Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms By Flag By Year By Tag

Huff-Daland XB-1 Super Cyclops

1927 GOLDEN AGE X-PLANE

History of the Huff-Daland XB-1 Super Cyclops

The Huff-Daland XB-1 was a prototype bomber built for the United States Army Air Forces.

The XB-1 was the first aircraft to be named only after the B. Before 1926, the U.S. Army used the prefixes LB- and HB-, meaning "light bomber" and "heavy bomber". The first XB-1, known as Super Cyclops by Huff-Daland, was an extension of the earlier Huff-Daland XHB-1 "Cyclops".

It's basically the same size, but has twin tails and two engines.

The artillery layout of the XB-1 was new to American bombers, but it was already in use by the British and Germans by the end of World War I. The Army Air Force has decided that single-engine bombers like the XHB-1 are less capable and less safe than more traditional twin-engine bombers.

The aircraft first flew in September 1927. Its original Packard engine did not provide enough power to the aircraft and it was converted to the more powerful Curtiss Aircraft Conqueror engine. This new configuration was named XB-1B.

Around the same time, the Army Air Force requested three other similar aircraft designs to compete with the XB-1 for orders. Of the three (XB-2 Condor, Sikorsky S-37, and Fokker XLB-2), the Curtis model ultimately won, and only one XB-1 was produced.