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Description
| Manufacturer: | Boeing |
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| Base model: | B-15 | ||
| Designation: | XB-15 | ||
| Designation System: | U.S. Air Force | ||
| Designation Period: | 1924-Present | ||
| Basic role: | Bomber | ||
| Status: | Experimental | ||
Specifications
| Not Yet Available |
Known serial numbers
Recent comments by our visitors
| Chris Lyford , NE | In answer to the comment about the film "Test Pilot." The aircraft used were Y1B-17's of the 2nd Bombardment Squadron based out of Langley Field,Virginia. This elite unit comprised America's only Flying Fortress squadron of just thirteen operational bombers in 1938 when the XB-15 was assigned there. Among the many exploits of this squadron was the 1938 interception of the Italian liner 'Rex' off the U. S. East Coast under the command of Colonel Caleb V. Haynes that resulted in the War Department's edict restricting Air Corps coastal defense missions out to sea. This was probably just as well as it forced the Army to re-evaluate the B-17 for the role it was later proved best at - strategic bombing - not long-range coastal defense. The "Test Pilot" sequence involving the crashing Fortress mimmics two actual events that took place - one being the weight-lift test of the B-17A that ended in the plane cracking up, though not fatally. The other eludes to the XB-15's maximum weight lifting flight of July 30, 1939, where it lifted off the runway with more than two-and-one-half times its maximum bombload - 31,167 lbs - to an altitude of 8,200 feet breaking all records including that of Russia's famed ANT-20 'Maxsim Gorkii.' The film sequence in "Test Pilot" using the Y1B-17's may have been shot in California during one of the squadron's national tours including one that took it to the West Coast to make an appearance at the San Francisco World's Fair.
Note: My interest in all of this stems from my father's experience where as a young man he witnessed the rollout of the Boeing Model 299 (B-17 prototype) and also that of the XB-15 in 1937. I am writing an extensive article hopefully to serve as the basis of a book on the XB-15 and would appreciate any quotation by any veteran or relative of a veteran who remembers remarks and statements regarding the XB-15, both in its experimental bomber role as well as its AAF air transport role as the XC-105. 02/14/2008 @ 11:49 [ref: 19676] |
| joseph judge Milersville, PA | I saw the B-15 at an airport near Scranton PA in 1940. It was piloted by James Walsh, later General Walsh of 8th airforce and SAC. He was from my home town of Carbondale PA and I was invited by his family to see the plane land. When it landed and the crew was on the ground, a young boy of 10 (me!) ran from the crowd, was greeted by Walsh and given a tour of the plane. I was hooked on flying from that time. I followed Walsh's career and have a great picture of him and some of the top Brass (Spatz, Doolittle,Eaker,and a young Tibbet). 01/04/2008 @ 08:27 [ref: 19144] |
| Boeing Corporation Chicago, IL | The mammoth Boeing XB-15 began in 1934 as a design study for the Army to see if it was possible to build a heavy bomber with a 5,000-mile range. When it made its first flight, it was the largest and heaviest plane ever built in the United States. It was so large that the crew could go through passages in the wing to make minor repairs while the airplane was flying.
Because a long-range flight, powered by the engines of the time, took several days, the crew had bunks to sleep on between shifts. The XB-15 had been designed for four 1,000-horsepower liquid-cooled engines, but because those engines were not available in time, it was powered by 850-horsepower engines. Nonetheless, it set several load-to-altitude records, including taking a 31,205-pound payload to 8,200 feet on July 30, 1939. Because the lone XB-15 was an experimental airplane, and never intended for production, it did not serve as a bomber during World War II. The military converted it into a cargo carrier, designated the XC-105. Specifications First flight: Oct. 15, 1937 Model number: 294 Classification: Bomber Span: 149 feet Length: 87 feet 7 inches Gross weight: 70,706 pounds Top speed: 200 mph Cruising speed: 152 mph Range: 5,130 miles Ceiling: 18,900 feet Power: Four 850-horsepower P&W R-1830-11 Twin Wasp engines Accommodation: 10 crew Armament: 6 machine guns, 8,000-pound bomb load Copyright © 1995 - 2007 Boeing. All Rights Reserved 12/03/2007 @ 12:08 [ref: 18776] |
| Charles E. Dills San Luis Obispo, CA | I just saw the last half of a movie, "Test Pilot" starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Myrna Loy. I could swear that the plane they were "testing" was the XB-15!!!!
---Chas--- 11/17/2006 @ 05:49 [ref: 14761] |
| Charles E. Dills San Luis Obispo, CA | I just saw the last half of a movie, "Test Pilot" starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Myrna Loy. I could swear that the plane they were "testing" was the XB-15!!!!
---Chas--- 11/17/2006 @ 05:49 [ref: 14760] |
| Charles E. Dills San Luis Obispo, CA | I just saw the last half of a movie, "Test Pilot" starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Myrna Loy. I could swear that the plane they were "testing" was the XB-15!!!!
---Chas--- 11/17/2006 @ 05:49 [ref: 14759] |
| Charles E. Dills San Luis Obispo, CA | I just saw the last half of a movie, "Test Pilot" starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Myrna Loy. I could swear that the plane they were "testing" was the XB-15!!!!
---Chas--- 11/17/2006 @ 05:49 [ref: 14758] |
| Andrew Chapman Queensland, OTH | I have what I think may be a Brass modle of a Boeing XB 15. I found it when I was a small boy. After many years I discovered it again in one of my old boxes. after some reserch on the internet just now I feel I have ID it The wing span of my model is @ 300mm or 12inches the only differents between the modle and the photos that i have seen is the modle has a gun turrent on top of the plan about 1/2 way between the tale and the wings. I found It in about 1976 on my perents farm in South Australia this farm housed Italian Prisoners of war in WW11. If any one is interested Please contact me 11/16/2006 @ 00:53 [ref: 14745] |
| William Clark ORLANDO, FL | Hello,
In 1944-1945 I was a radio operator with The 20th Troop Carrier at Albrook Field,Canal Zone. I was not lucky enough to have a flight in that big bird,all my flights were in C-47's. However, I walked under those big wings in aamazement. I remember that the B-15 flew to the states on cargo missions. I wish I'd have taken pictures of that special Airplane. Bill Clark 06/30/2006 @ 17:43 [ref: 13623] |
| George , WA | SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 149 ft. 0 in. Length: 87 ft. 7 in. Height: 19 ft. 5 in. Weight: 65,068 lbs. gross Armament: Three .30-cal. machine guns and three .50-cal. machine guns; 12,000 lbs. of bombs (max.) Engines: Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-11 Twin Wasp radials of 1,000 hp. each Crew: 10 PERFORMANCE Maximum speed: 197 mph Cruising speed: 171 mph Service ceiling: 18,850 ft. Range: 3,400 miles with 2,500 lb. bomb load 01/21/2006 @ 01:49 [ref: 12219] |
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