The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. It used a delta wing, which was also employed by Convair fighters such as the F-102, with four General Electric J79 engines in pods under the wing.
The aircraft was designed by Convair engineer Robert H. Widmer and developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the 1960s. It used a delta wing, which was also employed by Convair fighters such as the F-102, with four General Electric J79 engines in pods under the wing. It carried five nuclear weapons; four on pylons under the wings, and one nuclear weapon and fuel in a combination bomb/fuel pod under the fuselage, rather than in an internal bomb bay.
Replacing the Boeing B-47 Stratojet medium bomber, it was originally intended to fly at high altitudes and supersonic speeds to avoid Soviet fighters. The B-58 was notorious for its sonic boom, which was often heard by the public as it passed overhead in supersonic flight.
The introduction of highly-accurate Soviet surface-to-air missiles forced the B-58 into a low-level-penetration role that severely limited its range and strategic value, and it was never employed to deliver conventional bombs. This resulted in only a brief operational career between 1960 and 1970 when the B-58 was succeeded by the smaller, swing-wing FB-111A.
Sources: YouTube; Wikipedia
Another reason for withdrawal from service was if it lost an outboard engine during supersonic flight it could not recover from the asymmetrical thrust induced flat spin.
According to Colonel George Holt, Jr. B-58 Navigator/Bombardier, from his website B-58 FACTS AND MYTHS (https://b58facts.wordpress.com/)
B58 FACTS – YAW DAMPER Excerpt
“As a result of this accident the aircraft was restricted to Mach 1.6 until a triple redundant yaw damper, with larger capacity to control yaw, was developed and installed. It’s important to note that there was only one yaw damper. The “triple redundancy” comes from three separate sensors. All three sensors had to agree for normal operation. If one sensor failed to agree with the other two a caution lamp came on and the pilot would have to come out of afterburner and decelerate to subsonic flight. However, the yaw damper would remain in operation using input from the two sensors that were in agreement. If all three sensors disagreed with each other a red warning lamp would come on and the system would disengage.
With the installation of the “Triple Redundant Yaw Damper” system, crews were once again allowed to fly at Mach 2.”
The low altitude buffet caused metal fatigue and the airframes were falling apart. Airframe was designed for high and hot; when Gary Powers was shot down everything was low and hot and the frames couldn’t take it.