B-66 Destroyer

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Douglas B-66 Destroyer

Type	Light bomber
Manufacturer	Douglas Aircraft Company
Designed by	Ed Heinemann
Maiden flight	1954
Introduced	1956
Retired	1973
Primary user	United States Air Force
Unit cost	US$2.55 million (RB-66B)^[1]

Douglas RB-66B Destroyer

The Douglas B-66 Destroyer was a Strategic Air Command light bomber based on the United States Navy's A3D Skywarrior, and intended to replace the Douglas B-26 Invader. A RB-66 photo-reconnaissance version was ordered simultaneously.

At first, the Air Force thought the conversion would be an easy matter of removing the carrier-specific features, so no prototypes were ordered, just five pre-production RB-66A models (the reconnaissance mission was deemed higher priority). The list of modifications grew, and before long, the easy conversion became a substantially new aircraft. Many of the changes were due to the Air Force's requirement for low-level operations, while the Navy plane was a high-altitude bomber.

The first RB-66A preproduction aircraft flew in 1954, while the first production RB-66B aircraft flew in early 1955. Deliveries to the USAF began in 1956, and 145 of this model were produced. They were used as the major night photo-reconnaissance aircraft of the USAF during this period.

Meanwhile, 72 of the B-66B bomber version were built, 69 fewer than originally planned. Thirteen B-66B aircraft were modified into EB-66B electronic countermeasures aircraft for the Vietnam War.

The RB-66C was a specialised electronic reconnaissance and ECM aircraft with a crew of seven; 36 were built. The additional crewmembers occupied what was the camera/bomb bay of other variants. RB-66C aircraft had distinctive wingtip pods. They were used over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and later over Vietnam. In 1966, they were redesignated EB-66C.

The final B-66 variant was the WB-66D weather reconnaissance aircraft, 36 of which were constructed.

The EB-66C/E had left USAF service by 1973. One RB-66B is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.

1 B-66 in the media
2 Specifications (B-66)
3 Notes
4 Related content

[edit] B-66 in the media

The shooting down of an EB-66 over South Vietnam became the subject for the book "Bat*21" by William Charles Anderson, and later a film version (1988) starring Gene Hackman and Danny Glover.

The story depicts the controversial rescue of Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton, the navigator of an EB-66 (call sign "Bat 21"), and only survivor after the plane was struck by a SAM on April 2, 1972. Lt. Col. Hambleton landed in an area containing over 30,000 North Vietnamese forces that were about to be ambushed and attacked by South Vietnamese forces. As a result, the attack was canceled while efforts were made to secure the rescue of Lt. Col. Hambleton. The delay resulted in the loss of an indeterminent but sizeable number of South Vietnamese soldiers as their positions were overrun, before American advisors initiated artillery attacks on the enemy forces in defiance of orders. Lt. Col. Hambleton was finally rescued by American and South Vietnamese SEAL soldiers Thomas R. Norris and Nguyen Van Kiet eleven and a half days later, but not before five aircraft and crews were shot down while attempting to rescue him, including a Bell UH-1H Huey (Blue Ghost 39) shot down on April 2 with the loss of three of five crewmen (and two POW's), an A-1 Skyraider shot down on April 4 with the loss of its crew, a Sikorsky HH-53 "Jolly Green Giant" (Jolly Green 67) that attempted to rescue Lt. Col. Hambleton and was shot down on April 6, resulting in the loss of all six crewmen, an OV-10 Bronco (Nail 38) that was lost on April 3, with the pilot captured, and another OV-10 Bronco (Convey 282) shot down on April 7, resulting in the weapons officer being captured and later executed. Nine additional aircraft and helicopters were badly damaged during the rescue attempts, most never to fly again.