching the missile in flight,
33:19then it could offer the Air Force
33:21an extremely cost-effective form
33:23of recallable deterrent.
33:25The survivability of a massive transport aircraft
33:28as it approached the combat zone
33:30may not have been great,
33:32but the extra range offered by the missile
33:34may have combined to produce
33:36some form of deterrent
33:37if the experiment worked.
33:39Although it was not to be adopted
34:08as a complete system,
34:10the air-launching of an ICBM
34:11was nevertheless a spectacular achievement.
34:15It may yet have some potential.
34:23A much more concrete threat to the B-1
34:26came in the form
34:26of the Air-Launched Cruise Missile,
34:29or ALCM.
34:30These are clever
34:31and extremely deadly weapons.
34:34Before extension,
34:35their wings and tail plane
34:36fold flush to the main body
34:38so that many such missiles
34:40can be carried under the wings
34:41or in the internal bomb bays
34:43of a B-52.
34:44The ALCM program,
35:01which was quickly implemented
35:02by the Carter administration,
35:04gave the aging B-52s
35:06a new lease on life
35:07as a suitable delivery system.
35:09The Cruise Missile
35:11uses small air-breathing jet engines,
35:14and with their extended wings
35:15and subsonic speed,
35:17obviously owes something
35:18to the original Cruise Missile,
35:20the German V-1 of World War II.
35:23But 30 years of technical evolution
35:26enabled the addition of concepts
35:28similar to the terrain-following radar
35:30first used in the F-111.
35:32This produced a weapon
35:34that was at the same time
35:35economical and effective,
35:37and considerably extended
35:39the range and survivability
35:41of the B-52.
35:43One thing was certain
35:44after the Carter decision
35:46to cancel the B-1.
35:47The B-52,
35:49old as it was,
35:50would have to carry on
35:51as America's only
35:53long-range recallable deterrent.
35:55But although more life
35:56could be squeezed out
35:57of these remarkable aircraft,
35:59it was equally obvious
36:00that in the long term,
36:02a new delivery platform
36:03of some kind was inevitable.
36:07even with the support
36:24of dedicated bomber versions
36:26of the F-111
36:27and the ALCMs,
36:29the hitting power
36:30of America's strategic air force
36:31was starting to wane.
36:33In spite of the discussed
36:35conversion of transport aircraft
36:37to carry cruise missiles,
36:39it had been known
36:39for many years
36:40that survivability
36:41over or even close
36:43to enemy airspace
36:44required specialized aircraft,
36:47and a missile-carrying transport
36:48would be limited
36:49to a type of delivery
36:51far less challenging
36:52than the air force
36:53would expect
36:54from a B-52 replacement.
36:56Clearly,
36:57a long-range penetrator
36:58was needed.
36:59Although the Cotter decision
37:13had canceled production
37:15of the B-1,
37:16it had allowed some funds
37:17for the continued tests
37:19of the first three planes
37:20and to complete
37:21the building of the fourth.
37:23It was with these four aircraft
37:25that Rockwell started
37:26to resurrect the program,
37:28but much time had passed
37:30since the cancellation,
37:31and if the swing-wing bomber
37:33was ever to reach production,
37:34it would be vastly different
37:36from the original concept.
37:38In some ways,
37:39time had worked
37:40in the plane's favor.
37:42New ideas were now
37:43becoming available,
37:44and with flying test vehicles
37:46on hand,
37:47their qualities
37:48could be quickly verified.
37:49The most important change
38:14to strategic thinking
38:15was the revised attitude
38:17toward high speed.
38:18The first parameter
38:20for the B-1
38:20had been that it could fly
38:22at over 50,000 feet
38:23and speeds in excess
38:25of Mach 2,
38:26twice the speed of sound.
38:28And then,
38:28as it approached
38:29enemy radar,
38:30the plane was expected
38:31to drop to 200 feet
38:33and high subsonic speed
38:34to make its final run
38:36undetected.
38:37But later thinking
38:38claimed that Mach 2's
38:40speed performance
38:40was of no real
38:41strategic value.
38:43Low and slow,
38:44if 600-plus miles an hour
38:45is slow,
38:46was seen as the best way
38:48for a long-range penetrator
38:49to reach its target.
38:51The reduction
38:51in top-end speed requirement
38:53would enable other benefits
38:54to be included
38:55in the new plane
38:56and would also contain costs.
38:58Much greater emphasis
38:59was placed
39:00on making the plane invisible
39:01by using non-radar
39:03reflecting materials.
39:04The new bomber
39:05would appear
39:06to be less than 1%
39:08of the size of a B-52
39:10on enemy radar screens.
39:20In-flight refueling
39:21for optimum range
39:22was given even greater priority
39:24as there had been
39:25unfounded criticism
39:26of the early plane's results
39:28at low level.
39:29A major change
39:30was implemented
39:31for crew survival
39:32by deleting
39:33the crew ejection module,
39:34which had never been perfected,
39:36in favor of conventional
39:38ejection seats,
39:39quite suitable
39:40for the slower-flying version.
39:45With revised specifications
39:46from Rockwell
39:47and the pressing need
39:49to solve the B-52
39:50replacement problem,
39:52the Reagan administration
39:53announced in October of 1981
39:55the decision
39:56to build 100 Rockwell bombers
39:58to be called the B-1B.
40:00The four earlier prototypes,
40:03which had done
40:04so much valuable work
40:05to prove the basic
40:06and later the modified concepts,
40:08would continue
40:09in the test program
40:10as the B-1A.
40:12It is entirely possible
40:14that had these four
40:15original aircraft
40:16not been available,
40:18the entire B-1B,
40:19the born-again bomber project,
40:21would never have got underway.
40:23The B-1B was to have
40:37many new features,
40:39including a modified
40:40and vastly improved bomb bay.
40:43These cavernous areas
40:44can now be adjusted
40:45to accommodate
40:46different weapons loads
40:47and fuel requirements.
40:53Clearly,
41:03given the success
41:04the cruise missile
41:05had enjoyed,
41:06it would also have
41:07to be accommodated.
41:09Because the B-1B
41:10would be the B-52's
41:12replacement,
41:13the new aircraft
41:14would have to accommodate
41:15conventional and atomic
41:16devices in a variety
41:18of sizes and configurations
41:20to fulfill a range
41:21of operations.
41:23Given this need
41:24for flexibility
41:25and the far-reaching scope
41:27of the B-1 project,
41:28it's hard to imagine
41:29that serious consideration
41:31was not so long ago
41:33given to using transports
41:34like the C-5
41:36to carry cruise missiles
41:37and that this combination
41:39was supposed to replace
41:40the classic B-52.
41:41as the B-1A continued to prove
42:08the new performance specifications,
42:11work on the B-1Bs
42:12was well underway
42:13at Palmdale.
42:14The total cost of 100 B-1Bs
42:17was to be $20 billion
42:19or over $200 million
42:21a plane.
42:22But with the lessons learned
42:24from the disruption
42:24of the earlier program,
42:26at least the B-model
42:27was certain of completion
42:28and this meant
42:30in the long term
42:31the best value
42:32for the money.
42:40Much of the B-1B's cost
42:41goes to provide
42:42its sophisticated
42:43avionics equipment.
42:45Fixed antennas
42:46and radar dishes
42:46literally project
42:47from every angle
42:48of the fuselage,
42:50all gathering information
42:51for its computers
42:52to analyze.
42:53From this data,
42:54the crew will make decisions.
42:56Decisions that may well resolve
42:58the outcome of a mission
42:59with historic importance
43:00and the fate of the aircraft
43:02and those that fly it
43:03could equally be at stake.
43:05All things considered,
43:06perhaps the Rockwell
43:07Swing Wing Bomber
43:08is not so expensive
43:09after all.
43:14Many types of skills
43:15and technology
43:16are employed
43:17as the tens of thousands
43:18of parts come together
43:20and the giant technological
43:22jigsaw puzzle
43:23that is the making
43:24of a modern bomber
43:25starts to take shape.
43:32By the middle of 1983,
43:34the first B-1B production model
43:36was ready to make
43:37its public debut,
43:39looking so very much
43:40like its predecessor.
43:42The new planes
43:42are hard to distinguish
43:43from those
43:44which first appeared
43:45almost a decade earlier.
43:47Modified air intakes
43:48and a small window
43:49for the radar operators
43:50are subtle
43:51but effective clues
43:52for the untrained eye.
44:00However,
44:01the performance variations
44:02are not subtle.
44:04The B-1B,
44:05flying with half the speed
44:06potential of the A model,
44:08uses 21st century materials
44:10to become almost invisible
44:11to enemy fighters
44:12and missiles
44:13and therefore
44:14is far more likely
44:16to complete its mission.
44:17And all the time
44:18it's on its deadly journey,
44:20it's providing tacticians
44:21with the flexible option
44:23of a last-minute recall,
44:25a role only the manned bomber
44:27can perform,
44:28but a role that was often
44:29understated in the past.
44:31having survived against competition
44:44that started
44:45with such crude weapons
44:46as the B-1 flying bomb
44:48and later evolved
44:50into the sophisticated
44:51and extremely deadly
44:52cruise missiles
44:53that would be carried
44:54by aging B-52s,
44:56and having been eclipsed
44:59by the development
45:00of ballistic missiles
45:01which began
45:02with the German V-2 rockets
45:03and over time
45:05developed into the powerful
45:07intercontinental ballistic missiles
45:09that completely dominated
45:11the topic of nuclear delivery
45:12for over 30 years,
45:14the manned bomber survived
45:18by using yet another
45:20German innovation,
45:21that of the variable-swept wing.
45:24In the early 60s,
45:28the idea,
45:29greatly refined
45:30and used in conjunction
45:31with terrain-following radar,
45:33emerged as the F-111,
45:35a very successful
45:36medium-strike bomber.
45:44And in the early 70s,
45:46the concept was further developed
45:47into the B-1,
45:48the ultimate high-speed,
45:50long-range manned bomber.
45:51But it was to take
45:53another 10 years
45:54and the arrival
45:55of still more advanced
45:56construction materials
45:57and another generation
45:58of avionics
45:59before the later model,
46:01the B-1B,
46:02was to reach service.
46:04A masterpiece
46:05of high technology,
46:07the best that the aerospace industry
46:08could offer,
46:09had finally arrived.
46:11It will fly well
46:12into the 21st century,
46:13and given time,
46:14will doubtless become
46:15a similar legend
46:16to the aircraft
46:17it replaced,
46:18the B-52.
46:18But clearly,
46:20the B-1B,
46:21the born-again bomber,
46:23is already
46:24one of the world's
46:25great planes.
46:26and through the
46:42and through the
46:44and through the
46:45and through the
46:46�y portable
46:46and through the
46:46ball
46:47then it's
46:47inacredit silicon
46:48left
46:49into the
46:49side
46:50into the
46:51Tsch
46:52and then
46:53way
46:53the
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