View source for Convair XB-53

{{short description|American bomber/attack aircraft project}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{redirect|B-53||B53 (disambiguation)}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{{Infobox aircraft
| name = XB-53
| image = XA-44.jpg
| caption = 1946 design then designated XA-44
| type = [[Attack aircraft]]
| manufacturer = [[Convair]]
| designer = 
| first_flight = 
| introduction = 
| retired = 
| status = Cancelled in 1949
| primary_user = [[United States Air Force]]<!--please list only one-->
| more_users = <!--up to three more. please separate with <br />.-->
| produced = <!--years in production, e.g. 1970-1999, if still in active use but no longer built-->
| number_built = 0
| unit cost = 
| variants = 
}}
The '''Convair XB-53''' was a proposed [[jet aircraft|jet-powered]] [[medium bomber]] aircraft, designed by [[Convair]] for the [[United States Army Air Forces]].<ref name="USAF Museum"/> With a radical [[tailless aircraft|tailless]], [[forward-swept wing]] design, the aircraft appeared futuristic; however, the project was canceled before either of the two prototypes were completed.<ref name="USAF Museum" />

==Design and development==
The project was originally designated '''XA-44''' in 1945 under the old "attack" category. An unusual [[forward-swept wing]]-design powered by three [[Allison J35|J35-GE]] [[turbojet]]s, the project was developed in parallel with Convair's [[Convair XB-46|XB-46]]. The original design had a wing with a 12° forward-sweep and a solid nose section, but when the Army Air Force revamped the advanced attack aircraft requirement into a light bomber requirement in 1946, the aircraft was redesignated XB-53 and the wing redesigned with a 30° forward-sweep and 8° [[dihedral (aircraft)|dihedral]] that was borrowed from German wartime research, but also a glazed nose section. The swept-forward configuration would give the aircraft a greater climb rate and maneuverability.<ref>Buttler, Tony (2010). American Secret Projects: Bombers, Attack and Anti-Submarine Aircraft 1945 to 1974. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing. {{ISBN|978-1-85780-331-0}}.</ref><ref>Bradley, Robert, 2013. Convair Advanced Designs II: Secret Fighters, Attack Aircraft, and Unique Concepts 1929-1973. Manchester, England: Crécy Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-8597917-0-0}}.</ref> It looked promising enough at one point for the Army Air Force to consider canceling the XB-46 in favor of the XA-44, since there was not enough funding for both.<ref name="USAF Museum">[https://web.archive.org/web/20140426201803/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2665 "Fact sheet: Convair XB-53."] ''National Museum of the US Air Force''. Retrieved: 9 July 2017.</ref>

Classified as a medium bomber, the XB-53 would have carried up to 12,000 pounds of bombs as well as 40 High Velocity Aerial Rockets (HVAR) mounted on underwing pylons.<ref name="USAF Museum"/>

Convair argued for completion of the XB-46 prototype as a flying testbed, without armament and other equipment, and with the substitution of two XA-44s for the other two B-46 airframes on contract. The Air Force ratified this in June 1946 but the project did not progress, nor were additional B-46s built. The XB-53 program was reinstated in February 1949 but only for a short while.

==Specifications (XB-53 estimated)==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=<ref>Jones 1974, p. 1980–1982.</ref>
|prime units?=kts
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=four
|length m=24.2
|span m=24.6
|height m=7.22
|wing area sqft=1,370
|empty weight lb=31,760
|max takeoff weight lb=60,000
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=3
|eng1 name=[[Allison J35]]
|eng1 type=turbojets
|eng1 lbf=4,000<!-- jet/rocket engines -->
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed mph=580
|range miles=2,000
|ceiling ft=44,000
<!--
        Armament
-->
|bombs={{convert|12,000|lb|kg|abbr=on|0}}
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent
|lists=
* [[List of attack aircraft]]
* [[List of bomber aircraft]]
* [[List of military aircraft of the United States]]
}}

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* Andrade, John M. ''U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Earl Shilton, Leicester: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. {{ISBN|0-904597-22-9}}.
* Jones, Lloyd S. ''U.S. Bombers, B-1 1928 to B-1 1980s''. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, 1962, second edition 1974. {{ISBN|0-8168-9126-5}}.
* Knaack, Marcelle Size. ''Encyclopedia of U.S. Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems, Volume II – Post-World War II Bombers 1945–1973''. Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, USAF, 1988. {{ISBN|0-912799-59-5}}.
* Wagner, Ray. ''American Combat Planes – Second Edition''.  Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1968. {{ISBN|0-370-00094-3}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Convair XB-53}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140426201803/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2665 Convair XB-53, from USAF Museum]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070312061733/http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/specs/convair/xb-53.htm Convair XB-53] – Aviation Enthusiast Corner
* [http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/ConvairXB-53Page.htm Fantastic Plastic model of the Convair XB-53]

{{Convair aircraft}}
{{USAF attack aircraft}}
{{USAF bomber aircraft}}

[[Category:Convair aircraft|B-53]]
[[Category:Forward-swept-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Tailless aircraft]]
[[Category:Trijets]]
[[Category:Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States]]
[[Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear]]