Huff-Daland XHB-1 Cyclops

History of the Huff-Dahlan XHB-1 Cyclops

In the decade after World War I (1914-1918), Huff-Dahland tried to sell its biplane bomber concept to the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Few of these attempts came to fruition, but were spent mostly in the form of developing prototypes.

One such product was the Huff-Dahlan XHB-1 Cyclops, which continued the Huff-Dahlan biplane approach of the early 1920s and featured a 750-horsepower Packard 2A-2540 engine in the nose. The crew is four and performance includes a top speed of 109 mph. In every way, the XHB-1 is nothing more than a larger, heavy-bomber-oriented version of its predecessor, the LB-1 light bomber, 10 of which are claimed by USAAS (United States Army Air Service).

The XHB-1 program only achieved a prototype as it was not adopted in any significant way.

Like the LB-1 before it, the main limiting factor for the XHB-1 was the use of a single engine. Concerned about the survivability of the large aircraft when operating over rough terrain or over long distances, the Army Chief of Staff urged Huff-Dahlan engineers to produce an improved twin-engine LB-1 form in the XLB-3.

But that move was also shelved after a prototype in favor of the LB-5 (36 were produced). Like these aircraft, a twin-engine variant of the XHB-1 was requested and approved for the upcoming XB-1 "Super Cyclops".

At that point, the Huff-Daland brand label would be acquired by Keystone Aircraft Corporation, which itself was acquired by Curtiss-Wright in 1929, and not again until 1932.

XHB-1 failed with a complete prototype. Even the XB-1 Super Cyclops wouldn't do better with just a prototype.

Specification

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Performance

Performance

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Changes