<!-- This article is a part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft. Please see Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout. -->

The Fokker XB-8 was a bomber built for the United States Army Air Corps in the 1930s, derived from the high-speed Fokker O-27 observation aircraft.

Design and development

thumb|left|Fokker O-27

During assembly, the second prototype XO-27 was converted to a bomber prototype, dubbed the XB-8. While the XB-8 was much faster than existing biplane bombers, it did not have the bomb capacity to be considered for production. Two YB-8s and 4 Y1B-8s were ordered, but these were changed mid-production to Y1O-27 configuration.

The wing of the XB-8 and XO-27 was built entirely from wood, although the fuselage was constructed of steel tubes covered with fabric with the exception of the nose which had a corrugated metal.

|crew=4

|length ft=47

|length in=4

|length m=14.42

|span ft=64

|span in=4

|span m=19.60

|height ft=11

|height in=6

|height m=3.50

|wing area sqft=619

|wing area sqm=57.5

|empty weight lb=6861

|empty weight kg=3112

|gross weight lb=10650

|gross weight kg=4824

|eng1 number=2

|eng1 name=Curtiss V-1570-23

|eng1 type="Conqueror" V12 engines

|eng1 hp=600

|eng1 kw=450

|max speed mph=160

|max speed kts=140

|max speed kmh=260

|power/mass alt=

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • Pelletier, Alain J. "Fokker Twilight". Air Enthusiast, No. 117, May/June 2005, pp.&nbsp;62–66. ISSN 0143-5450.
  • Wagner, Ray. American Combat Planes. New York: Doubleday, 1982. .
  • O-27 USAAS 1000 Aircraft Photos
  • Army's Mystery Plane Passes Speed Test – Popular Science
  • Atlantic (Fokker) XB-8 – National Museum of the US Air Force