Martin XB-48
| Several innovations were tried in the Martin XB-48. Its two huge
nacelles, each housing three jet engines, were themselves designed as lifting bodies; internal air ducts between the engines were supposed to channel the airstream. The wings were extremely thin for low drag at high speed. The first XB-48 made its first flight on June 22, 1947, a 37-minute hop to Patuxent River Naval Air Station. Tests at Patuxent River were disappointing. The XB-48's top speed was only 516 mph at 20,000 feet, 479 at the design altitude of 35,000. In October the second prototype Martin XB-48, its weight duly brought down to specification first flew. It was used to test equipment for its successful competitor, the Boeing B-47. |
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