B-32 Dominator
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The Consolidated B-32 Dominator (Consolidated Model 33/34) was a heavy bomber made for United States Army Air Force during the Second World War. It was developed in parallel with the B-29 Superfortress as a fallback design should the Superfortress prove unsuccessful. It only reached units in the Pacific during the summer of 1945, and thus saw only a very few combat operations against Japanese targets before the atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war. Most of the extant orders of the B-32 were cancelled shortly thereafter, because it would clearly become obsolete within a very few years due to the development of jet aircraft. Only 118 B-32s (of all types) were built.
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Development
Around 1938, General Henry H. ‘Hap’ Arnold, the head of the Army Air Force, was growing alarmed at the possibility of war in Europe and in the Pacific. Hoping to be prepared for the long-term requirements of the Army Air Force, Arnold created a special committee chaired by Brigadier General W. G. Kilner; one of its members was Charles Lindbergh. After a tour of Luftwaffe bases, Lindbergh became convinced that Nazi Germany was far ahead of other European nations. In a report in 1939, the committee made a number of recommendations, including development of new long-range heavy bombers. When war broke out in Europe, Arnold requested design studies from several companies on a Very Long-Range bomber capable of traveling 5000 miles (8000 km). Approval was granted on December 2.
This request, sent to Boeing, Lockheed, Douglas, and Consolidated Aircraft. The submissions of each company were ranked by the Army Air Force in order of preference as the Boeing B-29, Lockheed XB-30, Douglas XB-31, and Consolidated XB-32 (the lowest on the list). Both Lockheed and Douglas withdrew from the competition a few months later. In September, a contract for two prototypes was issued; another was ordered in November.
The design of the B-32 was entirely new, but it was largely based on that of the B-24 Liberator, also built by Consolidated. The layout was similar, but the B-32 had larger wings (in proportion to its body), a cylindrical fuselage, and a rounded B-29-type nose, which was replaced with the stacked nose used on most World War II bombers before production began. In all three XB-32s, the twin tail of the B-24 was used (though a B-29 tail was grafted onto the third one built). This graft did not provide enough stability, so the production version had an even taller single tail. Like the B-29, the B-32 had pressurised crew compartments and remotely operated gun turrets. The gun turrets in the B-32 were retractable.
Originally, the Army Air Force intended to use the B-32 as a ‘fallback’ design to be used of the B-29 programme failed. This plan became largely unnecessary due to the success of the B-29. In fact, the Army Air Force considered cancelling the B-32 contract several times during its development. Every time, that course was decided against. Eventually, Army Air Force leadership decided that the B-32 was to replace the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator beginning in mid-1944. In this plan, B-24 bomb groups in the Mediterranean would be the first to change. Once they completed the transition, other groups in the 15th Air Force and then 8th Air Force would transition. This plan was never fulfilled, however, because the B-32 was plagued with problems and was significantly behind schedule when the deadline for this transition was reached. Like the B-29, it was plagued with problems. Though the XB-32 flew first, it quickly began to lag behind the B-29.
Operational History
The first assignment of the B-32 began when General George Kenney the commander of Allied air forces in the South West Pacific Area, and commander of the U.S. Fifth Air Force, traveled to Washington D.C. to request B-29s. Since needs were higher elsewhere in the Pacific Theatre, Kenney’s request was denied. After that, he requested the B-32. Following a demonstration, the Army General Staff agreed that he could conduct a combat evaluation, and a test schedule of eleven missions was set up. If successful, the B-32 would replace all B-24s in the Pacific.
Three B-32s were assigned to the 386th Bomb Squadron of the 312th Bomb Group of the Kenney’s 5th Air Force. On 1945 May 29, the first mission was flown against a supply depot at Antatet in the Philippines; the last mission was flown on June 25 against bridges near Kiirun on Formosa. The testing missions were mostly successful, and the B-32 was set up to replace the B-24. In July, the 386th Bomb Squadron completed the transition. It flew six combat missions using the B-32 before the war ended; after that, it conducted photographic reconnaissance. Eight days after Nagasaki was destroyed, the 386th Squadron conducted a mission over Japan, and was attacked by flak and fighters; a similar incident occurred on the following day. These incidences represented the only combat damage done to the B-32 (two planes were damaged); no B-32 was ever downed in combat. The only death associated with a B-32 was of a Sergeant Anthony J. Marchione, photographer on the second photographic reconnaissance mission.
The last combat mission, another photo reconnaissance mission, was completed on August 28; on the 30th, the 386th Bomb Squadron ceased operations. The B-32 was cancelled on September 8; all production was halted by October 12. Any airworthy planes were flown directly to the scrap yard; partially built planes were scrapped at the factory. In the summer of 1949, the last B-32 was scrapped. No B-32 exists today.
Units Using the B-32
United States Army Air Force
- 386th Bomb Squadron
Variants/Design Stages
- XB-32 ‘Terminator’ (http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/bombers/b3-60.htm)—The design of the XB-32 was entirely new, but began as a larger version of the B-24 Liberator. In all three ordered prototypes, the final design included a twin tail (http://www.comcar.org/vintage&veteran/consolidated_vultee/xb32a.htm) like that of the B-24, but the third plane had a single tail from a B-29 grafted (http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/bombers/xb32-4.jpg) onto it early in the testing process to make maintenance easier; this tail was too small to maintain vertical stability, and the production B-32 had an even larger one designed by Consolidated engineers. (×3)
- B-32 (http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/bombers/b3-61.htm)—Originally, the Army Air Force had intended to begin replacing B-17s and B-24s with B-32s beginning in the summer of 1944, but the B-32 project was so far behind schedule that this plan could not be fulfilled. It replaced the B-24 with the 386th Bomb Squadron in the Pacific, and served until its last mission on 1945 August 28. The last B-32 was scrapped in 1949. (×75)
- TB-32 (http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/bombers/b3-62.htm)—A trainer version of the B-32 was ordered in 1942, to prepare for the transition of flight crews and maintenance personnel to active duty. It was essentially the same as the B-32, but all armament was removed. (×40)
Specifications (B-32)
General characteristics
- Crew: 10
- Length: 83 ft 1 in (25.3 m)
- Wingspan: 135 ft 0 in (41.2 m)
- Height: 33 ft 0 in (10.1 m)
- Wing area: 1,442 ft² (132.1 m²)
- Empty: 60,000 lb (27,000 kg)
- Loaded: 100,000 lb (45,000 kg)
- Maximum takeoff: 111,500 lb (50,580 kg)
- Powerplant: 4× Wright R-3350-23 Cyclone radial; 2,200 hp (1,600 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 357 mph (575 km/h)
- Range: 3000 miles (1,300 km)
- Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (11,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 658 ft/min (201 m/min)
- Wing loading: 70.3 lb/ft² (341 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.088 hp/lb (0.15 kW/kg)
Armament
- 10× .50-caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns 20000 lbs bombs
References and Links
- Encyclopedia of American Aircraft (http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pettypi/elevon/baugher_us/b032-01.html)
- USAF Museum (http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/bombers/b3-60.htm)
Related content
Related development: B-24 Liberator - Convair B-36
Comparable aircraft: B-29 Superfortress - Lockheed XB-30 - Douglas XB-31
Designation sequence: B-29 - XB-30 - XB-31 - B-32 - B-33 - B-34 - YB-35
Related lists: List of military aircraft of the United States - List of bomber aircraft
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