View source for Curtiss B-2 Condor

{{Short description|1929 bomber aircraft family by Curtiss}}
{{For|the later Condor biplane airliner|Curtiss T-32 Condor II}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{{Infobox aircraft
 |name= B-2 Condor
 |image=Curtiss B-2 Condor in flight SN 28-399 060421-F-1234P-003.jpg
 |caption=<!--image caption; if it isn't descriptive it should be left blank-->
 |type=[[Heavy bomber]]
 |manufacturer=[[Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company]]
 |designer=
 |first_flight=
 |introduction=1929
 |retired=1934
 |status=No known survivors
 |primary_user=[[United States Army Air Corps]]
 |more_users=
 |produced=1929-1930
 |number_built=13
 |unit cost=US$76,373 (1928)
 |variants=
 |developed_into = [[Curtiss T-32 Condor II|T-32 Condor II]]
}}
[[File:Curtiss b2-1.jpg|thumb|Curtiss B-2 Condor formation flight over [[Atlantic City]], N.J. S/N 28-399 is in the foreground (tail section only). Aircraft were assigned to [[11th Bombardment Squadron]], [[7th Bombardment Group]] at [[Rockwell Field]], California. This flight of 4 aircraft completed cross-country flight to Atlantic City, NJ]]

The '''Curtiss B-2 Condor''' was a 1920s [[United States]] [[bomber]] aircraft. It was a descendant of the [[Martin NBS-1]], which was built by the [[Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company]] for the [[Glenn L. Martin Company]]. There were a few differences, such as stronger materials and different [[Piston engine|engines]], but they were relatively minor.

==Development==
The B-2 was a large fabric-covered [[biplane]] aircraft. Its two engines sat in [[nacelle]]s between the wings, flanking the [[fuselage]]. It had a twin set of rudders with twin [[Tailplane|horizontal stabilizers]], a configuration which was becoming obsolete by that time. At the rear of each nacelle was a gunner position. In previous planes, the back-facing gunners had been in the fuselage, but their view there was obstructed. A similar arrangement (using nacelle-mounted gun platforms) was adopted in the competing [[Huff-Daland XB-1|Keystone XB-1]] aircraft.

The XB-2 competed for a [[United States Army Air Corps]] production contract with the similar Keystone XB-1, [[Sikorsky S-37]], and [[Fokker XLB-2]]. The other three were immediately ruled out, but the Army board appointed to make the contracts was strongly supportive of the smaller [[Keystone LB-6|Keystone XLB-6]], which cost a third as much as the B-2. Furthermore, the B-2 was large for the time and difficult to fit into existing [[hangar]]s. However, the superior performance of the XB-2 soon wrought a policy change, and in [[1928 in aviation|1928]] a production run of 12 was ordered.

One modified B-2, dubbed the '''B-2A''', featured dual controls for both the pilot and the copilot. Previously, the control wheel and the pitch controls could only be handled by one person at a time. This "dual control" setup became standard on all bombers by the 1930s. There was no production line for the B-2A. The B-2 design was also used as a transport.

The B-2 was quickly made obsolete by technological advances of the 1930s, and served only briefly with the Army Air Corps, being removed from service by [[1934 in aviation|1934]]. Following production of the B-2, Curtiss Aircraft left the bomber business, and concentrated on the ''[[Curtiss Hawk|Hawk]]'' series of [[Fighter aircraft|pursuit aircraft]] in the 1930s.

==Variants==
;Model 52: Company designation of the B-2.
;XB-2: Prototype.
;B-2: Twin-engined heavy bomber biplane. Initial production version; 12 built.
;B-2A: Redesignation of one B-2 fitted with dual controls.
;Model 53 Condor 18: Civil version of the B-2. Six built.

==Military operators==
;{{flag|United States|1912}}
*[[US Army Air Corps]]
**[[7th Bombardment Group]], [[Rockwell Field]], [[California]]
***[[11th Bomb Squadron]] - operated 1928-1931

==Specifications (B-2)==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Curtiss aircraft : 1907-1947<ref name="Bowers">{{cite book|last1=Bowers|first1=Peter M.|title=Curtiss aircraft : 1907-1947|date=1979|publisher=Putnam|location=London|isbn=0-370-10029-8|pages=213–215}}</ref>
|prime units?=imp
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=5
|length m=14.43
|span m=27.43
|height m=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil='''root:''' Curtiss C-72; '''tip:''' Curtiss C-72<ref name="Selig">{{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |access-date=16 April 2019}}</ref>
|empty weight lb=9300
|gross weight lb=16951
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=2
|eng1 name=[[Curtiss GV-1570-7 Conqueror]]
|eng1 type=V-12 water-cooled piston engine
|eng1 hp=600

|prop blade number=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop name=
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia ft=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia in=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia note=
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed mph=132
|cruise speed mph=105.5
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed kts=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed kmh=
|minimum control speed mph=
|minimum control speed kts=
|minimum control speed note=
|range miles=805
|combat range km=
|combat range miles=
|combat range nmi=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range nmi=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling ft=17100
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|glide ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|climb rate ftmin=850
|time to altitude=
|sink rate ms=<!-- sailplanes -->
|sink rate ftmin=<!-- sailplanes -->
|sink rate note=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|disk loading kg/m2=
|disk loading lb/sqft=
|disk loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=

|more performance=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns= 6x {{cvt|0.30|in|mm|2}} [[Lewis machine-gun]]s
|bombs= {{cvt|2508|lb}} of bombs.
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent
|related=
* [[Martin NBS-1]]
|similar aircraft=
* [[Fokker XLB-2]]
* [[Huff-Daland XB-1]]
* [[Huff-Daland XHB-1]]
* [[Keystone LB-6|Keystone LB-7]]
* [[Sikorsky S-37]]
|lists=
*[[List of military aircraft of the United States]]
*[[List of bomber aircraft]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Bowers, Peter M. ''Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947''. London: Putnam & Company, 1979. {{ISBN|0-370-10029-8}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Curtiss B-2}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050212162856/http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b2.html Curtis B-2 Condor page of Joe Baugher, part of his Encyclopedia of American Aircraft]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040804103725/http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/bombers/b1-41.htm USAF Museum article on B-2]
* {{Cite magazine
  |title=New Flying Battleship
  |url=http://blog.modernmechanix.com/new-flying-battleship/
  |date=October 1927
  |magazine=[[Modern Mechanix]]
  |access-date=2016-03-11
  |archive-date=2016-03-12
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312071623/http://blog.modernmechanix.com/new-flying-battleship/
  |url-status=dead
  }}

{{USAF bomber aircraft}}
{{Curtiss aircraft}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:1920s United States bomber aircraft|Curtiss B-02]]
[[Category:Biplanes]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1929]]
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[[Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear]]
[[Category:Twin-tail aircraft]]