XB-38 Flying Fortress

infobox Aircraft
name =XB-38 Flying Fortress
type =Strategic bomber
manufacturer =Boeing



caption =
designer =
first flight =19 May 1943
introduced =
retired = 16 June 1943
status =Cancelled
primary user = U.S. Army Air Force
more users =
produced =
number built =1
unit cost =
developed from = B-17 Flying Fortress
variants with their own articles =

The XB-38 Flying Fortress was a prototype United States bomber aircraft of World War II.

Design and development

It was the result of a modification project undertaken by Boeing and Vega (a subsidiary of Lockheed) on a B-17 Flying Fortress to fit it with liquid-cooled Allison V-1710-89 inline engines. It was meant as an improved version of the B-17, and a variant that could be used if air-cooled Wright R-1820 radial engines became scarce. Completing the modifications took less than a year, and the XB-38 made its first flight on May 19 1943. Only one prototype was built, and it was developed from an existing B-17 bomber.

While the XB-38 delivered a slightly higher top speed, after a few flights it had to be grounded due to a problem with engine manifold joints leaking exhaust gases. Following the fixing of this problem, testing continued until the ninth flight on June 16 1943. During this flight, the third (right inboard) engine caught fire, and the crew was forced to bail out. The XB-38 was destroyed and the project was canceled, in part because the V-1710 engines were needed for other projects such as the P-38 Lightning, P-39 Airacobra, P-40 Warhawk, P-51A Mustang and P-63 Kingcobra fighter aircraft.

Operators

;flag|United States|1912
*United States Army Air Force

pecifications (XB-38)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
crew=10
length main=74 ft 4 in
length alt=22.7 m
span main=103 ft 10 in
span alt=31.6 m
height main=19 ft 1 in
height alt=5.8 m
area main=1527 ft²
area alt=141.9 m²
empty weight main=54,900 lb
empty weight alt=24,900 kg
loaded weight main=62,134 lb
loaded weight alt=28,183 kg
max takeoff weight main=64,000 lb
max takeoff weight alt=29,000 kg

engine (prop)=Allison V-1710-97
type of prop=turbosupercharged liquid-cooled V12 engines
number of props=4
power main=1,425 hp
power alt=895 kW

max speed main=327 mph
max speed alt=526 km/h
cruise speed main=226 mph
cruise speed alt=364 km/h
range main=1,900 mi
range alt=3,100 km
ceiling main=36,600 ft
ceiling alt=11,200 m
climb rate main= ft/min
climb rate alt= m/s
loading main=47.2 lb/ft²
loading alt=231 kg/m²
power/mass main=0.0655 hp/lb
power/mass alt=0.110 kW/kg

guns=13× .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns
bombs=6,000 lb (2,700 kg)

ee also

aircontent
see also=

related=
* B-17 Flying Fortress
* XB-39 Superfortress

sequence=
* YB-35 - B-36 - B-37 - XB-38 - XB-39 - YB-40 - XB-41

lists=
* List of bomber aircraft
* List of military aircraft of the United States

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Jones, Lloyd S. "U.S. Bombers, B-1 1928 to B-1 1980s". Fallbrook, CA: Aero Publishers, 1962, second edition 1974. ISBN 0-8168-9126-5.

External links

* [http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:fHdQdNFDzgEJ:www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/bombers/b3-87.htm+boeing+xb-38&hl=en Revision to "Powerplant": U.S. Air Force Museum;]
* [http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/bombers/b3-87.htm USAF Museum article on XB-38]