The Mysteries of the B2 Bomber
The Mysteries of the B2
August 20, 2002. Completed January 17, 2003 (Page 7)
Page Zero
I intend to present here a dossier on the famous American B2 "Spirit" bomber. Since there are 2.4 megabytes of photographs and various illustrations, I have divided this study into a series of HTML pages; otherwise, loading times would be endless. If you do not read everything at once, here is how to access the different pages.
Page 1: Long-range bombing, flying wing design, and stealth. Historical background.
Page 2: First images of the B2. Background on the Strategic Air Command.
Page 3: The B2's armament.
Page 4: The B2's missions. In-flight refueling. Crew fatigue issues.
Page 5: The B2's oddities.
Page 6: The B2's air intakes.
Page 7: A film showing the B2's MHD system in action.
The material used to compile this analysis primarily comes from the brochure:
B2-Spirit in Action
by James Goodall
Published by Squadron/Signal Publications. Given that the editorial team was able to take numerous close-up photographs of this aircraft and interview pilots and officials, one can consider this brochure an authentic representation of the Air Force. Readers may obtain this brochure through a French distributor:
Maison du livre - Aviation - 75 Bd Malesherbes, 75008 Paris. Tel: (01 45 22 74 166). Price: 13 euros.
In this study, I will demonstrate that there is an astonishing number of mysteries surrounding this "fabulous aircraft," presented (Washington Post, 1998) as a stealth bomber capable of conducting a bombing mission anywhere on Earth, departing from its base (Whiteman, Missouri), and returning—all within less than 24 hours (the aircraft is supposedly subsonic). Some have questioned why these B2s aren't simply dispersed to key locations around the globe, stationed on U.S. bases. Official response: the B2 requires hangars with strictly controlled temperature and humidity levels, which would be extremely expensive (due to the alleged fragility of its "radar-absorbing coating"). It is therefore more economical to deploy them via in-flight refueling. Another issue concerns crew endurance (a two-person crew) during such long flights. In civilian aviation, long-haul flights cannot exceed nine hours; otherwise, airliners are equipped with three pilots to allow for rotation and rest. In military aviation, B-52 flights lasting 12 to 15 hours are routine, but with two full crews (six personnel, i.e., two pilot-copilot-navigator teams). These aircraft also have bunks for rest. The B2 has none. A general interviewed in the brochure merely states that pilots take "short naps alternately" (while seated in their ejection seats!). This is hardly credible. In an interview reproduced in the brochure, a general even said, "One of the pilots found a beach chair, bought from a nearby market, whose dimensions perfectly matched the space left behind the cockpit." The reader will judge such statements for themselves.
Finally, the greatest mystery concerns the B2's price: over two billion dollars per unit. Yet, aside from its miraculous stealth coating, many components of this aircraft required no special research. The engines are the same ones used on the B1 and other aircraft. The landing gear is conventional. The cabin equipment is standard (including the ejection seats). The bomb and cruise missile release mechanism is also a standard system, used both in the U.S. and by the Russians. There is no revolutionary innovation. So why is this aircraft so expensive? And why has it been built in only 21 copies? In the final part of this study, we will propose an explanation, which will also appear in my upcoming book.
To read the next part of the dossier, click:
Next Page
A bit of humor.
There is a major American academic search engine. If you search for "mhd," you get the following message:
Sorry, no results at all for mhd.
We recommend trying general terms ("global warming," or "medical errors," for example), since we've designed our search to accommodate that.
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