Boeing F3B
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| F3B | |
|---|---|
 Boeing F3B-1, U.S. Navy Photo |
|
| Type | Carrier-based Fighter-Bomber |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Maiden flight | 3 February 1928 |
| Introduced | August 1928[1] |
| Primary user | U.S. Navy |
| Number built | 74 including the prototype[1] |
| Developed from | F2B-1 & FB-5 |
The Boeing F3B was a biplane fighter and fighter bomber that served with the United States Navy from 1928 into the early 1930s.
Contents |
[edit] Development
Designed by the company as its Model 74, the plane was an incremental improvement over the F2B. The Navy-designated prototype XF3B-1 still had the tapered wings of the F2B for instance, but was built as a single-float seaplane using the FB-5 undercarriage. However, the growing use of aircraft carriers took away most of the need for floating fighters, and by the time other test results had been taken into account, the production F3B-1 (Model 77) had a larger upper wing that was slightly swept back and a redesigned tail with surfaces made from corrugated aluminum.[2] It also eliminated the spreader bar arrangement of the undercarriage and revised the vertical tail shape.[3]
[edit] Operational history
It first flew on February 3, 1928, turning in a respectable performance and garnering Boeing a contract for 73 more. F3Bs served as fighter bombers for some four years with the squadrons VF-2B aboard USS Langley, VB-2B aboard USS Saratoga (later VF-6B), and VB-1B on USS Lexington,[1][3] during which period some were fitted with Townend rings and others with streamlined wheel fairings.[2] The aircraft remained in first-line service to 1932 and were then retained as "hacks" (command and staff transports) for several more years.[3]
[edit] Variants
- Model 74
- XF3B-1, one prototype serial number A7674[1]
- Model 77
- F3B-1, 73 aircraft serial numbers A7675-A7691; A7708-A7763[1]
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (F3B-1)
Data from "The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft" Editors: Paul Eden & Soph Moeng, 2002, ISBN 0-7607-3432-1, page 319
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 24 ft 10 in (7.57 m)
- Wingspan: 33 ft (10.06 m)
- Height: 9 ft 2 in (2.79 m)
- Wing area: 275 ft² (25.55 m²)
- Empty weight: 2,179 lb (988 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 2,945 lb (1,336 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1340-80 Wasp Radial, 425 hp (317 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 136.5 knots (157 mph, 253 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 113.9 knots (131 mph, 211 km/h)
- Range: 295.5 nm (340 mi, 547 km)
- Service ceiling 21,500 ft (6,555 m)
- Rate of climb: 2,020 ft/min (10.26 m/s)
- Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
Armament
- Two 0.3 in (7.62mm) forward firing Browning Machine Guns in the forward fuselage
- Five 25 lb (11.3 kg) bombs carried under the fuselage and lower wing
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e "United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911" by Gordon Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers (Naval Institute Press Annapolis, MD, ISBN 0870219685) 1976, 546 pp.
- ^ a b Lloyd S. Jones, U.S. Naval Fighters (Fallbrook CA: Aero Publishers, 1977, ISBN 0-8168-9254-7), pp. 60-62
- ^ a b c "The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft" Editors: Paul Eden & Soph Moeng, (Amber Books Ltd. Bradley's Close, 74-77 White Lion Street, London, NI 9PF, 2002, ISBN 0-7607-3432-1), 1152 pp.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
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