Neha Patil (Editor)

Douglas XB 19

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Top speed
  
360 km/h

Range
  
6,800 km

Unit cost
  
1,400,064–1,400,064 USD

First flight
  
June 27, 1941

Wingspan
  
65 m

Length
  
40 m

Engine type
  
Allison V-3420

Douglas XB-19 wwwairandspacecomDouglas20XB19Color20inf

Forgotten aircraft the douglas xb 19


The Douglas XB-19 was the largest bomber aircraft built for the United States Army Air Forces until 1946. It was originally given the designation XBLR-2 (XBLR- denoting Experimental Bomber, Long Range).

Contents

Douglas XB-19 America39s Real WWII Flying Fortress Was The Massive Douglas XB19

Douglas xb 19 first flight 1941


Design and development

Douglas XB-19 Douglas XB19 Wikipedia

The XB-19 project was intended to test flight characteristics and design techniques for giant bombers; Douglas Aircraft wanted to cancel the expensive project. Despite advances in technology that made the XB-19 obsolete before it was completed, the Army Air Corps felt that the prototype would be useful for testing. Its construction took so long that competition for the contracts to make the XB-35 and XB-36 occurred two months before its first flight.

Douglas XB-19 Douglas XB19 Wikipedia

The plane flew on 27 June 1941, more than three years after the construction contract was awarded. In 1943 the Wright R-3350 engines were replaced with Allison V-3420-11 V engines. After completion of testing the XB-19 was earmarked for conversion into a cargo aircraft, but modifications were not completed, and the aircraft flew for the last time on August 17, 1946. It was eventually scrapped at Tucson in June 1949.

Surviving artifacts

Douglas XB-19 Douglas XB19 specifications and photos

The new U.S. Air Force had plans to save the B-19 for eventual display, but in 1949 the Air Force did not have a program to save historic aircraft and the Air Force Museum had not yet been built. The B-19 was therefore scrapped, but two of its enormous main tires were saved. One was put on display at the Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah and the other has been on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, in the "Early Years" gallery for many years.

Specifications (XB-19A)

General characteristics

  • Crew: 18
  • Length: 132 ft 2 in (40.2 m)
  • Wingspan: 212 ft 0 in (64.6 m)
  • Height: 42 ft 9 in (13.0 m)
  • Wing area: 4,492 ft2 (417 m2)
  • Empty weight: 86000 lb (39000 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 158,930 lb (72,000 kg)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 164,000 lb (74,400 kg)
  • Powerplant: 4 × Allison V-3420-11 V24 engines, 2,600 hp (1,940 kW) each

    • Performance

  • Maximum speed: 265 mph (230 kn, 426 km/h)
  • Cruise speed: 165 mph (143 kn, 266 km/h)
  • Range: 4,200 mi (3,600 nmi, 6,800 km)
  • Ferry range: 7,750 mi (6,730 nmi, 12,500 km)
  • Service ceiling: 39,000 ft (12,000 m)
  • Rate of climb: 650 ft/min (3.3 m/s)
  • Wing loading: 35 lb/ft2 (170 kg/m2)
  • Power/mass: 0.065 hp/lb (110 W/kg)

    • Armament

  • Guns:
  • 5 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns
  • 6 × 0.30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns
  • 2 × 37 mm (1.42 in) autocannon
  • Bombs: 18,700 lb (8,480 kg) internal; maximum bomb load of 37,100 lb including external racks

    • References

    Douglas XB-19 Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA