Douglas B-66

Douglas B-66 Destroyer
A US Air Force RB-66B
Type:	Reconnaissance plane and bomber
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Douglas Aircraft Company
First flight:	June 28, 1954
Commissioning:	1956
Production time:	1956 to 1960 (?)
Number of pieces:	294

The Douglas B-66 Destroyer was a reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber of the United States Air Force that was in service from 1956 to 1973. The aircraft was a shoulder- wing monoplane with swept wings and two jet engines below . A total of 294 pieces were produced in different variants.

development

In 1951, the US Air Force wrote out a bomber and reconnaissance aircraft to replace the Douglas B-26 Invader . Boeing then proposed a version of the B-47 Stratojet , Martin a version of the XB-51 . However, the USAF decided in 1952 for the Douglas A3D Skywarrior , which had its maiden flight as a strategic bomber for the United States Navy on October 28, 1952.

The USAF did not order a prototype, but instead five RB-66A pre-production aircraft, as it was believed that the A3D could be used by the USAF without major modifications. However, it had been developed as a strategic bomber for attacks from great heights, while the RB-66 should be suitable for low-level flight operations. For this, the cell had to be reinforced; In addition, the chassis had to have larger wheels for use on unpaved slopes. Above all, however, the entire cockpit had to be redesigned in order to be able to fit Aircraft Mechanic Inc. ejection seats of the types Seat No 551/552/553/554 for each of the four crew members. The navigator and the bombardier were ejected downwards, which would have ended fatally in the critical start phase. In the Navy A3D, the crew was supposed to jump off with a parachute. The avionics were almost completely replaced. The RB-66A received the APS-27 and K-5 radar, for which the radome was enlarged, and four cameras for the reconnaissance role. The engines also had to be replaced because there were delivery bottlenecks in the Pratt & Whitney J57 proposed by Douglas . The choice fell for political reasons, against the recommendations of the engineers for the J57, on the too weak Allison J71 . On hot days, or during the Vietnam War in Southeast Asia, the runway length was no longer sufficient to take off due to insufficient thrust. In order to save weight, the wing folding mechanism, the catch hook , the catapult device and the de-icing system were omitted . Overall, the take-off weight increased by 5 tons.

commitment

The first series variant was the RB-66B , which differed only slightly from the RB-66A. The first machines were used from 1956 with the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (reconnaissance wing), Shaw Air Force Base , South Carolina (USA).

The B-66B , built in 1956/57, differed from the RB-66B in that it had a longer bomb bay and a larger internal fuel supply. Furthermore, two additional tanks could be carried under the wings. The first use was in 1956 with the 12th Light Bombardment Wing (light bomber wing), Hurlburt Field , Florida .

EB-66E of 39th TEWS, 52nd TFW in Spangdahlem, 1972

The RB-66C (from 1966 EB-66C) was specially developed for electronic warfare (ECM) . Originally, the 36 aircraft were used by the 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Shaw AFB, the 42nd TRS in Spangdahlem and the 67th TRS in Yokota ( Japan ). In 1962 the RB-66C were used over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis and from 1965 almost exclusively over Vietnam . Here the 41st and 42nd Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadrons (e-warfare squadrons) of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing (fighter wing) deployed the EB-66 from Takhli in Thailand to identify North Vietnamese radars. The RB-66 / EB-66 could not attack themselves.

The WB-66D weather reconnaissance aircraft was the last variant of the Douglas B-66. Here the ECM equipment of the RB-66C has been replaced by a weather reconnaissance equipment. The aircraft were in service from 1957 to 1965.

Northrop received two WB-66D (55-0408 and 55-0410) as experimental aircraft in 1962. They were used to investigate ways of influencing the boundary layer flow on a wing in order to reduce the air resistance and thus increase the range. Two General Electric XJ79-GE-13 engines on the rear fuselage replaced the underwing engines on the B-66. These machines were called the X-21A .

production

Approval of the B-66 by the USAF:

version	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	TOTAL	price
B-66B		6th	47	19th		72	$ 3,130,875
RB-66A	5					5	$ 15,516,211
RB-66B	2	8th	91	44		145	$ 2,334,404
RB-66C		1	20th	15th		36	$ 2,719,153
WB-66D				34	2	36	$ 1,915,900
TOTAL	7th	15th	158	112	2	294

Conversion of the B-66 after fiscal years:

version	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	total	Remodeling
B-66D	1		1								2	WB-66D
EB-66B							13		1		14th	B-66B
EB-66C						7th	6th	3			16	RB-66C
EB-66E								26th	15th	11	52	RB-66B
X-21A				2							2	NB-66D, WB-66D
total	1	0	1	2	0	7th	19th	29	16	11	86

(FY = Fiscal Year. The FY 1961 ran from July 1, 1960 to June 30, 1961.)

6 B-66, 31 RB-66 / EB-66 and 3 WB-66 were lost in accidents between 1957 and 1973, a total of 40 aircraft. In Vietnam, the USAF lost 15 RB-66 / EB-66.

variants

RB-66C, ECM variant

EB-66E of the 41st TEWS, 1968 in the Vietnam War

RB-66A

Pre-production aircraft; five built (serial numbers 52-2828 / 2832)

RB-66B

Spotter; 145 built (53-0409 / 0481, 54-0417 / 0446, 54-0506 / 0547)

B-66B

light bomber; 72 built (53-0482 / 0507, 54-0477 / 0505, 54-0548 / 0551, 55-0302 / 0314)

RB-66C

ECM airplane; 36 built (54-0447 / 0476, 55-0384 / 0389)

WB-66D

Weather scout; 36 built (55-0390 / 0425)

EB-66B

ECM conversion of 13 B-66B

NB-66B

two test aircraft (53-0488 and 54-0481) for NASA's Gemini and Apollo programs

EB-66C

Designation of the RB-66C from 1966

EB-66E

ECM conversion of 52 RB-66B

Northrop X-21A

two WB-66D converted into test aircraft

Incidents

From the first flight in 1954 to the end of its mission in 1975, Douglas B-66s of all variants were known to have suffered 37 total losses. 62 people were killed in 20 of them. In the course of the Vietnam War there were 14 losses.

B-66s were stationed in Germany between 1957 and 1973. During this time there were 5 total losses, 2 of them fatal with 5 fatalities. Example:

Shot down at Gardelegen in 1964

On March 10, 1964, the RB-66B ( registration number 54-0541 ) was shot down by Soviet fighter planes in the GDR . According to official reports by the US Air Force, the machine of the 19th TRS, 10th TRW from Alconbury (Great Britain) had started a training flight from Toul-Rosières in France , had lost its way due to a defective compass and accidentally penetrated the airspace of the GDR . It was shot down north of Gardelegen by MiG-19s of the 33rd Fighter Regiment from Wittstock and the 35th Fighter Regiment from Zerbst . The three crew members catapulted themselves out of the machine with their ejection seats, one of which was slightly injured. They were captured by the Soviet troops and were able to leave the GDR after four weeks.

The airspace violation occurred during a maneuver by the Soviet Armed Forces in Germany (GSSD) ; the RB-66 flew over the military training area Gardelegen. It was intercepted by the two systems on duty from Wittstock and Altengrabow, asked to land and, when the crew did not respond to warning shots, shot down. An evaluation of the recorded data and photos by the Soviet side showed that the RB-66 had taken photos and carried out radiometric recordings. The Soviet Union had announced this to the Western Allies in good time before the maneuver in accordance with a four-sided agreement on the unhindered flight of transport and passenger aircraft over the territory of the GDR and thus blocked the corresponding airspace. From the point of view of the Soviet side, the RB-66 had been shown to have been assigned to spy during the maneuver.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	3 (electronic scouts up to 7)
length	22.90 m
span	22.10 m
height	7.19 m
Wing area	72.46 m²
Empty mass	19,720 kg
Takeoff mass	26,200 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	37,648 kg
drive	two Allison J71 with 45 kN thrust
Top speed	1,015 km / h
Service ceiling	11,855 m
Range	4,000 km

Armament

Pipe armament for self-defense

• 1 × rear stand unit with a double mount in a rotating dome with 2 × 20 mm M24A1 automatic cannons with 400 rounds of ammunition each. The stern stand unit is remote-controlled by a crew member from the cabin. A fire control radar is installed as a target aid. At the end of the unit, two MK and the target lighting radar are built into a movable spherical screen.

Explosive ordnance up to 5,443 kg in the internal bomb bay and two external load stations under the wings

Unguided bombs

• 1 × B28IN (Mk.28IN) (free fall bomb with nuclear 1.45 MT explosive device)
• 12 × Mark 82 LDGP (241 kg / 500 lb free fall bomb)
• 6 × Mark 83 LDGP (454 kg free-fall bomb )
• 8 × 730 kg armor-piercing bombs (1,600 lb)
• 4 × Mark 84 LDGP (907 kg free fall bomb)

Trivia

In the 1988 film BAT-21 , Gene Hackman played the role of Lt. Colonel Iceal Hambleton, who was shot down on April 2, 1972 as a navigator in an EB-66 over North Vietnam . However, the film is often far removed from the real events.

See also

• List of aircraft types

Web links

Commons : Douglas B-66  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Manufacturer site (English)
• Douglas RB-66B National Museum of the USAF
• Joe Baugher's page on the B-66

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1954. pp. 70 f .; 1955, p. 80 f .; 1956, p. 91 f .; 1957, pp. 97 f., 1958, p. 79; 1961, p. 79.
2. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1961–1970 , table "Gains and Losses"
3. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1957–1973 , table "Gains and Losses". In contrast, Chris Hobson: Vietnam Air Losses, Hersham 2001, lists a total of 14 operational losses, including 11 EB-66 and 3 RB-66.
4. ^ List of accidents involving Douglas B-66 , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase , accessed on July 27, 2019.
5. ↑ List of accidents in Germany with B-66 , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase , accessed on July 27, 2019.
6. ↑ Cold War: Problems in Navigation. In: Newsweek . 1964, archived from the original on March 11, 2012 ; accessed on October 6, 2014 (English). 
7. ^ Gerhard Moroff, Kai Focke: MiG-19 against US reconnaissance. Shot down over Gardelegen. In: Fliegerrevue X No. 42, Bergkirchen 2013, p. 68.
8. ↑ ^{a b c} Launch of the RB-66. In: RB-66. Retrieved on October 4, 2014 (USSR view of the shooting down, translation of the pilot's report according to Mir Aviazia , volume 03/02): “To combat the air target, a couple (the“ on duty ”from the“ Northerners ”) were from Wittstock - with the leader Zinofiev - and a couple under the leadership of Iwannikow from Zerbst (also the "on duty", brought by the "southern", who had moved from Zerbst to Altengrabow because of the maneuver). " 
9. ↑ Douglas RA-3B / EA-3B / RB-66C. Retrieved October 4, 2014 (US view of the launch). 
10. ↑ Altengrabow / Groß Lübars airfield. In: Military airfield directory / Cold War airfields. Retrieved on October 6, 2014 (information on Altengrabow airfield). 
11. ^ Wolfgang Preisler: Deja Vu in Gardelegen. Soviet Shoot-down of a USAF RB-66. 2002, archived from the original on February 19, 2012 ; accessed on October 6, 2014 (English): “There was little doubt as to what it was, where it had come from and its actual intended purpose. This bit of hard evidence would also make it very difficult to refute that the plane had been on anything but a spy mission. This information would of course never be made public. "