Orlando Army Airfield (1941-1946)

Orlando, Florida

THE AIRCRAFT

Airplane information gathered primarily from the USAF Museum

1)  B-17 Boeing Flying Fortress

Specifications
Span: 103 ft. 10 in.   Length: 74 ft. 4 in.
Height: 19 ft. 1 in.    Weight: 55,000 lbs. loaded
Armament: Thirteen .50-cal. machine guns with normal bomb load of 6,000 lbs.
Engines: Four Wright "Cyclone" R-1820s of 1,200 hp. ea.
Maximum speed: 300 mph   Cruising speed: 170 mph
Range: 1,850 miles   Service Ceiling: 35,000 ft.

2)  B-18 Douglas Bolo

Specifications
Span: 89 ft. 6 in.   Length: 57 ft. 10 in.
Height: 15 ft. 2 in.    Weight: 27,000 lbs. loaded
Armament: Three .30-cal. guns (in nose, ventral and dorsal positions), plus 4,500 lbs. of bombs carried internally
Engines: Two Wright R-1820-53s of 1,000 hp. ea.
Maximum speed: 215 mph. at 15,000 ft.   Cruising speed: 167 mph
Range: 2,100 miles   Service Ceiling: 23,900 ft.

3)  B-24 Consolidated Liberator

Specifications
Span: 110 ft. 0 in.   Length: 66 ft. 4 in.
Height: 17 ft. 11 in.   Weight: 56,000 lbs. loaded
Armament: Eleven .50-cal. machine guns [nose, left & right cheek, top turret (2), ball turret (2), left and right waist and tail (2)] plus a normal maximum load of 8,000 lbs. of bombs
Engines: Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830s of 1,200 hp. ea.
Maximum speed: 303 mph   Cruising speed: 175 mph
Range: 2,850 miles   Service Ceiling: 28,000 ft.

4)  B-25 North American Mitchell

Specifications
Span: 67 ft. 7 in.   Length: 52 ft. 11 in.
Height: 15 ft. 9 in.   Weight: 28,460 lbs. loaded
Armament: Five .50-cal. machine guns; 5,000 lbs. of bombs
Engine: Two Wright R-2600s of 1,700 hp. ea.
Maximum speed: 275 mph   Cruising speed: 230 mph
Range: 1,200 miles    Service Ceiling: 25,000 ft.

5)  B-26 Martin Marauder

Specifications
Span: 71 ft. 0 in.   Length: 58 ft. 6 in.
Height: 20 ft. 3 in.   Weight: 37,000 lbs. loaded
Armament: Eleven .50-cal. machine guns; 4,000 lbs. of bombs
Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800s of 2,000 hp. ea.
Maximum speed: 285 mph   Cruising speed: 190 mph
Range: 1,100 miles   Service Ceiling: 19,800 ft.

6)  B-29 Boeing Superfortress

Specifications
Span: 141 ft. 3 in.   Length: 99 ft. 0 in.
Height: 27 ft. 9 in.   Weight: 133,500 lbs. max.
Armament: Eight .50-cal. machine guns in remote controlled turrets plus two .50-cal. machine guns and one 20mm cannon in tail; 20,000 lbs. of bombs
Engines: Four Wright R-3350s of 2,200 hp. ea.
Maximum speed: 357 mph   Cruising speed: 220 mph
Range: 3,700 miles   Service Ceiling: 33,600 ft.

BOMBERS

 

 

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ATTACK BOMBERS

 

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1)  A-20 Douglas Havoc

Specifications
Span: 61 ft. 4 in.   Length: 48 ft.
Height: 17 ft. 7 in.   Weight: 26,580 lbs. loaded
Armament: Eight .50-cal. machine guns; 2,000 lbs. of bombs internally; 2,000 lbs. externally
Engines: Two Wright R-2600s of 1,600 hp. ea.
Maximum speed: 317 mph   Cruising speed: 230 mph
Range: 1,025 miles   Service Ceiling: 25,000 ft.

2)  A-24 Douglas Dauntless

Specifications
Span: 41 ft. 6 in.   Length: 33 ft. 0 in.
Height: 12 ft. 11 in.   Weight: 10,200 lbs. max. (with 1,200 lbs. of bombs)
Armament: Two .50 caliber machine guns in the nose and twin .30 caliber flexible machine guns in rear cockpit.
Engine: Wright R-1829-52 of 1,000 hp.
Maximum speed: 250 mph   Cruising speed: 173 mph
Range: 950 miles with 1,200 lbs. of bombs   Service Ceiling: 26,000 ft.

3)  A-26 Douglas Invader

Specifications
Span: 70 ft.   Length: 51 ft. 3 in.
Height: 18 ft. 3 in.   Weight: 35,000 lbs. loaded
Armament: Highly variable. A-26C had two forward-firing .50-cal. machine guns and two turrets with two .50-cal. machine guns each. It also carried bombs internally and under wings.
Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800s of 2,000 hp. ea.
Maximum speed: 373 mph   Cruising speed: 284 mph
Range: 1,400 miles   Service Ceiling: 28,000 ft.


4)  A-29 Lockheed Hudson

Specifications
Span: 65 ft. 6 in. Length: 44 ft. 4 in.
Height: 11 ft. 10 in. Weight: 22,300 lbs. max
Armament: Two .30-cal. machine guns fixed in the nose & one .50-cal. machine gun in a flexible dorsal position (RA-29) plus 1,400 lbs. of bombs. Other armament variations included a twin .30-cal. dorsal turret and one .30-cal. ventral "tunnel" gun.
Engines: Two Wright R-1820-87 "Cyclone" radial engines of 1,200 hp. each.
Max. speed: 250 mph Cruising speed: 205 mph
Range: 2,800 statute miles Service ceiling: 26,500 ft.

 

5)  DB-7 Douglas Boston

Specifications
Span: 61 ft. 4 in.   Length: 47 ft. 7 in.
Height: 18 ft. 1 in.   Weight: 15,730 lbs. empty/19,750 lbs. gross
Armament: Four 20mm cannon
Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2600-11 radials of 1,600 hp. each
Maximum speed: 338 mph
Service ceiling: 28,250 ft.

The DB-7, P-70, and A-20 were basically the same aircraft modified for different uses. The DB-7 was a high-altitude light attack bomber. The P-70 was a night fighter, and the A-20 was a low to medium altitude attack bomber.

 

PURSUIT (FIGHTERS)

1)  P-39 Bell Airacobra

Specifications
Span: 34 ft.   Length: 30 ft. 2 in.
Height: 12 ft. 5 in.   Weight: 7,570 lbs. normal load
Armament: One 37mm cannon firing through the propeller hub; two .50-cal. machine guns in the nose; two .50-cal. machine guns in packets under the wing; 500 lbs. of bombs externally.
Engine: Allison V-1710 of 1,200 hp
Maximum speed: 376 mph   Cruising speed: 250 mph
Range: 650 miles   Service Ceiling: 35,000 ft.

2)  P-40 Curtiss Warhawk

Specifications
Span: 37 ft. 4 in.   Length: 31 ft. 9 in.
Height: 12 ft. 4 in.   Weight: 9,100 lbs. loaded
Armament: Six .50-cal. machine guns; 700 lbs. of bombs.
Engine: Allison V-1710 of 1,150 hp.
Maximum speed: 362 mph   Cruising speed: 235 mph
Range: 850 miles   Service Ceiling: 30,000 ft.

3)  P-47 Republic Thunderbolt

Specifications
Span: 40 ft. 9 in.   Length: 36 ft. 1 in.
Height: 14 ft. 2 in.   Weight: 13,500 lbs. loaded
Armament: Eight .50-cal. machine guns and 1,500 lbs. of bombs.
Engine: Pratt and Whitney R-2800 of 2,300 hp.
Maximum speed: 433 mph   Cruising speed: 260 mph
Range: 1,100 miles (with auxiliary fuel tank)   Service Ceiling: 40,000 ft.

4)  P-51 North American Mustang

Specifications
Span: 37 ft. 0 in.   Length: 32 ft. 3 in.
Height: 13 ft. 8 in.   Weight: 12,100 lbs. max.
Armament: Six .50-cal. machine guns and ten 5 in. rockets or 2,000 lbs. of bombs.
Engine: Packard built Rolls-Royce "Merlin" V-1650 of 1,695 hp.
Maximum speed: 437 mph   Cruising speed: 275 mph
Range: 1,000 miles   Service Ceiling: 41,900 ft.

5) P-70 Douglas Nighthawk

Specifications
Span: 61 ft. 4 in.   Length: 47 ft. 7 in.
Height: 18 ft. 1 in.   Weight: 15,730 lbs. empty/19,750 lbs. gross
Armament: Four 20mm cannon and two .50 caliber machine guns
Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney R-2600-11 radials of 1,600 hp. each
Maximum speed: 338 mph.
Service ceiling: 28,250 ft.

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Written by Thomas E. Cook.

Copyright © 2003 Central Florida Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved.