I'd like to take a moment to talk about about one of the best planes that were never built, because of the army's preference for the B-29. I am talking about the B-33A Super Marauder. "Following the abandonment of the original twin-engined design the company continued to design a larger four-engined design and two prototypes were ordered by the USAAF as the XB-33A; its bombload was to have been 12,000 lb (5,443 kg), as much as that of the B-24 Liberator, the heaviest US bomber flown in combat prior to the B-29.
The original XB-33 design was to be powered by the R-3350, the redesigned XB-33A was to use Wright R-2600 engines. The main reason for this was demand for R-3350s for the B-29, one of the most highly valued projects of the Army Air Forces.
On January 17, 1942, the USAAF placed an order for 400 B-33As to be built at the government-owned plant in Omaha, Nebraska operated by Martin. On November 25, 1942 the project was cancelled to allow the Omaha plant to concentrate on manufacturing B-29s."
Specs:
Crew: 7
Length: 79 ft 10 in (24.3 m)
Wingspan: 134 ft (40.8 m)
Height: 24 ft (7.32 m)
Wing area: 1,646 ft² (153 m²)
Empty weight: 85,000 lb (39,000 kg)
Loaded weight: 95,000 lb (43,000 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Wright R-2600-15 radial engines, 1,800 hp (1,300 kW each) each
Maximum speed: 345 mph (300 kn, 555 km/h)
Cruise speed: 242 mph (210 kn, 389 km/h)
Range: 2,000 mi (1,700 nmi, 3,000 km)
Service ceiling: 39,000 ft (12,000 m)
Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s)
Wing loading: 58 lb/ft² (280 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.076 hp/lb (55 W/kg)
Guns: 8× .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns
Bombs: 10,000 lb (4,500 kg)
Personally, I wish this great plane had been built.
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Topic: One of the greatest birds never built! (Read 854 times)
