The Supersonic BONE: A Development and Operational History of the B-1 Bomber

by Kenneth P. Katz

When the B-52 Stratofortress entered operational service with the US Air Force in 1955, work was already underway on defining its successor. The B-70 Valkyrie, a Mach 3 jet bomber, was one option. Although two XB-70A prototypes flew, the B-70 never went into production. Out of the subsequent Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft program came the B-1A bomber, which flew at high speed and low altitude to evade enemy air defenses. The B-1A was canceled in favor of fitting the B-52 with cruise missiles. The B-1, known as the BONE, was revived in 1981 as the improved B-1B to boost American military power and be a symbol of American strength at the peak of Cold War tensions. The B-1B entered service in 1986 with several deficiencies. The resolution of most of these issues coincided with the end of the Cold War.

After the Cold War, the B-1B lost its primary nuclear mission but remained relevant by transforming into a high-speed, long-range, high-payload delivery platform for conventional precision-guided munitions. The first combat use of the B-1B was in 1998 in Iraq. The BONE has proved a highly effective combat aircraft in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and the former Yugoslavia.

This superbly researched and illustrated book traces the BONE’s long development and operational history in fascinating detail.

400 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2022

Reviews

[Daemon Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps I'm biased because I flew B-1s in the Air Force as a weapons systems officer, but this is an excellent B-1 book, perhaps the best published in the English language (and as far as I know I own nearly all of the books on B-1 published in English).

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent book, an excellent development history with an acute operational history. I recommend the hardback because of the photos. Despite the few noticeable typos in the book, I would still get this book for one's aviation geek collection due to the highly technical writing.

[Lori Edmonson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the best book on the B-1 there is

From beginning to end if you wanted to know anything about the B-1 this is the book for you
It covers every aspect of the airplane and its history. Well written and illustrated

[michael meinel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eat more pork

excellent information covering all respects of this trully remarkable airplane
When she eventually is retired , she will be long remembered

[Douglas E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of Detail

About everything you could want to know about the Bone. Highly detailed timeline full of great photos. Very heavy use of abbreviations and acronyms, but I don’t think there’s any other way to do it without constant repetition in a much longer book. Well researched, great job.

[Daniel J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great History!

This was a very detailed book about the B1_B bomber, it’s development and service. Great detail about wars in the Middle East!

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing detail

The amount of details about the B-1 variants is amazing along with numerous photographs and tables of information. Highly recommended.