Everything about B-23 Dragon totally explained
The
Douglas B-23 Dragon was a twin-engined
bomber developed by
Douglas Aircraft Company as a successor to (and a refinement of) the
B-18 Bolo.
Design and development
The design of the B-23 was very similar to that of the
Douglas DC-3. It was the first operational US bomber equipped with a glazed tail gun position. It first flew on
July 27,
1939.
Operational history
While significantly faster and better armed than the B-18, the B-23 found itself inferior to newer bombers like the
B-25 Mitchell and
B-26 Marauder. For this reason, the 38 B-23s built were never used in combat. They worked in training, reconnaissance, transport (as the
UC-67), and test-bed roles. One of the UC-67s is being reconverted to B-23 configuration by the
National Museum of the United States Air Force.
The B-23's tall
vertical tail was adapted by
Ford for use on the
B-24 Liberator and resulted in increased performance, but it was never adopted for production. The modification later became standard on the Navy's
PB4Y Privateer, which was heavily derived from the Liberator.
After World War II, eccentric billionaire
Howard Hughes converted a B-23 for use as his own personal transportation.
Operators
