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B-58A Remembrances
Recollections and true tales from a former B-58 crewman. Varied stories of what it was like to be a proud member of a flight crew aboard that amazing Mach 2 strategic bomber back in the 1960's.
- GenresMilitary Fiction
136 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 23, 2012
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11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 9, 2017
A nice collection of short stories about being a B-58 crew member. One of my favorite aircraft and similar to the SR-71 in flying complexity. Air Force vets and aviation buffs will appreciate the author's experiences...
February 13, 2017
B-58 Remembrances by Philip Rowe takes us on an intimate date with the United States Air Force’s fastest strategic bomber. The B-58 Hustler was the Indy car of bombers—incredibly fast and surprisingly manoeuvrable, but these qualities were not enough to ensure its survival in an age where shooting down aircraft had become a science.
Rowe takes us along on the day to day life of the Hustler’s flight crew, from the tedium of standing alert, to the missions themselves. The reader will learn what it was like to be part of the Strategic Air Command, the USAF’s long range bombing organization. They will also learn some of the idiosyncrasies of what was—and still is—the fastest bomber in history.
Anyone with even a passing interest in aviation will want to read this book. You will probably want to acquire a copy of At The Klaxon’s Call, also by Rowe. I am well into that book now and can already recommend it.
www.daniellittle.com
Rowe takes us along on the day to day life of the Hustler’s flight crew, from the tedium of standing alert, to the missions themselves. The reader will learn what it was like to be part of the Strategic Air Command, the USAF’s long range bombing organization. They will also learn some of the idiosyncrasies of what was—and still is—the fastest bomber in history.
Anyone with even a passing interest in aviation will want to read this book. You will probably want to acquire a copy of At The Klaxon’s Call, also by Rowe. I am well into that book now and can already recommend it.
www.daniellittle.com
March 22, 2019
This Old Bunker Hill AF Base Brat Loves This Book!
I began reading this book for family history research. My Daddy Jim's last flight as a B-58 pilot was from Bunker Hill Air Force Base while our family was stationed there. I was six years old when he was killed in the wild blue yonder in one of these magnificent birds during the B-58 "heyday" as the author described so well. The early 60's - so long ago. The book gave me the background for what exactly my father did not only on a day-to-day basis, but when he went "On Alert". It explained all the colored pencils, protractor and big maps on our dining room table in the base housing we resided in. I can still remember hugging him in his flight suit. Thank you to the author for bringing back some amazing memories for this old AF brat!
I began reading this book for family history research. My Daddy Jim's last flight as a B-58 pilot was from Bunker Hill Air Force Base while our family was stationed there. I was six years old when he was killed in the wild blue yonder in one of these magnificent birds during the B-58 "heyday" as the author described so well. The early 60's - so long ago. The book gave me the background for what exactly my father did not only on a day-to-day basis, but when he went "On Alert". It explained all the colored pencils, protractor and big maps on our dining room table in the base housing we resided in. I can still remember hugging him in his flight suit. Thank you to the author for bringing back some amazing memories for this old AF brat!
September 27, 2014
A Look Into the Past
I was always fascinated by this great bomber and to read about it was great. The dedication from flight crews to maintenance crews kept our our country safe at a time we could be launched into war at a moment's notice.
I was always fascinated by this great bomber and to read about it was great. The dedication from flight crews to maintenance crews kept our our country safe at a time we could be launched into war at a moment's notice.
May 20, 2019
So-so
I have been a huge Aviation buff all of my life. This is not a particularly good example of aviation history. It is a rather jumbled collection of previous writings the author has done with essentially zero editing. So he explains over and over again what a DSO does and explains repeatedly the difference between center of gravity and center of lift, etc. The few actual flying stories that he tells are interesting, but more than half of the book is taken up with trite, an interesting stories about the foibles of living on an Air Force Base. There was a long I'm interesting story about an enlisted man opening two shoe stores in his spare time. It was utterly pointless, in my opinion. And I know this is petty, but I got tired of being constantly addressed as "dear reader."
I have been a huge Aviation buff all of my life. This is not a particularly good example of aviation history. It is a rather jumbled collection of previous writings the author has done with essentially zero editing. So he explains over and over again what a DSO does and explains repeatedly the difference between center of gravity and center of lift, etc. The few actual flying stories that he tells are interesting, but more than half of the book is taken up with trite, an interesting stories about the foibles of living on an Air Force Base. There was a long I'm interesting story about an enlisted man opening two shoe stores in his spare time. It was utterly pointless, in my opinion. And I know this is petty, but I got tired of being constantly addressed as "dear reader."
October 29, 2019
Good, interesting, but my god! The ending
First of all, the Convair B-58 is a fascinating airplane. A stunning performer for its time, and even now. It was also a demanding plane to fly. You don’t screw up in a B-58 if you want to collect your pension.
The author writes in an engaging style you might expect from a devil may care flight hero. But always, there’s the substrate of the B-58’s demands, to which its crews were committed, or else.
It’s interesting and fun until the end, at which point the narrative abruptly goes over the falls. No warning. No conclusion. Done. End. Boink! That understood, this is an enlightening book that illuminates a tense, exhilarating slice of an interesting aircraft, and the Cold War.
First of all, the Convair B-58 is a fascinating airplane. A stunning performer for its time, and even now. It was also a demanding plane to fly. You don’t screw up in a B-58 if you want to collect your pension.
The author writes in an engaging style you might expect from a devil may care flight hero. But always, there’s the substrate of the B-58’s demands, to which its crews were committed, or else.
It’s interesting and fun until the end, at which point the narrative abruptly goes over the falls. No warning. No conclusion. Done. End. Boink! That understood, this is an enlightening book that illuminates a tense, exhilarating slice of an interesting aircraft, and the Cold War.
January 6, 2020
My first book of the year. Was excited to learn more about one of my favorite military aircraft and certainly did. One particular story about a pilot needing to, umm, relieve himself was particularly funny. At its best there is some great detailed information about flying and operating the aircraft. At not its best, it’s a bit of rambling war stories. Thanks to the author for sharing these stories!
April 13, 2017
I am usually looking for facts 1st and then operational data, in that order. This book had none of that and I found it to be a very interesting read. I will still need to find another book that hopefully will be loaded with facts, but this book is a very easy read and I found it quite enjoyable to learn the human side of sitting on the point of the spear, waiting for the klaxon to sound so that they can rush to their planes and embark on what is probably going to be a one-way trip. I grew up about 26 miles from Bunker Hill Air Force Base in Indiana where these beasties were based. Every year during Armed Forces Day, we would drive to the base to inspect the most advanced machines that the Air Force had. Bunker Hill's motto was, "The world's Fastest Airbase." It had the T 37 jet trainer, the KC 135 tanker, the F106 interceptor and the B 58 supersonic bomber. Several years later I got an extremely close look at the pointy end of a B 58 down at 300 feet from the left window of my 1947 Stinson Voyager. I was taking my parents for their 1st small airplane ride along with my wife and very young son. We were flying over the new reservoir that was under construction near my hometown. I had just looked out the left window to check for traffic, then looked out the right window and then back to the left window, not expecting to see any traffic down that low. However, I found myself looking in the front cockpit window of a B58 with an amazingly good view of the pilot. I immediately pulled up and left and so did he. I passed directly behind that beautiful bomber about 2 seconds after he passed in front. I still had the control wheel all the way to the left but the vortex off the wing rolled us all the way around to the right. When we landed back in my hometown airport, I called Bunker Hill Tower to ask them what that bomber was doing down at 300 feet going really, really fast and was told that he was just practicing ILS approaches. I knew that wasn't true because he was way too far from the airfield and traveling way too fast. Now, from this book I learned that he was probably practicing a high-speed, low level penetration into Russian airspace. Anyway, I have the dubious privilege of inspecting a B 58 underside from about 50 feet from the cockpit of my antique airplane. Impressive.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews