The Douglas XB-31 (Douglas Model 332) was the design submitted by

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

after the request by the United States Army Air Forces for a very heavy bomber aircraft, the same request that led to the

Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

, Lockheed XB-30, and Consolidated B-32 Dominator.

Design and development

Around 1938, United States Army General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, the head of the

US Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

(USAAC), 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 Air Force, Arnold created a special committee chaired by Brigadier General W. G. Kilner; one of its members was Charles Lindbergh. The Douglas firm at the time was working on an even larger, 212 foot (64.6 meter) wingspan four-engined strategic bomber prototype airframe, the

Douglas XB-19 The Douglas XB-19 was a four-engined, piston-driven heavy bomber produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during the early 1940s. It was the largest bomber built for the USAAF until 1946, and was or ...

, that made her maiden flight in late June 1941. 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 travelling 5,000 miles (8,000 km). Approval was granted on 2 December 1939. Throughout 1939 and 1940 Douglas investigated designs of the Model 332 with different powerplants ( Wright R-2600, Pratt and Whitney R-2800,

Wright R-2160 The Wright R-2160 Tornado was an experimental 42-cylinder, 7-cylinder per row, 6-row liquid-cooled inline radial aircraft engine. It was proposed in 1940 with 2,350 hp (1,752 kW) for experimental aircraft such as the Lockheed XP-58 Cha ...

, Wright R-3350). All were designed to have roughly same operating range, with variations in the projected service ceiling. The XB-31 design was rejected in favor of the B-29 and B-32 (along with the XB-30) because the USAAC found the B-29 superior to the Douglas and Lockheed designs.

Specifications (Model 332F as designed)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Francillon, René J. ''McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920''. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1979. . * Jones, Lloyd S. ''U.S. Bombers: B-1 1928 to B-1 1980s''. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, Inc., 1974. .

External links