The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American twin-engined medium bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Though equipped with inadequate defensive armament and underpowered, the Bolo remained the Air Corps' primary bomber into 1941, and the Japanese destroyed some B-18s during the surprise attacks on Dec. 7. By early 1942, improved bombers like the B-17 replaced the Bolo as first-line bombardment aircraft.

Designed in response to a 1934 U.S. Army Air Corps requirement for a replacement for the B-10, the B-18 was based on the Douglas DC-2 airliner using similar wings, tail and engines. The Bolo entered production in 1936 and by 1940 most of the bomber squadrons in the Air Corps were equipped with B-18s.

The Douglas B-18 (DB-1) was a military version of the Douglas DC-2 designed to meet the requirement for a coastal-defense, multi-engine bomber. It was designed for a USAAC competition, announced on August 6, 1934, to find a modern replacement for the assorted twin-engine Keystone biplane and Martin B-10 bombers.

2024年3月30日 · This Douglas B-18 Bolo bomber is in flight over Hamilton Field, California on February 7, 1938. Soon, these planes were tested in the fiery crucible of combat. Note it’s relatively flat nose. Image: NARA The Bolo was vastly inferior to the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, yet it still somehow beat the Boeing B-17 prototype in the military trials.

The Douglas B-18 Bolo was an American medium bomber used by the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. It was primarily employed for coastal defense and anti-submarine patrols before and during World War II.

To design its bomber, Douglas used the successful DC-2 airliner as a basis. The wing and tail were retained, but slightly enlarged. The fuselage was new. The DC-2 was a low-wing monoplane, to have an unrestricted cabin, but the B-18 was a mid-wing aircraft, to make room for a bomb bay under the center section. The fuselage was rather rotund.

Why did Douglas call it Bolo? Does anyone know which B-18B sunk a German U-Boat, the U-654 on 22 August 1942 in the Caribbean?

The Douglas B-18 Bolo was a military adaptation of the DC-2 commercial airliner to the long-range bombing role. Although totally obsolescent by the end of 1941, it was numerically the most important long-range bomber in service with the USAAC at …

Bi-plane bombers were replaced by the Martin B-10. The B-18 was the replacement for the B-10. It was procured in large numbers (for that time) to fill the ranks of all bomber units, and it was …