B-2 Condor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Curtiss B-2 Condor | |
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| Type | Heavy bomber |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company |
| Introduced | 1929 |
| Retired | 1934 |
| Status | No known survivors |
| Primary user | United States Army Air Corps |
| Produced | 1929-1930 |
| Number built | 13 |
| Unit cost | US$76,373 (1928) |
The Curtiss B-2 Condor was a 1920s United States bomber aircraft. It was a descendant of the Martin NBS-1, which was built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the Glenn L. Martin Company. There were a few differences, such as stronger materials and different engines, but they were relatively minor.
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[edit] Development
The B-2 was a large fabric-covered biplane aircraft. Its two engines sat in nacelles between the wings, flanking the fuselage. It had a twin set of rudders on a twin tail, a configuration which was becoming obsolete by that time. At the rear of each nacelle was a gunner position. In previous planes, the back-facing gunners had been in the fuselage, but their view there was obstructed. A similar arrangement (using nacelle-mounted gun platforms) was adopted in the competing Keystone XB-1 aircraft.
The XB-2 competed for a United States Army Air Corps production contract with the similar Keystone XB-1, Sikorsky S-37, and Fokker XLB-2. The other three were immediately ruled out, but the Army board appointed to make the contracts were strongly supportive of the smaller Keystone XLB-6, which cost a third as much as the B-2. Furthermore, the B-2 was large for the time and difficult to fit into existing hangars. However, the superior performance of the XB-2 soon wrought a policy change, and in 1928 a production run of 12 was ordered.
A later version of the B-2, dubbed the B-2A, featured dual controls for both the pilot and the copilot. Previously, the control wheel and the pitch controls could only be handled by one person at a time. This "dual control" setup became standard on all bombers by the 1930s. There was no production line for the B-2A, though a B-2 was converted to follow its setup. The B-2 design was also used as a transport.
The B-2 was quickly made obsolete by technological advances of the 1930s, and served only briefly with the Army Air Corps, being removed from service by 1934. Following production of the B-2, Curtiss Aircraft left the bomber business, and concentrated on the Hawk series of pursuit aircraft in the 1930s.
[edit] Military operators
- US Army Air Corps
- 7th Bombardment Group, Rockwell Field, California
- 11th Bomb Squadron - operated 1928-1931
- 7th Bombardment Group, Rockwell Field, California
[edit] Specifications (B-2)
General characteristics
- Crew: 5
- Length: 47 ft 6 in (14.5 m)
- Wingspan: 90 ft 0 in (27.4 m)
- Height: 16 ft 3 in (4.9 m)
- Wing area: 1,500 ft² (140 m²)
- Empty weight: 9,000 lb (4,100 kg)
- Loaded weight: 16,500 lb (7,480 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Curtiss V-1570-7 "Conqueror" liquid-cooled V12 engine, 600 hp (450 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 132 mph (115 knots, 212 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 114 mph (99 knots, 183 km/h)
- Range: 780 mi (680 nm, 1,300 km)
- Service ceiling 16,500 ft (4,030 m)
- Rate of climb: 740 ft/min (3.7 m/s)
- Wing loading: 11 lb/ft² (53 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.072 hp/lb (120 W/kg)
Armament
- Guns: 6× .30-calibre (7.62 mm) Lewis machine guns
- Bombs: 2,500 lb (1,100 kg); 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) on short flights
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
- Fokker XLB-2
- Huff-Daland XB-1
- Huff-Daland XHB-1
- Sikorsky S-37
Related lists
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Bowers, Peter M. Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-370-10029-8.
[edit] External links
- Curtis B-2 Condor page of Joe Baugher, part of his Encyclopedia of American Aircraft
- USAF Museum article on B-2
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