World War 2 In Review No. 41: American Airpower

By Merriam Press

Merriam Press World War 2 In Review Series. This issue features articles on American airpower of World War II: (1) “Old Grandpappy”: Boeing XB-15 Super Flying Fortress (2) Boeing XB-15 (3) Frank Maxwell Andrews, Major General, USAAF (4) An Ace Called Gentile (5) Airfields of the Eighth: Grafton Underwood (6) 55th Fighter Group, USAAF (7) 384th Bombardment Group (Heavy), USAAF (8) James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, USAAF (9) The Doolittle Raid: World War II’s Greatest Gamble. 561 B&W/color photos/illustrations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9781387554249

Book preview

World War 2 In Review No. 41: American Airpower

World War 2 In Review No. 41: American Airpower

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Hoosick Falls, New York

2018

First eBook Edition

Copyright © 2018 by Ray Merriam

Additional material copyright of named contributors.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

The views expressed are solely those of the author.

ISBN 9781387554249

This work was designed, produced, and published in the United States of America by the Merriam Press, 489 South Street, Hoosick Falls NY 12090.

Notice

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Mission Statement

This series presents articles and pictorials on topics covering many aspects of World War 2. In addition to new articles and pictorials on topics not previously covered, future volumes may include additional material on the subjects covered in this volume. The volumes in this series will comprise a single source for innumerable articles and tens of thousands of images of interest to anyone interested in the history and study of World War 2. While no doubt some of these images and other materials could be found online, countless hours could be spent searching thousands of web sites to find at least some of this material.

The Images

These photos are seventy-plus years old, were taken under less than ideal conditions, and some were taken by individuals who were neither professional photographers nor using professional equipment. Thus the quality of the original image may be less than perfect. While Merriam Press tries to obtain the best quality images possible, the quality of the images in this publication will no doubt vary greatly.

This series of publications utilizes the editor’s collection of tens of thousands of photographs and other illustrative material acquired since 1968. Hundreds of sources over the years have been searched for material on every subject.

Photographs Needed

Merriam Press welcomes any contributions of photographs

of this or any subject for future volumes in this series.

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•

Welcome to No. 42 of the World War 2 In Review Series

The following articles are in this issue of World War 2 In Review:

(1) Old Grandpappy: Boeing XB-15 Super Flying Fortress

(2) Boeing XB-15

(3) Frank Maxwell Andrews, Major General, USAAF

(4) An Ace Called Gentile

(5) Airfields of the Eighth: Grafton Underwood

(6) 55th Fighter Group, USAAF

(7) 384th Bombardment Group (Heavy), USAAF

(8) James H. Jimmy Doolittle, USAAF

(9) The Doolittle Raid: World War II’s Greatest Gamble

with 561 B&W and color photographs, maps and illustrations.

Watch for future issues of this series with more articles on the history of World War II.

Old Grandpappy: Boeing XB-15 Super Flying Fortress

by Leo Kohn

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

In a period when airplanes were given names and nicknames illustrative of their accomplishments (deserved or hoped for), Old Grandpappy was bestowed on the Boeing XB-15, a relatively useless bomber for which suitable work was found merely to keep it busy.

It was hardly old, but there was a time when it was called the Super Flying Fortress or Flying Dreadnought. Toward the end, it was just Old Grandpappy, certainly in the long run a more honorable recognition.

The Boeing XB-15 had its beginning in 1933 when the military planners were trying to keep a jump ahead of the engineers. The Materiel Division of the U.S. Army Air Corps set down its ideas in terms of an objective of a plane that could carry a 2,000-pound bomb load at 200 miles per hour for a range of 5,000 miles. Submitted to the War Department, the proposal was quickly approved and labeled as Project A. In 1934 and 1935, contracts were awarded the Boeing Airplane Company of Seattle for design and construction of one airplane. This was to be known as the XBLR-l (Bombardment, Long Range).

The XBLR designation was short-lived, and the airplane was reclassified as the XB-15. Boeing called it their model 294, and although the design was started before that of the B-17 it did not actually fly until two years after the Boeing 299—the original B-17. It was completed in September 1937 and flew for the first time on 15 October 1937. On 2 December of that year, the XB-15 left the Boeing plant for Wright Field near Dayton, Ohio, for testing.

What the U.S. Army wanted was experience in the construction and operation of very large airplanes, and about two years after contracting for the XBLR-1, a contract was granted to Douglas for the XBLR-2 which became the huge XB-19. While some speculated that the Army might equip several squadrons with the B-15, there just would not have been the funds for such military purchases in those times.

However, the prototype, serial number AAC 35-277, was every bit the monster it pretended to be. It weighed 35 tons, had a thick wing mounted in mid position, thick enough to allow the flight engineers to reach the engines in flight through a crawlway within the wing. It bristled with armament, inadequate to say the least by today’s standards—six machine guns in two lateral and two ventral blisters, and other armament in nose and dorsal turrets. Twin wheels on the main landing gear legs supported the huge mass on the ground, and 1,050-horsepower Pratt & Whitney engines, the biggest we had, supported it in flight. Complete living quarters aboard were provided the crew. The bomber had two gasoline-powered auxiliary engines aboard to generate power for the 110-volt system supplying the lights, stoves, and various mechanical portions of the ship.

On 6 August 1938, the XB-15 was delivered to the 2nd Bombardment Group. The next year, on 30 July 1939 to be exact, as part of the Army Air Corps’ Thirtieth Anniversary celebration, the XB-15 regained the world weight-to-height record held by Russia. Major Caleb V. Haynes and Capt. W. D. Olds flew the gargantuan Boeing to 8,200 feet with a payload of 31,205 pounds at Wright Field. Today such accomplishments seem trivial, but at the time they were extremely important and actually were tremendous within their right.

Further, in early 1939, Haynes flew the XB-15 to earthquake-ravaged areas in Chile, carrying 3,250 pounds of Red Cross medicinal supplies to the survivors of the stricken region. This flight covered a distance of 4,933 miles and was made in the then record elapsed time of 49 hours 18 minutes. Actual flying time was 29 hours 53 minutes, with the remainder spent stopping for fuel and inspection in the Canal Zone and at Lima, Peru. For this flight, Major Haynes was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

But the Army Air Corps was not pleased with the XB-15. Its more than 70,000-pound gross weight was too much for its four 1,050-horsepower engines. Its top speed of 190 miles per hour was not up to expectations for the airplane, and its high rate of fuel consumption precluded its approaching the range projected for it. An Air Corps proposal to modify the airplane and produce a model called the YB-20 was disallowed by the Assistant Secretary of War because the more advanced XB-19 was being developed.

Assigned to patrol duties during the early part of World War II, it could stay aloft for twenty-four hours, and often flew 1,000 miles out to sea and back again.

In 1943 it was converted to the XC-105 transport. Cargo doors and a hoist were installed, the crew reduced to six, and the allowable gross weight upped to 92,000 pounds. As the XC-105, it operated primarily in the Caribbean area. In eighteen months of service with the Sixth Air Force in Panama, the XC-105 lugged 100,000 pounds of freight, delivered 50,000 pounds of mail, and carried 5,300 passengers.

The crew members said that Old Grandpappy was …grumpy, and had to be humored. It caught fire twice while in the air.

Grossing 70,706 pounds, the airplane as the XB-15 had a span of 149 feet 0 inches, length of 87 feet 11 inches, and was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-11 engines of 1,050 horsepower each, as mentioned previously. At best, it could eke out 197 miles per hour at 5000 feet.

In its development efforts toward the B-29, Boeing engineers redesigned the XB-15 into the Model 316, a high wing, tri-gear version of the airplane with a pressurized cabin. The design was discarded.

The XB-15—or XC-105 if you will—was retired in the Canal Zone from active duty in December 1944, and it was ordered dismantled in June of 1945.

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

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Boeing XB-15.

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

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Boeing XB-15 flying over the memorial to the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 1939.

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Another view of the Boeing XB-15 flying over the memorial to the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 1939.

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

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Camouflaged for war games, the Boeing XB-15 was given much opportunity to prove its worth.

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

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Boeing XB-15 landing.

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Boeing XB-15 in flight with a Boeing YP-29 chase plane.

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Boeing XB-15 at Felts Field, Spokane, Washington, 11 May 1939.

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

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Boeing XB-15 (35-277 c/n 1964).

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