XB-33 Super Marauder

Infobox Aircraft
name= XB-33 Super Marauder


caption=
type= Medium bomber
national origin=United States
manufacturer= Glenn L. Martin Company
designer=
first flight=
introduced=
retired=
status= Cancelled 25 November 1942
primary user= United States Army Air Forces
more users=
produced=
number built=None
unit cost=
developed from= B-26 Marauder
variants with their own articles=

The Martin B-33 was designed by the Glenn L. Martin Company as the Martin Model 190 and was a high-altitude derivative of the company's B-26 Marauder. Two different designs were developed, first as a twin-engined aircraft and then as a four-engined aircraft. The four-engined version was ordered by the United States Army Air Force but the program was cancelled before any aircraft were built.

Design and development

XB-33

The first version of the B-33 design, the XB-33, was a twin-tailed medium bomber with two Wright R-3350 engines and pressurised crew compartments; its design began in 1940. It would carry around 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) of bombs. Soon after design of the XB-33 began it became clear that a twin-engined aircraft would not achieve the performance requested by the army. The company moved on to developing a larger four-engined design and the two prototypes ordered by the USAAF were not built.

XB-33A

Following the abandoment of the original twin-engined design the company continued to design a larger four-engined design and two prototypes were ordered by the USAAF as the XB-33A; its bombload was to have been 12,000 lb, as much as that of the B-24 Liberator, the heaviest bomber flown in combat prior to the B-29.

The original XB-33 design was to be powered by the R-3350, the redesigned XB-33A was to use Wright R-2600 engines. The main reason for this was demand for R-3350s for the B-29, one of the most highly valued projects of the Army Air Forces.

On January 17 1942, the USAAF placed an order for 400 B-33As to be built at the government-owned plant in Omaha, Nebraska operated by Martin. On November 25, 1942 the project was cancelled to allow the Omaha plant to concentrate on manufacturing B-29s.

Variants

;XB-33:Prototype medium bomber powered by two 1800hp (1343kW) R-3350 engines, two cancelled. [Andrade 1979, p 51] ;XB-33A:Prototype medium bomber powered by four 1800hp (1343kW) R-2600-15 engines, two cancelled. [Andrade 1979, p 51] ;B-33A Super Marauder:Production variant of XB-33A, 400 on order cancelled. [Andrade 1979, p 51]

pecifications (B-33A, as designed)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

crew=7
length main=79 ft 10 in
length alt=24.3 m
span main=134 ft
span alt=40.8 m
height main=24 ft
height alt=7.32 m
area main=1,646 ft²
area alt=153 m²
empty weight main=85,000 lb
empty weight alt=39,000 kg
loaded weight main=95,000 lb
loaded weight alt=43,000 kg
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=

engine (prop)=Wright R-2600-15
type of prop=radial engines
number of props=4
power main=1,800 hp
power alt=1,300 kW each

performance header=Performance (estimated)
max speed main=345 mph
max speed alt=300 knots, 555 km/h
cruise speed main=242 mph
cruise speed alt=210 knots, 389 km/h
range main=2,000 mi
range alt=1,700 nm, 3,000 km
ceiling main=39,000 ft
ceiling alt=12,000 m
climb rate main= ft/min
climb rate alt= m/s
loading main=58 lb/ft²
loading alt=280 kg/m²
power/mass main=0.076 hp/lb
power/mass alt=55 W/kg

guns=8× .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns
bombs=10,000 lb (4,500 kg)

ee also

aircontent
related=
* B-26 Marauder

similar=
* B-29 Superfortress
* Lockheed XB-30
* Douglas XB-31
* B-32 Dominator
* Avro Lancaster
* Tupolev Tu-4

lists=
* List of military aircraft of the United States
* List of bomber aircraft

see also=

References

* [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b33.html Encyclopedia of American Aircraft]
*

External links