Martin B-10
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The Martin B-10 was the first "modern" United States bomber aircraft and a leap upward in aviation technology. It could fly as fast as the
latest fighter aircraft of the time and was almost twice as fast as biplane bombers.
When the Wright Flyer first took to the sky, the Wright Brothers thought they were introducing a machine that would make it impossible to wage
future wars. The Flyer was made from wood with wings held together with piano wire. It had two main wings, a biplane design, and propellers behind the wing which
pushed the airplane.
Some early bomber aircraft used the pusher arrangement, but it eventually became apparent that it was generally inferior to tractor propulsion.
With improved engine technology, aircraft flew faster and drag became a major concern. The canvas covered biplane wings and wire bracing gave way to a metal, monoplane design.
By the end of World War I, modern, relatively light weight, water cooled in line piston engines and air cooled radial engines had replaced the heavy, slow engines of World War I.
When World War II ended some 40 years after the first aircraft flew, bomber aircraft were made of metal and flew distances and speeds that could only be imagined at one time.
The U.S. Army Air Corps placed the largest bomber order since
the First World War when it contracted to produce the Martin B-10. A total of 121
of the Martin B-10 were ordered between 1933 and 1936. Additionally thirty two of the Martin B-10 were upgraded to be propelled by more powerful Pratt
& Whitney engines.
The Martin B-10 saw action during World War Two when flown by China and the Netherlands. They fared poorly against enemy fighters.
Martin B-10 bomber
