Douglas XB-43 Jetmaster

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 05/13/2015 at 10:05 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history, planes you've (probably) never heard of

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From the Planes You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of Department of Planelopnik, we bring you the Douglas XB-43 Jetmaster.

With the advent of the turbojet engine during WWII, the US Air Force was keen to develop a fleet of jet-powered bombers, and thought that it would be most expeditious to put jet engines on (or in) an existing aircraft. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , with its clean, laminar flow wing and dual internal engines turning a counter-rotating propeller at the rear seemed like an excellent candidate for conversion to turbojet power.

Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster

Douglas fashioned two air intakes into the side of the Mixmaster and placed two General Electric J35 engines inside. Since the propellers had been removed, there was no longer a need for the cruciform tail of the XB-42, so it was replaced with a single, though greatly enlarged, rudder. After many delays, mostly due to engine development, the XB-43 first flew from Muroc Army Air Base on May 17, 1946, and though it suffered from poor handling and never entered production, it performed crucial testing duties during the early days of turbojet engine development. Of the two prototypes produced, the first was used for target practice and destroyed, and the second awaits restoration at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > ttyymmnn 05/12/2015 at 23:24

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I wonder what the reason was for having two separate bubble canopies, rather than one big one.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut 05/12/2015 at 23:44

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To scare away the enemy.

Enginerrrrrrrrr > ttyymmnn 05/13/2015 at 00:02

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Super cool. Especially that twin-bubble canopy. I can kinda see how it led to one of the most beautiful aircraft ever made...

MrDakka > Enginerrrrrrrrr 05/13/2015 at 00:24

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Talk about rolling coal :)

ttyymmnn > Enginerrrrrrrrr 05/13/2015 at 00:31

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:/ This was supposed to be a timed post for tomorrow. Thanks, Kinja.

ttyymmnn > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut 05/13/2015 at 00:33

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I get the sense that the XB-42 was cobbled together from some existing parts (Allison engines, etc) and the canopies are probably from a P-51. I’d bet that used what they had lying around. Or else, they thought it was more aerodynamic.

ttyymmnn > Enginerrrrrrrrr 05/13/2015 at 00:37

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Yes, the B-47 is absolute sex in the air.

NoneOfYourBiz > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut 05/13/2015 at 09:01

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Weight reduction perhaps?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 05/13/2015 at 10:17

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That’s about the most spectacular ruination of the Mixmaster’s clean lines I can imagine. Neat experiment, though.

Enginerrrrrrrrr > ttyymmnn 05/13/2015 at 10:20

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Lol whoops. Post it again! no one will notice...maybe...

ttyymmnn > Enginerrrrrrrrr 05/13/2015 at 10:21

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TBH, I’ve never understood why people make such a big deal about reposts. Mine was a simple mistake, but otherwise, just repost the damned thing and be done with it. No need to draw attention.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/13/2015 at 10:23

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Yes, it really did result in an ungainly, dare I say, ugly, aircraft. The Mixmaster was all kinds of awesome, and may well have been a successful aircraft had it been produced. But as they say, timing is everything.

Enginerrrrrrrrr > ttyymmnn 05/13/2015 at 10:34

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Right? I know there used to be spammers in the past, but there’s so much going on on Oppo nowadays that I don’t think anyone should care...

ttyymmnn > Enginerrrrrrrrr 05/13/2015 at 10:36

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By “making a big deal” I mean labeling your post “REPOST FOR THE (INSERT TIME OF DAY HERE) CROWD!” Just repost it (once) and let it be.

Enginerrrrrrrrr > ttyymmnn 05/13/2015 at 10:36

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Oh yeah I know what you mean. I usually skip those...

ttyymmnn > Enginerrrrrrrrr 05/13/2015 at 10:37

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Me too.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 05/13/2015 at 12:06

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Was it really called Mixmaster?

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 05/13/2015 at 12:18

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As far as I know. I have seen cases where these X planes were not given official USAF nicknames until they entered production, so it’s possible that “Mixmaster” was used internally by the Douglas people and it stuck. But since the military tends to go for aggressive names, I have to wonder if “Mixmaster” would have survived production. It’s worth noting, though, that the name Mixmaster appears on the official National Museum of the Air Force page for the type. There’s a bit of interesting reading on the USAF page, saying that the intent of the XB-42(A) was to provide the performance of the B-29 in a simpler aircraft with a smaller crew.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 05/13/2015 at 12:23

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Be sure to read the Air & Space article about the B-47, how the wings liked to fall of, how they lobbed their bombs, how the pilots would steel the mirrors from the dentist.

http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-fli…

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 05/13/2015 at 12:31

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Thanks for the link.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 05/13/2015 at 12:43

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Nobody writes up one of these airplanes like Air & Space.

user314 > ttyymmnn 05/13/2015 at 14:11

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’Cause nobody does it like Mixmaster can

Isn’t that the one that they lost the wings for while it was in storage?

ttyymmnn > user314 05/13/2015 at 14:27

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The Mixmaster, yes.

SALfan > Enginerrrrrrrrr 05/14/2015 at 23:20

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This picture is enough to make a treehugger crap his pants.

SalsaShark > user314 05/26/2015 at 19:25

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A+ on the Beasties pull.