Recap of my 1952 -- 55 Experiences at Shaw AFB, SC
by Bill Starnes, USAF Col (Ret)

Some say that the B-66 was always scheduled to have the Allison J-71 engine (designed for a one way missile I was told), but that is not what I recall when I was a brand new 1stLt and moved by LtColonel Charles A. Callahan, 9th TRSq(EW) commander to 9th AF on 21 July 1955. Assistant Chief of the ECM section of the Communications and Electronics Directorate, DCS/Ops under Major Lawrence A. Mills -- Captain Peter C. Osterhouse, my Flight Commander in the 9th, followed shortly to replace Mills when he transfered PCS to USAFE I think. I represented TAC at various AFSC, AMC and other conferences pertaining to the ECM configuration of the RB-66C and this is the way I remember what was told to me including actual dates where indicated:

In 1949 the Navy ordered the A-3 Skywarrrior (nicknamed the Whale) to be built by Douglas. It was to be the largest aircraft ever to be assigned to a carrier and I believe it still holds that distinction. The first flight was on October 28, 1952. The aircraft did not have ejection seats and used slide to EGRESS the machine in an emergency. I think it had two pilots and I know for sure that that aircraft always had the Pratt & Whittney J-57-P-6 which was the best jet engine for many years -- kinda like the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine we had on the B-26 and many fighters and multi-engine aircraft. In 1952-53 our B-26Bs and RB-26Bs were replaced by an interim aircraft the British Canberra (B-57) produced by Martin. The Air Force pushed for this interim replacement to be in service by 1954, so on January 12, 1952 the Air Force chose a modified A3D.

We all know that the B-66 was almost 75% different than the A-3, and I recall at the time when briefed our B-66 had a so called "coke bottle" design so that it could exceed Mach 1 with the J-57 engines. Now there is some question whether the B-66 could have ever gone Mach 1 and I really do not know. Actually, four engines were being considered by Douglas -- the Westinghouse J40, the Pratt & Whittney J-57, the Allison J-71 and the GE J73. I was told that the scheduled J-57 engines were removed from the prototype and production run because Gen LeMay, SAC Commander, needed all of them for his precious B-52s also in production (first flight April 15, 1952). Hence, Douglas had to scramble and the J-71 was selected because of its "guaranteed performance, its production availably, and its development status."

We all know the J-71 history in the aircraft, and I always wondered how great a military machine the Air Force would have had with the Pratt & Whittney J-57 engine. The A-3D's final flight was on September 30, 1991 and I believe the B-66 was retired in 1973. Hence, the older, less well designed but better engined machine, outlived our B-66 by 18 years.