| XPBB-1 Sea Ranger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Prototype patrol bomber |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Status | Prototype |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | 9 July 1942 |
| Retired | 1947 |
The Boeing XPBB-1 Sea Ranger (Boeing 344) was a prototype twin-engined flying boat patrol bomber built for the United States Navy. The order for this aircraft was canceled, to free production capacity to build the Boeing B-29, and only a single prototype was completed.
Well before the United States entered World War II, the Navy started a program to develop a long-range flying boat, able to cover the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. The Model 344 design offered by Boeing was chosen, and a contract for 57 aircraft was awarded on 29 June 1940. The designation given to the type was PBB for Patrol Bomber, Boeing, the first aircraft of the PB category built by Boeing for the Navy. Nevertheless, Boeing did have important experience in the construction of large flying boats, having produced the successful Boeing 314 airliner. To build the large PBB, Boeing started construction of a new lakeside factory in Renton, Washington, that was owned by the US Navy. However, the prototype was constructed mostly in Seattle, and was moved to Renton only for completion. [1]
To achieve the desired long range, the PBB became a fairly large aircraft, with a wingspan of 139 feet 8+1⁄2 inches (42.59 m) and a crew of ten. [1] Despite its size, it was powered by just two Wright R-3350 Duplex Cyclone radial engines, driving three-bladed Curtiss Electric propellers. It was the largest twin-engined flying boat flown during World War II. For a flying boat, the PBB was aerodynamically clean, with a cantilever wing set high on the fuselage. The planing bottom had a single step, and the non-retractable outrigger floats were attached to streamlined, cantilever struts. The lower hull was divided with seven watertight compartments, and a short upper deck provided seating for the cockpit crew. The wing of the PBB was constructed in a center section and two outer panels. The center section carried the engine nacelles and contained the internal bomb bays, as well as fuel and oil tanks. The outer wing panels contained main and auxiliary, integral fuel tanks.
The defensive armament of the PBB consisted of five powered turrets, equipped with Browning .50 M2 machine guns. They were installed in the nose, in the tail, on the upper fuselage just aft of the trailing edge of the wing, and in two waist positions at the rear fuselage. Except for the waist guns, the turrets had two guns each. Offensive armament could consist of up to 20,000 lb of bombs in internal bomb bays in the wing center section (five bays on each side) or of two Mk.13 or Mk.15 torpedoes slung under the wing center section. [2]
The 1710 US gallon auxiliary outer and 1565 US gallon inner fuel tanks were intended to be used only in an overload condition, in which the PBB would use catapult-assisted takeoff to achieve a theoretical range of 11,000 miles (18,000 km). [3] The normal range using the main fuel tanks was 4,245 miles (6,832 km). [4] In March 1941 the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics asked the Naval Aircraft Factory for a catapult able to launch a PBB-1. The NAF duly prepared a design for a Mark VII catapult that would be able to launch a fifty-ton PBB-1 at a speed of 130 miles per hour. [5] The catapult would be installed so that the flying boat could be lifted onto it with a large crane or hydraulic jacks. However, in the summer of 1942, while development of the Mk.VII catapult was still ongoing, the Navy cancelled the project because it considered JATO assistance at takeoff more practical.
The prototype, designated XPBB-1, made its first flight on 9 July 1942 from Lake Washington. [1] The aircraft handled very well and was considered technically successful. However, already in 1942 the PBB program had been cancelled: The need for a long-range flying boat had been reduced by the ability of land planes such as the Consolidated PB4Y to fly long-range missions over the ocean, and construction of a small number of PBB-1s would have a negative impact on the production rate of the B-29. The Navy allowed the Army to use the Renton factory for the production of B-29 bombers, in return for the use of another factory in Kansas.
The single XPBB-1 was handed over to the US Navy, and was used in trials programs until 1947, when it was finally retired. Despite suggestions that more aircraft might be built, perhaps by another factory, it remained the single example of the type, and was accordingly nicknamed "Lone Ranger". [4]
Data from War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Six [6]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related lists
The Short Stirling was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the war.
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models designated as various LB-30s, in the Land Bomber design category.
The Douglas XTB2D Skypirate was a torpedo bomber intended for service with the United States Navy's Midway- and Essex-class aircraft carriers; it was too large for earlier decks. Two prototypes were completed, but the dedicated torpedo bomber was becoming an outdated concept, and with the end of World War II, the type was deemed unnecessary and cancelled.
The Kawanishi H8K is a flying boat used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II for maritime patrol duties. The Allied reporting name for the type was "Emily".
The Tupolev Tu-85 was a Soviet prototype strategic bomber based on the Tu-4, an unlicensed, reverse engineered copy of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. It was the ultimate development of the B-29 family, being over 50% heavier than its progenitor and had nearly double the range. Only two prototypes were built before the program was cancelled in favor of the turboprop powered Tupolev Tu-95 bomber which could cover the same range at a far higher speed.
The Nakajima G8N Renzan was a four-engined long-range bomber designed for use by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Navy designation was "Type 18 land-based attack aircraft" (十八試陸上攻撃機); the Allied code name was "Rita".
The Dornier Do 19 was a German four-engine heavy bomber that first flew on 28 October 1936. Only one prototype flew, and it was converted to a transport in 1938. The other two were scrapped.
The Short S.45 Seaford was a 1940s flying boat, designed as a long range maritime patrol bomber for RAF Coastal Command. It was developed from the Short S.25 Sunderland, and initially ordered as "Sunderland Mark IV".
The PB2Y Coronado is a large flying boat patrol bomber designed by Consolidated Aircraft, and used by the US Navy during World War II in bombing, antisubmarine, medical/hospital plane, and transport roles. Obsolete by the end of the war, Coronados were quickly taken out of service. Only one known example remains, at the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Before WW2 large flying boats were important for long distance international routes, as the ability to land on water without a land-based airstrip was useful. It proved to be good supporting aircraft in the Pacific War, which often required transport across long distance of oceans in harm's way, to places with no prepared airstrips.
The Boeing F2B was a biplane fighter aircraft of the United States Navy in the 1920s, familiar to aviation enthusiasts of the era as the craft of the Three Sea Hawks aerobatic flying team, famous for its tied-together formation flying.
The Short Shetland was intended as a British long-range, four-engined flying boat built by Short Brothers at Rochester, Kent for use in the Second World War. It was designed to meet an Air Ministry requirement for a very-long range reconnaissance flying boat. The design used the company's experience with large scale production of the Short Sunderland. Two prototypes flew, but the end of World War II prevented the Shetland from entering production. It was the first aircraft designed with a 110 volt electrical system.
The Nakajima G5N Shinzan was a four-engined long-range heavy bomber designed and built for the Imperial Japanese Navy prior to World War II. The Navy designation was "Experimental 13-Shi Attack Bomber"; the Allied code name was "Liz".
The Lublin R-XX was the Polish torpedo bomber floatplane, designed in the early 1930s in the Plage i Laśkiewicz factory in Lublin. It remained a prototype.
The Fairchild AT-21 was an American World War II specialized bomber crew trainer, intended to train crews in the use of power gun turrets or a gun on a flexible mount, as well as learn to function as a member of a crew. It had a brief career as a training aircraft before modified bombers took over this role.
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.78 was an Italian bomber/reconnaissance biplane flying boat of the early 1930s.
The Potez-CAMS 141 was a French long range reconnaissance flying boat of the late 1930s. Intended to equip the French Navy, only a single prototype was completed before the German invasion of France stopped production. That prototype did, however serve operationally from bases in French North Africa until scrapped in 1943.
The Tupolev MTB-2, also known as the ANT-44, was a Soviet four-engine flying boat built in the late 1930s. Two prototypes were built; performance was satisfactory, but the design was overtaken by the fielding of long-range, land-based bombers by Soviet Naval Aviation and cancelled in 1940.
The Beriev MDR-5 (sometimes Beriev MS-5) was a Soviet long-range reconnaissance/bomber flying boat prototype developed by the Beriev design bureau at Taganrog. It did not enter production as the rival Chyetverikov MDR-6 was preferred.
The Caproni Ca.90 was a prototype heavy bomber designed and built by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Caproni. At the time of its maiden flight on 13 October 1929, it was the largest land-based aircraft then extant in the world; the First World War-era Siemens-Schuckert R.VIII having been slightly larger. Only the one Ca.90 was ever built.
The Boeing XPB was an American twin-engined biplane long-range patrol flying boat of the 1920s. A single example was built for the United States Navy.
Media related to Boeing XPBB Sea Ranger at Wikimedia Commons
| Authority control databases: National |
|---|
