B1 Bomber
For other uses, see B1.
The B-1 Lancer is a strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force. First envisioned in the 1960s as a supersonic bomber with sufficient range and payload to replace the B-52 Stratofortress, it developed primarily into a low-level penetrator with long-range and capable of supersonic speed.
Its development was stopped and restarted multiple times over its history, as the theory of strategic balance changed from flexible response to mutually assured destruction and back again. It eventually entered service more than 20 years after first being studied.
The B-1B production version has been in service with the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1986.
The Lancer serves as the supersonic component of the USAF's long-range bomber force, along with the subsonic B-52 and B-2 Spirit. With the retirement of the EF-111 Raven in 1998 and the F-14 Tomcat in 2006, the B-1B is the U.S.
military's only variable-sweep wing aircraft.
Development
Background
In December 1957, U.S. Air Force selected North American Aviation's proposal to replace the B-52 Stratofortress.
This would lead to the B-70 Valkyrie. The Valkyrie was a six-engine bomber that could fly very high at Mach 3 to avoid interceptor aircraft, the only effective anti-bomber weapon in the 1950s. At the time, Soviet interceptors were unable to intercept the high-flying Lockheed U-2; the Valkyrie was to fly at similar altitudes and much higher speeds.
By the early 1960s the state of the art in engine and airframe design had improved considerably; an aircraft designed to match the B-52 in performance could meet both of these additional requirements as well.
Design studies
The first post-B-70 study was known as the Subsonic Low Altitude Bomber (SLAB), which was completed in 1961. In mid-1964, the USAF had revised its requirements and retitled the project as Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft (AMSA), which differed from AMPSS primarily in that it also demanded a high-speed high-altitude capability, albeit slower than the Valkyrie at about Mach 2. Given the lengthy series of design studies, Rockwell engineers joked that the new name actually stood for "America's Most Studied Aircraft".
The cancellation of the B-70 project had led some to question the need for a new strategic bomber at all.
The Air Force was adamant about retaining bombers as part of the nuclear triad concept that included bombers, SLBMs, and ICBMs in a combined package that complicated any potential defense. The original argument was that the bombers could be kept in the air during times of increased defensive posture, where they would be difficult to attack.
Missiles of the era, like the Atlas and Redstone, required a lengthy fuelling procedure immediately before launch, and were therefore vulnerable to air attack while still on the ground. They also had low accuracy; enough to attack cities as a strategic deterrent, but not enough to attack hardened military targets.
To attack these targets, the bombers were required.
In the early 1960s newer generations of missiles with solid rocket motors were being introduced that could be launched quickly, even faster than bombers, and were sited in underground silos for protection. Making matters more troublesome for the Air Force was the introduction and rapid improvement of the U.S.
After this period the Air Force used a number of different arguments to make its case for the strategic bomber, including the conventional role and "recall-ability", but these arguments were much less convincing.
One of the biggest critics of the bomber portion of the triad was Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara who preferred ICBMs over bombers for the Air Force side of the deterrent force. a new advanced strategic aircraft does not at this time appear justified." His opposition led to the AMSA program being limited to studies in 1964. The program was revived only a few years later however, and in 1968 an advanced development contract was issued to IBM and North American Rockwell.
McNamara remained opposed to the program in favor of upgrading the existing B-52 fleet, and adding just under 300 FB-111s for shorter range roles then being filled by the B-58. He again vetoed the AMSA program and did not fund aircraft development.
B-1A program
A B-1A in flight showing its underside, 1981.
President Richard Nixon re-established the program after taking office, in keeping with his administration's flexible response strategy that required a broad range of options short of general nuclear war. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird reviewed the programs and decided to lower the numbers of FB-111s, claiming it lacked the required range, and recommended that the AMSA design studies be accelerated.
At one time, some 240 B-1As planned to be built, with initial operational capability set for 1979.
Rockwell's design featured a number of features common to 1960s U.S. These included the use of variable-sweep wings in order to provide both high lift during takeoff and landing, and low drag during a high-speed dash phase.
Initially, it had been expected that a Mach 1.2 performance could be achieved at low altitude, which required that titanium be used in critical areas in the fuselage and wing structure. The terrain-following radar, in particular, would allow the B-1 to fly at much lower altitudes during the "dash" phase of the mission than the B-52, which relied on older systems that demanded higher minimum altitudes during bad weather.
Overall it had a range similar to that of the B-52, although more of the flight could be low-level.
A combination of flying lower due to better navigation systems and a greatly reduced radar cross section made it much safer from attack by missiles, and the latter also improved its odds against fighters as well. outside the USSR), its high-speed dash was a potentially useful technique the B-52 could not match.
In 1970, the estimated per-unit price was $40 million, and by 1972, the cost had risen slightly to $45.6 million. During the 1976 federal election campaign, Jimmy Carter made it one of the Democratic Party's platforms, saying "The B-1 bomber is an example of a proposed system which should not be funded and would be wasteful of taxpayers' dollars."
Cancellation
The Rockwell B-1A, 1984.
When Carter took office in 1977 he ordered a review of the entire program.
Alexander Haig, then commanding NATO, described the ALCM as an "attractive alternative" to the B-1. The nose gear cover door has controls for the auxiliary power units (APUs), main gear doors and nearby entry ladder. One of controls there allows for quick starts of the APUs upon order to scramble.
The B-1's offensive avionics include the Westinghouse (now Northrop Grumman) AN/APQ-164 forward-looking offensive passive electronically scanned array radar set with electronic beam steering (and a fixed antenna pointed downward for reduced radar observability), synthetic aperture radar, ground moving target indicator (MTI), and terrain-following radar modes, Doppler navigation, radar altimeter, and an inertial navigation suite.
The Plans for a defensive systems upgrade program (DSUP) were canceled for budgetary reasons. In addition, the Air Force has recently announced a program to keep the aircraft flying until at least 2040.
Operational history
The USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) had B-1 Lancers in service from 1986 through 1992, when SAC was re-organized out of existence.
Air Force
96th Bombardment Wing, Dyess Air Force Base, Abilene, Texas (1984-1992)
4018th Combat Crew Training Squadron (CCTS) (1984-1985)
338th Bombardment Squadron (1985-1992)
337th Bombardment Squadron (1985-1992)
7th Bomb Wing, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas
9th Bomb Squadron (1992-present)
13th Bomb Squadron (2000-2005)
28th Bomb Squadron (1994-present)
28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, South Dakota
34th Bomb Squadron (2002-present)
37th Bomb Squadron (1986-present)
77th Bomb Squadron (1986-1995, 1996-2002)
319th Bombardment Wing, Grand Forks Air Force Base, Grand Forks, North Dakota (1986-1994)
46th Bomb Squadron (1986-1994)
384th Bombardment Wing, McConnell AFB, Wichita, Kansas (1987-1994)
28th Bomb Squadron (1987-1994)
366th Wing, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Mountain Home, Idaho (1994-2002)
34th Bomb Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base (1994-1997), Mountain Home Air Force Base (1997-2002)
184th Bomb Wing, Kansas Air National Guard, McConnell AFB, Wichita, Kansas (1994-2002)
127th Bomb Squadron, Kansas Air National Guard (1994-2002)
116th Bomb Wing, Georgia Air National Guard, Robins AFB, Georgia (1995-2002)
128th Bomb Squadron, Georgia Air National Guard (1995-2002)
53d Wing, Eglin AFB, Florida
337th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Dyess AFB, Texas
57th Wing, Nellis AFB, Nevada
B-1 Division, USAF Weapons School, Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota (1992-2002)
77th Weapons Squadron, USAF Weapons School, Dyess AFB, Texas (2002-present)
412th Test Wing, Edwards AFB, California
6510th Test Squadron (1989-1992)
Survivors
The first B-1A (s/n 74-0158) was disassembled and used for radar testing at the Rome Air Development Center, New York.
The second B-1A (s/n 74-0159) flew for the subsequent B-1B program, but crashed on 29 August 1984 (see below).
The third B-1A (s/n 74-0160) is on display at Wings Over the Rockies Museum in Denver, Colorado.
The fourth and last B-1A (s/n 74-0174) was on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio for many years before moving to the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland, Nebraska. This aircraft has conventional ejection seats and other features distinctive to the B-1B variant instead of the B-1A.
B-1B (s/n 83-0069, Lot II) is on display the the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, GA.
It is displayed in the Museum's Cold War Gallery, and replaces the B-1A (74-0174) formerly on display.
Accidents and incidents
Between 1984 and 2001, 17 people have been killed in B-1 crashes.
Notable accidents and incidents
On 29 August 1984, B-1A (s/n 74-0159) stalled and crashed while performing minimum control speed tests at low altitude. The crew used the escape capsule to leave the bomber, but the parachute deployed improperly and the pilot, Doug Benefield, was killed on impact.
In September 1987, B-1B (s/n 84-0052) from the 96th Bomb Wing, 338th Bomb Squadron, Dyess AFB crashed near La Junta, Colorado, while flying on a low-level training route.