FB-111 (Pt. 2 of 2)

The rear section, which is the aft fuselage, is home to the 2 turbofan engines, which are fed from the 2 intakes that begin just beneath and behind the leading edge of the “gloves”. These intakes are variable area intakes, with a splitter on the fuselage beneath the leading edge of the “gloves”. The engines have variable area nozzles, with a blow in door ejector, these engines also have above and between the 2 nozzles an emergency fuel jettison pipe. The underside of the aft fuselage plays home to 2 important features, one is the jamming pod located just behind the gear and further back the chaff and flare dispensers.

The upper portion of the aft fuselage houses the tail fin assembly, 1 vertical tail fin assembly with rudder and 2 horizontal control surfaces. The horizontal is located along the fuselage itself just beneath the root of the vertical tail fin. The root of the tail fin has a forward edge that extends toward to the midsection to a point between the wings. The horizontal fins, are triangular with angled leading and trailing edges, with the rearward potion of the tips toward the trailing edge cut.

The entire air-frame is supported by a simple tri-cycle gear arrangement, with the forward 2 wheeled gear located just ahead of the internal bay, below the cockpit, with the strut folding forward into the well. The two rear landing struts are single wheeled, folding into the fuselage behind the internal bay and into the fuselage alongside the intakes/turbofan engines.

In all their were about 8 variants produced, 4 of these variants were not used and others were proposed. The ones that were proposed were supposed to have improved strike capabilities where the air-frame would have to be lengthened. Of the remaining 4 proposed 2 were eventually cancelled. The variant was proposed to have an internal bay capable of carrying 5 weapons with 4 on wing pylons and 6 on fuselage mounted stations. This aircraft and its variants never served outside of the USAF and the SAC and always alongside the B-52 as part of America’s then strategic bomber force.