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Fokker XB-8
The Fokker XB-8 was a bomber built for the United States Army Air Corps in the 1920s, derived from the high-speed Fokker O-27 observation aircraft. During assembly, the second prototype XO-27 was converted to a bomber prototype, dubbed the XB-8. While the XB-8 was much faster than existing biplane bombers, it did not have the bomb capacity to be considered for production. 2 YB-8s and 4 Y1B-8s were ordered, but these were changed mid-production to Y1O-27 configuration.
The wing of the XB-8 and XO-27 was built entirely from wood, though the fuselage was constructed of steel tubes covered with fabric. They featured the first retractable landing gear ever fitted to an Army Air Corps bomber or observation craft.
It competed against a design submitted by Douglas Aircraft Company, the Y1B-7/XO-36. Both promised to greatly exceed the performance of the large biplane bombers then used by the Army Air Corps. However, the Douglas XB-7 was markedly better in performance than the XB-8, and no further versions of Fokker's craft were built.
Specifications (XB-8)
General characteristics
- Crew: 4
- Length: 47 ft (14 m)
- Wingspan: 64 ft (20 m)
- Height: 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m)
- Wing area: 619 ft² (57.5 m²)
- Empty weight: 6,861 lb (3,112 kg)
- Loaded weight: 10,545 lb (4,783)
- Max takeoff weight: lb (kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Curtiss V-1570-23 "Conqueror" V12 engines, 600 hp (450 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 160 mph (140 kt, 260 km/h)
- Range: mi (nm, km)
- Service ceiling: ft (m)
- Wing loading: 17.0 lb/ft² (83.2 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.114 hp/lb (190 W/kg)
External links
- Wagner, Ray (1982). American Combat Planes. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-930083-17-2.
- Atlantic O-27 USAAS. 1000 Aircraft Photos. Retrieved on November 17, 2005.
- Atlantic XB-8. USAF Museum. Retrieved on August 1, 2004.
- Fokker XB-8. Encyclopedia of American Aircraft. Retrieved on March 18, 2005.
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