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Curtiss B-2 Condor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_B-2_Condor
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. 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 was 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. One modified 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. 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. Role Heavy bomber Manufacturer Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Introduction 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) Developed into T-32 Condor II Specifications (B-2) General characteristics Crew: 5 Length: 47 ft 4½ in (14.43 m) Wingspan: 90 ft 0 in (27.43 m) Height: 16 ft 6 in (5.02 m) Wing area: 1,496 ft² (139.0 m²) Empty weight: 9,300 lb (4,218 kg) Loaded weight: 16,591 lb (7,526 kg) Powerplant: 2 × Curtiss V-1570-7 "Conqueror" liquid-cooled V12 engine, 600 hp (450 kW) each Performance Maximum speed: 132 mph (115 kn, 212 km/h) Cruise speed: 105.5 mph (91.7 knots, 169.8 km/h) Range: 805 mi (700 nmi, 1,296 km) Service ceiling: 17,100 ft (5,212 m) Rate of climb: 850 ft/min (4.3 m/s) Armament Guns: 6 × .30 in (7.62 mm) Lewis machine guns Bombs: 2,508 lb (1,138 kg) * |
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