Rockwell B-1B Lancer
The history of the B-1 Lancer is a long, troubled, and ultimately successful one. With the cancellation of the high-altitude XB-70 Valkyrie and the retirement of the low-altitude B-58 Hustler bombers, this left the USAF with no real replacement or even supplement for the B-52 Stratofortress, which by the mid-1960s, was felt to be increasingly vulnerable to Soviet air defenses. Four separate studies called for a supersonic bomber, probably with variable-sweep wings, capable of high-speed, low altitude penetration of the Soviet Union, but nothing came of these studies until 1969, when President Richard Nixon, drawing on the experience of the Vietnam War, ordered the military to adopt a “flexible response” to war: the prevailing attitude to that point had been all-out nuclear war from the beginning, and Vietnam had shown that not all future wars would be nuclear.
A manned bomber would offer the flexibility Nixon called for, and a new aircraft would supplement the aging B-52 as well as the FB-111A Aardvark, which was not performing to hoped standards. The USAF called for designs, and in 1970 Rockwell was chosen to build three prototypes and one pre-production aircraft; the new aircraft was designated B-1.
Since Rockwell could draw on nearly a decade of studies, the B-1 prototype first flew only four years later, in December 1974. It was a radical looking design, with a blended, long fuselage, four engines fed by variable intakes pushing the aircraft to Mach 2, a high swept tail, and variable-sweep wings. Since much of the B-1’s attack plan called for low-level attack, two vanes were attached at the nose to smooth the flight. Flight testing went relatively smoothly and the USAF ordered 244 B-1As in 1976.
Unfortunately, the B-1 now faced enemies it would struggle far more to vanquish than enemy defenses: politics and cost. The inflationary 1970s had doubled the cost of each aircraft, and to new President Jimmy Carter, the increase in cost coupled with the development of cruise missiles made the B-1 a fiscal and unnecessary nightmare; Carter had also been informed of a technology breakthrough that now allowed for the development of a truly stealthy bomber. With all of this in mind, Carter abruptly cancelled the B-1, leaving the USAF once more dependent on the B-52 and a handful of FB-111s, albeit armed with cruise missiles; flight testing of the four existing B-1As would be allowed to continue. Carter’s decision proved a politically damaging one: Ronald Reagan used the cancellation as a political weapon that helped Reagan to the Presidency in 1980.
Reagan had promised to restart development of the B-1, and he was assisted in this by a USAF study in which it was predicted that the B-52, even with cruise missiles, would no longer be able to survive Soviet air defenses after 1985. The Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB, what would become the B-2 Spirit) was not projected to be operational until 1990. As such, the B-1 would be a useful “interim” bomber between the very non-stealthy B-52 and the stealthy B-2. In 1982, the USAF ordered 100 B-1Bs from Rockwell.
The B-1B differed substantially from the B-1A, though not much externally. It was heavier, because it was now given the capability to carry external weapons and range was increased. The variable intakes were replaced with simpler fixed ones, though the internal structure of the intakes were altered to make it more stealthy: although the B-1 lost its ability to reach Mach 2, it now had one-fiftieth of the radar signature of a B-52. Avionics were far more comprehensive, and the electronics suite was significantly upgraded. The crew capsule escape system, which was never reliable, were replaced by standard ejection seats. The first B-1B was delivered to the USAF in June 1985, with squadron strength a year later.
Ironically, the B-1 would never be used against its intended foe in its intended role. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 saw the B-1 program struggling: engine fires and high-profile crashes had grounded it during the First Gulf War, and with the Cold War over, its existence was called into question. However, the ever-increasing age of the B-52 and the slashes to B-2 Spirit production meant the B-1 was still needed: its high speed penetration ability, range, and bombload were still very competitive. Unlike the B-52, the B-1 could also operate from shorter runways. As a result, the B-1 force was switched over to a purely conventional role, and was gradually upgraded with improved avionics, as well as the capability to drop precision-guided weapons.
The USAF also addressed the B-1’s lack of an official nickname: crews had been calling it the “Bone” (a play on the words “B-One”); the USAF preferred the term Lancer, reflecting the aircraft’s ability to penetrate enemy defenses and its shape, similar to that of a lance, with wings fully swept. Finally, in 1998, the Lancer got a chance to show its capability in Operation Desert Fox, airstrikes meant to derail Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program, then a year later in the Kosovo War.
Entering the 21st Century, once more plans were announced to retire the B-1 as a cost-saving measure. Once more, plans changed. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after 2001 saw the Lancer used extensively, once more due to its speed and loitering time. Coalition troops in Afghanistan appreciated the B-1’s ability to respond quickly and drop bombs accurately in support of troops in contact—on more than one occasion, B-1s simply made low level supersonic passes over Taliban positions to deafen and intimidate the enemy into retreat.
As a result of these actions, the USAF has decided to keep the Lancer in service until 2040, albeit at a reduced force number of 67 aircraft. Of the original 100 B-1Bs and four B-1As built, nine have been lost in crashes; a further nine are on display in museums, a rarity for an operational aircraft.
83-0067 was the fourth B-1B to be built, and was assigned to the 96th Bomb Wing (later 7th Bomb Wing) at Dyess AFB, TX. It was later given the name "Texas Raider" after the Commemorative Air Force's B-17G Flying Fortress. When the USAF began downsizing the Lancer fleet in the early 2000s, 83-0067, as one of the remaining high-time B-1Bs, was retired and flown to Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, as a parts resource. After it was stripped of everything usuable, it was placed on display at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum.
83-0067 used to carry the "Texas Raider" nose art and a 9/11 commemorative "Let's Roll" patch, but those have been apparently been painted over in the aircraft's last restoration cycle. Though it never flew with the unit, it carries the 28th BW's tail stripe and tailcode. Two of the B-1's progenitors, the B-29 and B-52, can be seen in the background.
While I was touring the museum, two of Ellsworth's B-1Bs taxied out and took off on a mission. There is nothing quite like a Lancer in full 'burner--or as loud!
Rockwell B-1B Lancer
The history of the B-1 Lancer is a long, troubled, and ultimately successful one. With the cancellation of the high-altitude XB-70 Valkyrie and the retirement of the low-altitude B-58 Hustler bombers, this left the USAF with no real replacement or even supplement for the B-52 Stratofortress, which by the mid-1960s, was felt to be increasingly vulnerable to Soviet air defenses. Four separate studies called for a supersonic bomber, probably with variable-sweep wings, capable of high-speed, low altitude penetration of the Soviet Union, but nothing came of these studies until 1969, when President Richard Nixon, drawing on the experience of the Vietnam War, ordered the military to adopt a “flexible response” to war: the prevailing attitude to that point had been all-out nuclear war from the beginning, and Vietnam had shown that not all future wars would be nuclear.
A manned bomber would offer the flexibility Nixon called for, and a new aircraft would supplement the aging B-52 as well as the FB-111A Aardvark, which was not performing to hoped standards. The USAF called for designs, and in 1970 Rockwell was chosen to build three prototypes and one pre-production aircraft; the new aircraft was designated B-1.
Since Rockwell could draw on nearly a decade of studies, the B-1 prototype first flew only four years later, in December 1974. It was a radical looking design, with a blended, long fuselage, four engines fed by variable intakes pushing the aircraft to Mach 2, a high swept tail, and variable-sweep wings. Since much of the B-1’s attack plan called for low-level attack, two vanes were attached at the nose to smooth the flight. Flight testing went relatively smoothly and the USAF ordered 244 B-1As in 1976.
Unfortunately, the B-1 now faced enemies it would struggle far more to vanquish than enemy defenses: politics and cost. The inflationary 1970s had doubled the cost of each aircraft, and to new President Jimmy Carter, the increase in cost coupled with the development of cruise missiles made the B-1 a fiscal and unnecessary nightmare; Carter had also been informed of a technology breakthrough that now allowed for the development of a truly stealthy bomber. With all of this in mind, Carter abruptly cancelled the B-1, leaving the USAF once more dependent on the B-52 and a handful of FB-111s, albeit armed with cruise missiles; flight testing of the four existing B-1As would be allowed to continue. Carter’s decision proved a politically damaging one: Ronald Reagan used the cancellation as a political weapon that helped Reagan to the Presidency in 1980.
Reagan had promised to restart development of the B-1, and he was assisted in this by a USAF study in which it was predicted that the B-52, even with cruise missiles, would no longer be able to survive Soviet air defenses after 1985. The Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB, what would become the B-2 Spirit) was not projected to be operational until 1990. As such, the B-1 would be a useful “interim” bomber between the very non-stealthy B-52 and the stealthy B-2. In 1982, the USAF ordered 100 B-1Bs from Rockwell.
The B-1B differed substantially from the B-1A, though not much externally. It was heavier, because it was now given the capability to carry external weapons and range was increased. The variable intakes were replaced with simpler fixed ones, though the internal structure of the intakes were altered to make it more stealthy: although the B-1 lost its ability to reach Mach 2, it now had one-fiftieth of the radar signature of a B-52. Avionics were far more comprehensive, and the electronics suite was significantly upgraded. The crew capsule escape system, which was never reliable, were replaced by standard ejection seats. The first B-1B was delivered to the USAF in June 1985, with squadron strength a year later.
Ironically, the B-1 would never be used against its intended foe in its intended role. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 saw the B-1 program struggling: engine fires and high-profile crashes had grounded it during the First Gulf War, and with the Cold War over, its existence was called into question. However, the ever-increasing age of the B-52 and the slashes to B-2 Spirit production meant the B-1 was still needed: its high speed penetration ability, range, and bombload were still very competitive. Unlike the B-52, the B-1 could also operate from shorter runways. As a result, the B-1 force was switched over to a purely conventional role, and was gradually upgraded with improved avionics, as well as the capability to drop precision-guided weapons.
The USAF also addressed the B-1’s lack of an official nickname: crews had been calling it the “Bone” (a play on the words “B-One”); the USAF preferred the term Lancer, reflecting the aircraft’s ability to penetrate enemy defenses and its shape, similar to that of a lance, with wings fully swept. Finally, in 1998, the Lancer got a chance to show its capability in Operation Desert Fox, airstrikes meant to derail Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program, then a year later in the Kosovo War.
Entering the 21st Century, once more plans were announced to retire the B-1 as a cost-saving measure. Once more, plans changed. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after 2001 saw the Lancer used extensively, once more due to its speed and loitering time. Coalition troops in Afghanistan appreciated the B-1’s ability to respond quickly and drop bombs accurately in support of troops in contact—on more than one occasion, B-1s simply made low level supersonic passes over Taliban positions to deafen and intimidate the enemy into retreat.
As a result of these actions, the USAF has decided to keep the Lancer in service until 2040, albeit at a reduced force number of 67 aircraft. Of the original 100 B-1Bs and four B-1As built, nine have been lost in crashes; a further nine are on display in museums, a rarity for an operational aircraft.
83-0067 was the fourth B-1B to be built, and was assigned to the 96th Bomb Wing (later 7th Bomb Wing) at Dyess AFB, TX. It was later given the name "Texas Raider" after the Commemorative Air Force's B-17G Flying Fortress. When the USAF began downsizing the Lancer fleet in the early 2000s, 83-0067, as one of the remaining high-time B-1Bs, was retired and flown to Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, as a parts resource. After it was stripped of everything usuable, it was placed on display at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum.
83-0067 used to carry the "Texas Raider" nose art and a 9/11 commemorative "Let's Roll" patch, but those have been apparently been painted over in the aircraft's last restoration cycle. Though it never flew with the unit, it carries the 28th BW's tail stripe and tailcode. Two of the B-1's progenitors, the B-29 and B-52, can be seen in the background.
While I was touring the museum, two of Ellsworth's B-1Bs taxied out and took off on a mission. There is nothing quite like a Lancer in full 'burner--or as loud!