Boeing/Vega XB-38 warming up its engines
XB-38 Flying Fortress on the ground 2
Boeing/Vega XB-38 right side view
Boeing/Vega XB-38 41-2401 in flight
XB-38 Allison V-1710-89 engine
Front view of a XB-38 Flying Fortress
XB-38 Allison V-1710-89 engines
XB-38 Flying Fortress on the ground- 3/4 front view
XB-38 Flying Fortress in flight
Overhead view of XB-38 on the ground
Boeing XB-38 B-17E Flying Fortress 41-2401 with Allison Engines
Boeing/Vega XB-38 Flying Fortress (Vega model V-134-1) was a single example conversion of a production B-17E serial 41-2401, testing whether the 1,425 hp Allison V-1710-89 V type engine could be substituted for the standard 1,000 hp Wright R-1820-97 radial engine. The XB-38 first flew on May 18, 1943. Prototype was lost on June 16 as a result of an engine fire. Crew bailed out but co-pilot G. MacDonald was killed. Plane crashed near Tipton, California.
Specifications:
Length: | 22,56 m (74ft) |
span | 31,67 m (103ft 11in) |
Height: | 5,84 m (19ft 2in) |
Wing area: | 131,9 m2 (1,420 sq ft) |
Empty weight: | 15,762 kg (34,750 lb) |
Loaded weight: | 25,401 kg (56,000 lb) |
Max. take-off weight: | 29,030 kg (64,000 lb) |
Wing loading | 192,5 kg/m2 (39,4 lb/sq ft) |
Max speed | 526 km/h at 7,620 m (327 mph at 25,000 ft ) |
Cruise speed | 364 km/h (226 mph) |
Range | 5,310 – 6,435 km (3,300 – 4,000 miles) |
Service ceiling | 9,020 m (29600 ft) |
Bibliography:
- Lloyd S. Jones: U.S. Bombers, 1974
- Kev Darling: American X & Y Planes: Volume I: Experimental Aircraft to 1945, Crowood Aviation Series, 2009
- Michael O’Leary: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Osprey Production Line to Frontline 2
- Martin W. Bowman: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Crowood Aviation Series, 1998
- Wings Of Fame – The Journal Of Classic Combat Aircraft – Volume 6
- Rene J. Francillon: Lockheed Aircraft since 1913, 1987
- Peter M. Bowers: Boeing Aircraft Since 1916, Putnam 1989
- Alwyn T. Lloyd – B-17 Flying Fortress Part 2: Derivatives, Detail & Scale Vol. 11, 1983