View source for Engineering:Douglas XB-43 Jetmaster

{{short description|American bomber prototype}}
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{|{{Infobox aircraft begin
  |name= XB-43 Jetmaster
  |image= File:Douglas_XB-43.jpg
  |caption=The first prototype aircraft, XB-43 number ''44-61508''
}}{{Infobox aircraft type
  |type= Prototype bomber aircraft
  |manufacturer= [[Company:Douglas Aircraft Company|Douglas Aircraft Company]]
  |designer=
  |first flight= 17 May 1946
  |introduced=
  |retired=
  |status=
  |primary user=
  |more users=
  |produced=
  |number built= 2
  |unit cost=
  |developed from= [[Engineering:Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster|Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster]]
  |variants with their own articles=
}}
|}
The '''Douglas XB-43 Jetmaster''' is an American 1940s [[Engineering:Jet aircraft|jet-powered]] prototype bomber. The XB-43 was a development of the [[Engineering:Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster|XB-42]], replacing the piston engines of the XB-42 with two [[Company:General Electric|General Electric]] J35 engines of 4,000&nbsp;lbf (17.8&nbsp;kN) [[Thrust|thrust]] each. Despite being the first American jet bomber to fly, it suffered stability issues and the design did not enter production.

==Design and development==
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) leaders in the Air Materiel Command began to consider the possibilities of jet-propelled bombers as far back as October 1943.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} At that time, Douglas Aircraft was just beginning to design a promising twin-engine bomber designated the XB-42. Reciprocating engines powered this aircraft but they were buried in the fuselage, leaving the [[Physics:Laminar flow|laminar flow]]-[[Physics:Airfoil|airfoil]] wing clean of any drag-inducing pylon mounts or engine cowlings. The airframe appeared ideally suited to test turbojet propulsion. Douglas confirmed the feasibility of the concept and the USAAF amended the XB-42 contract in March 1944 to include the development of two turbojet-powered '''XB-43''' prototypes, reduced from an initial order of 13 test aircraft.<ref name="O'Leary p. 75">O'Leary 1994, p. 75.</ref>

The Douglas design team convinced the Army that modifying the XB-42 static test [[Engineering:Airframe|airframe]] into the first XB-43 was a relatively straightforward process that would save time and money compared to developing a brand new design. Douglas replaced the two Allison V-1710 engines with a pair of General Electric (GE) J35 turbojets (the first American axial-flow jet engines ever used), then cut two air intakes into each side of the fuselage, aft of the pressurized cockpit. Removing the propellers and drive shafts freed enough space for two long jet exhaust ducts. Without any propellers present, there was no chance of striking the blade tips on the runway, so the entire ventral fin/rudder unit of the earlier XB-42's full four-surface [[Engineering:Cruciform tail|cruciform tail]] was omitted. Douglas compensated for the loss of yaw stability by enlarging the dorsal fin/rudder unit.

Douglas Aircraft was keen to mass-produce the new bomber and the USAAF considered ordering 50. The company was poised to roll out as many as 200 B-43s per month in two versions: a bomber equipped with a clear plastic nose for the bombardier, and an attack aircraft without the clear nose and bombing station but carrying 16 forward-firing .50&nbsp;in (12.7&nbsp;mm) machine guns and 36 5&nbsp;in (127&nbsp;mm) rockets. Nothing came of these plans. The USAAF was already moving ahead with a new bomber, the [[Engineering:North American B-45 Tornado|XB-45 Tornado]], designed from the outset for turbojet power and promising major improvement in every category of performance.

==Operational history==
[[File:XB-43 Color takeoff.jpg|thumb|The second aircraft, YB-43 ''Versatile II'', taking off. Undated. Note the solid, orange nose-cone that replaced the original clear nose]]

As Douglas predicted, the work itself was not overly complex but almost two years were required to ready the aircraft for flight due to delays in obtaining the J35 powerplants.<ref name="O'Leary p. 75"/> The end of World War II caused a general slowdown within the aviation industry and GE was late delivering the engines. When they were at last installed and tested on the ground, one of the units failed catastrophically. Compressor blades exploded through the engine casing, damaging the surrounding airframe and injuring a ground technician. Another seven-month delay ensued for repairs. America's first turbojet bomber finally flew from [[Organization:Edwards Air Force Base|Muroc Army Air Base]] on 17 May 1946, piloted by Douglas test pilot, Bob Brush, accompanied by engineer Russell Thaw.

Caught in a momentous technological shift, the XB-43 contributed to developing procedures for flying the new jet bombers, and it gave yeoman service testing new turbojet engines. Douglas completed the second prototype, AAF serial number ''44-61509'', flying on 15 May 1947 and delivered it to Muroc Air Force Base, California, in April 1948.<ref name="O'Leary p. 75"/> The USAAF soon replaced one J35 turbojet engine with a General Electric J47. Douglas delivered the second prototype, designated '''YB-43''', in April 1948. That aircraft was nicknamed ''Versatile II'' by USAAF personnel. When the clear plastic nose began to crack from variations in temperature at high and low altitudes, mechanics fashioned a more durable replacement made from plywood. To keep it flying, the US Air Force cannibalized parts from the first XB-43 after it was damaged in February 1951. ''Versatile II'' flew more than 300 hours until its retirement in December 1953.<ref name="O'Leary p. 75"/>

The U.S. Air Force only considered the first prototype to fall under the XB-43 designation. The second prototype, though functionally identical to the first, was designated YB-43, consistent with its status as a follow-on prototype under the Army's designation system for aircraft. At one point, the aircraft may have also been designated as "attack" aircraft, '''A-43'''<ref>[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2667 "Fact Sheet: Douglas YB-43 Jetmaster."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227233851/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2667 |date=December 27, 2010 }} ''National Museum of the Air Force''. Retrieved: 12 June 2010.</ref> (not to be confused with the [[Engineering:Curtiss-Wright XF-87 Blackhawk|Curtiss XP-87]], a project which started as an attack aircraft under the same designation.<ref>[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3183 "Fact Sheet: Curtiss A-43."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914132743/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3183 |date=September 14, 2011 }} ''National Museum of the United States Air Force''. Retrieved: 12 June 2010.</ref>) The A-43 was to have eight machine guns in a solid nose replacing the bombardier's position.

[[File:Douglas XB-43 parked.jpg|thumb]]

==Aircraft disposition==
* 44-61508: destroyed when used for target practice in the desert.<ref>[http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.html "XB-43 Jetmaster/44-61508."] ''Joe Baugher's Serial Numbers.'' Retrieved: 10 May 2013.</ref>
* 44-61509: in storage awaiting restoration in the Restoration Hangar at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The YB-43 was turned over to the Smithsonian Institution in 1954. It was stored while awaiting restoration at the Smithsonian's Paul Garber Facility (National Air and Space Museum) in Suitland, Maryland. In late 2010, it was transferred, along with the sole surviving [[Engineering:Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster|Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster]], to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio where they are awaiting restoration in the Restoration Hangars. Once completed, they will be displayed in the museum's Experimental Aircraft Hangar.<ref>[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-061222-016.pdf "YB-43 Jetmaster/44-61509."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203111303/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-061222-016.pdf |date=December 3, 2008 }} ''National Museum of the United States Air Force.'' Retrieved: 10 May 2013.</ref>
[[File:Douglas XB-43 rear.jpg|thumb]]
[[File:Douglas XB-43 061020-F-1234S-009.jpg|thumb]]

==Specifications (XB-43)==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I<ref name="Francillon">{{cite book |last1=Francillon |first1=René J. |title=McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I |date=1988 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=London |isbn=0870214284 |pages=406–409}}</ref>
|prime units?=imp
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=2
|length ft=51
|length in=2
|length note=
|span ft=71
|span in=2
|span note=
|height ft=24
|height in=3
|height note=
|wing area sqft=563
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil=Douglas G-17<ref name="Selig">{{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |access-date=16 April 2019}}</ref>
|empty weight lb=21775
|empty weight note=
|gross weight lb=37000
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight lb=39533
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=2
|eng1 name=General Electric J35-GE-3
|eng1 type=[[Engineering:Turbojet|turbojet]] engines
|eng1 lbf=3750
|eng1 note=
|power original=
|thrust original=
|eng1 lbf-ab=
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed mph=515
|max speed note=at sea level
|max speed mach=<!-- supersonic aircraft -->
|cruise speed mph=420
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed mph=
|minimum control speed note=
|range miles=1100
|range note=
|combat range miles=
|combat range note=
|ferry range miles=2840
|ferry range note=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling ft=38500
|ceiling note=
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|glide ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|wing loading lb/sqft=65.7
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|thrust/weight=0.2041

|more performance=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns=<br/>
** 2× 0.50 in machine guns in a remotely operated tail mount, never installed.
** Planned attack variant: 8× 0.50 in machine guns in solid nose
|bombs={{cvt|8000|lb}}
|rockets= 
|missiles= 
|hardpoints=
|hardpoint capacity=
|hardpoint rockets=
|hardpoint missiles=
|hardpoint bombs=
|hardpoint other=

|avionics=
}}

==See also==
{{Aircontent
|related=
* [[Engineering:Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster|Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster]]
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
* [[Engineering:List of bomber aircraft|List of bomber aircraft]]
* List of military aircraft of the United States
|see also=
}}

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Bibliography'''
{{Refbegin}}
* Jones, Lloyd. ''U.S. Bombers''. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, 1974. {{ISBN|0-8168-9126-5}}.
* O'Leary, Michael, ed. "America's First Jet Bomber" ''America's Forgotten Wings'', Volume 1, 1994, pp.&nbsp;66–75.
* Wagner, Ray. ''American Combat Planes''. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1968. {{ISBN|0-385-04134-9}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110817165308/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2655 National Museum of the United States Air Force: XB-43 Data Sheet]


[[Category:Twinjets]]

{{Sourceattribution|Douglas XB-43 Jetmaster}}