Martin B-10 (oz10261)

About this Plan

Martin B-10. Control line scale twin bomber model.

Quote: "An unusual subject for CL scale, this pre World War II aircraft was a stepping stone to the bombers that won that conflict. MARTIN B-10, by Dick Hall.

Born in the Depression years of the early 1930s and plagued with numerous initial developmental teething problems, the B-10 was off to a questionable existence. This could be said of other aircraft that also went on to become great planes, but the combined efforts of the Army Air Corps and Glenn L Martin resulted in the Martin winning the Collier Trophy in 1933. The B-10 was a 'between the wars' craft, serving in more than 25 squadrons. After a reasonable service life as a bomber, it went on to duties such as target tug, reconnaissance, and squadron taxi with pursuit and observation units.

A memorable aircraft for its day, the B-10 was referred to as the first 'modern day' bomber. It did see some action with the Dutch in the Netherlands East Indies against the Japanese during the early part of World War II. Its greatest contribution may have been to prepare pilots and crews for the events that were to occur after December 7, 1941.

Thanks to the Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, and US Air Force, an example of the B-10 was restored and now resides at the USAF Museum near Dayton, Ohio. Prior to the discovery of this plane in Argentina, no B-10s were known to still exist.

The full-size B-10 had a span of 70 ft 6 in. Gross weight (B-10B) was 14,887 lb and the empty weight was 9,681 lb. Two Wright Cyclones, type SGR-1820G9 of 700 hp each pulled the B-10 to a high speed of 238 mph at an altitude of 11,900 ft. Cruising speed was 196 mph. Service ceiling was 25,000 ft. Defensive weapons consisted of three .30 caliber Browning machine guns: one in the forward turret, one in the rear cockpit, and one in the ventral (tunnel) position. Bomb load was 2,000 lb carried internally. An additional set of flight controls was located in the rear cockpit, but this was really only an emergency station because the engine instruments were not duplicated in the rear panel. As a matter of fact, the engine instruments were mounted directly on each engine nacelle and could only be observed by the pilot (up forward) looking left or right toward a nacelle panel.

I first became acquainted with the B-10 in the late 1930s when it appeared at the local airport. A speedy bike trip to the field and a little luck, such as an aircrew of kid-loving soldiers, were the prerequisites to fulfill my boyhood wish - a talk with airmen who flew the popular bomber of that time. The exact words exchanged during my interrogation must have been 'small talk' or 'hangar flying.' But I was an aviation buff, and the B-10 was high on my list of favorite aircraft. It has remained so, even after viewing the aftermath of a fatal crash.

The model. Three-view drawings and photographs of the plane were received from the Martin Company in 1958, but the planning stage didn't begin until 1975 and the model was finally completed in 1979. During this 'stretch-out' period, certain ideas and procedures had time to be developed: (1) The canopies and turret were vacuum-formed over wood forms. (2) A pressure-sensitive "Bootstripe Tape" (for boats) was used to make the canopy, turret, and window frame simulations... "

Martin B-10, MAN, January 1981.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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