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Agreed. IMHO much of this had to do with so few engines that were reliable exist for aircraft. Concentration of reliable tech in engines seemed to me to be a large constraint in aircraft and rocket design. A reliable engine is produced and engineers just add or subtract depending on requirements. The Ford Tri Motor, BAC 146, Convair B36....myriad aircraft would just add/subtract the same engine designs as needed. Handful of engines for hundreds of designs. Could be wrong, but anecdotally seems to track.
The F-111’s engines weren’t flammable. The videos of flames shooting out the tail were aircraft dumping fuel, which posed no risk to the aircraft or crew. The F-111 was retired by the USAF due to budget cuts, not due to engine problems.
I had a very good friend of mine whom passed this past year. He worked for Martin from the late 40's to the early 70's. He was instrumental for the weapons systems and egress systems of the P-6M. While working on several missile systems for Martin he just happened upon sleek ship as he called it. The XB-51 was one of his favorite planes of the era. Un fortunately neither made it into full production with the Mariner only about 3 or 4 examples. Thanks for posting this video because it reminds me of his friendship.
This thing had the maneuverability of a supertanker - I remember reading how, in flight comparisons with the English Electric Canberra, it was described as having a turn rate that encompassed half the state....Additionally, it was lightly stressed to a 3.7 load factor so any king of aerobatics while carrying any reasonable military load would have been a no-no, especially in the dense air of low-level attack.
Impossible to balance it. It is superior to Canberra, higher top speed, bigger bomb load. Which means it should be at least 8.0BR, good luck surviving all the missiles coming at you
I think you're being exceptionally kind to the XB-51. Let's be honest, it was a cool looking but fundamentally flawed design and dangerous to fly. In flight trials, the Canberra didn't just edge it out in a few areas, it kicked its ass in every category except top speed - and it wasn't even that much slower.
Those photos the military always do, when they have a piece of equipment with all the ordinance it can use, I bet there's a manual which covers how to set these photos up, like with measurements and angles and such.
The only thing I can think about that engine placement is that it would allow the plane to land and take off on short runways, but the whole thing is super weird. The other problem I have is that T- tail. Not a good idea for combat. That tail has an engine and a T-tail. A lot of complex machinery that goes kaboom with a single bullet.
And most of the bombers doesn't have offensive machine guns, let alone auto cannons for a reason. But there will never be one single type of equipment/vehicle is capable to single-handedly win a war so the concept itself is absurd (at least for me).
You picture the Mercator in it's initial, short-wing version; Once Martin realized that it was better suited to long-range missions as a Recon/Attack, it aimed to give the US Navy a shore-based patrol bomber that was fast enough (under full power) to Scoot away from most enemy jets of the day. The XB-51, however was to be 'As Fast ' as most enemy jet fighters, And still have guns to Strafe or Dogfight with. Basically, an A-26 Invader, on Steroids!! My only Issue with it is the front-jet-engines being slung Low enough to have Taxi-/take-off/-landing issues with Debris Intake, and the lack of Afterburners for Combat-Thrust. Otherwise, it was a great Design and had Mission versatility inclusive in it's layout & build.
I feel like the XB-51 could've been improved if they just stuck the engines at the back or on the wings. This would've also kept them further off the ground, reducing foreign debris injection during landing. Great video, love this bomber.
This plane had spoiler roll control. The plane had a variable incidence wing pivoting on the rear spar. The bicycle gear and engine placement left a thin, clean wing. For such an advanced aircraft, the prototypes did well, eg didn’t crash early in the test program as was so often the case. (For instance, Consider the dismal record of the F100 chase plane) The Canberra was chosen for the reasons stated, but also because it was more mature and a war was on. William Holden fortunately flew the XB102 before his death bombing the bridges at Toko Ri. The good news was taking Mickey Rooney with him.
Interesting aircraft and an interesting design too, I love the whaleback-looking curve of the profile. I would have loved to see more of those in the air.
I grew up in the early 60s in a suburb of Minneapolis. Every now and then we'd hear sonic booms! I've researched this and it was B 58s practice targeting the city! It would have been cool to know that it was XB 51s!!
I liked the movie with the XB-51 as "experimental fighterjet". It was a good story about a pilot who had to proof that e still is able and trust wort after being a prisoner of war by the enemy and released back to the USA.
The XB-51 was a huge airplane for a low level bomber or ground-support attacker, and powered by three low-powered turbojet engines typical of that time it would be an obvious failure. Sanity prevailed. Its German missile lines were evident, via the Matador missile.
les ingénieurs allemands ont laissés leur "patte" ici avec cette position basse en fuselage des réacteurs : cf. Ju.287, He. P1068-01-84, Me. P.1102 et pour les entrées dorsales : Horten Ho. X (ref : german jet genesis, David Masters / ed. JANE'S)
Yes - the XB51, so good the air force didn't buy it. It could not have 'won' the Korean War because it was not up to the specification. It looked 'innovative but really was just a set of pieces pushed together, which did not work in terms of performance improvements. The engines of that period were not unreliable at all. The Canberra used the RR Avons and these were manufactured under licence in the US and powered many types. The B57 used the alternative engine for the Canberra, the AS Sapphire, which also built under licence in the US and used in other US airframes. Martin did pioneer the Rotating Bomb Bay but as far as I am aware only one other aircraft used it, the Blackburn Buccaneer.
I think the XB 51 was a very beautiful aircraft, but I would think that it would have made a better fighter (as seen in the movie version) as the Gilbert XF 20.👁
I think if they had reinforced the wing and given it some wing slats despite the obvious weight increase they could’ve gotten a much more nimble aircraft. Decreasing some bomb load for an increase of fuel would also be essential maybe like wingtip fuel pods? Aircraft like the F-89 were also experimenting with rockets that had HE-VT this aircraft while not a fighter with fighter armament could do some serious interception damage if not laden on a full load and ran only cannons, rato and rockets alternatively.. The AJ-1 Savage was a nice looking aircraft. Ruined by the fact they didn’t give it built in guns, Something remedied by the prototype AJ-2. I believe simply a different wing design would have increased performance substantially. Might’ve cost more who knows but swapping the wings and piston engines out for jet engines would be a good move and a easy way to repurpose the AJ-1 airframes once jets caught up.
Canberra bomber out performed this aircraft considerably. This B-51 was a bomber that had limited strength of the airframe thus was limited in pulling Gs and maneuverability and the range compared to the Canberra was considerably less. All B-51 produced prototypes crashing. Production of the Canberra was delayed by years due to the amount of modifications requested.
8:40 "flying wing XB-49, which we've got a video" doesn't make any sense. The correct construction would be "flying wing XB-49, about which we've got a video".
In flight evaluations this plalne took sooo very long to turn around for a notger pass that the other planes it was compared to did three more attacks that i the same time.... so while being fast and sleek it was just bad for the job it was intended for and for that reason dropped. No one in the airforce at that time ever thought that not putting this thing into service was anythin other than a good idea
You missed two things. First, the main reason for it's failure - it was very difficult to fly compared to what the average USAAF medium bomber pilots were used to. The training demands and likely pilot failure rate were simply unacceptable. The Canberra's flying and handling was much more like the medium bomber aircraft that it was replacing. Second, its second crash is recorded. At 1:20 in the film below, see how an experienced pilot who was unfamiliar with the XB-51 was caught out by its unusual handling characteristics th-cam.com/video/ZQ0rPecIPTM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=qaQf5hYzlHtB34VR
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I love the aesthetics of late 40s and 1950s aerospace tech.
But….does it love you….
50's was peak jet aircaft aesthetics for sure.
@@alvaropulido5245 makes no sense in that case.
ive never thought "wow that plane looks a little chubby" more than i have with this one
I thought you said it "had a little chubby"
Look up the Fairy Gannet, a British naval plane that straight up looks pregnant
Transvania Airtruk and Antonov An-14
Some American designs used anhedral. It was more commonly used by Russian designs. I wish I knew why anhedral was used.
Saab j29 has entered the chat😂😂
9:02 this shot is crazy for the 1950s.
I've always loved this design! The 'fifties were great for aircraft design, they just threw shit at the wall to see if it stuck.
Agreed. IMHO much of this had to do with so few engines that were reliable exist for aircraft. Concentration of reliable tech in engines seemed to me to be a large constraint in aircraft and rocket design. A reliable engine is produced and engineers just add or subtract depending on requirements. The Ford Tri Motor, BAC 146, Convair B36....myriad aircraft would just add/subtract the same engine designs as needed. Handful of engines for hundreds of designs. Could be wrong, but anecdotally seems to track.
The F-111’s engines weren’t flammable. The videos of flames shooting out the tail were aircraft dumping fuel, which posed no risk to the aircraft or crew. The F-111 was retired by the USAF due to budget cuts, not due to engine problems.
correction: due to budget cuts and the fact that tactical bombers are on the shitlist of both major USAF thinktank "schools of thought"
This thing looks like the ME-262 had a drunken affair with an airliner
Funny you should say that, but it was based on a Messerschmitt design.
I was going to say. It looks German"ish"
I had a very good friend of mine whom passed this past year. He worked for Martin from the late 40's to the early 70's. He was instrumental for the weapons systems and egress systems of the P-6M. While working on several missile systems for Martin he just happened upon sleek ship as he called it. The XB-51 was one of his favorite planes of the era. Un fortunately neither made it into full production with the Mariner only about 3 or 4 examples.
Thanks for posting this video because it reminds me of his friendship.
Martin pioneered the bicycle type landing gear in the modified Martin B-26 'Mississippi Stump Jumper.'
This thing had the maneuverability of a supertanker - I remember reading how, in flight comparisons with the English Electric Canberra, it was described as having a turn rate that encompassed half the state....Additionally, it was lightly stressed to a 3.7 load factor so any king of aerobatics while carrying any reasonable military load would have been a no-no, especially in the dense air of low-level attack.
War thunder: write that down, write that down
Impossible to balance it. It is superior to Canberra, higher top speed, bigger bomb load. Which means it should be at least 8.0BR, good luck surviving all the missiles coming at you
Love all the aesthetic of the "atomic age" and art deco. I think the aestihetic works well with the technology at the time
I think you're being exceptionally kind to the XB-51. Let's be honest, it was a cool looking but fundamentally flawed design and dangerous to fly. In flight trials, the Canberra didn't just edge it out in a few areas, it kicked its ass in every category except top speed - and it wasn't even that much slower.
Feeling better knowing William Holden and Lloyd Nolan are on the case.
EIGHT 20mm canons?! Jeeez-uuuus!!
Those photos the military always do, when they have a piece of equipment with all the ordinance it can use, I bet there's a manual which covers how to set these photos up, like with measurements and angles and such.
always love to see these videos, keep up the good work!
The only thing I can think about that engine placement is that it would allow the plane to land and take off on short runways, but the whole thing is super weird.
The other problem I have is that T- tail. Not a good idea for combat. That tail has an engine and a T-tail. A lot of complex machinery that goes kaboom with a single bullet.
And most of the bombers doesn't have offensive machine guns, let alone auto cannons for a reason. But there will never be one single type of equipment/vehicle is capable to single-handedly win a war so the concept itself is absurd (at least for me).
@@LastGoatKnightIt's not a bomber, it's an attack plane, hence the cannons.
9:46)It was the US Air Force. Since 1947. NOT the US Army Air Corps.
There’s an alternate timeline where the forgotten or cancelled x-planes get built instead of what we have now changing history
Bro this looks literally like some of my simple planes creations specially for the cockpit
You picture the Mercator in it's initial, short-wing version; Once Martin realized that it was better suited to long-range missions as a Recon/Attack, it aimed to give the US Navy a shore-based patrol bomber that was fast enough (under full power) to Scoot away from most enemy jets of the day. The XB-51, however was to be 'As Fast ' as most enemy jet fighters, And still have guns to Strafe or Dogfight with. Basically, an A-26 Invader, on Steroids!! My only Issue with it is the front-jet-engines being slung Low enough to have Taxi-/take-off/-landing issues with Debris Intake, and the lack of Afterburners for Combat-Thrust. Otherwise, it was a great Design and had Mission versatility inclusive in it's layout & build.
@1:23 That piano had me thinking the video was playing "Lemonade" by Gucci Mane in the background for a second.
It's like a 727 bomber!
Those low slung engines look like a nice FOD hazard.
Easy for maintenance crews to work on, though. That third engine… less so.
FOD. F-16.
Why does the US flag in the video have 50 stars? AK & HI weren't states until 1959
I feel like the XB-51 could've been improved if they just stuck the engines at the back or on the wings. This would've also kept them further off the ground, reducing foreign debris injection during landing. Great video, love this bomber.
All of this, accomplished without CAD... amazing 👏
Hearing an Aussie say Fall instead of Autumn makes me sad
Those flight shots are amazing! It's so cool to see special jets in motion let alone flight dynamics outside of just the test program. Cool stuff! 😎🤟
Amazing work Nick, your top-shelf production values are a blueprint all your own 👍🍻
Engines close too the cockpit like that is insanely loud and borderline deafening.
can yo umake whar if Aero Spacelines Super Guppy was a passenger plane?
a couple of minutes devoted to *how* this aircraft could have made a difference in Korea would have been nice.
Why exactly were the XB-51's engines so oddly placed?
Martin wanted a clean wing.
This plane had spoiler roll control. The plane had a variable incidence wing pivoting on the rear spar. The bicycle gear and engine placement left a thin, clean wing. For such an advanced aircraft, the prototypes did well, eg didn’t crash early in the test program as was so often the case. (For instance, Consider the dismal record of the F100 chase plane)
The Canberra was chosen for the reasons stated, but also because it was more mature and a war was on.
William Holden fortunately flew the XB102 before his death bombing the bridges at Toko Ri. The good news was taking Mickey Rooney with him.
Always loved your animated plane/vehicle stories
Interesting aircraft and an interesting design too, I love the whaleback-looking curve of the profile. I would have loved to see more of those in the air.
Amazing as always! Great work! I can't wait for the ornithopter video to come out. I have seen that one before, somewhere. Keep up the inspiring work!
Great video on one of my favorite SHOULD HAVE BEEN fast movers. I once wrote short story featuring the XB-51.
love the configuration, but the wing area seemed too small
I grew up in the early 60s in a suburb of Minneapolis. Every now and then we'd hear sonic booms! I've researched this and it was B 58s practice targeting the city! It would have been cool to know that it was XB 51s!!
Always been a huge fan of this plane…recently bought a 1/72 scale Mikromir model kit of the XB-51.
Next "MBB Lampyridae" please.
The Korean War was more than any bomber could have sorted, in fact nothing could have sorted it..
Sorted? What are you talking about? Your comment doesn't make any sense.
If "awkward teenager" was an airplane
I'm just wondering how it feels to eject from a T-tail aircraft because you a more likely to hit it or not
Uploading a vid at midnight is crazy
its 4:39pm here :)
@@FoundAndExplainedah that makes much more sense,are you in Australia or something?
2:12 4000 lb of bombs != 4000 lb of explosives, the casing reduces the amount of filler in bombs
I also think the B-57 really lucked out because that plane was so adaptable.
I liked the movie with the XB-51 as "experimental fighterjet". It was a good story about a pilot who had to proof that e still is able and trust wort after being a prisoner of war by the enemy and released back to the USA.
The XB-51 was a huge airplane for a low level bomber or ground-support attacker, and powered by three low-powered turbojet engines typical of that time it would be an obvious failure. Sanity prevailed. Its German missile lines were evident, via the Matador missile.
It's gotta have some strange landing gear with those engines like that
Today the B-51 is only history. The following model bomber however became legendary which is still in use today by the USAF
les ingénieurs allemands ont laissés leur "patte" ici avec cette position basse en fuselage des réacteurs : cf. Ju.287, He. P1068-01-84, Me. P.1102 et pour les entrées dorsales : Horten Ho. X (ref : german jet genesis, David Masters / ed. JANE'S)
Please make a video on SU30
Great video as always! Thanks for the great content. I would love to see you cover the slam jet.
USAF 1947 great subject I knew nothing of the XB 51 thank you
It probably could have been a great aircraft with additional testing and improvements.
A very imaginative design. Thanks for the informative video.
Still hoping for a f20 tigershark
He has a discord
Yes - the XB51, so good the air force didn't buy it.
It could not have 'won' the Korean War because it was not up to the specification. It looked 'innovative but really was just a set of pieces pushed together, which did not work in terms of performance improvements. The engines of that period were not unreliable at all. The Canberra used the RR Avons and these were manufactured under licence in the US and powered many types. The B57 used the alternative engine for the Canberra, the AS Sapphire, which also built under licence in the US and used in other US airframes. Martin did pioneer the Rotating Bomb Bay but as far as I am aware only one other aircraft used it, the Blackburn Buccaneer.
Cool thanks nick
My favorite "could've been" of the Cold War.
Don't think I've seen a military jet with 3 engines before. It's always one, two or another even number.
I mean the KC-10 is kind of one
@@snegik Good point, but I'm talking attack craft.
I think the XB 51 was a very beautiful aircraft, but I would think that it would have made a better fighter (as seen in the movie version) as the Gilbert XF 20.👁
I think if they had reinforced the wing and given it some wing slats despite the obvious weight increase they could’ve gotten a much more nimble aircraft. Decreasing some bomb load for an increase of fuel would also be essential maybe like wingtip fuel pods? Aircraft like the F-89 were also experimenting with rockets that had HE-VT this aircraft while not a fighter with fighter armament could do some serious interception damage if not laden on a full load and ran only cannons, rato and rockets alternatively..
The AJ-1 Savage was a nice looking aircraft. Ruined by the fact they didn’t give it built in guns, Something remedied by the prototype AJ-2. I believe simply a different wing design would have increased performance substantially. Might’ve cost more who knows but swapping the wings and piston engines out for jet engines would be a good move and a easy way to repurpose the AJ-1 airframes once jets caught up.
You forgot the variable incidence wing system.
nice keep the effort up fellow aussie
Of course Hollywood turned it into fighter
Great video and graphics!
LOVE THIS!
What a beautiful aircraft.
Of all the designs proposed, this is the one I’m most miffed about being nixed…
Finally!!! Heck yeah!
Awesome animation man. I bet it takes a lot of hours to do.
This was the idea behind the 3-engine Boeing 727
I am very avid watcher of your content,
Can you create a video on the HAL Marut- India's first jet fighter
Canberra bomber out performed this aircraft considerably.
This B-51 was a bomber that had limited strength of the airframe thus was limited in pulling Gs and maneuverability and the range compared to the Canberra was considerably less.
All B-51 produced prototypes crashing.
Production of the Canberra was delayed by years due to the amount of modifications requested.
8:40 "flying wing XB-49, which we've got a video" doesn't make any sense. The correct construction would be "flying wing XB-49, about which we've got a video".
At 9:54 you said Army Air Force existed during Korean War but the US Air Force was founded in 1947
In flight evaluations this plalne took sooo very long to turn around for a notger pass that the other planes it was compared to did three more attacks that i the same time.... so while being fast and sleek it was just bad for the job it was intended for and for that reason dropped.
No one in the airforce at that time ever thought that not putting this thing into service was anythin other than a good idea
We did win the Korean War, then Truman lost it. MacArthur and his Inchon landing drove the Chinese out of Korea but Truman made him stop.
Check, the history books. The Inchon landings were before China entered the war .
That Toyota Maru submarine scared me, but the french libellula was amazing
I believe it was a very nice aircraft to fly.
do a video on the dassault mercure
You missed two things. First, the main reason for it's failure - it was very difficult to fly compared to what the average USAAF medium bomber pilots were used to. The training demands and likely pilot failure rate were simply unacceptable. The Canberra's flying and handling was much more like the medium bomber aircraft that it was replacing.
Second, its second crash is recorded. At 1:20 in the film below, see how an experienced pilot who was unfamiliar with the XB-51 was caught out by its unusual handling characteristics
th-cam.com/video/ZQ0rPecIPTM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=qaQf5hYzlHtB34VR
Hey, have you done any episode of the moonbat?
I have a question when do we get the long promise always told to be coming soon MiG 105 aka the space MiG when do we get it finnaly?
Those jet engines below the nose would just hoover up everything on the runway.
Im happy its out now! Im actuality awake🎉
If Truman would have left MacArthur do his job, the war would have been won.
You mean like letting MacArthur use nukes and potentially escalate the conflict out of control?
It’s a little ungainly looking but I like the concepts.
In the 1950's more engines could mean the darn thing got off the ground.
It is unfortunate that this aircraft could not get a chance to prove itself.
Nice, a midnight video
The animation is batter than the us army commercial with emma 💀🗣🗣
It looks suspisciously like a certain German jet bomber.
The swept forward wing design. Designation escapes me at the moment. Fuselage based on He177
where is my warm friendly hug?
Fun video for the algorithm
Excellent