Consolidated XB2Y

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.

XB2Y
Role	Dive bomber
National origin	United States of America
Manufacturer	Consolidated Aircraft
First flight	1933
Primary user	United States Navy
Number built	1

Design and development

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]

Operational history

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]

Specifications (XB2Y-1)

Data from General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors^[9]

General characteristics

• Crew: two
• Length: 27 ft 11 in (8.51 m)
• Wingspan: 36 ft 6 in (11.13 m)
• Height: 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m)
• Wing area: 362 sq ft (33.6 m²)
• Empty weight: 3,538 lb (1,605 kg)
• Gross weight: 6,255 lb (2,837 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney XR-1535-64 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 700 hp (520 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 158 kn (182 mph, 293 km/h) at 8,900 ft (2,700 m)
• Range: 423 nmi (487 mi, 784 km)
• Service ceiling: 22,800 ft (6,900 m)
• Time to altitude: 10 minutes to 12,200 ft (3,700 m)

Armament

• Guns: 1 × fixed, forward-firing .30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun; 1 × flexible .30 in machine gun
• Bombs: 1 × 1,000 lb (450 kg)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Great Lakes BG
• Vought SBU Corsair

Related lists

• List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)