Douglas XB-19 Project D
Experimental 4-engine low-wing long-range bomber, U.S.A.

Archive Photos ^1,3

Douglas XB-19 tire on display (11/20/2001) at the Hill Aerospace Museum, Hill Air Force Base, Roy, Utah (Photos by John Shupek)

Douglas XB-19 (AF 38-471) USAF photos via the National Museum of the United States Air Force, WPAFB, Dayton, Ohio (USAF photo )

Overview ²

• Douglas XB-19
• Role: Heavy bomber
• National origin: United States
• Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Company
• First flight: 27 June 1941
• Retired: 17 August 1946
• Status: Scrapped
• Primary user: United States Army Air Corps
• Number built: 1 (38-471)

The Douglas XB-19 was the largest bomber aircraft built for the United States Army Air Forces until 1946. It was originally given the designation XBLR-2 (XBLR denoting Experimental Bomber Long Range).

Design and Development ²

The XB-19 project was intended to test flight characteristics and design techniques for giant bombers. Despite advances in technology that made the XB-19 obsolete before it was completed, the Army Air Corps believed the prototype would be useful for testing despite Douglas Aircraft wanting to cancel the expensive project. Its construction took so long that competition for the contracts to make the XB-35 and XB-36 occurred two months before its first flight.

The plane first flew on 27 June 1941, more than three years after the construction contract was awarded. In 1943 the Wright R-3350 engines were replaced with Allison V-3420-11 V engines. After completion of testing the XB-19 was earmarked for conversion into a cargo aircraft, but modifications were not completed, and the aircraft flew for the last time on August 17, 1946. It was eventually scrapped at Tucson in June 1949.

Surviving Artifacts ²

The new U.S. Air Force had plans to save the B-19 for eventual display, but in 1949 the Air Force did not have a program to save historic aircraft and the Air Force Museum had not yet been built. The B-19 was therefore scrapped, but two of its enormous main tires were saved. One was put on display at the Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah and the other has been on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, in the Early Years gallery for many years.

Douglas XB-19 Specifications ²

General Characteristics

• Crew: 16 combat crew, with provision for 2 additional flight mechanics and six-man relief crew
• Length: 132 ft 4 in
• Wing span: 212 ft 0 in
• Height: 42 ft 0 in
• Wing area: 4,285 ft²
• Empty weight: 86,000 lb
• Gross weight: 140,000 lb
• Max takeoff weight: 162,000 lb
• Fuel capacity: 10,350 US gal internals with optional auxiliary tanks of 824 US gal capacity
• Powerplant: 4 × Wright R-3350-5 Duplex Cyclone 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 2,000 hp each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 224 mph at 15,700 ft
• Cruising speed: 135 mph
• Range: 5,200 miles
• Ferry range: 7,710 miles with auxiliary tanks fitted
• Service ceiling: 23,000 ft
• Rate of climb: 650 fpm
• Wing loading: 32.6 lb/ft²

Armament

• Guns: 5 × 0.50-in. M2 Browning machine guns, 6 × 0.30-in. M1919 Browning machine guns
• Cannons: 2 × 37 mm auto cannon
• Bombs: 18,700 lb internal
• Maximum bomb load: 37,100 lb including external racks with reduced fuel load

References

1. Shupek, John. The Skytamer Photo Archive, photos by John Shupek, copyright © 2001 Skytamer Images (Skytamer.com)
2. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Douglas XB-19
3. B/W Photos: USAF via The National Museum of the United States Air Force, WPAFB, Dayton, Ohio