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Martin XB-51 Panther
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2nd Lieutenant
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Tail
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pdf xp-51
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2nd Lieutenant
The wheels and landing
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History
Key Dates: Nov 1944 USAAF issues requirement for new attack aircraft. Feb 1946 Martin XA-45 selected as winner of competition. 23 May 1946 Two prototypes ordered under new designation of XB-51. Spring 1946 USAAF issues revised requirements for faster and lighter aircraft. 31 March 1947 USAAF approves new design for XB-51. 4 Sept 1949 XB-51 first prototype officially rolled out. 28 Oct 1949 First flight of first prototype. 4 April 1950 USAF flight testing begins. 17 April 1950 Second prototype makes first flight. Sept 1950 B-26 Night Intruder replacement requirement issued. 26 Feb 1951 Competitive fly-off between XB-51 and Canberra. 6 March 1951 Canberra selected by USAF. 14 June 1951 USAF issues RBL-X requirement for daylight tactical bomber. 29 Nov 1951 Douglas B-66 selected to meet RBL-X. Nov 1951 XB-51 production plans cancelled. 8 Dec 1951 XB-51 officially enters USAF service. 28 Feb 1952 First prototype damaged in landing accident. 9 May 1952 Second prototype lost when maneuvering at low altitude. 28 Feb 1953 First prototype returned to service for bomb delivery testing. 1955 XB-51 appears in the movie 'Towards the Unknown'. 25 March 1956 First prototype lost in take-off accident.
Development History: XA-45 Initial design. 6 crew medium bomber with straight wing, 2 turboprop and 2 jet engines. XB-51 Revised design. Much smaller 2-seater with three jet engines and swept-wing. 2 prototypes built – initially without fin/tailplane bullet fairing. XB-51 Proposed version with tandem crew seating under single canopy. XB-51 Proposed seaplane version with boat hull, hydroskis or hydro-sled landing gear.
The bomber was manned by a crew of two. The pilot sat beneath a fighter style "bubble" canopy. The second crew member, the navigator/radio-operator, sat behind the pilot. The navigator could only view the sky through a small observation window on the left side of the fuselage. The cockpit was pressurized and temperature conditioned. The XB-51 would have a payload capability of 10,400lbs of ordnance in its internal bomb bay. It was also equipped with eight powerful 20-mm cannons located in the nose of the aircraft. The cannons could fire 1,280 rounds of ammunition before they needed to be reloaded. Operational ceiling for the new aircraft was an amazing 41,400 ft. Another impressive characteristic of the XB-51 was its un-refuelled ferry range of nearly 1,600 miles.
On the morning of the 28th October 1949, the XB-51 first prototype, tail number 46685, took to the air for the first time at Baltimore, Maryland. The plane flew as anticipated by Martin. The Air Force was so impressed with the flight testing of the XB-51 that it ordered Martin to finish work on the other test plane, serialled 46686. As it turned out, they would be the only two B-51s ever to be built. The situation in the Korean Peninsula had taken a turn for the worse in 1950 when Communist North Korean troops invaded the South. The US needed to quickly get into service a modern close-support aircraft for the theater and the only proven design available was that of the English Electric Canberra. The Canberra was chosen by the Air Force on March 1951, and this decision meant the end of Martin's XB-51 close-support bomber.
The two XB-51 prototypes cost the US government the sum of 12.5 million dollars. Much of their subsequent career was spent at Edwards AFB perfecting the rotary bomb door and performing bomb delivery trials, before piloting accidents ended the lives of both aircraft. Martin, who had to "eat" much of the development cost for aircraft, quickly bounced back with the development and production contracts for the B-57 bomber – the Canberra fitted with the XB-51s rotary bomb door – which went on to become a very successful aircraft. The Panther, the name that the Air Force may have given to the XB-51, was an aircraft born ahead of its time. Many of the remarkable features incorporated in today's bombers, came directly from the XB-51 program.
Key Dates: Nov 1944 USAAF issues requirement for new attack aircraft. Feb 1946 Martin XA-45 selected as winner of competition. 23 May 1946 Two prototypes ordered under new designation of XB-51. Spring 1946 USAAF issues revised requirements for faster and lighter aircraft. 31 March 1947 USAAF approves new design for XB-51. 4 Sept 1949 XB-51 first prototype officially rolled out. 28 Oct 1949 First flight of first prototype. 4 April 1950 USAF flight testing begins. 17 April 1950 Second prototype makes first flight. Sept 1950 B-26 Night Intruder replacement requirement issued. 26 Feb 1951 Competitive fly-off between XB-51 and Canberra. 6 March 1951 Canberra selected by USAF. 14 June 1951 USAF issues RBL-X requirement for daylight tactical bomber. 29 Nov 1951 Douglas B-66 selected to meet RBL-X. Nov 1951 XB-51 production plans cancelled. 8 Dec 1951 XB-51 officially enters USAF service. 28 Feb 1952 First prototype damaged in landing accident. 9 May 1952 Second prototype lost when maneuvering at low altitude. 28 Feb 1953 First prototype returned to service for bomb delivery testing. 1955 XB-51 appears in the movie 'Towards the Unknown'. 25 March 1956 First prototype lost in take-off accident.
Development History: XA-45 Initial design. 6 crew medium bomber with straight wing, 2 turboprop and 2 jet engines. XB-51 Revised design. Much smaller 2-seater with three jet engines and swept-wing. 2 prototypes built – initially without fin/tailplane bullet fairing. XB-51 Proposed version with tandem crew seating under single canopy. XB-51 Proposed seaplane version with boat hull, hydroskis or hydro-sled landing gear.
The bomber was manned by a crew of two. The pilot sat beneath a fighter style "bubble" canopy. The second crew member, the navigator/radio-operator, sat behind the pilot. The navigator could only view the sky through a small observation window on the left side of the fuselage. The cockpit was pressurized and temperature conditioned. The XB-51 would have a payload capability of 10,400lbs of ordnance in its internal bomb bay. It was also equipped with eight powerful 20-mm cannons located in the nose of the aircraft. The cannons could fire 1,280 rounds of ammunition before they needed to be reloaded. Operational ceiling for the new aircraft was an amazing 41,400 ft. Another impressive characteristic of the XB-51 was its un-refuelled ferry range of nearly 1,600 miles.
On the morning of the 28th October 1949, the XB-51 first prototype, tail number 46685, took to the air for the first time at Baltimore, Maryland. The plane flew as anticipated by Martin. The Air Force was so impressed with the flight testing of the XB-51 that it ordered Martin to finish work on the other test plane, serialled 46686. As it turned out, they would be the only two B-51s ever to be built. The situation in the Korean Peninsula had taken a turn for the worse in 1950 when Communist North Korean troops invaded the South. The US needed to quickly get into service a modern close-support aircraft for the theater and the only proven design available was that of the English Electric Canberra. The Canberra was chosen by the Air Force on March 1951, and this decision meant the end of Martin's XB-51 close-support bomber.
The two XB-51 prototypes cost the US government the sum of 12.5 million dollars. Much of their subsequent career was spent at Edwards AFB perfecting the rotary bomb door and performing bomb delivery trials, before piloting accidents ended the lives of both aircraft. Martin, who had to "eat" much of the development cost for aircraft, quickly bounced back with the development and production contracts for the B-57 bomber – the Canberra fitted with the XB-51s rotary bomb door – which went on to become a very successful aircraft. The Panther, the name that the Air Force may have given to the XB-51, was an aircraft born ahead of its time. Many of the remarkable features incorporated in today's bombers, came directly from the XB-51 program.
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