The flight crew of the Convair B-58A-10-CF Hustler 59-2451, “The Firefly,” planning the Washington, D.C.-to-Paris flight, 26 May 1961. Left to right, Captain William L. Polhemus, Captain Raymond R. Wagener and Major William R. Payne. (Jet Pilot Overseas)
26 May 1961: The Firefly, the Blériot Trophy-winning Convair B-58A-10-CF Hustler, serial number 59-2451, assigned to the 43rd Bombardment Wing, Carswell Air Force Base, Fort Worth, Texas, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a Recognized Course by flying from Washington, D.C. to Paris in 3 hours, 39 minutes, 49 seconds, for an average speed of 1,687.69 kilometers per hour (1,048.68 miles per hour).¹
During the same flight, the B-58 flew the New York to Paris segment in 3 hours, 14 minutes, 44.53 seconds, at an average speed of 1,753.16 kilometers per hour (1,089.36 miles per hour).
The aircrew, Major William R. Payne, Aircraft Commander, Captain William L. Polhemus, Navigator, and Captain Raymond R. Wagener, Defensive Systems Officer, won the Harmon and Mackay Trophies for this flight.
Convair B-58A-10-CF Hustler 59-2451, The Firefly, lands at Aéroport de Paris – Le Bourget, Paris, after the record-setting transatlantic flight, 26 May 1961. (University of North Texas Libraries)The Blériot Trophy, photographed 12 June 1961. “Side view of The Blériot Trophy on display. It is the figure of a naked man made of black marble in a flying position emerging from clouds. The clouds are white stone and are the figures of women in various poses on top of a marble dome.” (University of North Texas Libraries)The Mackay TrophyThe Harmon International Trophy at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. (NASM)
On 3 June 1961, while enroute home, The Firefly crashed only 5 miles from Paris, killing the Blériot Trophy-winning aircrew, Major Elmer E. Murphy, Major Eugene Moses, and First Lieutenant David F. Dickerson. The B-58 was totally destroyed.
Convair B-58A-10-CF Hustler 59-2451, The Firefly.
The B-58A Hustler was a high-altitude Mach 2 strategic bomber which served with the United States Air Force from 1960 to 1970. It was crewed by a pilot, navigator/bombardier and a defensive systems operator, each located in individual cockpits. The aircraft had a delta-winged configuration similar to the Convair F-102A Delta Dagger and F-106 Delta Dart supersonic interceptors. The fuselage incorporates the “Area Rule” which resulted in a “wasp waist” or “Coke bottle” shape for a significant reduction in aerodynamic drag. The airplane’s only control surfaces are two “elevons” and a rudder. There are no flaps.
The “Hustler” was 96.8 feet (29.5 meters) long, with a wing span of 56.8 feet (17.3 meters) and an overall height of 31.4 feet (9.6 meters). The wings’ leading edges were swept back at a 60° angle. The wings had a 3°0′ angle of incidence, 2°14′ dihedral, and a total area of 1,542.5 square feet (143.3 square meters).
The B-58A had an empty weight of 51,061 pounds (23,161 kilograms). Its Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) was 90,000 pounds (40,823 kilograms), but once airborne, it could take on additional fuel from a tanker, raising the bomber’s maximum weight to 125,147 pounds (56,766 kilograms).
The B-58A was powered by four General Electric J79-GE-5 afterburning turbojet engines, suspended under the wings from pylons. These were single-shaft axial-flow engines with a 17-stage compressor and 3-stage turbine. The J79-GE-5 had a continuous power rating of 9,700 pounds of thrust (43.15 kilonewtons), Military Power, 10,000 pounds of thrust (44.49 kilonewtons), and Maximum Power, 15,600 pounds (69.39 kilonewtons) with afterburner. (All ratings at 7,460 r.p.m.) The engine was 16 feet, 10.2 inches (5.131 meters) long and 3 feet, 2.0 inches (0.889 meters) in diameter. It weighed 3,570 pounds (1,619 kilograms).
The bomber had a cruise speed of 626 miles per hour (1,007 kilometers per hour) from 30,000 to 50,000 feet (9,144–15,240 meters), and a maximum speed of 1,319 miles per hour (2,124 kilometers per hour) at 56,100 feet (17,099 meters). The B-58’s service ceiling was 67,200 feet (20,483 meters).
Jet fuel (JP-4) was carried in three tanks inside the airplane’s fuselage, and two tanks in a streamlined drop tank. The total capacity of the five tanks was 15,369 gallons (58,178 liters). Its combat radius was 2,589 miles (4,167 kilometers) and the maximum ferry range was 6,483 miles (10,434 kilometers).
The B-58 weapons load was a combination of W-39, B43 or B61 nuclear bombs. The W-39 was carried in the centerline pod. (A two-component mission pod was also available.) The W-39 was the same warhead used on the PGM-11 Redstone intermediate range ballistic missile and the SM-62 Snark intercontinental cruise missile. It was a two-stage radiation-implosion thermonuclear warhead with an explosive yield of 3.8 megatons. The warhead weighed 6,230 pounds (2,826 kilograms). The B-43 and B-61 bombs were carried on four hardpoints under the fuselage.
There was a defensive General Electric M61 Vulcan 20 mm rotary cannon mounted in the bomber’s tail, with a maximum 1,040 rounds of ammunition. The gun was remotely-controlled by the Defensive Systems Officer.
Convair B-58A-10-CF Hustler 59-2456 with weapons load. (U.S. Air Force)
The Convair Division of General Dynamics built 116 B-58s at Forth Worth, Texas. The first XB-58 flew on 11 November 1956. Production aircraft entered service with the Strategic Air Command in 1960 and were retired in 1970. Only eight aircraft remain in existence.
Convair B-58A strategic bombers in storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona. (Aviation Explorer)
Kaman HH-43B-KA Huskie 60-0263 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)
25 May 1961: Captain Walter C. McMeen, U.S. Air Force. flew a Kaman HH-43B Huskie, 60-0263, to an altitude of 8,037 meters (26,368 feet) over Luke Air Force Base, west of Phoenix, Arizona. This established a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Altitude with a 1,000 Kilogram Payload.¹
Brigadier General James W. Chapman, Jr., commander, 4510th Combat Crew Training Wing, Luke Air Force Base, congratulates Captain Walter C. McMeen on his record setting flight. (U.S. Air Force)
Captain McMeen was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his achievement.
This same helicopter set a World Record for Altitude Without Payload at 10,010 meters (32,841 feet), 18 October 1961.² It was flown by Lieutenant Colonel Francis M. Carney over the Kaman plant at Bloomfield. Connecticut. The following week, on 24 October 1961, Colonel Carney set six more world records, flying the HH-43B to 3,000 meters (9,853 feet) in 2 minutes, 41.5 seconds;³ 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) in 6 minutes 49.3 seconds;⁴ and to 9,000 meters (29,528 feet) in 14 minutes, 31 seconds.⁵ Captain Richard H. Coan set a World Record for Distance Over a Closed Circuit Without Landing, when he flew 60-0263 1,055.16 kilometers (655.65 miles), at Mono Lake, California, 13 June 1962.⁶ Captain Chester R. Radcliffe, Jr., set an FAI World Record for Distance Without Landing when he flew the Huskie from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, to Springfield, Minnesota, a distance of 1,429.80 kilometers (888.44 miles), 5 July 1962.⁷
Kaman HH-43B Huskie 60-263. (FAI)
The Kaman Aircraft Corporation Huskie was used by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, primarily for short range rescue operations. It was operated by two pilots and two rescue crewmen.
A turboshaft engine drove a unique system of counter-rotating and intermeshing rotors to provide lift, thrust and directional control. The counter-rotation cancelled the torque effect so no anti-torque, or tail, rotor was necessary. This allowed all of the engine’s power to drive the main rotor system.
The fuselage of the H-43B was 25 feet, 2 inches (7.671 meters) long. Each rotor had a diameter of 47 feet, 0 inches (14.326 meters). It’s height was 15 feet, 6½ inches (4.737 meters). The helicopter’s empty weight was 4,470 pounds (2,028 kilograms) and its maximum gross weight was 8,800 pounds (3,992 kilograms).*
Kaman H-43B 58-1846 at Edwards Air Force Base. (University of Texas at Dallas 14EAK-1-1PB29)
The H-43B was powered by one Lycoming T53-L-1B turboshaft engine, rated at 860 shaft horsepower at 21,510 r.p.m. The engine uses a 5-stage axial-flow, 1 stage centrifugal-flow, compressor with a single stage gas producer turbine and single-stage power turbine. A reverse-flow combustion section allows significant reduction in the the engine’s total length. The power turbine drives the output shaft through a 3.22:1 gear reduction. The T53-L-1 is 3 feet, 11.8 inches (1.214 meters) long and 1 foot, 11.0 inches (0.584 meters) in diameter. It weighs 460 pounds (209 kilograms).
The Huskie’s economical cruise speed was 98 miles per hour (158 kilometers per hour), and the maximum speed was 120 miles per hour (193 kilometers per hour). Its hover ceiling out of ground effect (HOGE) was 18,000 feet (5,486 meters), and in ground effect (HIGE) was 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) and it had a range of 235 miles (378 kilometers).
Kaman H-43B Huskie 58-1846 at Edwards AFB. Left rear quarter view. Note the early configuration of vertical fins.
With the call sign Pedro, the HH-43 was a rescue helicopter that served in combat during the Vietnam War.
The record-setting Kaman HH-43B Huskie 60-0263 was last assigned to Detachment 3, 42nd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. It is in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Walter Carlton McMeen was born 22 July 1926 at Lamesa, Dawson County, Texas, He was the son of Ralph Evan McMeen, an oil company truck driver, and Nannie Dee Price. At the age of 17 years, Walter enlisted in the United States Navy, 29 March 1944. He served as a fireman aboard the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Young (DD-580). Following World War II, Fireman 1st Class McMeen was released from active duty, 16 May 1946.
USS Young (DD-580), Mare Island, 6 October 1944. (U.S. Navy)
McMeen studied at Texas Technological College, Lubbock, Texas, but in 1950, he left school to enlist as an aviation cadet in the U.S. Air Force. He was sent to pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, southeast of Phoenix, Arizona.
Aviation Cadet McMeen married Miss Lena Fay Boykin of Dallas, Texas, at Williams AFB, 28 Oct 1950. The wedding was presided over by an Air Force chaplain. They would have four children.
Walter C. McMeen was commissioned as a second lieutenant, U.S.A.F., 10 February 1951. He flew 100 combat missions in fighter bombers during the Korean War. He then served as an instructor at Nellis AFB, near Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lieutenant McMeen transitioned to the Piasecki H-21. In three years at Nellis, he rescued 49 pilots. He was then assigned to Luke AFB. During the next four years, in addition to 31 Air Force personnel, McMeen rescued 41 civilians and brought them to safety.
Piasecki H-21B Workhorse O-34334 at Elmendorf Air Foce Base, Alaska, circa 1960. (U.S. Air Force)
In 1955, using an ax to chop through the canopy of a burning North American Aviation F-86 Sabre, Lieutenant McMeen saved the life of the fighter’s pilot. For this action he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal.
On 12 April 1960, Captain McMeen accepted the first Kaman H-43B at the factory in Bloomfield, Connecticut. He flew the new helicopter to Langley, Virginia, where it was loaded aboard a Lockheed C-130 Hercules and transported to Luke AFB, Arizona.
In 1968, Major McMeen commanded Detachment 16, Western Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Center at Williams AFB.
Major McMeen retired from the Air Force 1 July 1970.
McMeen was fatally injured 28 December 1984, at San Diego, California. He was a passenger aboard a Bell 47G-3B-1 helicopter, N474MP, attempting to land aboard M/V Olga del Pacifico, a 70.01-meter, 1,111 gross ton Mexican-registered tuna seiner which was tied up alongside the 10th Avenue Terminal in San Diego Bay. The pilot, James McDonald, did not see a crane boom which was positioned over the ship’s helideck. McDonald was critically injured, but McMeen died at Physicians and Surgeons Hospital at 4:15 p.m.**
Major Walter Carlton McMeen was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona.
¹ FAI Record File Number 13154
² FAI Record File Number 1870
³ FAI Record File Numbers 13057 and 13135
⁴ FAI Record File Numbers 13056 and 13136
⁵ FAI Record File Number 13137
⁶ FAI Record File Number 1258
⁷ FAI Record File Number 13208
* Maximum overload gross weight is 9,150 pounds (4,150 kilograms) at a load factor of 2.0
** The helicopter, manufacturer’s serial number 6531, was repaired and returned to service. It was later registered N811MS and N9296U. The FAA registration was cancelled in 2013.
