B-18A

B-18A

TBD-1

PBY-5 Catalina

B-18A

TBD-1

PBY-5 Catalina

USA

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.3	1.3	1.7

Class:

Bomber

Frontline bomber

Research:2 000

Purchase:2 100

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Description

The B-18A is a rank I American bomber with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB/RB) and 1.7 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.59 "Flaming Arrows".

This is the first multi-engine land-based bomber available in the American Bomber tech tree. With a maximum bomb load of 2,000 lbs, it is a decent medium bomber, although its gunners' fields of fire are somewhat poor, the only viable one being the dorsal turret gunner which suffers from the large blind spot the rudder creates directly behind the aircraft. It is recommended to level bomb at high altitude, as its poor manoeuvrability means you will have a hard time bombing moving ground targets at low altitude without a relatively straight bombing run.

General info

Flight Performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 3,049 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
357	344	7500	21.9	22.8	5.7	5.7	500
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 3,049 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
395	375	7500	20.1	21.0	10.3	7.7	500

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
580	350	340	~10	~4

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 200	< 270	< 250	> 324

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,158 m	860 hp	1,032 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
2,926 m	850 hp	1,020 hp

Survivability and armour

• No armour
• Engines and fuel tanks in root of wing

Armaments

Suspended armament

The B-18A can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 12 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs (1,200 lb total)
• 8 x 250 lb AN-M57 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 4 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 1 x 2,000 lb AN-M66A2 bomb (2,000 lb total)

Defensive armament

The B-18A is defended by:

• 1 x 7.62 mm Browning machine gun, chin turret (500 rpg)
• 1 x 7.62 mm Browning machine gun, dorsal turret (500 rpg)
• 1 x 7.62 mm Browning machine gun, ventral turret (500 rpg)

Usage in battles

As the first non-naval bomber available to the Americans, this plane is faster than its predecessors in the tech tree, the PBY flying boats. Its bomb load isn't bad for tier 1, with its maximum bomb load being either a single 2,000 lbs bomb (which is enough to destroy a base in one strike in RB as of update 1.95) or eight 250 lbs bombs, which is more than enough to take out a base with two bombs left to spare at matches in the 1.0-2.0 range. The defensive armament is somewhat lackluster however, with only 3 defensive positions, and of the 3 only one is somewhat viable for the defence of the aircraft. The lower ventral gunner is almost useless, and easily taken out, and the frontal gunner is only useful if your current enemy is directly in front and below you. The last turret, a massive dorsal contraption, can fire anywhere in around the aircraft. However, it cannot fire at things directly above it or below it, limiting its effectiveness. In addition, a significant bind spot is formed by to the rather large tail fin and rudder. Overall this bomber can be considered a trainer for the later American heavy bombers with its slow lumbering presence, high bomb load and multiple defensive positions.

Low maneuverability of this giant bomber does not allow dive bombing and the large wing spread allows enemy fighter easy prey as the wings can be ripped off at the slightest damage. Most often, you would like to maintain your operational ceiling and bomb the enemy bases, or you can spray along enemy AAA cannon emplacements.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Turret 7 mm	LBC-17
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs (turret)
III	Wings repair	Engine			SBC-17
IV		Engine injection	Cover		MBC-17

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fairly manoeuvrable for a bomber
• Great turn time, even stock (22.8 seconds stock and 21 seconds upgraded)
• Very durable air frame
• One of the first aircraft to have a copilot
• Single 2,000 lb bomb can destroy an entire base, decimate vehicle formations, and be of great use in battles
• Frontal gunner has a bigger field of fire allowing some flexibility in engaging other aircraft
• Fairly fast for its tier and class, meaning you can outrun most biplanes, Russian I-153s being an exception
• Similar playstyle to the B-10, pilots can expect similar general performance
• Matchmaking tends to place the B-18A against fairly weak enemy fighters

Cons:

• Rather slow
• Weak defensive armament will not help against enemy fighters especially firing from blind spots
• Nose machine gun can't fire directly to the front
• Very large plane and can be an easy target to shoot down without a fighter escort
• Defensive armament (.30cal MGs) cannot compete with its Russian or German counterparts or other nations that have a fire rate advantage
• The engines are fairly easy to target and knock out with centerline weaponry like those found on Yak-1s and LaGG 3s
• It has gained notoriety for its bombload, meaning you are a team-wide target
• When doing a loop, it commonly overshoots the cursor, leading to a loss (or gain) of speed\
• No armor

History

In the mid-1930s, the Douglas Aircraft Company developed the medium bomber B-18 Bolo with the intent to replace the Martin B-10 bomber. Though it was a heavier aircraft than the B-10 and based upon the successful DC-2 aircraft body, the B-18 utilized more crew members allowing for a dedicated bombardier, turret gunners, pilot and co-pilot. By 1940 however, the aircraft was considered to be underpowered and had inadequate defensive armaments (too many blind-spots the nose and dorsal gunner cannot get to). The bomber had an impressive 2,000 lb maximum bomb load; however, this also was already considered to be ineffectual.

Army Air units began fielding the While the Martin B-10 which was the first mass-produced bomber which exceeded pursuit fighter capabilities in the amount of ammunition it could drop. With the military always on the look-out for the next greatest technology, a request to aircraft designers was submitted to produce the next generation bomber to supersede the B-10. Three competitors submitted bids, and each presented an aircraft for the military to evaluate. Martin produced the Model 146 9 (an upgraded version of the B-10), Douglas introduced the DB-1 (the future B-18), and Boeing submitted their Model 299 which later developed into the renowned B-17. While Boeings Model 299 was clearly the superior aircraft, however, a crash during a demonstration flight due to pilot error, removed this aircraft from consideration. Cost also played into some account as, during this time of economic depression, the $99,000 Model 299 was more expensive than the $58,000 DB-1. The military offered Douglas the contract, and they proceeded to develop the bomber for production.

Douglas began fielding B-18s to evaluation units first and then later B-18A's were added to the inventory and became the backbone of the USAAC's bomber squadrons. Unfortunately, not long after the bombers arrived at their units, glaring deficiencies stood out, namely with cruise speed of the aircraft, its defensive armament and positions, defensive armour and its overall payload size. Disappointingly, the aircraft was determined to be obsolete and did not measure up to the military's requirements for a long-range bombing aircraft. These bombers would have been relative "sitting ducks" for enemy fighter aircraft.

Though determined to be a failure, the bomber still played a limited role in World War II. Early on B-18 and B-18A bombers deployed to many locations overseas, however, this proved fatal for many of this aircraft type, especially at Pearl Harbour where most of the aircraft deployed there were destroyed while still on the ground during the Japanese attack. Pulled as the frontline bomber in 1942 (replaced by the B-17), the B-18A retrofitted and modified to play a role in anti-submarine warfare. Search radars or magnetic anomaly detection equipment were added along with depth charges to allow these bombers to be converted to anti-submarine patrol aircraft. One B-18A in October 1942 successfully sank the German submarine U-512 just north of French Guiana.

It wasn't long before the B-18s were removed from U.S. military service and sold to other countries such as Brazil and Canada. Though they served in limited capabilities during the war-time effort, they continued to serve out many years in the civilian sector as trainer aircraft, transport aircraft, crop dusters and even fire retardant bombers.

Media

Images

• 

  B-18A with WT Live custom skin of the B-18A Bolo 37-0469 from the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron.

Skins

• B-18A Bolo 37-0469 from the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron by user Bethelgause

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Martin B-10B
• Dornier Do 17 Z-2
• Arkhangelsky Ar-2
• Beaufort Mk VIII
• Mitsubishi Ki-21-Ia
• Fiat BR.20 DR
• SAAB B3C

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.

Douglas Aircraft Company
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	The Douglas Aircraft Company merged with McDonnell Aircraft Corporation in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas.