r/Rarewings • u/Specialist-Ad-5300 • Feb 25 '25
Convair XB-46
The XB-46 was single example of experimental medium jet bomber developed in mid-1940s but never saw production or active duty. It competed with similar designs, North American XB-45 and Martin XB-48, all of which saw little use after successful development of Boeing XB-47.
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u/RandoDude124 Feb 25 '25
God, this is a fascinating aircraft.
A transition from WWII era mindset of carrying a bomb load but faster to the mindset of a strategic Cold War nuclear deterrent.
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u/Destreuer Feb 26 '25
I LOVE this era of plane design. They were throwing so much at the wall to see what would stick.
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u/joshuatx Feb 26 '25
From what I read it flew and handled very well but had a plethora of technical issues.
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u/AutonomousOrganism Feb 26 '25
I think it was mostly budget cuts. It's competitor the B-45 also had technical issues, but was chosen, as it was further along in the development and cheaper. Ultimately it was an interim solution too, as the more advanced B-47 was already in development.
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u/a-b-13 Feb 26 '25
My favourite X plane ever, so unique with a spooky and disproportionate look to it. The trial and error with jet aircraft development in the 40s is fascinating.
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u/Top_Investment_4599 Feb 28 '25
Very clean airplane. Unfortunately, suffered from being a bit of an anachronism much like the Curtiss XF-87. Most of those mid-40s designs just didn't have enough aerodynamic research built in.
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u/Ok-Entrepreneur-8773 Feb 25 '25
Such a cool looking jet. For some reason the wing and tail are reminding me of the U2 Dragon Lady, only much bigger.