Fokker XB-8

Fokker/Atlantic XB-8

Picture - Atlantic XB-8 prototype

Role: Light bomber
Manufacturer: Fokker
Primary user: United States Army Air Corps
Number built: 7 (1 XB-8 + 2 YB-8 + 4 Y1B-8), all as Y1O-27
Developed from: Fokker O-27

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.

Design and development

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. Two 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.

Operators

United States

United States Army Air Corps

Specifications (XB-8)

General characteristics

Crew: 4
Length: 47 ft (14 m)
Wingspan: 64 ft (20 m)
Height: 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m)
Wing area: 619 ft² (57.5 m²)
Empty weight: 6,861 lb (3,112 kg)
Loaded weight: 10,545 lb (4,783)
Powerplant: 2x— Curtiss V-1570-23 "Conqueror" V12 engines, 600 hp (450 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 160 mph (140 kn, 260 km/h)
Wing loading: 17.0 lb/ft² (83.2 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.114 hp/lb (190 W/kg)

Related development

Fokker YO-27

Comparable aircraft

Douglas Y1B-7

Fokker XB-8 Pictures

More aircraft.

Source: WikiPedia