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B-1 Lancer: The Most Complicated Warplane Ever Developed

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The second volume in McGraw-Hill's ambitious Walter J. Boyne Military Aircraft Series, this book is a gold mine of information on the B-1B Lancer, a nephew of the elder B-52 Stratofortress and a cousin of the modern B-2 Spirit. Written so exactingly and packed with such great detail, one has to stop every once in a while to convince himself that he is not studying the flight manual in preparation for a mission. The background of the author, Dennis R. Jenkins, shines through conspicuously. Only an aerospace engineer, like him, could possibly provide this level of technical data. However, the military airplane buff should not be discouraged for the author has succeeded miraculously in smoothing out the high-tech elements in an easy-to-understand text that starts with an historical perspective on strategic bombing. We learn that in the late 1950s/early 1960s, the Air Force had its sights aimed at a huge Mach 3 bomber designated the XB-70. This promising testbed was cancelled because it was thought to be obsolete in the emerging age of ICBMs and because its proposed high-altitude mission profile would presumably make it vulnerable to the surface-to-air missiles that downed Gary Powers' U-2 over the Soviet Union in May 1960. Eventually, the Lancer came along and entered the operational inventory, but not until after navigating through the nearly suffocating political currents of Washington. The B-1A was funded in the early 1970s only to be discontinued later in the decade. In 1981, the Reagan administration re-started the program, now designated the B-1B. One hundred were built at the time when the world was essentially dominated by two superpowers and the guiding principle of foregn policy was nuclear deterence. Not prepared for conventional weapons delivery during the short-lived Persian Gulf War, B-1Bs were subsequently modified such that their first combat deployment occurred seven years later against Iraqi targets in Operation Desert Fox, one in an ongoing series of pinprick missions retaliating for Saddam Hussein's indiscretions. In 1999, B-1Bs flew missions against Slobodan Milosevic as part of Operation Allied Force. This bomber that looks like and flys like a fighter has remarkable capabilities: a long unrefueled range, supersonic speed at high altitude, near supersonic speed at low altitude, precision-guided munitions carriage, and radar avoidance through terrain following flight. From the B-1B's first flight on October 18, 1984, the aircraft has undergone numerous upgrades, ensuring its mission readiness and mission applicability in today's world with its ever changing threats. The story of this workhorse of the bomber fleet is brilliantly told by someone who knows his subject. There could hardly be a more comprehensive review of this bomber, its construction, systems, weapons, testing, deployment, and fiscal travails. Demonstrating the depth of research, there are many never before published photographs, a chronology, and a listing of all production aircraft by serial numbers and "nose art" nicknames. A prodigious effort, indeed, that is worthy of praise for its thoroughness alone. An added feature is the editing by distinguished aerospace historian Walt Boyne, a former Air Force bomber pilot who got to come back from retirement and actually fly the B-1B! There can be no doubt about the accuracy of this book from cover to cover. This book is highly recommended for anyone lacking the credentials for flight in the real thing, but who wants that in-the-cockpit feel. Reading this marvelous book is the next best thing to flying the bomber.