The Keystone B-3A was a

bomber aircraft A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircraf ...

developed for the

United States 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 r ...

Keystone Aircraft Keystone Aircraft Corporation was an early American airplane manufacturer. History Headquartered in Bristol, Pennsylvania, the company was formed as "Ogdensburg Aeroway Corp" in 1920 by Thomas Huff and Elliot Daland, but its name was quickly ...

in the late 1920s.

Design and development

The B-3 was originally ordered as the LB-10A (a single-tail modification of the

Keystone LB-6 The Keystone LB-6 and LB-7 were 1920s American light bombers, built by the Keystone Aircraft company for the United States Army Air Corps, called Panther by the company, but adoption of the name was rejected by the U.S. Army. Design & developme ...

), but the Army dropped the ''LB-'' 'light bomber' designation in 1930. Although the performance of the B-3A was hardly better than that of the bombers flown at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, it had come a long way. In terms of its safety, it was far superior to its oldest predecessors.

Operational history

The B-3A was a member of the last family of

biplanes A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

operated by the US Army; it remained in service until 1940. A few years after it was first produced, the introduction of all-metal monoplanes rendered it almost completely obsolete.

Variants

;LB-10 :The last of the 17 LB-6s ordered (S/N 29-27) was converted with a re-designed single fin and rudder and two 525 hp Wright R-1750E engines. Delivered to Wright Field on 7 July 1929, it was wrecked on 12 November 1929. ;LB-10A :This version used Pratt and Whitney R-1690-3 Hornet engines and was slightly smaller, in both wingspan and fuselage. A total of 63 were ordered (S/N 30-281/343). All were re-designated as the B-3A before any deliveries were made, with the final 27 built as B-5A with Wright engines. ;B-3A :Ordered as LB-10A, 36 delivered as B-3A (S/N 30-281/316). The first aircraft was delivered in October 1930. ;B-5A :Ordered as B-3A, re-engined with

Wright R-1750 Wright Cyclone was the name given to a family of air-cooled Radial engine, radial piston engines designed by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation and used in numerous United States, American aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. Background The Wright ...

-3 Cyclone engines, 27 built (S/N 30-317/343).

Operators

; *

2d Bombardment Group 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 OO2, the minor planet 7499 L'Aquila *1990 OO2, the asteroid 9175 Graun Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *'' 002 Operazione Luna' ...

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perform ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

*** 20th Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A and B-5A 1931–1932 *** 49th Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A and B-5A 1931–1932 ***

96th Bomb Squadron The 96th Bomb Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 2d Operations Group located at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The 96th is equipped with the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress. Formed in August 1917, the 96 BS saw combat on the Wor ...

– operated B-3A and B-5A 1931–1932 ** 4th Composite Group,

Nichols Field Nichols Field was a U.S. military airfield located south of Manila in Pasay and Parañaque, Metro Manila, Luzon, the Philippines. The complex is located at Andrews Avenue by the north, Domestic Road by the west, NAIA Road and Ninoy Aquino Avenu ...

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

*** 28th Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A 1932–1937 *** 2nd Observation Squadron- operated B-3A 1938–1940"Fact Sheet – Keystone B-3A."
National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 14 July 2017. ** 5th Composite Group, Luke Field,

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

*** 23d Bomb Squadron – operated B-5A 1932–1937 ***

72d Bomb Squadron The 72d Test and Evaluation Squadron is part of the 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The squadron is geographically separated but operated from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. It conducts testing and evaluation of the B-2 Spi ...

– operated B-5A 1932–1936 **

6th Composite Group Alec Trevelyan (006) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye'', the first film to feature actor Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor Sean Bean. The likeness of Bean as Alec Tre ...

France Field France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

*** 25th Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A 1932–1936 ** 7th Bombardment Group,

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...

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***

9th Bomb Squadron The 9th Bomb Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 7th Operations Group, Global Strike Command, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. The squadron is equipped with the Rockwell B-1B Lancer bomber. Form ...

– operated B-3A 1931–1934 *** 11th Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A 1931–1934 *** 31st Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A 1931–1934 **

19th Bombardment Group 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...

Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...

*** 30th Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A 1932–1936 *** 32d Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A 1932–1935 ** Air Corps Advanced Flying School,

Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. In ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

*** 42d Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A and B-5A 1935–1936 ; *

Philippine Army Air Corps The Philippine Army Air Corps ( fil, Pulutong Himpapawid ng Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas; es, Cuerpo Aéreo del Ejercito Filipino) was created in 1935 as the air component of the Philippine Army. It was the predecessor of the Philippine Air F ...

**10th Bombardment Squadron

Specifications (B-3A)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Andrade, John. ''U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909.'' Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979, pp. 43, 135. . * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985)''. London: Orbis Publishing, 1985, p. 2255. * Maurer, Maurer. ''Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II.'' Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Air Force Historical Studies Office, 1982. .

External links

Encyclopedia of American AircraftPhotograph of B-3 landingUSAF Museum article on LB-10USAF Museum article on B-3
{{Authority control B-3 Light bombers Keystone B-03 Biplanes Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft