North American XB-28 Dragon

The North American XB-28/NA-63 Dragon was an aircraft proposed by North American Aviation to fill a strong need in the United States Army Air Corps for a high-altitude medium bomber.

It never entered production, with only two prototypes being built.

Specifications

Crew

Five

Length

56 ft 4 in (17.17 m)

Wingspan

72 ft 6 in (22.10 m)

Height

22 ft 0 in (6.71 m)

Wing area

675.9 sq ft (62.79 m2)

Empty weight

25,575 lb (11,601 kg)

Gross weight

35,763 lb (16,222 kg)

Max take-off weight

39,135 lb (17,751 kg)

Powerplant

2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27 18 cylinder, air-cooled, radial, turbo supercharged, piston engines, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed

372 mph (599 km/h, 323 kn) at 25,000 ft (7,600 m)

Cruise speed

255 mph (410 km/h, 222 kn)

Range

2,040 mi (3,280 km, 1,770 nmi)

Service ceiling

34,800 ft (10,600 m)

Rate of climb

1,111 ft/min (5.64 m/s)

Wing loading

52.87 lb/sq ft (258.1 kg/m2)

Power/mass

0.112 hp/lb (184 W/kg)

Armament

Guns

6 × .50 calibre (12.7mm) M2 machine guns in remote sighted turrets

Bombs

Normal 2,000 lb (910 kg), Maximum 4,000 lb (1,800 kg).