Author Topic: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)  (Read 29872 times)

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« on: January 11, 2012, 09:37:35 AM »
Another subject that does not get as much attention as it deserves.  With a coulple of the Revell 1/48th scale B-One kits in the stash I would like to have a space large enough to display one if it ever gets built.  Until then, I can at least think about what I can do with the kit that does not entail building it straight out of the box in accordance with the kit instructions. 

One of the options I have considered is a U.S. Navy version that would be assigned to a VPB(H) squadron which in this case is an abbreviation for Fixed Wing (V)-Patrol (P)-Bomber (B)-Heavy (H).  Colors would probably be similar to the TPS scheme or in that theme for a sea control maritime surveillance mission among other things.   

With three full weapons bays you can certainly add a lot of ordnance or a couple of auxiliary fuel tanks and a rotary launcher.  For the bolder modeler out there that has no fear there is the conventional weapons module that looks like the top half of the auxiliary fuel tank with bomb racks mounted on the underside that could be fabricated from plastic card and a lot of imagination.  As for myself, I will probably stick with something simple like a rotary launcher with AGM-84 Harpoons and fuel tanks. 


Click on html or image to view link and additional images at Wikipedia - Rockwell B-1 Lancer


(image source: Wikipedia/United States Air Force - [url=http://www.af.mil]www.af.mil[/url])

B-1B Fact Sheet
Boeing B-1B product page
B-1B history page on Boeing.com
USAF B-1 System Program Office


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Offline Maverick

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2012, 10:35:52 AM »
Beyond the usual suspects of created profiles (eg: RAF, CAF, etc), I've always like the idea of the FB-1 concept.  Heavy air dominance platform with AAMs of various types out the ying-yang or EB-1 'Ultra Wild Weasel', once again, ARMs & CBUs of all varieties and plenty o' them.

I do like the Navy idea though, one I hadn't thought of.

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Offline LemonJello

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2012, 11:07:08 AM »
I have one of these 1/48 monsters in the stash as well, I tend to pick up bits and pieces for it as I come across deals (SAC metal landing gear, and a set of resin afterburners are rattling around with all that plastic).  I could see one with AAMs on TERs or MERs external to the bomb bays, or you could have the rotary launchers with a mix of AAM, AGM, smart and iron bombs for a real multi-role/multi-mission capability.

Imagine a pair of Bones operating together in the SEAD or Iron Hand mission!

Oh, and this beast would not be getting the digi-cammo treatment from me, either.

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2012, 12:50:14 PM »
How about a "Pathfinder" version with a mix of SRAM II's, ACM's, and long-range ARM's (AGM-76, perhaps?)  to open the way for other bombers to follow. 

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2012, 04:58:58 PM »
I have one of these 1/48 monsters in the stash as well, I tend to pick up bits and pieces for it as I come across deals (SAC metal landing gear, and a set of resin afterburners are rattling around with all that plastic).  I could see one with AAMs on TERs or MERs external to the bomb bays, or you could have the rotary launchers with a mix of AAM, AGM, smart and iron bombs for a real multi-role/multi-mission capability.

Imagine a pair of Bones operating together in the SEAD or Iron Hand mission!

Oh, and this beast would not be getting the digi-cammo treatment from me, either.

The weight of that Revell B-One certainly warrants consideration of using the SAC metal landing gear. 

Maybe find enough excess Phoenix pallets to mount a dozen or so AIM-54 externally on either side of the weapons bays?  That would be one way to address the carriage of air to air missiles. 

It would certainly lose that sleek looking appearance with all of the extra weapons mounted externally.  The Monogram 1/72nd scale kit had a bunch of cruise missiles and some very generic looking weapons pylons for each of these shapes that were to be mounted along side of the weapons bays.

How about a "Pathfinder" version with a mix of SRAM II's, ACM's, and long-range ARM's (AGM-76, perhaps?)  to open the way for other bombers to follow.
 

Have definitely thought about that off and on.  Wanted to use AGM-78 Standard ARM but that requires a special adapter so carrying it internally would not work.  Mounting it externally would be the only way to go and that sort of defeats that low radar return if you start hanging corner reflectors all over the aircraft.  Must have been around the same time as I was rationalizing this that the idea for a conventionally armed AGM-69 started looking like a really good idea.  Easy enough to do just by painting a yellow band around the missile body where the warhead is located and maybe painting the missile in a light gray instead of the traditional white that was used for this weapon. 

The AGM-76 option does sound interesting but that would require a different launcher adapter that is not going to allow you to just drop the missile from the weapons bay, it would have to be carried externally.  So more corner reflectors again.  That conventional SRAM still looks like the best option to me. 
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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2012, 05:21:03 PM »
Satellite launcher?

Fixed wing?
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Offline LemonJello

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2012, 08:55:59 PM »
I like both the pathfinder and the maritime strike versions - now use one of those for a dio - Bone sitting on the tarmac with a bomb trolley of three rotary launchers pulling up to install in the bomb bays (your choice of ordnance) with a crew running out to the bird from an underground bunker or maybe a couple of vehicles?

Also, why not paint one up in your favorite airline livery and make it a SST? The bomb bays are converted to luxury travel suites.

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2012, 09:39:03 PM »
One other thought for the Pathfinder version, Skybolts on external hardpoints and ACMs internally (or, if not Skybolts, perhaps retro-engineered Kh-41 clones?).  The AGM-76 (q.v.) was a proposed air-to-ground ARM derivative of the AIM-47 and I could see it being used by the Pathfinder with continuing upgrades in seeker, rocket motor, and warhead.

Offline taiidantomcat

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #8 on: January 12, 2012, 05:47:18 AM »
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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #9 on: January 12, 2012, 06:57:00 AM »
Oh, no...  :o

Not this horrid Bill Gunston design from Osprey Combat Aircraft series!! I'm sure some guys around here must like it and may have gone all dreamy about it when it came out circa 1988, but I always thought Gunston was completely off the mark with his imaginary designs, and I still find it hard to cope with them after all this time...

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2012, 07:13:05 AM »
One other thought for the Pathfinder version, Skybolts on external hardpoints and ACMs internally (or, if not Skybolts, perhaps retro-engineered Kh-41 clones?).  The AGM-76 (q.v.) was a proposed air-to-ground ARM derivative of the AIM-47 and I could see it being used by the Pathfinder with continuing upgrades in seeker, rocket motor, and warhead.


Wicked idea.  Mounting a couple of Douglas AGM-48 (GAM-87) Skybolt ASM on the B-One would certainly be interesting.  Maybe with conformal carriage of some sort.  Might be a good way to use a couple of 1/32nd scale Phoenix pallets from an F-14 kit to make the couple of conformal carriage mounts along the edge of the weapons bay doors.  I have a couple of candidate missile shapes in the desired length to width ratio that might pass for a Skybolt when fins are added.  Just need someone to donate the 1/32nd scale Phoenix pallets to see if this would work. 
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Offline simmie

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2012, 09:20:44 AM »
Many years ago I did have the idea of B-1 with the engine installation off the Boeing Supercruiser.

The intakes have an 'S' shape to slow the air down, but it also stops radar from seeing the face of the by-pass fan.
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Offline LemonJello

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #12 on: January 12, 2012, 08:34:37 PM »
Fair warning: I haven't had my coffee yet...

Bone with forward sweep wings? At full forward sweep, you'd have a delta planform much like the Concorde.

Offline Jeremak

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #13 on: January 12, 2012, 10:01:31 PM »
For "pathfinder", and "continental defender" (anti-shipping, air dominance patrol plane), I would propose antoher feature: long fence on back, starting behind cockpit, and going to the tail. I would house or ECM equipment for "pathfinder", or side-looking radar for "defender"

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #14 on: January 13, 2012, 09:31:02 AM »
For "pathfinder", and "continental defender" (anti-shipping, air dominance patrol plane), I would propose antoher feature: long fence on back, starting behind cockpit, and going to the tail. I would house or ECM equipment for "pathfinder", or side-looking radar for "defender"
That was done on B-1A No. 4 and the equipment moved into the aircraft with the redesign to the B-1B.  It would still look plausible, but I think there's better ways to accomodate either set of equipment.

Offline Cliffy B

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #15 on: September 18, 2013, 07:49:41 AM »
Just wanted to share with this with you guys.  Its a patch I designed for a current B-1B flight instructor for his students.

http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu194/CliffyB/Artwork/B-1BPatchWeb.jpg
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Offline jschmus

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #16 on: September 18, 2013, 09:40:57 AM »
Just wanted to share with this with you guys.  Its a patch I designed for a current B-1B flight instructor for his students.

http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu194/CliffyB/Artwork/B-1BPatchWeb.jpg


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Offline Rickshaw

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #17 on: September 18, 2013, 07:59:08 PM »
Just wanted to share with this with you guys.  Its a patch I designed for a current B-1B flight instructor for his students.

http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu194/CliffyB/Artwork/B-1BPatchWeb.jpg


Thats very good.  I think I'd have preferred the word "there" instead of "here", though.

Offline upnorth

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #18 on: September 19, 2013, 03:53:48 PM »
I always thought the B-1 would be a good electronic warfare platform.

The internal volume is there for all kinds of jamming goodies and I imagine you could get most of them in without the need to clutter up the lines with any major lumps and bumps.

Mind you, the crews would likely take to nicknaming it "Electro-Bone". If the sense of humour I've seen typical to military women is followed, I can only imagine the sort of nose art an all female crew might come up with for that. It might preclude ever seeing one in the static park of an airshow.  ;D
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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #19 on: September 20, 2013, 02:34:18 AM »
Oh dear... :-[
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Offline Volkodav

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #20 on: September 20, 2013, 07:12:38 AM »
Considering the recent release of the photograph of the fast boat target being taken out by a 2000lb LGB dropped by a B-1B, the obvious role would be Maritime Patrol Bomber. 

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #21 on: September 21, 2013, 04:10:35 AM »
One done by SentinelChicken a while back:



It could almost have happened... ;)
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Offline jschmus

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #22 on: September 21, 2013, 05:05:02 AM »
Considering the recent release of the photograph of the fast boat target being taken out by a 2000lb LGB dropped by a B-1B, the obvious role would be Maritime Patrol Bomber.


I had to look for this.  Found it:
http://theaviationist.com/2013/09/17/gbu-10-boat/#.Ujy4K5DD-fA

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Offline kitnut617

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #23 on: September 21, 2013, 06:18:42 AM »
A few years ago, a B-1 visitor to Calgary International (it couldn't land at Lethbridge Airport for the airshow there so over-nighted in Calgary) had to stay for a lot longer than planned.  It seems that the pilot was too eager to get the wings swung forward for take-off, he did it while taxiing around the perimeter track ---  which didn't have enough space to the perimeter fence ---- It took down about a hundred yards of the fence plus a good portion of the wing tip     :-X

Offline Volkodav

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Re: Rockwell B-One (aka B-1 Lancer)
« Reply #24 on: September 21, 2013, 10:12:58 AM »
One done by SentinelChicken a while back:



It could almost have happened... ;)


 ;D I love that one, who needs a super duper F-111 when you have a Bone!