Convair YB-60

Convair YB-60
YB-60 at Edwards AFB
Description
Role	Strategic heavy bomber
Crew	5
Dimensions
Length	171 ft	52.1 m
Wingspan	206 ft	62.8 m
Height	60 ft 6 in	18.4 m
Wing area	5239 ft²	487 m²
Weights
Empty	153,016 lb	69,407 kg
Loaded
Maximum take-off
Powerplant
Engines	8 P&W J57-P-3 turbojets
Power	8700 lb each	39 kN
Performance
Maximum speed	508 mph	818 km/h
Combat range	2920 miles radius	4700 km
Ferry range	8000 miles	11,000 km
Service ceiling	53,300 ft	16,200 m
Rate of climb	1570 ft/s	479 m/s
Armament
Guns	2 20 mm cannon (tail turret)
Bombs	72,000 lb	33 t

The Convair YB-60 was an American experimental bomber prototype built by Convair and first flown on April 18, 1952. Proposed as an updated B-36 with swept wings and all-jet propulsion, it was originally designated XB-36G, betraying its 72% parts commonality with its piston-engined forebear. The fuselage of the two aircraft were largely identical, although the YB-60 had a longer, pointed nose with a needle-like instrument probe, instead of the B-36's rounded nose, and the tail surfaces were all-new, swept to match the wings, instead of the B-36's more antiquated design. The swept wings actually used a lot of B-36 parts, with a wedge-shaped insert at the wing root to sweep the wings back more than the B-36's wings.

The YB-60's unofficial competition for an Air Force contract was Boeing's B-52 Stratofortress. Convair's proposal was substantially cheaper than Boeing's since it involved modifying an existing design rather than starting from scratch. Like the B-52, it was powered by eight Pratt & Whitney; J57-P-3 turbojets mounted in pairs in four pods suspended below the wing.

Instead of the B-36's crew of fifteen, the B-60's crew numbered only five. Defensive armament had fallen out of favor against jet-propelled, missile-armed interceptors, and the only guns were two 20 mm cannon in the tail, directed by radar.

The Convair aircraft beat the Boeing YB-52 into the air by a mere three days, but it was soon obvious that it would win few other contests against Boeing's bomber. The YB-60 was over 100 mph (160 km/h) slower than the competition, and had severe handling problems in addition. The only other contest it could win was bomb load carried, which was 72,000 pounds against 43,000 pounds (20 t) for the YB-52, but the Air Force didn't see the need for it.

Accordingly, the flight test program was cancelled on January 20, 1953 with 66 flying hours accumulated. The second prototype was never completed. The airframe was complete, but it was never provided with engines or much other equipment. The aircraft were formally accepted by the Air Force in 1954, since Convair had completed its prototype contract satisfactorily, but the aircraft never flew again and both were scrapped by July of that year.

Related content
Related Development
Similar Aircraft
Designation Series	B-57 - B-58 - XB-59 - YB-60 - B-61 - B-62 - B-63
Related Lists	List of military aircraft of the United States - List of bomber aircraft

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