World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe B-10 bombers began their design life as Model 123/XB-10 of the Glenn L. Martin Company of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The prototype housed a crew of four (pilot, copilot, nose gunner, and fuselage gunner), though for the production version the size of the crew was reduced to three. They were revolutionary in design with all-metal construction, closed cockpits, rotating gun turrets, retractable landing gear, internal bomb bay, and full engine cowlings; these features would become standard for bombers in the decades to come. In 1932, Martin received the Collier Trophy for designing the XB-10. On 20 Mar 1932, little more than a month after the maiden flight, the United States Army Air Corps evalcuated the bomber, and on 17 Jan 1933 an order for 48 units were placed. B-10 bombers entered service in Nov 1934. In early 1935, the US Army ordered an additional 103 aircraft designated B-10B; when they were delivered in Jul that year, they were deployed, among other places, to the Panama Canal Zone and the Philippine Islands. B-10B bombers were 1.5 times faster than any biplane bomber that they replaced, and they were also faster than many contemporary fighters. In 1934 and 1935, the successor design, Model 146, entered into the US Army's long distance bomber design competition, but was defeated by Douglas' B-18 and Boeing's B-17 designs.

ww2dbaseIn addition to the Model 123/B-10 design, Martin also produced the Model 139 design for export purposes, though the US Army retained the rights to the Model 139 design. With upgraded engines, 6 Model 139 bombers were sold to Siam in Apr 1937 and 20 to Turkey in Sep 1937. Other countries that operated Model 139 bombers include the Netherlands, Argentina, and Nationalist China.

ww2dbaseB-10 bombers were seen at the start of the Pacific War. When the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, three were present. When they were used against the Japanese invasion forces by the Americans in the Philippine Islands and the Dutch in the Dutch East Indies, they proved to be inadequate against modern Japanese fighters. Thus, they were quickly replaced by other designs. In fact, by the time the Pacific War began, the United States Army were already beginning the process to replace them with B-18 Bolo bombers.

ww2dbaseDuring the design's production life, 342 units were built. Of that number, 117 were operated by the US Army and over 200 were exported.

SPECIFICATIONS

B-10A

Machinery	Two Wright R-1820-33 Cyclone radial engines
Armament	3x7.62mm Browning machine guns, 1,030kg of bombs
Crew	4
Span	21.50 m
Length	13.60 m
Height	4.70 m
Wing Area	63.00 m²
Weight, Loaded	6,680 kg
Weight, Maximum	7,440 kg
Speed, Maximum	346 km/h
Speed, Cruising	294 km/h
Service Ceiling	7,380 m
Range, Normal	2,200 km

Photographs

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