Douglas B-23
| Douglas B-23 Dragon | |
|---|---|
 B-23 "Dragon" of the USAAC |
|
| Type: | bomber |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
July 27, 1939 |
| Commissioning: |
1940 |
| Production time: |
1939 to 1940 |
| Number of pieces: |
38 |
The B-23 Dragon was a twin-engine bomber built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company in 1939.
development
It was to be the successor to the Douglas B-18 "Bolo" . The construction was very similar to the Douglas DC-3 . It was the first bomber to have a 12.7 mm machine gun in the rear.
The first flight took place on July 27, 1939. Although it was considerably better than the Douglas B-18 "Bolo", it could not achieve the performance of a B-25 "Mitchell" or B-26 "Marauder" . For this reason only 38 B-23s were built and never used in combat.
The aircraft were converted into training and transport machines and then referred to as UC-67 . A UC-67 was rebuilt into a B-23 for the USAF Museum .
Parts of the tail construction were later adopted for the B-24 Liberator and the USN version PB4Y Privateer .
After the war, a number of UC-67s were converted into twelve-seat passenger planes for the Pan Am airline .
Receipt
One of the aircraft converted into a passenger aircraft later flew in Ecuador with the registration number HC-APV at the Ecuatoriana . This aircraft is on display in the Ecuadorian Air Force Museum in Quito.
Various other aircraft are preserved in museums in the USA. One of the aircraft was entered on the U.S. civil register in 2002 and, after its restoration, flew at least in 2017.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| length | 17.8 m |
| Wingspan | 28 m |
| Wing area | 92.3 m² |
| height | 5.6 m |
| drive | two 14-cylinder double radial engines Wright R-2600 -3 Cyclone with 1,600 HP (1,194 kW) each |
| Top speed | 451 km / h |
| Range | 2,250 km |
| crew | 6th |
| Service ceiling: | 9,632 m |
| Empty mass | 8,677 kg |
| normal starting mass | 12,045 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 14,727 kg |
| Armament | 3 × 7.7 mm MG, 1 × 12.7 mm MG, 1,818 kg bombs |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Douglas UC-67 Dragon (B-23) - Ecuatoriana
- ↑ "FAA Registry: N777LW." FAA.gov accessed July 5, 2019.
- ^ Douglas B-23 Dragon N777LW taxi and takeoff from S33 - Madras Municipal Airport