In 1944, the War Department called for bids and proposals of jet bombers, with gross weight ranging from 80,000 to 200,000 pounds. Consolidated Vultee Aircraft (Convair) Corporation answered the call and submitted a proposal with the design study of a 90,000 pound jet propelled bomber. The Army Air Force accepted the design in November 1944 and labeled the aircraft as the XB-46.
Contracts
The AAF began the procurement of XB-46's with the ‘Letter Contract W33-038-ac-7674’, approved on 17 January 1945. This contract largely covered preliminary engineering, wind tunnel, model, tests and mockup. The first letter was supplemented on 12 February by an ‘ultimate’ contract of the standard ‘cost plus fixed fee type’. Than after the inspection board's recommendations, 3 experimental B-46s were ordered by the AAF. On 3 March, a supplemental agreement covering data and spare parts for the 3 XB-46s was signed by the manufacture and the buyer. The AAF here changed the pricing methods into a fixed price type.
Dilemma with XA-44
By the fall of 1945, the AAF started considering canceling the XB-46 as the XA-44 was making its way in the force by the same contractor. The AAF was facing a budget constrain and could not manage fund for both the projects. Convair came up with a perfect solution and proposed to build 1 XB-46 without outer bodies but in flyable condition; and to develop 2 XA-44s in change of the other two XB-46s.
Though the AAF agreed but the XA-44 program did not materialize in the following years. In December 1946, the AAF ended its program and converted it to a light bomber, later known as the XB-53. Another twist afterwards, reinstated the XA-44 program in February 1949, but only for a short while. It was tested for a TG-180 engine, due to be installed in a B-24J airplane as an added requirement related to the XB-46’s development.
First Flight
The XB-46's made its first flight on 2 April 1947, from San Diego, California, to Muroc Army Airfield. The flight lasted over 1 hour and a half. The pilot praised the functioning and handling of the aircraft.
Test Flights
On September 1947, the basic flight tests (Phases I and II) of the single XB-46 were concluded. Manufacturer’s test pilots accumulated over 26 hours of testing in 16 flights and the AAF's pilots accumulated some 101 hours in 46 flights.
Features of XB-46
The pilot of XB-46 rode in a fighter style cockpit with a teardrop canopy. Later this cockpit design was used in study by other aircraft manufacturers. The XB-46 had a tail turret, designed by the Emerson Electric Company. It had extremely thin wings and long, oval fuselage. Along with these, the stylish aircraft did display a few conventional features. The wings were straight and powered by four J35 axial flow engines, which were paired in low slung nacelles, one on each side of the fuselage.
Stability and control of the aircraft was excellent, as reported by the pilots.
Delivery
On 7 November 1947, the US Air Force accepted the sole XB-46 and took delivery of the aircraft on the 12th. The XB-46 participated in a variety of tests such as noise measurements and tail vibration investigations.
Few defects
Engine troubles were detected along with lateral control surfaces when the aircraft flew at high speeds.
Fading out
The US Air Force canceled the B-46 program in August 1947, right after the inclusion of the XB-45s. The US Air Force selected the XB-45 over the XB-46 for a number of reasons including overall weight and the radar equipment efficiency.
As per the contract, completion of only one XB-46 aircraft was intended just to provide “a very realistic approach to the problem of development with relatively low cost”; the experimental program did not reach the $5 million mark. Additional stability and control tests were also conducted at West Palm Beach AFB, Florida, between August 1948 and August 1949. After 44 hours of flight, these tests were stopped because of maintenance difficulties and lack of spare parts.
Soon after, B-45 also lost the importance as Boeing Airplane Company developed the XB-47; that had higher performance characteristics.
The last test
In July 1950, the XB-46’s pneumatic system was tested at Eglin AFB base’s climatic hangar. After this, the US Air Force marked the bomber's end. Its nose section, however, was sent to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
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