Martin XB-51
| Martin XB-51 | |
|---|---|
 Martin XB-51 |
|
| Type: | bomber |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
October 28, 1949 |
| Commissioning: |
Never put into service |
| Production time: |
Was never mass-produced |
| Number of pieces: |
2 |
The Martin XB-51 (factory designation: Model 234) was an American jet -powered medium bomber , only two of which were built in 1949.
history
In 1945 the USAAF requested a new ground attack bomber , which was designated the XA-45 . In the following year, the "A" (ground attack) classification was dropped and a medium jet combat bomber called the XB-51 was required.
The XB-51 first flew on 28 October 1949 and was with three jet engines of the type General Electric J47 features that were very unusual attached. Two of the engines were located just below the front fuselage, the third was installed as a stern engine. The machine had wings swept by 35 ° with a negative V-position of 6 °. The position of the wings could be changed, instead of ailerons the XB-51 had spoilers. The tandem landing gear had double tires and was pulled into the fuselage. Retractable support wheels were therefore located under the wing tips. The landing gear was thus similar to that of the Boeing B-47 . The rotating bomb bay was also innovative. The maximum bomb load was 4700 kg, some of the bombs could be carried under the wings. The machine could be equipped with JATO missiles for takeoff support .
At the beginning of the Korean War in 1950, the USAF was looking for a replacement for the Douglas A-26 Invader night bombers . The XB-51 competed with the Avro Canada CF-100 and English Electric Canberra . The XB-51 and the Canberra were shortlisted. The XB-51 was very agile for its size and much faster than the Canberra. However, its load limit of 3.67 g (36 m / s²) was too low and did not allow for tight turns. The range of the XB-51 was much shorter than that of the Canberra. The two outer landing gears under the wings proved to be an obstacle when the alarm started. Finally, on March 23, 1951, the USAF decided on the Canberra and obtained a license for 250 machines, which were designated as B-57A . Martin lost the tender, but was then allowed to build the B-57A.
After the program was canceled, further flight tests were carried out with the XB-51. The second prototype crashed on May 9, 1952 during low-flying exercises. The first prototype was further tested. The XB-51 became known in the feature film " Once upon a time " (English Towards the Unknown ) from 1956 with actor William Holden as a test pilot. On March 25, 1956, the machine was totally destroyed when the takeoff was aborted in El Paso .
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| length | 25.94 m |
| Wingspan | 16.19 m |
| Wing area | 50.91 m² |
| height | 5.26 m |
| drive | 3 × General Electric J47 -GE-13 jet engines, each with 2,300 kg (25.89 kN) thrust |
| Top speed | 1,038 km / h |
| Range | 1,730 km (combat), 2,596 km (overpass), 958 km (action radius) |
| Takeoff route | 1,818 m (at max. Takeoff weight) |
| Landing route | 718 m |
| crew | two men |
| Service ceiling | 12,620 m |
| Empty mass | 13,419 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 28,330 kg |
| Armament | 8 × 20 mm cannon, 8 × HVAR missile, 4,700 kg bombs, 2,899 kg of which in the internal weapons bay |
Web links
- About the XB-51 ( Memento of April 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- XB-51 in the US Airforce Museum (engl.)