BY WILL SABEL COURTNEY
Sandwiched between the unflappable B-52 and the undetectable B-2, the Rockwell B-1 Lancer is the neglected middle child of America’s bomber family. Conceived in the 1960s as a supersonic penetrator that would zip through enemy lines and heave thermonuclear warheads at America’s foes, the B-1 program was cancelled in 1977 in favor of the nascent stealth bomber program. President Reagan dusted the bomber off in 1981 as a stopgap until the B-2 was ready, but there was a twist: the top speed would be dropped from Mach 2.2 to Mach 1.25 as part of a plan to bulk up the plane and make it more lethal at lower speeds.
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http://www.thedrive.com/design/2575/the-b-1-lancer-is-americas-forgotten-bomber-hero
