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1. - Development

The Douglas B-23 Dragon was a twin-engined bomber developed by Douglas Aircraft Company as a successor to (and a refinement of) the B-18 Bolo.

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2. - Serial #'s

B-23 Dragon - Serials


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3. - Operational History

While significantly faster and better armed than the B-18, the B-23 found itself inferior to newer bombers like the B-25 Mitchell and B-26 Marauder. For this reason, the 38 B-23s built were never used in combat. They worked in training, reconnaissance, transport (as the UC-67), and test-bed roles. One of the UC-67s is being restored to B-23 configuration by the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Another example (serial number 39-036) is on display at McChord AFB in Washington.

The B-23's tall vertical tail was adapted by Ford for use on the B-24 Liberator and resulted in increased performance, but it was never adopted for production. The modification later became standard on the Navy's PB4Y Privateer, which was heavily derived from the Liberator.
After World War II, Howard Hughes converted a B-23 for use as his personal transportation.
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4. - Variants


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5. - Technical Specifications

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General characteristics

Crew: 6
Length: 58 ft 6 in (17.8 m)
Wingspan: 92 ft (28 m)
Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.6 m)
Wing area: 993 ft² (92.3 m²)
Empty weight: 19,089 lb (8,677 kg)
Loaded weight: 26,500 lb (12,000 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 32,400 lb (14,700 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Wright R-2600-3 radial engines, 1,600 hp (1,194 kW) each
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Performance

Maximum speed: 282 mph (245 kn, 454 km/h)
Range: 1,400 mi (1,200 nmi, 2,300 km) with 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) of bombs
Service ceiling: 31,600 ft (9,630 m)
Rate of climb: 1,493 ft/min (7.6 m/s)
Wing loading: 26.7 lb/ft² (130 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.17 hp/lb (200 kW/kg)
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Armament

Guns:
3 × 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns
1 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun in tail turret
Bombs: 4,000 lb (1,814 kg)

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6. - Operators

  • United States
    • United States Army Air Force

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7. - Current Squadrons


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8. - Links


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9. - Markings


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10. - References

http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b23.html

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