00:20These bombers were developed in the 1930s during the Great Depression, when the US Army
00:25Air Corps, despite their low budget, tried to modernize its fleet to keep up with the
00:29fast evolution of the aircraft industry.
00:32Though initially the type came out as a winner against the B-17 design in a 1935 competition,
00:38they mostly became obsolete by the time the US entered the war.
00:41Still they were amongst the first American planes to sink German U-boats.
00:46These were the Douglas B-18 bombers.
00:49So let's see the history of these planes today.
00:59During the 1930s, the US Army Air Corps had to go through serious modernization to keep
01:04up with other militaries around the globe, as the new developments in aircraft design brought
01:08so many changes through this decade.
01:11Even though the economic situation and the low-piece time budget severely restricted new developments,
01:16still many new designs were developed and introduced to army service during this time period.
01:21The Keystone biplane bombers were just delivered to the army in 1932.
01:26But in 1934 they were already surpassed by the new Martin B-10 model, which featured all
01:32the modern technologies the aircraft industry had to offer.
01:35The B-10 revolutionized the way bombers were designed in the US, as it was the first all-metal
01:40monoplane bomber of the Army Air Corps, with an enclosed cockpit, retractable landing gear,
01:44and many other cutting-edge features.
01:47But the advances in aircraft design didn't stop.
01:50And as soon as these new modern bombers entered service, the army already issued new specifications
01:55for their replacement in August 1934.
01:59The new requirements asked for about 2000 pounds of bomb load, twice the amount the B-10 could
02:04carry, at least 200 miles an hour top speed, but preferably closer to 250 miles an hour, and a minimum
02:13range
02:13of 1000 and 20 miles.
02:15Again, 2000 miles was desired, but not required.
02:19Three designs were considered in the tender.
02:21The Boeing Model 299, which later became the B-17 bomber,
02:26the Douglas DB-1, which became the B-18, and the Martin 146.
02:33None of the proposals were designed from scratch, as the army only allowed one year for the manufacturers
02:38to enter their designs.
02:41The Boeing 299 combined numerous features from their earlier XB-15 experimental bomber,
02:47and the 247 transport plane.
02:49The Douglas DB-1 was a modification of the company's DC-2 passenger aircraft,
02:54with longer wings, modified nose, tail, and fuselage.
03:00And finally, the Martin 146 was just a modification of the earlier B-10 design,
03:05with a wide air fuselage, stronger engines, and other modifications.
03:11The Douglas prototype was completed in April 1935, and it showed good performance during its first flights.
03:17It had a service ceiling of 24,500 feet, and a range of 1,050 miles with 2,000 pounds
03:24of bomb load.
03:26And it could reach a top speed of 235 miles an hour.
03:31Soon it was delivered to Wrightfield to participate in a fly-off between the three designs,
03:35which started on 28th of July 1935.
03:40After the first comparison flights, the Martin design turned out to be the worst of the three aircraft,
03:45and the four-engined Boeing design easily outperformed its rivals,
03:48and seemed like it will be the winner of the competition.
03:51So much so, that the Air Corps considered ordering 65 units of the type, even before the competition ended.
03:58But the events took another turn at the end of October, when the Boeing bomber crashed,
04:02and since it couldn't finish the trials, it was disqualified.
04:06As a result, the Douglas DB-1 was declared as a winner, and received the Army designation B-18.
04:13Though the Army Air Corps was still impressed with the Boeing design,
04:15its price was almost double of the Douglas B-18s.
04:18So the planned order of 65 Boeing planes was changed to 133 of the B-18 model,
04:25and the manufacturing contract was awarded to Douglas in January 1936.
04:31Apart from the price, the general view about bombers at the time also played a big part in the outcome.
04:37In the mid-1930s, many thought that for supporting the Army forces,
04:41more medium bombers were better than less from the heavy four-engined ones.
04:47The two other companies still received some consolation prizes.
04:50Marty received a contract for a last batch of B-10 bombers.
04:54While Boeing was awarded a contract for 13 YB-17 models,
04:58based on the strong performance of the type in the trials.
05:02If you're interested in the history of the B-17 bombers,
05:05and how, regardless of this early failure, they entered service,
05:09check out my earlier video covering the type.
05:14After the initial order of 133 B-18 bombers,
05:18additional 177 were ordered in 1937, and another 40 units in 1938.
05:26The first production models of the Douglas bomber were delivered in February 1937.
05:32But after the modifications to the production variant,
05:35and receiving the defensive armament, the performance of the new bombers dropped significantly.
05:40The top speed was reduced to 216 miles an hour,
05:43and arranged to 850 miles with 2000 pounds of bomb load.
05:49During the production, the type received several changes and updates.
05:53So let's take a look at the variants of the B-18.
06:00The DB-1 was the initial prototype, featuring two Wright R-1820 engines, developing 850 hp each.
06:10The first production variants were the B-18 models, which featured a shorter nose with modified glazing,
06:17slightly stronger engines now producing 930 hp,
06:21and a defensive armament of 3 .30 caliber machine guns.
06:25One in the nose, one in the rear ventral position, and one in a retractable turret at the top of
06:30the fuselage.
06:32The last aircraft from this series was designated DB-2, and it was tested with a power turret in the
06:37nose.
06:38But this modification was not approved in the end.
06:42133 units were produced, from which 22 were built as B-18M trainer variants.
06:47133 units.
06:49After the initial production run, the revised B-18A models were introduced.
06:54These featured a redesigned nose, to allow more space for the bombardier and the nose gunner.
06:59They also introduced new, more powerful Wright R-1820-50T engines, delivering 1000 hp each.
07:07These models started to arrive to the Army in June 1938, and 217 units were built.
07:14Two of them without armament as transport planes under the designation C-58, and another 19 were built as B
07:21-18AM trainer variants.
07:25In 1939, the original DB-1 prototype was modified to carry a 75mm cannon on board.
07:32Its nose was shortened, and the gun was installed in the bomb bay.
07:35Ground firing and airborne tests followed with the modified plane, but it was found the gun's recoil was too strong
07:41for the airframe.
07:42Though this variant was quickly abandoned, the data collected proved very useful,
07:46when a similar weapon was installed later in the B-25 bombers.
07:52The Canadian Air Force also purchased 20 of these aircraft in 1939,
07:57which already differed from the originals in their radio equipment and weaponry.
08:01They entered Canadian service as DIG B-1.
08:05After the US entered the war, 122 of the B-18A models were converted to B-18B variants for anti
08:11-submarine warfare.
08:13The modifications included the removal of the characteristic shark nose,
08:17and the installation of an air-to-surface radar in place of it.
08:20The bombardier position was moved below the radar,
08:23and the tail was also modified to house a magnetic anomaly detector device.
08:35The B-18 was 57 feet 10 inches long, with a wingspan of 89 feet 6 inches.
08:42It had an empty weight of 16,320 pounds,
08:46and a maximum take-off weight of 27,673 pounds.
08:51The bomber was powered by two Wright R-1820 engines,
08:55each of them producing 1,000 horsepower.
08:58It could reach a top speed of 216 miles an hour,
09:02and a cruise speed of 176 miles an hour.
09:06The plane's combat range was 900 miles,
09:08and it had a service ceiling of 23,900 feet.
09:14His defensive armament consisted of three 30 caliber machine guns,
09:19and it could carry a normal bomb load of 2,000 pounds,
09:23and a maximum load of 4,400 pounds for short ranges.
09:36The first production B-18s were delivered to the Army in 1937,
09:41and by 1940 they were the most numerous Army Air Corbomarine service outside the US.
09:47But as new developments were introduced in the aviation industry,
09:51the type quickly started to show its age.
09:53By 1940 the B-18 was a 5-year-old design,
09:56and many new aircraft appeared showing much better performance,
10:00like the Japanese Mitsubishi G-3M bomber,
10:02which was faster, had bigger range, and higher service ceiling.
10:07I have already made videos about the G-3M bomber,
10:10and its successor the G-4M,
10:12so if you're interested in the history of the Japanese World War II bombers, check them out!
10:19The B-18s first saw combat when the Japanese forces
10:22attacked her harbor in December 1941,
10:25though this combat debut was not very successful,
10:28as most of these bombers stationed at Hawaii and on the Philippines were destroyed on the ground.
10:33Though being obsolete, the B-18s stayed in service in a defensive role,
10:37until new or advanced designs became available,
10:40like the returning B-17 and the B-24 Liberator.
10:44These new types started to replace the B-18s from 1942,
10:48and in the same year, 122 of the older bombers were modified for anti-submarine role,
10:53and re-designated B-18B models.
10:56They were mostly used around the Caribbean, flying anti-submarine patrols.
11:00And during one of these flights, on 2nd of October 1942,
11:04one of them managed to sink the German U-boat U-512.
11:08One of the Canadian variants also managed to score a kill on a German submarine in the same month,
11:13sinking U-520.
11:16But even in this role, the type didn't last long,
11:19as only a year later, they were replaced by the B-24s,
11:22which with their longer range, were much more useful protecting Allied shipping in the Atlantic,
11:27than the short-range B-18s.
11:29The B-18, which started its life in 1935 as a modern bomber,
11:34spent the second half of the war in training and cargo transport role.
11:37But it gave Douglas valuable experience they used to design their later planes,
11:42like the A-20 Havoc or the A-26 Invader.
11:49Hope you guys enjoyed this video.
11:51Please leave a like, subscribe to my channel,
11:53and in the comments let me know,
11:55if there's any interesting events or vehicles you'd like to see.
