With the appearance of the Fokker
XB-8, the last vestiges of the biplane
age were gone from bomber design. An
airplane of such clean lines had never
before worn the colors of a U. S. Army
bomber. A true cantilever design, there
were no drag-producing struts or wailing
rigging to reduce the efficiency of the
XB-8. Like the Douglas B-7, this plane
also was modified from an observation
design; in this case, the Fokker O-27.
Ordered in February, 1929, with the
XB-7, the sole example of the Fokker
XB-8 was ready for testing in 1930. The
plywood wing was shoulder mounted on
the fabric covered, metal tube fuselage.
The traditional nose gunner position was
equipped with a sliding streamlined cover,
and the fuselage side, forward of the
wing, was strengthened by a corrugated
panel extending to the nose.
Mounted almost entirely within the
wing were two Curtiss Conqueror V-1520-
engines yielding a speed of
260km/h. The retractable landing gear
was pulled into large wells located in
the rear portion of the engine fairings.
But in spite of its sleek appearance, the
performance of the XB-8 did not merit a
production order and it was ultimately
restored to the O-27 configuration.
Shortly after the appearance of the
XB-8, the Fokker Company was reorganized
as the General Aviation Manufacturing
Corp. and this aircraft is sometimes
referred to as the General XB-8.
