Quote:
Originally Posted by Llarry
Based solely on the paint scheme, I suspect your photo of the museum B-1 is of the B-1A model, of which only 4 were built until the program was cancelled in 1977. But the program was revived and the B-1B became operational in 1986.
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You are correct. It's in front of the SAC Museum near Offut AFB, NE. I was there a few years ago.
There were four built, but only two survive. One is at the Denver Museum of Flight-- but it doesn't have the super-secret variable intakes anymore. The other (pictured above) is at the SAC Museum near Offut AFB, NE-- that one used to be at the USAF Museum in Dayton, but was given to Offut in the early 2000's.
The big giveaway between the B-1A and B-1B was the variable-geometry intakes (not particularly stealthy and terrifyingly expensive and a maintenance nightmare) and the crew ejection system. The A had a crew ejection pod similar to the F-111 while the B has individual ejection seats.
Honestly? It's sort of an airplane in search of a mission. When Carter cancelled the B-1A and it was resurrected by Reagan, the cost overruns were crippling, so a lot of changes were made. The variable intakes were scrubbed, the high-speed dash (M2.2+) was scrubbed (the B can barely do M1.25 at altitude and is subsonic at low altitude), the crew capsule went away, and a lot of "extra" stuff was stripped (like tossing one of the generators off of the engines). And? They kept the variable geometry wings, which really weren't all that needed if the jet wasn't going to do M2+.
Basically, Reagan wanted it, so it was a compromise, and not all that great of a jet (although it looks cool pulling closed in the pattern). Maintenance is terrifyingly expensive-- which is why new copilots were flying T-37/T38 ACE-- they couldn't get the flying hours to be proficient any other way.
Iirc, it was the only major weapons system that didn't partake in Gulf War, Part I-- at the time, it didn't have the capability of conventional weapons, and dropping a nuke on Saddam would probably have been overkill.
R.