Overview
Hello again people of war thunder! As I keep adding suggestions, I slowly figure out how to make my suggestions cleaner and more tolerable to read. Today I wish to suggest the B-32 Dominator, specifically the B-32-30-CF, the little-known rival and backup to the B-29 Superfortress, arriving too late in the war to see significant action, however did see sorties after the Atomic Bomb detonations, and is distinguished with the last aerial combat mission of the war.
Basic Information
Designation: B-32-30-CF (Military), Model 34 (Manufacturer)
Name: “Dominator”
Role: Heavy Strategic Bomber
Crew: 10
Manufacturer: Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation
Total built: 118, 1500+ planned
Service Life: January-August 1945
Specifications
Specs - Dimensions
Length: 82 ft, 1 in (25.02 m)
Wingspan: 135 ft (41.15 m)
Wing Area: 1,422 sq ft (132.1 m²)
Height: 32 ft, 2 in (9.80 m)
Specs - Flight Performance
Engine(s): 4x Wright R-3350-23A Duplex-Cyclone 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 2,200 hp (1,600 kW) each
Propellor(s): 4x 4-bladed constant-speed propellers
Maximum Speed: 357 mph (575 km/h)
Cruise Speed: 290 mph (470 km/h)
Stall Speed (0° flaps, Empty weight): 131 mph (211 km/h)
Service Ceiling: 30,700 ft (9,400 m)
Rate of Climb: 1,050 ft/min (5.3 m/s)
Max Range: 3,800 mi (6,100 km)
Empty weight: 60,278 lb (27,342 kg)
Max Takeoff Weight: 123,250 lb (55,905 kg)
Specs - Armament
Specs - Armament - Defensive Armament
Defensive Armament (Front to Aft):
Total: x10 .50 (12.7 mm) M2 Machine Guns (5800 rounds)
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x2 .50 (12.7 mm) M2 Machine Guns, located in a dual-mount Sperry A-17 turret in the fuselage nose
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x2 .50 (12.7 mm) M2 Machine Guns, located in a dual-mount Martin A-3F-A turret in a dorsal position behind the cockpit
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x2 .50 (12.7 mm) M2 Machine Guns, located in a dual-mount Martin A-3F-A turret in a dorsal position at the fuselage waist
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x2 .50 (12.7 mm) M2 Machine Guns, located in a dual mount Sperry A-13-A turret in a ventral position
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x2 .50 (12.7 mm) M2 Machine Guns, located in a dual mount Sperry A-17 turret in the fuselage tail position
Specs - Armament - Suspended Armament
Total Carrying Capacity (Internal Bay): 20,000 lbs (9,100 kg)
Possible Payloads:
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40x 500 lb (226.8 kg) AN-64A1 conventional bombs
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12x 1000 lb (453.5 kg) AN-65A1 conventional bombs
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8x 1600 lb (725.4 kg) AN-Mk. 1 Armour-Piercing bombs
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8x 2000 lb (907.2 kg) AN-66A2 conventional bombs
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4x 4000 lb (1814.3 kg) AN-56 Light-Case bombs
Specs - Additional Information
Engine Fire System:
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24x CO₂ canisters (12x in the aft each outboard nacelle)
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“One-Shot” fixed system (7x CO₂ canisters in the aft bomb bay)
Fuel Capacity: 5460 gal (20,668.3 L)
- 4x self-sealing tanks in wing center section
Oil Capacity: 306 gal (1158.3 L)
- 4x self-sealing tanks in wing center section
Usage in Battles
The B-32 Dominator will act similar to the B-29 Superfortress, Serving mainly as a base destroyer, mainly avoiding any confrontations. If needed however, the B-32 has 10 M2s and a similar defensive layout to the b-29 with no obvious weak points, but it also has an armament closer to the B-17 or B-24, and thus should be considered to your tactics. The PB4Y-2 may be of similar playstyle due to its layout, pardoning the lack of waist gunners.
Pros:
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Excellent Bomb capacity
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Service Ceiling makes interception difficult
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Effective defense armament
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Internal Bay allows minimal effect on performance
Cons:
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Poor Mobility
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Susceptible to heavy calibers
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Disadvantaged against multiple opponents
History
The Consolidated B-32 Dominator was a four-engined heavy “Superbomber”, ordered at the same time as the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The B-32 was produced primarily as a failsafe in case the favored Boeing design failed. However since the B-29 ultimately turned out to be an outstanding success, the B-32 was built only in relatively small numbers and flew only a handful of combat sorties during the last few weeks of WW2. Its brief combat career was unspectacular, however it did manage to gain the distinction of flying the last aerial combat mission against Japan.
The B-32 Dominator was the product of the USAAC’s 1940 “Superbomber” competition, known officially as Data R-40B, and was given to Boeing, Consolidated, Douglas and Lockheed, to create a long-range heavy bomber. The results of this were the XB series 29-32 bombers. The winner of this competition would be the now-famous Boeing B-29 Superfortress, and Consolidated’s XB-32 would take second place and would thus serve as a secondary bomber to see production, acquiring the name ‘Terminator’, while Lockheed’s XB-30 and Martin’s XB-31 would never see production as they both withdrew from the competition.
Originally the B-32 Dominator had a closer design to her sister aircraft, the B-24 Liberator, however design issues and delays were frequent and problematic, to the point where Consolidated’s contract was cancelled in 1942, only to be reopened a month later. Such problems would eventually cause designers to redesign to her production look in 1943, being renamed ‘Dominator’, in August 1943.
Production of the B-32 was troublesome, as when the first B-32 was delivered, it crashed on the runway while landing when its nose strut collapsed. Production was well behind schedule, as the the first B-32 took off, the B-29 was already 6 months into its service. The USAAC now USAAF, found that the B-32 was a poor design, as it saw frequent malfunctions, and was reported to be of sub-par build quality.
Crews disliked the B-32, stating it offered poor visibility and was noisy, and engine fires were frequent, and the undercarriage was so inadequate that the entire fleet of B-32s were grounded temporarily in May 1945. On the plus side, it was mentioned by crew that the B-32 was excellent in low-speeds and on the ground, and responded to controls quickly. It was stable and offered good protection with its defensive armament, and easy to maintain.
The B-32’s first combat mission took place on May 29, 1945, being a raid on a Japanese supply depot at the island of Luzon. Of the three B-32s to take part, one aborted on takeoff, leaving the other two to proceed to the target. There was no opposition, and the bombing runs were done at 10,000 feet, both returning without any incident. Now proven capable, the B-32 served in a series of attacks on Japanese targets in the Philippines, Formosa, and on Hainan Island. Her missions went unopposed, only encountering inaccurate flak.
Following the dropping of the atomic bombs, the B-32 still saw combat operations despite of the cease-fire that had been declared following Nagasaki. During this time, the B-32s flew mainly reconnaissance missions, most unopposed. However, on August 17, a flight of four B-32s flying over Tokyo were fired on with flak and were attacked by Japanese fighters. The B-32s survived with minor damage, with one confirmed kill and two possibles. During a reconnaissance mission over Tokyo on August 18, 2 B-32s were attacked by Japanese fighters. The B-32s claimed two kills and one possible, and one B-32 was severely damaged, one of the crew killed, and another two injured. This engagement being the last combat action of World War 2.
The B-32s last mission of the war was done by a flight four B-32s on August 28, another reconnaissance mission to Tokyo. Of the four, One B-32 crashed on the runway during takeoff, killing everyone aboard, an other B-32 crew had to bail out on the return flight due to engine failure and two crewman had died.
After Japan’s surrender, all remaining B-32s returned to the USA, and production of the B-32 was cancelled in October of 1945, with all partially produced B-32s being scrapped immediately. By 1947, only a handful of B-32s remained.
As of today, there are no intact B-32s, the last complete aircraft being scrapped in 1949, and only portions of the aircraft, 2 nose turrets and a static wing panel, remain.
Additional Photos
ted_B-32_Dominator_3-view_line_drawing.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/B32.jpg
https://www.airplanes-online.com/images/airforce-archives/consolidated-b32-dominator-42108471.jpg
https://wwiiafterwwii.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/b32a.jpg
https://www.flight-manuals-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/B32-cockpit-1.jpg
Sources
Primary Sources:
Consolidated B-32 Dominator Flight Manual.pdf | DocDroid
Secondary Sources:
Consolidated B-32 Dominator - Wikipedia
Consolidated B-32 Dominator Four-Engined Heavy Bomber Aircraft
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/b-32-dominator
Miscellaneous Sources:
Image Sources:
https://www.anigrand.com/images/items/AA2083_B-32/AA2083_B-32_real_2.jpg
ted_B-32_Dominator_3-view_line_drawing.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/B32.jpg
https://www.airplanes-online.com/images/airforce-archives/consolidated-b32-dominator-42108471.jpg
https://wwiiafterwwii.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/b32a.jpg
https://www.flight-manuals-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/B32-cockpit-1.jpg
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