THE B-52 COMPETITION OF 1946
...and Dark Horses from Douglas, 1947-1950
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EROSPACE
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Jared A. Zichek
Cover:
Artist's impression o Convair'sextraordinary Long Range Heavy Bom-bardment Airplane, one o the losingcontenders in the heavy bombardmentcompetition o 1946. This and all otherimages in this publication are scannedrom original documents ound in RG 341o the National Archives in College, Park,MD, unless otherwise indicated.
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Artist's impression o the Boeing Model462, winner o the competition. It wouldsubsequently be replaced by the Model464, which underwent a radical evolutionbeore emerging as the swept wing, jet-powered XB-52 in 1951.
tion and inspire researchers to dig ur-ther into the tumultuous developmentalhistory o this legendary aircra.
Background
Te origins o the B-52 can betraced back to August 15, 1944, whenthe engineering division at Wright eldrecommended that a design study or a jet-propelled/turboprop heavy bomberbe undertaken in FY1946; the study was to cost $65, and developmento the airplane to cost $16 million be-tween FY1947 and FY1949. Te type
The American Aerospace Archive is published periodically by Jared A. Zichek (6021 La Jolla Hermosa Ave, La Jolla, California 92037) and is printed and distributed by MagCloud (www.jaredzichek.magcloud.com). American Aerospace Archive Number 3 (ISSN 1943-9636) is copyright 2009 by Jared A. Zichek. All rights reserved. All featured text and im-ages are copyright 2009 their respective copyright holders. Reproduction of any material in part or in whole without its creator's permission is strictly forbidden. The American Aerospace Archive accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photos, art or other materials. Submissions are considered on an invitational basis only. Email your comments and suggestions to editor@aeroarchivepress.com and visit our website at www.aeroarchivepress.com.
n the third issue o Te AmericanAerospace Archive, we take an in-depth look at two o the original threeproposals or the B-52 competition o 1946; oer speculation on the thirdbased on available evidence; and exam-ine some later dark horse contendersrom Douglas. Tis is not a comprehen-sive history o the complicated evolutiono the Boeing B-52 design - that wouldrequire an entire book, and the generalstory o that evolution has already beenably told elsewhere. Instead, the aim isto shed more light on some o the designsubmissions connected to the competi-2
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was sought as an eventual replacementor the Convair XB-36, work on whichhad started in early 1941. Beore its rstight on August 8, 1946, the Army AirForce (AAF) was already concerned thatthe giant bomber would not meet itsmission radius requirement or be ableto survive over enemy airspace withoutescort ghters. In April 1945, the AAFrequested Boeing to undertake a designstudy or a heavy turboprop successorto the B-36. Boeing and its competitorsdeclined to submit proposals becausethe desired characteristics were “so com-pletely out o line with the state o theart." On November 23, 1945, the AAFreleased "Military Characteristics orHeavy Bombardment Aircra," require-ments or a “high speed, high altitude,long range, land airplane” shown in thetable at right.
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In February 1946, the Air echni-cal Service Command (ASC) issueda Request or Proposals (RFP) to theaviation industry or designs to “meetor approximate” the November 1945characteristics. At the time, therequirements were beyond thestate o the art, with a suitableturboprop engine taking up to1 years to develop, according tosome experts. Due to the lack o a suitable engine, the AAF askedthe industry to approximate therequirements as best as it could,with emphasis being placed onmeeting the high speed require-ment.
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Boeing, Convair and Mar-tin would each submit propos-als to ulll these demandingrequirements. Te rst one wewill examine is the winner, theBoeing Model 462.
Boeing Model 462
In the rst hal o 1946, Boeingsubmitted its Model 462 to the heavy bombardment competition. Te ollow-ing inormation about the design comesrom the proposal brochure dated June27, 1946.
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Boeing noted that signicant ad- vances in heavy bombardment airplanedesign were contingent upon concertedeorts toward development and coordi-nation o developmental activities sur-rounding many component elements,particularly power plants. Derived roma series o design studies and based onthe results o extensive operational expe-rience with the B-29, this conclusion wasexemplied by the Model 462, whichBoeing described as "...the most practi-cal airplane possible with developmentsavailable or a design program initiatedat this time." Only through ull utiliza-
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General arrangement drawing and ba-sic characteristics o the Model 462 takenrom the brochure dated June 27, 1946.
Military Characteristics for Heavy Bombardment AircraftNovember 23, 1945
High speed at tactical operating altitude
45 mph
Tactical operating altitude
35,
Service ceiling
4,
Tactical operating radius (take of point totarget) at design gross weight with10,000 lb bomb
5,statutemiles
Average speed or above radius
3 mph
Maximum (internal) bomb load
8, lbsCrew accommodations or at least 12: pilot, copilot, ightengineer, one bombardier-navigator, one radio operator,the minimum number o re control operators deemednecessary, and a six person relie crew.
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