Grumman XSBF

{{for|the other aircraft designated SBF-1|Curtiss SB2C Helldiver}}

{{Infobox aircraft

|name =XSBF-1

|image = Grumman XSBF-1.jpg

|caption =

|type =Scout bomber

|manufacturer =Grumman

|designer =

|first_flight =18 February 1936

|introduction =

|retired =

|primary_user =United States Navy

|more_users =

|produced =

|number_built = 1

|unit cost =

|developed_from= Grumman SF

|variants =

|developed_into =

|sole example of type?= Y

|military_serial = 9996

|fate = Crashed, 25 May 1939

}}

The Grumman XSBF, also known by the company designation G-14, was an American biplane scout bomber developed by Grumman Aircraft for the United States Navy during the 1930s. Derived from Grumman's successful "Fifi" fighter, the aircraft was developed at a time when the biplane was giving way to the monoplane. In competition against other aircraft it proved to possess inferior performance in its intended role, and did not enter production. The sole prototype went on to serve as a liaison aircraft, as well as being used in experiments by NACA, before being destroyed in a crash in 1939.

Design and development

In late 1934, the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) issued a specification for new scout bomber and torpedo bomber designs.Dann 1996, p.20. Eight companies submitted 10 designs in response, evenly split between monoplanes and biplanes.Doll 1992, p.4.{{#tag:ref| The designs submitted, in total, were the Brewster SBA, Curtiss SBC Helldiver, Douglas TBD Devastator, Great Lakes XB2G, Great Lakes XTBG, Grumman XSBF, Hall XPTBH, Northrop BT (which became the Douglas SBD Dauntless), Vought SB2U Vindicator and Vought XSB3U.|group=N}} Grumman, having successfully provided the FF and F2F fighters to the Navy, along with the SF scout, submitted an advanced development of the SF-2 in response to the specification's request for a {{convert|5000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} aircraft capable of carrying a {{convert|500|lb|kg|abbr=on}} bomb.Smith 1982, p.38.Friedman 1981, p.44. Given the model number G-14 by Grumman, the aircraft received the official designation XSBF-1 by the Navy, and a contract for a single prototype was issued in March 1935.Andrade 1979, p.222.

The XSBF-1 was a two-seat biplane, featuring an enclosed cockpit, a fuselage of all-metal construction, and wings covered largely with fabric. Power was provided by a {{convert|650|hp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}}Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior air-cooled radial engine driving with a variable-pitch propeller. Armament was planned to be two {{convert|.30|in|mm|2|abbr=on}} forward-firing M1919 Browning machine guns, one of which could be replaced by a {{convert|.50|in|mm|1|abbr=on}} M2 Browning; the prototype carried only a single gun. A single .30 in weapon was fitted in the rear cockpit for defense, and one {{convert|500|lb|kg|abbr=on}} bomb to be carried in a launching cradle under the fuselage. The arrestor hook was carried in a fully enclosed position, while flotation bags were fitted in the wings in case the aircraft was forced to ditch. The landing gear of the XSBF-1 was similar to that of the F3F fighter.

Operational history

The XSBF-1—piloted by test pilot Bud Gillies—flew for the first time on December 24, 1935.Heyman and Parsch 2004 Following initial testing, which found the aircraft to be reasonably faultless, the XSBF-1 was delivered to the U.S. Navy for evaluation in competition with two other biplanes submitted to the 1934 specification, the Great Lakes XB2G and the Curtiss XSBC-3.Johnson 2008, p.304. Unusually for biplanes, all three types possessed retractable landing gear. The evaluation showed that the design from Curtiss was superior to the Grumman and Great Lakes designs,Friedman 1981, p.43. and an order was placed for the Curtiss type, designated SBC-3 Helldiver in service, in August 1936.

With the competition lost, the development of the XSBF-1 came to an end; the sole prototype was assigned to Naval Air Station Anacostia, where it had been tested, for use as a liaison aircraft and hack. In addition, the XSBF was used by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' Langley Research Laboratory as part of the facility's work on aeronautical research.Hansen 1987, p.488. During its time at Anacostia, the aircraft was involved in two accidents, one on 5 September 1938 and the other on 25 May 1939. The second mishap—on May 25, 1939—resulted in the strike damage to the aircraft; the XSBF-1 was no longer considered worth returning to flight status, and the aircraft was officially stricken from the Navy inventory in July 1939.

The SBF-1 designation, unusually, was re-used by the Navy during World War II, assigned to SB2C Helldivers produced under license by Fairchild Aircraft.Bowers 1979, p.430.

Operators

;{{USA}}

United States Navy

Specifications (XSBF-1)

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=Johnson 2008, p.302Wagner 1968[http://www.aerofiles.com/_grum.html Grumman], Aerofiles. Accessed 2011-01-18Lednicer 2010

|prime units?=imp

|crew=2 (pilot and observer)

|length m=

|length ft=25

|length in=9

|upper span m=

|upper span ft=34

|upper span in=6

|lower span m=

|lower span ft=31

|lower span in=6

|height m=

|height ft=11

|height in=3

|wing area sqm=

|wing area sqft=310

|aspect ratio=

|airfoil=Clark CHY

|empty weight kg=

|empty weight lb=3395

|gross weight kg=

|gross weight lb=5002

|max takeoff weight kg=

|max takeoff weight lb=

|fuel capacity={{convert|130|USgal|L|abbr=on}}

|eng1 number=1

|eng1 name=Pratt & Whitney R-1535-72 Twin Wasp Junior

|eng1 type=radial engine

|eng1 kw=

|eng1 hp=650

|power original=

|prop blade number=2

|prop name=Hamilton Standard variable-pitch

|prop dia m=

|prop dia ft=

|prop dia in=

|max speed kmh=

|max speed mph=215

|max speed kts=

|cruise speed kmh=

|cruise speed mph=

|cruise speed kts=

|stall speed kmh=

|stall speed mph=67

|stall speed kts=

|never exceed speed kmh=

|never exceed speed mph=

|never exceed speed kts=

|range km=

|range miles=525

|range nmi=

|combat range km=

|combat range miles=688

|combat range nmi=

|ferry range km=

|ferry range miles=

|ferry range nmi=

|ceiling m=

|ceiling ft=26000

|climb rate ms=

|climb rate ftmin=

|time to altitude=

|wing loading kg/m2=

|wing loading lb/sqft=

|fuel consumption kg/km=

|fuel consumption lb/mi=

|power/mass=

|guns=

1 × .30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun in cowling
1 × .30 in machine gun in rear cockpit

|bombs=Up to {{convert|500|lb}}

|avionics=

}}

References

=Notes=

=Citations=

=Bibliography=

{{cite book |last1=Andrade |first1=John |title=U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909 |year=1979 |publisher=Midland Counties Publications |location=Leicester, UK |isbn=0-904597-22-9}}
{{cite web |url=http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/firstseries2.html |title=US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos, First Series (A6002 to 9999) |first=Joe |last=Baugher |author-link=Joe Baugher |date=October 5, 2009 |work=US Navy and US Marine Corps Aircraft Serial Numbers and Bureau Numbers--1911 to Present |access-date=2011-01-13}}
{{cite book |last1=Bowers |first1=Peter M. |title=Curtiss Aircraft, 1907-1947 |year=1979 |publisher=Putnam |location=New York |isbn=978-0-370-10029-6}}
{{cite book |last1=Dann |first1=Richard S. |title=Grumman Biplane Fighters in action |series=Aircraft In Action |volume=150 |year=1996 |publisher=Squadron/Signal Publications |location=Carrollton, TX |isbn=0-89747-353-1}}
{{cite book |last1=Doll |first1=Tom |title=SB2U Vindicator in action |series=Aircraft In Action |volume=122 |year=1992 |publisher=Squadron/Signal Publications |location=Carrollton, TX |isbn=0-89747-274-8}}
{{cite book |last1=Friedman |first1=Norman |author-link=Norman Friedman |title=Carrier Air Power |year=1981 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=978-0-85177-216-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SoTfAAAAMAAJ&q=SBF |access-date=2011-01-18}}
{{cite book |last1=Hansen |first1=James R. |title=Engineer In Charge: A History of the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, 1917-1958 |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4305/app-e.htm |access-date=2011-01-18 |series=NASA History Series |volume=SP-4305 |year=1987 |publisher=Scientific and Technical Information Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration |location=Washington, D.C. |asin=B0047OKSSO }}
{{cite web |url=http://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/duplications.html |title=Duplications in U.S. Military Aircraft Designation Series |first=Jos |last=Heyman |author2=Andreas Parsch |year=2004 |publisher=designation-systems.net |access-date=2011-01-18}}
{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=E.R. |title=American Attack Aircraft Since 1926 |year=2008 |publisher=McFarland & Company |location=Jefferson, NC |isbn=978-0786471621 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GmFhOCYckfQC&q=Grumman+XSBF |access-date=2011-01-18}}
{{cite web |url=http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/ads/aircraft.html |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |first=David |last=Lednicer |year=2010 |publisher=University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |location=Champaign, IL |access-date=2011-01-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420012244/http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/ads/aircraft.html |archive-date=2010-04-20 |url-status=dead }}
{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Peter Charles |title=Dive Bomber! An Illustrated History |year=1982 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, MD |isbn=978-0-87021-930-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SmMVAAAAMAAJ&q=XSBF-1 |access-date=2011-01-18}}
{{cite book |last1=Wagner |first1=Roy |title=American Combat Planes |url=https://archive.org/details/americancombatpl0000unse |url-access=registration |year=1968 |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |isbn=978-0-385-04134-8}}

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20050221231757/http://www.aero-web.org/specs/grumman/xsbf-1.htm Grumman XSBF-1], Aviation Enthusiast Corner.
[https://www.angelfire.com/space/grumman/aircraft/list.html "List of Design Numbers"], The Grumman Pages.

SB01F

Category:1930s United States attack aircraft

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Category:Biplanes

Category:Carrier-based aircraft

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1936

Category:Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear

Category:Single-engined piston aircraft