The Douglas XB-43 Jetmaster is an American 1940s jet-powered prototype bomber. The XB-43 was a development of the XB-42, replacing the piston engines of the XB-42 with two General ElectricJ35 engines of 4,000 lbf (17.8 kN) thrust each. Despite being the first American jet bomber to fly, it suffered stability issues and the design did not enter production.
XB-43 Jetmaster
The first prototype aircraft, XB-43 number 44-61508
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) leaders in the Air Materiel Command began to consider the possibilities of jet-propelled bombers as far back as October 1943.[citation needed] At that time, Douglas Aircraft was just beginning to design a promising twin-engine bomber designated the XB-42. Reciprocating engines powered this aircraft but they were buried in the fuselage, leaving the laminar flow-airfoil wing clean of any drag-inducing pylon mounts or engine cowlings. The airframe appeared ideally suited to test turbojet propulsion. Douglas confirmed the feasibility of the concept and the USAAF amended the XB-42 contract in March 1944 to include the development of two turbojet-powered XB-43 prototypes, reduced from an initial order of 13 test aircraft.[1]
The Douglas design team convinced the Army that modifying the XB-42 static test airframe into the first XB-43 was a relatively straightforward process that would save time and money compared to developing a brand new design. Douglas replaced the two Allison V-1710 engines with a pair of General Electric (GE) J35 turbojets (the first American axial-flow jet engines ever used), then cut two air intakes into each side of the fuselage, aft of the pressurized cockpit. Removing the propellers and drive shafts freed enough space for two long jet exhaust ducts. Without any propellers present, there was no chance of striking the blade tips on the runway, so the entire ventral fin/rudder unit of the earlier XB-42's full four-surface cruciform tail was omitted. Douglas compensated for the loss of yaw stability by enlarging the dorsal fin/rudder unit.
Douglas Aircraft was keen to mass-produce the new bomber and the USAAF considered ordering 50. The company was poised to roll out as many as 200 B-43s per month in two versions: a bomber equipped with a clear plastic nose for the bombardier, and an attack aircraft without the clear nose and bombing station but carrying 16 forward-firing .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and 36 5 in (127 mm) rockets. Nothing came of these plans. The USAAF was already moving ahead with a new bomber, the XB-45 Tornado, designed from the outset for turbojet power and promising major improvement in every category of performance.
Operational history
The second aircraft, YB-43 Versatile II, taking off. Undated. Note the solid, orange nose-cone that replaced the original clear nose
As Douglas predicted, the work itself was not overly complex but almost two years were required to ready the aircraft for flight due to delays in obtaining the J35 powerplants.[1] The end of World War II caused a general slowdown within the aviation industry and GE was late delivering the engines. When they were at last installed and tested on the ground, one of the units failed catastrophically. Compressor blades exploded through the engine casing, damaging the surrounding airframe and injuring a ground technician. Another seven-month delay ensued for repairs. America's first turbojet bomber finally flew from Muroc Army Air Base on 17 May 1946, piloted by Douglas test pilot, Bob Brush, accompanied by engineer Russell Thaw.
Caught in a momentous technological shift, the XB-43 contributed to developing procedures for flying the new jet bombers, and it gave yeoman service testing new turbojet engines. Douglas completed the second prototype, AAF serial number 44-61509, flying on 15 May 1947 and delivered it to Muroc Air Force Base, California, in April 1948.[1] The USAAF soon replaced one J35 turbojet engine with a General Electric J47. Douglas delivered the second prototype, designated YB-43, in April 1948. That aircraft was nicknamed Versatile II by USAAF personnel. When the clear plastic nose began to crack from variations in temperature at high and low altitudes, mechanics fashioned a more durable replacement made from plywood. To keep it flying, the US Air Force cannibalized parts from the first XB-43 after it was damaged in February 1951. Versatile II flew more than 300 hours until its retirement in December 1953.[1]
The U.S. Air Force only considered the first prototype to fall under the XB-43 designation. The second prototype, though functionally identical to the first, was designated YB-43, consistent with its status as a follow-on prototype under the Army's designation system for aircraft. At one point, the aircraft may have also been designated as "attack" aircraft, A-43[2] (not to be confused with the Curtiss XP-87, a project which started as an attack aircraft under the same designation.[3]) The A-43 was to have eight machine guns in a solid nose replacing the bombardier's position.
Aircraft disposition
44-61508: destroyed when used for target practice in the desert.[4]
^"Fact Sheet: Douglas YB-43 Jetmaster." December 27, 2010, at the Wayback MachineNational Museum of the Air Force. Retrieved: 12 June 2010.
^"Fact Sheet: Curtiss A-43." September 14, 2011, at the Wayback MachineNational Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 12 June 2010.
^"XB-43 Jetmaster/44-61508." Joe Baugher's Serial Numbers. Retrieved: 10 May 2013.
^"YB-43 Jetmaster/44-61509." December 3, 2008, at the Wayback MachineNational Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 10 May 2013.
^Francillon, René J. (1988). McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I. London: Naval Institute Press. pp. 406–409. ISBN0870214284.
^Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
Bibliography
Jones, Lloyd. U.S. Bombers. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, 1974. ISBN0-8168-9126-5.
O'Leary, Michael, ed. "America's First Jet Bomber" America's Forgotten Wings, Volume 1, 1994, pp. 66–75.
Wagner, Ray. American Combat Planes. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1968. ISBN0-385-04134-9.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Douglas XB-43.
January 06, 2023
douglas, jetmaster, american, 1940s, powered, prototype, bomber, development, replacing, piston, engines, with, general, electric, engines, thrust, each, despite, being, first, american, bomber, suffered, stability, issues, design, enter, production, jetmaster. The Douglas XB 43 Jetmaster is an American 1940s jet powered prototype bomber The XB 43 was a development of the XB 42 replacing the piston engines of the XB 42 with two General Electric J35 engines of 4 000 lbf 17 8 kN thrust each Despite being the first American jet bomber to fly it suffered stability issues and the design did not enter production XB 43 JetmasterThe first prototype aircraft XB 43 number 44 61508Role Prototype bomber aircraftManufacturer Douglas Aircraft CompanyFirst flight 17 May 1946Number built 2Developed from Douglas XB 42 Mixmaster Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 Aircraft disposition 4 Specifications XB 43 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksDesign and development EditUnited States Army Air Forces USAAF leaders in the Air Materiel Command began to consider the possibilities of jet propelled bombers as far back as October 1943 citation needed At that time Douglas Aircraft was just beginning to design a promising twin engine bomber designated the XB 42 Reciprocating engines powered this aircraft but they were buried in the fuselage leaving the laminar flow airfoil wing clean of any drag inducing pylon mounts or engine cowlings The airframe appeared ideally suited to test turbojet propulsion Douglas confirmed the feasibility of the concept and the USAAF amended the XB 42 contract in March 1944 to include the development of two turbojet powered XB 43 prototypes reduced from an initial order of 13 test aircraft 1 The Douglas design team convinced the Army that modifying the XB 42 static test airframe into the first XB 43 was a relatively straightforward process that would save time and money compared to developing a brand new design Douglas replaced the two Allison V 1710 engines with a pair of General Electric GE J35 turbojets the first American axial flow jet engines ever used then cut two air intakes into each side of the fuselage aft of the pressurized cockpit Removing the propellers and drive shafts freed enough space for two long jet exhaust ducts Without any propellers present there was no chance of striking the blade tips on the runway so the entire ventral fin rudder unit of the earlier XB 42 s full four surface cruciform tail was omitted Douglas compensated for the loss of yaw stability by enlarging the dorsal fin rudder unit Douglas Aircraft was keen to mass produce the new bomber and the USAAF considered ordering 50 The company was poised to roll out as many as 200 B 43s per month in two versions a bomber equipped with a clear plastic nose for the bombardier and an attack aircraft without the clear nose and bombing station but carrying 16 forward firing 50 in 12 7 mm machine guns and 36 5 in 127 mm rockets Nothing came of these plans The USAAF was already moving ahead with a new bomber the XB 45 Tornado designed from the outset for turbojet power and promising major improvement in every category of performance Operational history Edit The second aircraft YB 43 Versatile II taking off Undated Note the solid orange nose cone that replaced the original clear nose As Douglas predicted the work itself was not overly complex but almost two years were required to ready the aircraft for flight due to delays in obtaining the J35 powerplants 1 The end of World War II caused a general slowdown within the aviation industry and GE was late delivering the engines When they were at last installed and tested on the ground one of the units failed catastrophically Compressor blades exploded through the engine casing damaging the surrounding airframe and injuring a ground technician Another seven month delay ensued for repairs America s first turbojet bomber finally flew from Muroc Army Air Base on 17 May 1946 piloted by Douglas test pilot Bob Brush accompanied by engineer Russell Thaw Caught in a momentous technological shift the XB 43 contributed to developing procedures for flying the new jet bombers and it gave yeoman service testing new turbojet engines Douglas completed the second prototype AAF serial number 44 61509 flying on 15 May 1947 and delivered it to Muroc Air Force Base California in April 1948 1 The USAAF soon replaced one J35 turbojet engine with a General Electric J47 Douglas delivered the second prototype designated YB 43 in April 1948 That aircraft was nicknamed Versatile II by USAAF personnel When the clear plastic nose began to crack from variations in temperature at high and low altitudes mechanics fashioned a more durable replacement made from plywood To keep it flying the US Air Force cannibalized parts from the first XB 43 after it was damaged in February 1951 Versatile II flew more than 300 hours until its retirement in December 1953 1 The U S Air Force only considered the first prototype to fall under the XB 43 designation The second prototype though functionally identical to the first was designated YB 43 consistent with its status as a follow on prototype under the Army s designation system for aircraft At one point the aircraft may have also been designated as attack aircraft A 43 2 not to be confused with the Curtiss XP 87 a project which started as an attack aircraft under the same designation 3 The A 43 was to have eight machine guns in a solid nose replacing the bombardier s position Aircraft disposition Edit44 61508 destroyed when used for target practice in the desert 4 44 61509 in storage awaiting restoration in the Restoration Hangar at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton Ohio The YB 43 was turned over to the Smithsonian Institution in 1954 It was stored while awaiting restoration at the Smithsonian s Paul Garber Facility National Air and Space Museum in Suitland Maryland In late 2010 it was transferred along with the sole surviving Douglas XB 42 Mixmaster to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton Ohio where they are awaiting restoration in the Restoration Hangars Once completed they will be displayed in the museum s Experimental Aircraft Hangar 5 Specifications XB 43 EditData from McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 Volume I 6 General characteristicsCrew 2 Length 51 ft 2 in 15 60 m Wingspan 71 ft 2 in 21 69 m Height 24 ft 3 in 7 39 m Wing area 563 sq ft 52 3 m2 Airfoil Douglas G 17 7 Empty weight 21 775 lb 9 877 kg Gross weight 37 000 lb 16 783 kg Max takeoff weight 39 533 lb 17 932 kg Powerplant 2 General Electric J35 GE 3 turbojet engines 3 750 lbf 16 7 kN thrust eachPerformance Maximum speed 515 mph 829 km h 448 kn at sea level Cruise speed 420 mph 680 km h 360 kn Range 1 100 mi 1 800 km 960 nmi Ferry range 2 840 mi 4 570 km 2 470 nmi Service ceiling 38 500 ft 11 700 m Wing loading 65 7 lb sq ft 321 kg m2 Thrust weight 0 2041Armament Guns 2 0 50 in machine guns in a remotely operated tail mount never installed Planned attack variant 8 0 50 in machine guns in solid nose Bombs 8 000 lb 3 600 kg See also EditRelated development Douglas XB 42 MixmasterRelated lists List of bomber aircraft List of military aircraft of the United StatesReferences EditNotes a b c d O Leary 1994 p 75 Fact Sheet Douglas YB 43 Jetmaster Archived December 27 2010 at the Wayback Machine National Museum of the Air Force Retrieved 12 June 2010 Fact Sheet Curtiss A 43 Archived September 14 2011 at the Wayback Machine National Museum of the United States Air Force Retrieved 12 June 2010 XB 43 Jetmaster 44 61508 Joe Baugher s Serial Numbers Retrieved 10 May 2013 YB 43 Jetmaster 44 61509 Archived December 3 2008 at the Wayback Machine National Museum of the United States Air Force Retrieved 10 May 2013 Francillon Rene J 1988 McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 Volume I London Naval Institute Press pp 406 409 ISBN 0870214284 Lednicer David The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage m selig ae illinois edu Retrieved 16 April 2019 Bibliography Jones Lloyd U S Bombers Fallbrook California Aero Publishers 1974 ISBN 0 8168 9126 5 O Leary Michael ed America s First Jet Bomber America s Forgotten Wings Volume 1 1994 pp 66 75 Wagner Ray American Combat Planes New York Doubleday amp Company Inc 1968 ISBN 0 385 04134 9 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Douglas XB 43 National Museum of the United States Air Force XB 43 Data Sheet Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Douglas XB 43 Jetmaster amp oldid 1063227260, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
