Warbird Information Exchange

Anyone heard of the Boeing last WW2 fighter the XF-8B-1 i think it was called?

Like a big scale F4U Corsair and A-1 Skyraider combined with a F6F Hellcat?

I saw a book today REALLY thick with a manaual inside it along with photos of the whole program.. wonder why it was snubbed.. never seen anything in historical read before i saw this..

Must of been a what if - is not plane?

I have the Flight Manual for it. It was of extraordinary size, and was clearly intended to do virtually any task the Navy needed, but I consider it to have been in the 'Jack of all trades, master of none' category. An interesting development, none the less.

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Very old, so couldn't have been very bold.

Weird looking bird...




http://steeljawscribe.blogspot.com/2007/03/flightdeck-friday-boeing-xf8b-1.html

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Zane Adams
There I was at 20,000 ft, upside down and out of ammunition.
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I have the book & IMHO, it's worth every penny, but I've admired the XF8B-1 since I was a teen & read the article in Wings or Airpower in the early '70s. It was really quite a capable a/c, but like many late WWII a/c, there was just no demand for the qualities. I think the test pilot for it wanted to take it & clip the wings & use it in the late '40s air races, so it apparently had that much merit, too. BTW, IIRC, the book also contains the flight manual, or at least portions of it.

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-Bill
B-17E 41-2595 "Desert Rat" Restoration Team

"what ever happened to" category!

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EVERYTHING that CAN fly should be ALLOWED to FLY!
IWO JIMA'S best narative..."GOD ISN'T HERE"
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P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.

S: Took hammer away from midget.

A little trivia. What company designed the gear actuation that was used one the F8B? They got a lot of royalties from that design.

Wasn't it Boeing? they never used it til they built the XF8B, but Curtiss, Vought & Grumman did, or at least Curtiss used it.

Bingo!!! Also Douglas with the A-1 Skyraider

Got any specs on this thing? Engine, wingspan, performance etc? Were any more built besides the one in the photo/

Canso42.

[quote="Canso42"]Got any specs on this thing? Engine, wingspan, performance etc? Were any more built besides the one in the photo/


From the Manufacturers Flight Manual :
Span 54'
Length 43' 2"
Height 16' 3"
Fuel 965 gallons
Empty weight 13,693 lbs
Loaded weight 17,752 lbs in fighter role.

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Very old, so couldn't have been very bold.

-Test pilot Bob Lamson tried, and failed, to obtain one of the three prototypes when it was struck of charge to enter the Thompson Trophy race of 1949. With its high top speed and large range the XF8B-1would have been a serious competitor!
-The XF8B-1 was flown twice in mock-up combats with the Grumman F7F Tigercat and the Bell P-59 Airacomet; the latter being no match at all for the Boeing fighter!
-All three XF8B-1's were eventually scrapped.

DUH! How'd I miss the SPAD?

I'll add that it was powered by a P & W R-4360. Not sure of the dash model or HP but I think the rating was 3000 horses.