A-23 Baltimore

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A-23 Baltimore

Type	Light bomber
Manufacturer	Martin
Maiden flight	1940
Retired	23 December 1949
Status	Out of service
Primary user	Royal Air Force
Developed from	A-22 Maryland

The A-23 Baltimore was an experimental light bomber produced by the Glenn L. Martin Company. The plane was an enlarged version of the A-22 Maryland and was produced for the Royal Air Force as the "Model 187 Baltimore".

The plane was also given the U.S. Army Air Corps designation A-30 for Lend-Lease purposes. It was mostly used to destroy German U-boats - but eventually turned out to be ineffective against them and was not used after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Although the A-23 Baltimore was produced in greater numbers than any other Martin plane except the B-26, information about the A-23 Baltimore is scarce. There are not very many surviving examples left of the plane, even though the model was produced by the thousands.

1 History
2 Specifications
3 Operators
4 External links
5 Related content

[edit] History

The A-23 Baltimore began life as a joint project in May 1940 by the Anglo-French Purcashing Commission. Used in the anti-U-boat role during the war, the plane achieved moderate success, sinking up to eight submarines^{[citation needed]}.

All A-23s were withdrawn from service by the end of 1949, the last one being withdrawn on December 23rd.

[edit] Specifications

General characteristics

Crew: 3
Length: 49 ft 0 in (14.9 m)
Wingspan: 61 ft 8 in (18.8 m)
Height: 15.6 ft (5.2m)
Empty weight: 10,560lb ()
Loaded weight: 12,765lb ()
Max takeoff weight: 14,120lb ()
Powerplant: 2× Wright R-3350 radials, 2000 hp () each

Performance

Maximum speed: 380 mph (330 knots, 611 km/h)

Armament

Guns: 6 machine guns
Bombs: 2,220lb

[edit] Operators

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