Wittemann-Lewis NBL-1 "Barling Bomber" experimental long-range heavy bomber first flown in 1923

Posted by jacksmachiningreveng@reddit | WeirdWings | View on Reddit | 17 comments

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Ornery_Year_9870@reddit

What a sight & sound that must've been.

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AreWeThereYetNo@reddit

This one for sure flies like a steakhouse. Not sure if she handles like a bistrot.

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Nuclear_Geek@reddit

Such a bizarre contrast between the (relatively) streamlined fuselage and... well, everything else.

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GrafZeppelin127@reddit

I’ve seen barns and quonset huts that are more aerodynamic.

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I am just surprised they showed film of it flying; it just looked like a jumble of spare parts on the ground, including those front wheels, which presumably don't get used until the aircraft has payload forward of the CoG.

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55pilot@reddit

You can paint an old barn, but it's still an old barn.

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Thick_Pineapple8782@reddit

It had to be refueled between DC and NY!

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syringistic@reddit

Wow, I'm actually impressed by the stats. 7 machine guns for defense and a 5000lb bomb load.

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cloudubious@reddit

And engines with subpar power that couldn't carry that load to an operational altitude.

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syringistic@reddit

Yeah I saw.. oh well.

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BigD1970@reddit

"Ambitious - but rubbish."

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WinterDice@reddit

Wow. The B29 took its first flight about 20 years later, right? Aircraft technology and design took an amazing leap over a couple decades.

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syringistic@reddit

And 20 years after that, JFK declared we'd land on the Moon. And 20 after that, the B-2 Stealth Bomber was being developed, and remains the most advanced (operational) bomber in the world.

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bobtheghost33@reddit

Standing in that exposed turret at the very front must have felt insane. Gives me vertigo just looking at it

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jacksmachiningreveng@reddit (OP)

On 22 August 1923, the Barling Bomber made its maiden flight from Wilbur Wright Field in Fairfield, Ohio. At the time, it was comparable in size to the German Riesenflugzeug and Italian Caproni Ca.4 heavy bombers and remains large even by today's standards, however it was severely overbuilt and weighed significantly more than other aircraft at the time of a similar size, to the detriment of its performance.