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February 1974
- Fiat CR-32
- B-32 Dominator, Second String Superbomber
- Curtiss AT-9 Air Jeep
- Grumman’s F2F & F3F Flying Beer Barrels
- Loening’s Flying Shoehorns
June 1990
- USAF Big Iron bombers, 1940-1990
April 1993
- Clipped Wings, the Future of American Aerospace
- Supersonic Spearhead, Convair’s B-58 Hustler
- Flying Terminated Inventory
Manuals & Photos
- B-32 Training Manual, 1945
- B-32 Operating Instructions, 1945
- B-32 Preliminary Erection & Maintenance Instructions
- Nearly 200 Consolidated B-32 Dominator photos
Consolidated B-32 Dominator
General Characteristics
- Crew: 10
- Length: 82Â ft 1Â in (25.02Â m)
- Wingspan: 135Â ft 0Â in (41.15Â m)
- Height: 32Â ft 2Â in (9.80Â m)
- Wing area: 1,422 sq ft (132.1 m2)
- Empty weight: 60,278Â lb (27,342Â kg)
- Gross weight: 100,800Â lb (45,722Â kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 123,250Â lb (55,905Â kg)
- Powerplant: 4 × Wright R-3350-23A Duplex-Cyclone 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 2,200 hp (1,600 kW) each
- Propellers: 4-bladed constant-speed propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 357Â mph (575Â km/h, 310Â kn) at 30,000Â ft (9,144Â m)
- Cruise speed: 290Â mph (470Â km/h, 250Â kn)
- Range: 3,800Â mi (6,100Â km, 3,300Â nmi)
- Service ceiling: 30,700Â ft (9,400Â m)
- Rate of climb: 1,050Â ft/min (5.3Â m/s)
Armament
- Guns: 10× .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns
- Bombs: 20,000 lb (9,100 kg)
- XB-32
- Company Designation Model 33, three built, on first aircraft: Wright R-3350-13 (inboard) and Wright R-3350-21 (outboard) engines, three-bladed propeller, rounded, glassed nose, first two aircraft had a twin tail configuration. Second prototype was pressurized and had remotely controlled retractable gun turrets in the dorsal ventral positions, with a manned tail “stinger”. Second and third prototypes had numerous tail variations installed, including a B-29 tail installation. First flown 7 September 1942.
- B-32-1-CF
- Model 34 flight testing aircraft first flown 5 August 1944. Wright R-3350-23 engines. First two aircraft initially had modified B-29 tails installed. Installation of armament, single rudder tabs, radar bombing equipment (AN/APQ-5B and AN/APQ-13) and long range navigation equipment, 10 built.
- B-32-5-CF
- Twin rudder tabs made standard. Last 11 aircraft converted to TB-32-5CF with deletion of all armament (openings faired over), deletion of radar bombing equipment, and deletion of long range navigation equipment, 15 built.
- TB-32-10-CF
- Redesigned bombardier’s entrance door, replacement of SCR-269-G Radio compass with AN/ARN-7 set, installation of engine fire extinguishers, 25 built.
- TB-32-15-CF
- Empennage de-icer boots, four built.
- B-32-20-CF
- Combat equipped aircraft. Pressurization system removed, scanning blister installed in rear fuselage, 21 built.
- B-32-21-CF
- One B-32-20-CF converted to paratroop conversion. All bombing equipment removed and benches installed in rear bomb bay and rear fuselage.
- B-32-25-CF
- Modified fuel system to allow auxiliary tanks in the bomb bay. AN/APN-9 LORAN, 25 built.
- B-32-30-CF
- Variant with a stabilized Sperry A-17A nose turret, installation of countermeasure equipment (AN/APQ-2, AN/APT-1 and AN/APT-2) and improved APQ-13A radar bombing equipment. Seven built, last three aircraft flown directly to storage and scrapped.
- B-32-35-CF
- Seven produced with increased ammunition; flown directly to storage and scrapped.
- B-32-40-CF
- A total of ten were built and flown directly to storage and then scrapped
- B-32-45/50-CF
- A total of 37 under construction. Partially assembled machines were stripped of all their government-furnished equipment and engines and were scrapped on site by the contractor.
- B-32-1-CO
- Three aircraft the same as the B-32-20CF but assembled by Consolidated – San Diego. One aircraft accepted with the remaining two units flown directly to storage and scrapped.
A total of 300 B-32s ordered, 118 delivered, 130 flyable, 170 cancelled, orders for a further 1,099 B-32-CFs and 499 B-32-COs were cancelled after VJ-Day.
One of the few portions of a B-32 surviving is a wing panel removed from a static test model and erected at the Montgomery Memorial near San Diego, California as a monument to aviation pioneer John J. Montgomery.
Several Sperry A-17 nose/tail turrets, unique to the B-32, survive in various U.S. locations. These included the National Air & Space Museum, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, the Commemorative Air Force, the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, New York and at least four others in private collections.Â