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RC Airplane      Douglas XB-19
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Douglas XB-19
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Specifications

        Primary Function:
        Crew:
        Engines:
        Power:
        Length:
        Wingspan:
        Weight Empty:
        Max. Weight:
        Machine guns:
        Machine guns:
        Cannons:
        Ordnance:
        Cruise Speed:
        Max. Speed:
        Initial Climb:
        Ceiling:
        Range:
        First Flight:
bomber
eighteen
Allison V24
4 x 2,600 hp. ea.
132' 2"
212' 3"
140,230 lbs.
164,000 lbs.
6 x .30 cal.
5 x .50 cal.
2 x 37 mm.
18,700 lbs.
165 mph
265 mph
650 fpm
39,000 feet
7,750 miles
6/27/1941






Only one XB-19 was ever built.  At the time of its first flight the Douglas XB-19 was the largest U.S. aircraft ever built.

The XB-19 was conceived in 1935 when the U.S. Army Air Corps approached Douglas Aviation with plans for a bomber that could carry a heavy ordnance load over intercontinental distances.

It was decided that the aircraft would have a single wing mounted to the underside of the fuselage. It would need four engines for power, and a wide stance tricycle landing gear arrangement for enhanced pilot visibility and good ground handling.

As the project took shape after three years of development, Douglas recommended that it be canceled due to more advanced aircraft design availability. The U.S. Army did not follow the recommendation and development of a single aircraft continued.

When the XB-19 first flew in June of 1941, development was more than three years late. The aircraft was delivered to the Army for testing. Little of the aircraft had to be changed before the Army accepted the XB-19 in mid-1942.

Additional test flights found the aircraft to be underpowered. The engines needed additional cooling to enable the production of sufficient power during cruising flight, resulting in additional fuel consumption and a loss of speed.

Eventually engines were fitted to the aircraft which produced thirty percent more power. Its cooling problems were resolved and the XB-19 was able to reach the speed and fuel consumption originally specified.

With the resolution of the engine problems, the XB-19 was converted to the transportation of cargo. The aircraft was retired on August 17, 1946 and eventually sold for scrap.

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