Introduction to the Consolidated B-32 Dominator heavy bomber from the training manual: Airplane Commander Training Manual for the B-32 Dominator, AAF Manual 51-126-7, Headquarters Army Air Forces, 1945.
The B-32’s Past
The history of your B-32 Dominator starts in 1940, when the Army accepted Boeing, Martin and Consolidated Vultee designs for VHB aircraft. Martin designs were not completed, but the end results of those Boeing and Convair plans are the present B-29 and B-32 airplanes. Between the first 32 design and the airplane you’re flying today, however, is a long succession of changes.
The originally planned XB-32 was an airplane with several similarities to the present Superfortress. It had pressurization and remotely controlled turrets. It also had a double tail, wing guns and cannon, and other features which it doesn’t have today. The Army decided not to put all its eggs in one basket, but to have at first only one airplane with the new features of the 29, and to duplicate its purpose in another model of more conventional design.
So Consolidated re-designed the B-32, and in the process practically started over again and built a new airplane, the changes putting the B-32 program behind the B-29. The XB version first flew Labor Day, 1942, in San Diego. The B type first flew late in 1944. The B-32 you are flying today is still a brand new airplane, and it is still undergoing changes to make it a better airplane.
The B-32’s Future
You won’t find here any predictions about the future of the Dominator. That story can’t be truthfully set down anywhere, yet. But when it is, it will be written by you. You and all the others who fly the B-32, service it, and maintain it, will sky-write its record in the combat theater when the chips are down. No matter how good the airplane is to begin with or how well it performs in transition, the way you handle it can build up or tear down its reputation. Now is the time to add every bit you can to your knowledge of the B-32, to get the most out of its potentialities. For this airplane has potentialities. It is stable and maneuverable. It’s a surprisingly easy airplane to fly, and it has plenty of power, speed, range, and load capacity.
In the final analysis, however, it will be up to you to find out and to demonstrate how good an airplane this Dominator is.
