Consolidated XB2Y
| {{Infobox Aircraft Begin
|name=XB2Y |image=Consolidated XB2Y-1 June 1932.jpg |caption= }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type |type=Dive bomber |national origin=United States of America |manufacturer=Consolidated Aircraft |designer= |first flight=1933 |introduced= |retired= |status= |primary user=United States Navy |more users= |produced= |number built=1 |program cost= |unit cost= |developed from= |variants with their own articles= |developed into= }} |
The Consolidated XB2Y was an American prototype single-engined dive bomber of the 1930s. It was intended to meet a United States Navy requirement for a carrier-based dive bomber, but was unsuccessful, only a single example being built.
Design and development
In 1932, the United States Navy issued a specification for a two-seat carrier-based dive bomber capable of carrying a {{convert|1000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} bomb.Donald 1997, p. 467. Orders were placed for competing prototypes of designs to meet the Navy's requirement with Consolidated Aircraft and the Great Lakes Aircraft Company in June 1932.Wegg 1990, p. 67.Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p. 193.
Consolidated's proposal was the Model 24 (or XB2Y in the US Navy's designation system), a single-bay biplane developed from a basic design prepared by the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics with detailed design led by Consolidated's B Douglas Thomas, formerly Chief Designer of Thomas Morse Aircraft, which had become part of Consolidated Aircraft in 1929.Wegg 1990, p. 14.
File:Consolidated XB2Y-1 aft June 1932.jpg
In order to withstand the high g-forces experienced during pullup after a dive attack, much of the aircraft's center-section was cut from a solid steel block.O'Bannon, Mark. [http://members.cox.net/consolidated_aircraft/Hangar/Pursuit/model24.htm "Model 24 XB2Y-1"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050921231022/http://members.cox.net/consolidated_aircraft/Hangar/Pursuit/model24.htm |date=2005-09-21 }}. Consolidated Aircraft History. Retrieved 30 January 2011. It was powered by a similar Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior air-cooled radial engine as used by the Great Lakes design, and had a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. The crew of two sat in tandem in separate cockpits, with the observer in the rear cockpit armed with a single flexibly mounted machine gun, and the pilot with a single fixed synchronized machine gun firing through the aircraft's propeller arc. Its bombload was carried on a crutch under the fuselage that swung down to ensure the bomb would clear the propeller when dropped in a steep dive.
Operational history
File:Consolidated XB2Y-1 NACA 1934.jpeg
The prototype XB2Y-1 (serial number 9221Grossnick, Roy A. United States Naval Aviation 1910–1995. Washington DC: Naval Historical Center, 1997. {{ISBN|0-945274-34-3}}. [http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/APP09.PDF "Appendix 9: Bureau (Serial) Numbers of Naval Aircraft"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010807193057/http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/APP09.PDF |date=2001-08-07 }}, p. 530.) was completed in 1933, being delivered on 28 June 1933. Testing was unsuccessful, with the aircraft's performance being unsatisfactory,Flight 14 February 1935, p. 179. while the aircraft also proved very expensive to build. The US Navy preferred the Great Lakes design, with 60 being ordered as BG-1s.
The XB2Y-1 was modified to a scout configuration, removing the bomb crutch. This allowed it to reach a height of {{convert|23400|ft|m|abbr=on}}, and it was used by NACA at Langley, Virginia for pilot view tests.[http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~2~2~13152~115365: "Nasa Images:Consolidated XB2Y-1"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727151234/http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~2~2~13152~115365%3A |date=2011-07-27 }}. NASA. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
Specifications (XB2Y-1)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=General Dynamics Aircraft and their PredecessorsWegg 1990, pp. 67–68.
|prime units?=kts
|genhide=
|crew=two
|capacity=
|length m=
|length ft=27
|length in=11
|length note=
|span m=
|span ft=36
|span in=6
|span note=
|height m=
|height ft=10
|height in=10
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=362
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=3538
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=6255
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Pratt & Whitney XR-1535-64
|eng1 type=14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=700
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=182
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=at {{convert|8900|ft|abbr=on}}
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=487
|range nmi=
|range note=
|endurance=
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=22800
|ceiling note=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=10 minutes to {{convert|12200|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|more performance=
|guns=1 × fixed, forward-firing M1919 Browning machine gun; 1 × flexible .30 in machine gun
|bombs=1 × {{convert|1000|lb|kg|abbr=on}}
|avionics=
}}
See also
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References
=Citations=
{{reflist|2}}
=Bibliography=
{{refbegin}}
- Donald, David (editor). The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Leicester, UK:Blitz Editions, 1997. {{ISBN|1-85605-375-X}}.
- Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M. United States Navy Aircraft since 1911. London:Putnam, Second edition 1976. {{ISBN|0-370-10054-9}}.
- [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1935/1935%20-%200354.html "United States Navy Aircraft"]. Flight, 14 February 1935. pp. 178–179.
- Wegg, John. General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors. London:Putnam, 1990. {{ISBN|0-85177-833-X}}.
{{refend}}
External links
{{commons category-inline|Consolidated XB2Y}}
{{USN bomber aircraft}}
{{Consolidated aircraft}}
Category:Carrier-based aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft