Kosher Hustler - the B-58i Ariyyáhu (Part 2)
According to US official records, all surplus ex-USAF B-58A Hustler bombers not slated for preservation had been scrapped by end of 1977. But five B-58A airframes escaped both the cutters' torches and further outside attention. The remains of B-58As 60-1117, 60-1126, 61-2053, 61-2067, and 61-2076 were quietly removed from AMARC, further dismantled, and stored in containers.
At some point after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the US DIA and CIA with coordination by Mossad (on behalf of the Israeli Defence Forces) began the 'Wise Guidance' Program. [1] Under 'Wise Guidance', the B-58 containers were surreptitiously shipped to Israel for reassembly and modernization by Israel Aerospace Industries. By 1984, IAI had completed the rebuilding of the first 'B-58i' for use by the IDF. These aircraft received primarily IAI avionics and were fitted with spare J79-GE-17A engines meant for IDF F-4E Kurnass (Phantom) fighters.
The US had provided no weapons for the B-58s but some details were provided on the shape of the upper component of the B-58A's BLU-2 fuel-and-weapons pod. This slimmer pod shape was copied by Rafael while devising a suitable approach to an Israeli 'bunker buster' bomb. A simple solution was found in the IDF's growing stocks of worn-out Soviet 130mm M-46 howitzers. The original barrel for this gun was 6.76 metres long. The M-46 barrels were slightly shortened, their muzzle ends threaded for penetrator cones, and their breeches adapted to hold detonators. A series of annular fuel tanks then surrounded the ex-howitzer barrels.
The resulting Mas'mer (מַסְמְרִים 'Point') bomb was a 6,600-lb free-fall ground penetrator aimed at destroying underground Iranian nuclear facilities. Drop tests showed that the outer body of the BLU-2 shape would be sheered off on impact with the ground surface. But, the former howitzer barrel had sufficient strength to penetrate deep into the soil. A fuse timer determined at what impact depth the 400 kg (880 lb) of high explosive would detonate.
The raison d'être for the B-58i Ariyyáhu (אֲרִיָּהוּ) program was the Iranian nuclear program. [2] And the US had taken steps to ensure that 'unauthorized' use of the B-58i by Israel was discouraged.
[To be continued]
_______________________________
[1] The program title came from a Biblical phrase: "For by wise guidance you will wage war, And in abundance of counselors there is victory." US participants may have regarded their advice and control as the 'wise guidance' but the phrase is also the source of the motto of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.
[2] Ariyyáhu (or Ariah) is Hebrew for 'Lion of the Lord' but also refers to air and wind.
_______________________________