Passenger carrying bombers

[maxmwill]

Hushkit magazine had an article on bombers such as the B58 and Backfire, which it had been proposed passenger carrying mods. This also included the MiG25 be modified to carry passengers. The B58-9 was to use the wing of the B58C, with the fuselage modified have a cabin capable of carrying up to 52 passengers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_Model_58-9
The Foxbat was to be converted to a bizjet
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-soviet-unions-lethal-mig-25-foxbat-business-jet-13912
The Tu22M3 was to carry 10-12 passengers

 

[riggerrob]

There have been numerous other proposals to convert supersonic jet fighters to executive transports. Fortunately, none were ever built.
The first version of the B-58 executive transport merely required replacing the stock bomb pod with a pressurised passenger compartment with the same external curves. Recurring problems with B-58 nose-wheel collapses killed that proposal!
There was also a limited production passenger version of the Tupolev Tu-95 Bear turboprop bomber. It had a narrow, pressurized passenger compartment above the wing, but the General Secretary of the Soviet Party considered it undignified to exit via stairs under the aft fuselage, so it was rarely flown.
One proposal even suggested installing a few passenger seats in the centre fuselage of a Convair F-106 interceptor.
There have also been numerous proposals to convert sub-sonic trainers or old sub-sonic fighters. A few made it to the prototype stage (e.g. a DeHavilland Vampire or Venom with an extended, six-seat cabin), but the only one that seems to have acheived production was a Moraine-Saulnier that differed so widely, it was essentially a new airframe.
Fighters are at a dis-advantage because their heavy airframes are far too heavy to carry significant numbers of passengers or enough fuel for significant range. External drop-tanks limit many fighters to only cruising sub-sonic. Heavy ariframes are required to withstand high-G manuvers never performed with passengers on board.

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

There was also a business jet version of the T-37 that never got past the prototype stage and a similar one based on the Saab 105 was also designed, but remained unbuilt.

 

[robunos]

Martin B-57 'Combat Transport', thread HERE . . .

cheers,
Robin.