Aircraft Quiz No. 107

[Doug Robertson]

This quiz has lots of questions about the aircraft that is the quiz subject. Here are the numbered questions/clues. (There can be only one correct answer set as to the aircraft and it was built only once, and that is a good clue).

1. This aircraft was a one-off. Name and nomenclature?.

2. It had two designers, name them-last names OK.

3. It had 3 wings.

4. It had 4 rudders.

5. It had 5 gunners.

6. It had 6 engines-name their name, type and horsepower each.

7. It had 7 total machine guns. Name/describe them.

8. It had 8 propellers. (With 6 engines, I am not making this up!)

9. Not applicable. No answer needed. (I couldn't find 9 of anything valid here).

10. It had 10 wheels counting all landing gear. What was unusual about two of the wheels?

BONUS-Year of build? Country?

Full known specifications will be given after all the correct answers are forthcoming.

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[SunvisorFlyer]

Back to the interwar period then?

1. Witteman-Lewis XNBL-1

2. Barling & Mitchell?

3. Well... only two had control surfaces...

4. Sure

5. Manning Lewis guns

6. Liberty L-12A, 420 hp a piece

7. Lewis machine guns, .30 cal

8. Yep

9. Uhh... it wasn't on fire for nine years?

10. Two of them were located on the nose of plane in case it tipped

Bonus- 1922 in the U.S.A.

[Doug Robertson]

A hearty congratulations to you!

My illustrated references only differ on Designers, Wittemann-Lewis XNBL-1 and another being Barling, and 1923 vice 1922.

The Barling XNBL-1 bomber was a huge (for the time) one-off US Army heavy bomber of 1923, X for Experimental Night Bomber Long Range-One, commissioned by the U.S. Army. (A separate US Air Force did not occur until 1947.)

Specifications

Crew: 7
Powerplant: Six 313kw (420 Hp) Liberty 12A piston engines
Length: 19.81m (65 ft)
Height: 8.23m (27 ft)
Wingspan: 120 ft.
Weight: loaded-19,309 kg (42,569 lb)
Max Speed: 154 km/h (96 mph)

Landing gear-10 wheels, the forward raised two were to handle any nose-over. (I am not making this up!)
Armament: Seven 7.5mm (0.29 in) machine guns on flexible mountings.
Bomb load (theoretically): 2268kg 5,000 lbs.

The forward gunner's position largely blocked the two pilots' views ahead from the semi-enclosed cockpit. The multitude of struts and bracing wires caused great interference drag which limited speed.

There was no further funding between the first and second World Wars for an improved version of the Barling Bomber. On a flight from Dayton, Ohio to Washington, D.C. the XNBL-1 could not clear the Appalachian Mountains and had to turn back.

Thank you again for your participation and success!