Fokker XB-8
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The Fokker XB-8 was a bomber built for the United States Army Air Corps in the 1920s, derived from the high-speed Fokker O-27 observation aircraft. During assembly, the second prototype XO-27 was converted to a bomber prototype, dubbed the XB-8. While the XB-8 was much faster than existing biplane bombers, it did not have the bomb capacity to be considered for production. 2 YB-8s and 4 Y1B-8s were ordered, but these were changed mid-production to Y1O-27 configuration.
The wing of the XB-8 and XO-27 was built entirely from wood, though the fuselage was constructed of steel tubes covered with fabric. They featured the first retractable landing gear ever fitted to an Army Air Corps bomber or observation craft.
It competed against a design submitted by Douglas Aircraft Company, the Y1B-7/XO-36. Both promised to greatly exceed the performance of the large biplane bombers then used by the Army Air Corps. However, the Douglas XB-7 was markedly better in performance than the XB-8, and no further versions of Fokker's craft were built.
Specifications (XB-8)
{{airtemp
|plane or copter?=plane |jet or prop?=prop
|crew=4 |length main=47 ft |length alt=14 m |span main=64 ft |span alt=20 m |height main=11 ft 6 in |height alt=3.5 m |area main=619 ft² |area alt=57.5 m² |empty weight main=6,861 lb |empty weight alt=3,112 kg |loaded weight main=10,545 lb |loaded weight alt=4,783 |max takeoff weight main= lb |max takeoff weight alt= kg
|number of props=2 |engine (prop)=Curtiss V-1570-23 |type of prop="Conqueror" V12 engines |power main=600 hp |power alt=450 kW
|max speed main=160 mph |max speed alt=140 kt, 260 km/h |range main= mi |range alt= nm, km |ceiling main= ft |ceiling alt= m |loading main=17.0 lb/ft² |loading alt=83.2 kg/m² |power/mass main=0.114 hp/lb |power/mass alt=190 W/kg
}}
External links
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