Boeing Model 294 XB-15 Very-Heavy Bomber Prototype Family
The Boeing XB-15 was a one-aircraft very-heavy bomber experiment that tested whether a 5,000-mile-range design could carry a substantial load with the engines available in the mid-1930s. Its enormous wing, internal passageways, flight engineer station, and long-range test work exposed the practical limits of early heavy-bomber propulsion while establishing a design and operational reference for later Boeing long-range aircraft; the sole prototype was later converted to the XC-105 transport.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Boeing Model 294XBLR-1XC-105Grandpappy
- Family Name
- Boeing XB-15
- Full Name
- Boeing Model 294 XB-15 Very-Heavy Bomber Prototype Family
- Roles
- militaryexperimentalresearchcargo
- Status
- retired
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Crew Capacity
- 10
- Operating Modes
- land
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- conventional
- Description
- The Boeing XB-15 was a one-aircraft very-heavy bomber experiment that tested whether a 5,000-mile-range design could carry a substantial load with the engines available in the mid-1930s. Its enormous wing, internal passageways, flight engineer station, and long-range test work exposed the practical limits of early heavy-bomber propulsion while establishing a design and operational reference for later Boeing long-range aircraft; the sole prototype was later converted to the XC-105 transport.
- First Flight Year
- 1,937
- Manufacturer
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 4
- Placement
- wing
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Variant Notes
- Exact sourced variant: Pratt & Whitney R-1830-11; canonical node identity is family-level.
- Name
- XB-15 R-1830 installation
- Notes
- Boeing historical specifications identify four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-11 Twin Wasp engines; the canonical relationship is intentionally family-level because the propulsion node represents the R-1830 family.
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Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 9, 2026 at 04:28:37 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 9, 2026 at 04:28:37 UTC