06/05/2004. Remarks by Dave
Simpson: "This aircraft is always challenging to know what
to designate it as. There was only one ever constructed in late
October 1922. It was actually designed under the auspices of the US
Army Engineering Division as XNBL-1, built by the Witteman Lewis
Company, and the design and construction was heavily influenced by
Mr. Walter H. Barling for better or worse... (Hence the aircraft is
also known as Barling XNLB-1 and Witteman-Lewis XNLB-1)
The airframe was so large that when it was transported to Wright
Field in Ohio over the winter of 22-23 it was the largest single
object ever moved by rail in the America's up to that point in time.
Even for reassembling the massive "beast", it took a full
6 months to accomplish.
The one airframe built, designated by the US military as 64215, flew
only a couple of times, being so grossly underpowered and heavily
encumbered by drag as to be practically useless... it never met the
design objectives set for it, only struggling to attain 7000 ft
(2,134 m) in 20 minutes of flight with no bomb load. When loaded up
with a full bomb loaded it had a range of only 170 mls (274 km) or
335 mls (539 km) with no bombs). To give you some idea as to how
underpowered this plane was, it had an all up gross weight of some
32,203 lb (14,607 kg) and a mere engine capacity of 2,400 hp at take
off.
After flight trials ended in 1925, years of neglect and dismantling,
it was eventually broken up and scrapped in 1928. A sad ending for
an early attempt at constructing a large strategic bomber concept
that was just way ahead of its time both in engines, design
techniques and manufacturing construction abilities..."
