Budd RB-1

Budd RB-1
Type:	Transport plane
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Budd
First flight:	October 31, 1943
Commissioning:	1944
Number of pieces:	17 + 3 prototypes

The Budd RB-1 Conestoga is a transport aircraft produced by the American manufacturer Budd . In the US Navy designation system, "R" stood for "transport aircraft" and the letter "B" was assigned to the company Budd.

history

At the beginning of the Second World War , the USA feared a shortage of aluminum . The Philadelphia-based American wagon construction company Budd therefore developed a transport aircraft made of spot- welded stainless steel and therefore corrosion-free and rivet-free. The US Navy and US Air Force ordered 200 units of the machine designated as RB-1 and C-93, respectively. The first flight of the first of three prototypes took place on October 31, 1943 with Guy Miller on board. Since there was never a shortage of aluminum and series production was delayed, the USAF canceled their order and the Navy reduced their order to 25 machines, of which only 17 were built. The machines were only used for a short time and then sold to the Flying Tiger Line . Some were later sold to South and Central America . The only remaining specimen is now unrestored in the Pima Air & Space Museum .

construction

The RB-1 was a stainless steel shoulder wing plane . No hydraulics were used in the machine, rather numerous systems including landing gear, flaps, etc. were operated electrically. The fabric-covered rudders for the flight controls were operated mechanically or via trim rudders .

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	3
Passengers	?
length	20.70 m
span	30.48 m
height	9.68 m
Wing area	130.06 m²
payload	4,700 kg
Empty mass	9,143 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	15,359 kg
Cruising speed	266 km / h
Top speed	317 km / h
Service ceiling	? m
Range	1127 km
Engines	two 14-cylinder radial engines Pratt & Whitney R- 1830-92 Twin Wasp with 1200 HP (885 kW) each

See also

• List of aircraft types

Web links

Commons : Budd RB Conestoga  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Budd RB Conestoga by Jack McKillop

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Pennsylvania - Northeastern Philadelphia area - Budd Airfield , 2011 by Paul Freeman. Revised 11/15/11.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Flieger-Revue February 2012, p. 61, Budd RB-1 / C-93 Conestoga