Convair XA-44
| Convair XA-44 | |
|---|---|
 Graphic of a Convair XA-44 |
|
| Type: | tactical bomber |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
never took place |
| Commissioning: |
Development canceled in 1949 |
| Production time: |
was never mass-produced |
| Number of pieces: |
0 |
The Convair XA-44 (from 1948: Convair XB-53 ) was a planned tactical bomber of the US manufacturer Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation , whose development was discontinued at the end of 1948.
history
The A-44 was the second of three drafts submitted in 1944 in response to a USAAF tender for a tactical bomber. It is one of three General Electric J35 - jet engines powered monoplane with negative sweep of -30 ° and a dihedral of 8 ° on the basis of the evaluation of the data of the operation Overcast , which includes findings of the project of the Junkers Ju 287 belonged. The wing root of the tailless aircraft was shifted far towards the tail, which, together with the negative sweep , should increase the critical Mach number and at the same time eliminate the problem of stalling at the wing tips of swept wings. The elevators were arranged on the inside of the wing, the ailerons on the outside. Movable wing tips made it possible to increase the angle of attack during take-off and landing. As an internal weapon load, 5,440 kg of drop ammunition and up to 40 unguided rockets at lower wing stations could be carried. In addition, in a planned variant with a fixed nose, up to 20 rigidly installed MG of 12.7 mm caliber were added.
The US Air Force ordered two XA-44s with serial numbers 45-59583 and 45-59584 in 1946. The designation was changed to XB-53 in 1948. In the same year, however, the USAF limited prototype construction to the Martin XB-51 and the XA-44 program was discontinued before the prototypes were completed in late 1948.
Technical data (planned)
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| span | 24.56 m |
| length | 24.23 m |
| height | 7.21 m |
| Takeoff mass | 27,215 kg |
| drive | three General Electric J35s with 17.8 kN thrust each |
| crew | 4th |
| Top speed | 933 km / h |
| Range | 3,218 km |
| Service ceiling | 13,410 m |
literature
- ER Johnson: American Attack Aircraft since 1926 , McFarland and Co., 2008, ISBN 978-0-7864-7162-1 , p. 421 f.
- John Wegg: General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors , Putnam Aeronautical, 1990, ISBN 0-85177-833-X , p. 221
