| XB2Y | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Dive bomber |
| National origin | United States of America |
| Manufacturer | Consolidated Aircraft |
| First flight | 1933 |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Number built | 1 |
The Consolidated XB2Y was an American prototype single-engined dive bomber of the 1930s. It was intended to meet a United States Navy requirement for a carrier-based dive bomber, but was unsuccessful, only a single example being built.
In 1932, the United States Navy issued a specification for a two-seat carrier-based dive bomber capable of carrying a 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb. [1] Orders were placed for competing prototypes of designs to meet the Navy's requirement with Consolidated Aircraft and the Great Lakes Aircraft Company in June 1932. [2] [3]
Consolidated's proposal was the Model 24 (or XB2Y in the US Navy's designation system), a single-bay biplane developed from a basic design prepared by the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics with detailed design led by Consolidated's B Douglas Thomas, [2] formerly Chief Designer of Thomas Morse Aircraft, which had become part of Consolidated Aircraft in 1929. [4]
In order to withstand the high g-forces experienced during pullup after a dive attack, much of the aircraft's center-section was cut from a solid steel block. [2] [5] It was powered by a similar Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior air-cooled radial engine as used by the Great Lakes design, [2] [3] and had a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. The crew of two sat in tandem in separate cockpits, with the observer in the rear cockpit armed with a single flexibly mounted machine gun, and the pilot with a single fixed synchronized machine gun firing through the aircraft's propeller arc. Its bombload was carried on a crutch under the fuselage that swung down to ensure the bomb would clear the propeller when dropped in a steep dive. [2]
The prototype XB2Y-1 (serial number 9221 [6] ) was completed in 1933, being delivered on 28 June 1933. [2] Testing was unsuccessful, [2] with the aircraft's performance being unsatisfactory, [7] while the aircraft also proved very expensive to build. [2] [5] The US Navy preferred the Great Lakes design, with 60 being ordered as BG-1s. [3]
The XB2Y-1 was modified to a scout configuration, removing the bomb crutch. This allowed it to reach a height of 23,400 ft (7,100 m), [2] and it was used by NACA at Langley, Virginia for pilot view tests. [8]
Data from General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors [9]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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