Utilitarian aircraft developed from the Navy's A3D
Skywarrior to provide the Air Force with a tactical light
bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. The Destroyer was almost
canceled due to early developmental problems, but it
overcame them. Deliveries began in 1956. In the fall of
1957, only 17 hours after being put on alert in the US,
several B-66B crews, after crossing the Pacific as elements
of a Composite Air Strike Force, were flying simulated
bombing missions over the Philippines. The RB-66C was
designed for electronic reconnaissance and had a pressurized
compartment for electronic warfare officers, rather than a
bomb bay. The B-66B was the only pure bomber version, and
even those were subsequently modified. The WB-66D, the final
production version, was designed for weather data collection
in combat areas. The EB-66Cs were used to locate North
Vietnamese radar sites, determine their function, and
identify their frequency to develop an enemy electronic
order of battle. The type was retired in the mid-1970s,
primarily because they had been used so extensively that
fatigue was a problem. B-66s also had excessive maintenance
requirements. The EB-66 models were eventually replaced by
the EF-111. The X-21A was an extensively modified WB-66D and
was a test-bed for wing laminar flow control system.
| Contractors: |
Douglas Aircraft Co. |
| Locations Built: |
Long Beach, Calif., and Tulsa, Okla. |
| Number Built: (USAF) |
294 (294) |
| First Flight: |
June 28, 1954 |
| First Flight Model: |
RB-66A |
| First Flight Location: |
Long Beach, Calif. |
| First Flight Pilot: |
George Jansen |
| Models/Variants: |
RB-66A, B, C. B-66B. WB-66D;
EB-66C, E. NB-66B, X-21A |
| Powerplant: |
Two Allison J71-A-11 or -13s
nonafterburning turbojets of 10,200 lb of thrust
each |
| Wingspan: |
72 ft 6 in. |
| Length: |
75 ft 2 in. |
| Height: |
23 ft 7 in. |
| Weight: |
83,000 lb gross |
| Armament: |
Two 20-mm cannon in a remotely
controlled tail turret (15,000 lb of bombs
internally on B-66B only) |
| Accommodation: |
Crew of three (pilot, navigator,
and gunner/camera operator); crew of seven (pilot,
navigator, and five electronic warfare officers) on
RB/EB-66C. |
| Cost: |
$2.55 million |
| Max. Speed: |
Approx 600 mph |
| Range: |
Approx 1,800 mi. |
| Ceiling: |
43,000 ft. |
|
