A Brief History
On May 29, 1945, the Consolidated B-32 Dominator, an American heavy bomber, made its first combat flight. First flown in 1942 and on active duty in January of 1945, the B-32 was an alternative to the Boeing B-29 Superfortress in case the B-29 did not work.
Digging Deeper
A development based on the B-24 Liberator, the B-32 used the same engines as the B-29 and had retractable gun turrets bristling with 10 .50 caliber machine guns for defense. Also proposed were rear facing 20 mm cannons in the engine nacelles. The pressurized cabin never worked, a major flaw.
The B-29 went on to fame as the bomber that destroyed much of Japan and dropped the only atom bombs ever used in anger. 3,970 B-29s were built and served until 1960 and provided the basis for other models. Only 118 B-32s were built, and they were retired from active duty by August 30, 1945, proving unneeded.
Note: On August 18, 1945, a pair of B-32s on a recon flight over Japan were attacked by Japanese fighters, the last aerial battle of World War II. Sadly, an American airman, 19 year old Anthony Marchione was killed in the battle, the last American combat casualty of World War II.
Other American aircraft developed and fielded for World War II but never making a major impact, ending up largely forgotten, include the Bell P-63 King Cobra, the Martin AM Mauler, and the Douglas B-18 Bolo.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Harding, Stephen and James Long. Dominator: The Story of the Consolidated B-32 Bomber. Pictorial Histories Publishing Co, 1986.
Wolf, William. Consolidated B-32 Dominator: The Ultimate Look: from Drawing Board to Scrapyard. Schiffer Military History, 2006.
The featured image in this article, a United States Air Force photograph, is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.
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