Fokker XB-8
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The Fokker XB-8 was a bomber built for the United States Army Air Corps in the 1930s, derived from the high-speed Fokker O-27 observation aircraft.
Design and development
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. Two 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, although the fuselage was constructed of steel tubes covered with fabric with the exception of the nose which had a corrugated metal.[1] They featured the first retractable landing gear ever fitted to an Army Air Corps bomber or observation craft. The undercarriage retracted electrically. The crew was three in tandem position.[1]
Operational history
It competed against the Douglas 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 aircraft were built.
Operators
Specifications (XB-8)
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Template:Cite magazine
- Pelletier, Alain J. "Fokker Twilight". Air Enthusiast, No. 117, May/June 2005, pp. 62–66. ISSN 0143-5450.
- Wagner, Ray. American Combat Planes. New York: Doubleday, 1982. Template:ISBN.
External links
- O-27 USAAS 1000 Aircraft PhotosTemplate:Dead link
- Army's Mystery Plane Passes Speed Test – Popular Science
- Atlantic (Fokker) XB-8 – National Museum of the US Air Force
Template:Fokker aircraft Template:USAF bomber aircraft Template:USAAF observation aircraft