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Keystone B-3
The Keystone B-3 was a bomber aircraft developed for the United States Army Air Corps in the late 1920s. It was originally ordered as the LB-10A (a single-tail modification of the Keystone LB-6), but the Army dropped the LB- 'light bomber' designation in 1930.
Though the performance of the B-3 was hardly better than that of the bombers flown at the end of World War I, it had come a long way. In terms of its safety, it was far superior to its oldest predecessors.
The B-3A was the last biplane disbanded by the Army; it remained in service until 1940. A few years after it was first produced, a revolution in airplane design rendered it almost completely obsolete.
Units using the B-3
United States Army Air Corps
- 4th Composite Group
- 6th Composite Group
- 19th Bombardment Group
Specifications (B-3A)
General characteristics
- Crew: 5
- Length: 48 ft 10 in (14.9 m)
- Wingspan: 74 ft 8 in (22.8 m)
- Height: 15 ft 9 in (4.8 m)
- Wing area: 1,145 ft² (106.4 m²)
- Empty weight: 7,705 lb (5,875 kg)
- Loaded weight: 12,952 lb (5,875 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: lb (kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-1690-3 radial engines, 525 hp (392 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 114 mph (98 kt, 183 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 98 mph (85 kt, 158 km/h)
- Range: 860 mi (760 kt, 1,400 km)
- Service ceiling: 12,700 ft (3,870 m)
- Rate of climb: 530 ft/min (2.7 m/s)
- Wing loading: 11.31 lb/ft² (55.42 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.0811 hp/lb (133 W/kg)
Armament
- Guns: 3× .30-calibre (7.62 mm) Browning machine guns
- Bombs: 2,500 lb (1,100 kg); 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) on short runs
External links
- Encyclopedia of American Aircraft
- Photograph of B-3 on the ground
- USAF Museum article on LB-10
- USAF Museum article on B-3
Related content
Related development
Designation sequence
- LB-series: LB-7 - LB-8 - LB-9 - LB-10 - LB-11 - XLB-12 - LB-13
- B-series: XB-1 - B-2 - B-3 - B-4 - B-5 - B-6
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