Keystone XB-1 Super Cyclops1928 |
BOMBER | Virtual Aircraft Museum / USA / Keystone |
The first plane in the new basic "B" category for bombardment type aircraft was originally designed by the Huff-Daland Company, but delivered to the Army by the newly formed Keystone Company as the XB-1 in 1928. The two geared Packard 2A-1530 engines used were unacceptable and the bomber was re-engined with two Curtiss V-1570 Conquerors of 600hp each. With the new engines, the single example of the Super Cyclops was given the designation XB-1B and had a top speed of 190km/h. Unique among its contemporaries, the XB-1B carried two of its crew of five in gun turrets in the aft portion of the engine nacelles. Each gunner was armed with two Lewis machine guns firing rearward. Another gunner, similarly armed, was located in the nose of the plane. [USBOMBERS]
| All the World's Rotorcraft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||