The Keystone XLB-3 (originally built under the Huff-Daland name) was a prototype bomber biplane developed in the United States in the late 1920s. It was a twin-engine development of the single-engine LB-1, brought about by a change in policy by the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2017) |
XLB-3 | |
---|---|
XLB-3A | |
Role | Light bomber Type of aircraft |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Keystone Aircraft |
First flight | ca. December 1927 |
Primary user | United States Army Air Corps |
Number built | 1 |
The shift from a nose-mounted engine to engines mounted in nacelles on the lower wing created an opportunity to provide stations for two extra crewmembers: a bombardier and a nose-gunner, bringing the total to five. The LB-1's single tailfin and rudder was augmented by an extra rudder either side of it.
A single prototype was constructed, and delivered to the USAAC for evaluation at the end of 1927. Evaluation, however, showed that performance was actually inferior to that of the single-engine LB-1. The decision was taken to change the XLB-3's air-cooled inverted Liberty engines for air-cooled radials, at which point it was redesignated XLB-3A. With performance still unsatisfactory, development was abandoned in favor of a parallel design, the LB-5.
Data from Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation[1]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Huff-Daland, Keystone and Keystone-Loening aircraft | |
---|---|
Manufacturer designations | |
Bombers | |
Trainers | |
Patrol aircraft | |
Observation aircraft | |
Scout aircraft | |
Names |
USAAS/USAAC/USAAF/USAF bomber designations, Army/Air Force and Tri-Service systems | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Original sequences (1924–1930) |
| ||||||
Main sequence (1930–1962) |
| ||||||
Long-range Bomber (1935–1936) | |||||||
Tri-Service sequence (1962–current) | |||||||
Non-sequential |
|