This is the B-58 Hustler:
The first operational Mach 2 jet bomber of the Cold War.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-58_Hustler
Now besides looking really cool, they had to test the potential issues of ejecting the crew out at Mach 2 speeds. Here is what they came up with:
Quote:
When the B-58 was originally produced, the crew sat on conventional ejection seats, but due to concerns over how survivable a Mach 2 ejection would be, the decision was made to install individual escape capsules for each crew member.
In order to test how survivable the capsule was at high speed and altitude, the USAF needed a human analog (modern crash test dummies were about a decade in the future), and it was determined that a bear would be the closest substitute for a human pilot.
This lead to a series of flights being conducted in 1962 with tranquilized bears strapped into ejection capsules, which were fired out of a B-58 at various speeds and altitudes to test the survivability of the escape capsules throughout the range of speeds and altitudes the B-58 could reach. After the bears were ejected from the airplanes, the capsules would automatically parachute them back to earth, at which point they were recovered by Air Force crews and examined for injuries.
Despite the fact that none of the bears were seriously injured in the ejections (the B-58 had a far better safety record with bears than with humans), none of them survived the process as they were all euthanized shortly after being recovered so autopsies could be conducted to check for internal injuries.
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You just have to love the Cold War. Testing ejection seats with freaking bears.