| B-2 Condor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Heavy bomber |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company |
| Status | No known survivors |
| Primary user | United States Army Air Corps |
| Number built | 13 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1929-1930 |
| Introduction date | 1929 |
| Retired | 1934 |
| Developed into | T-32 Condor II |
TheCurtiss B-2 Condor was a 1920sUnited Statesbomber aircraft. It was a descendant of theMartin NBS-1, which was built by theCurtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for theGlenn L. Martin Company. There were a few differences, such as stronger materials and differentengines, but they were relatively minor.
The B-2 was a large fabric-coveredbiplane aircraft. Its two engines sat innacelles between the wings, flanking thefuselage. It had a twin set of rudders with twinhorizontal stabilizers, a configuration which was becoming obsolete by that time. At the rear of each nacelle was a gunner position. In previous planes, the back-facing gunners had been in the fuselage, but their view there was obstructed. A similar arrangement (using nacelle-mounted gun platforms) was adopted in the competingKeystone XB-1 aircraft.
The XB-2 competed for aUnited States Army Air Corps production contract with the similar Keystone XB-1,Sikorsky S-37, andFokker XLB-2. The other three were immediately ruled out, but the Army board appointed to make the contracts was strongly supportive of the smallerKeystone XLB-6, which cost a third as much as the B-2. Furthermore, the B-2 was large for the time and difficult to fit into existinghangars. However, the superior performance of the XB-2 soon wrought a policy change, and in1928 a production run of 12 was ordered.
One modified B-2, dubbed theB-2A, featured dual controls for both the pilot and the copilot. Previously, the control wheel and the pitch controls could only be handled by one person at a time. This "dual control" setup became standard on all bombers by the 1930s. There was no production line for the B-2A. The B-2 design was also used as a transport.
The B-2 was quickly made obsolete by technological advances of the 1930s, and served only briefly with the Army Air Corps, being removed from service by1934. Following production of the B-2, Curtiss Aircraft left the bomber business, and concentrated on theHawk series ofpursuit aircraft in the 1930s.
Data from Curtiss aircraft : 1907-1947[1]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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