Convair YB-60

The Convair YB-60 was an experimental military bomber developed by the Convair division of General Dynamics in the late 1940s. Intended as a jet‑powered successor to the piston‑engine B‑36 Peacemaker, the YB-60 was based on the same swept‑wing airframe but equipped with four Allison J35 turbojets mounted in pairs beneath the wings. First flown on 13 September 1949, the prototype demonstrated impressive speed, reaching 560 mph, and a service ceiling above 40,000 feet, far surpassing the B‑36’s performance. Its payload capacity remained comparable, allowing up to 20,000 pounds of bombs or a nuclear ordnance. Advanced features included a pressurised cabin, ejection seats for the crew of six, and a sophisticated fire‑control radar that foreshadowed later strategic bombers. Despite these advantages, the YB-60 lost the USAF competition to the Boeing B‑47 Stratojet, whose lighter design and lower development cost proved more attractive. Although only two prototypes were built and the program was cancelled in 1951, the YB‑60 contributed valuable data on high‑speed, high‑altitude jet bomber design and influenced Convair’s later Convair B‑58 Hustler supersonic bomber. Its brief existence highlighted the rapid transition from propeller‑driven to jet‑propelled strategic aircraft in the early Cold War era.