Witteman-Lewis XNBL-1
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The Witteman-Lewis XNBL-1 "Barling Bomber" was an experimental long-range heavy bomber built for the United States Army Air Service in the early 1920s. Although unsuccessful as a bomber, it was an early attempt at creating a strategic bomber.
The XNBL-1(Experimental Night Bomber, Long Range) was designed by Walter Barling, who had previously designed the Tarrant Tabor, which was similar in concept but was destroyed in a fatal crash on its first flight in 1919. Like the Tabor, the Barling Bomber was a large six-engined triplane with a cigar-shaped fuselage. Unlike its predecessor, the XNBL-1 had a crew of seven and had all of its engines mounted level with the fuselage. The undercarriage had ten wheels, including two wheels towards the front of the aircraft(to prevent a nose-over on takeoff) and a tail skid. Components of the aircraft were assembled together to begin flight testing at Wilbur Wright Field. Final cost of the XNBL-1 project was $525,000, not including a $700,000 hangar to house the airplane.
Although capable of carrying a 5,000lb(2,268kg) bomb load, performance was disappointing. A fully-loaded XNBL-1 had a top speed of only 96mph and a range of approximately 170 miles(273.59km). In contrast, the "short-range" Martin NBS-1 had a range of about 450 miles(724.20km) and could carry a 2000lb(907.18kg). On a flight from Dayton, Ohio to Washington, DC, the Barling Bomber failed to fly over the Appalachian Mountains and had to turn around.
Although the XNBL-1 was not put into production, it had advanced features such as aluminum fuselage components, adjustable multiwheel undercarriage, seperate compartments for crew, a flight engineer, electrical instruments, and advanced engine controls. The XNBL-1 was the largest aircraft in the United States until the Boeing XB-15 in 1935.
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