The Keystone B-3A was a

bomber aircraft A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

developed for the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

by Keystone Aircraft in the late 1920s.

Design and development

The B-3 was originally ordered as the LB-10A (a single-tail modification of the Keystone LB-6), but the Army dropped the ''LB-'' 'light bomber' designation in 1930. Although the performance of the B-3A was hardly better than that of the bombers flown at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, it had come a long way. In terms of its safety, it was far superior to its oldest predecessors.

Operational history

The B-3A was a member of the last family of biplanes operated by the US Army; it remained in service until 1940. A few years after it was first produced, the introduction of all-metal monoplanes rendered it almost completely obsolete.

Variants

;LB-10 :The last of the 17 LB-6s ordered (S/N 29-27) was converted with a re-designed single fin and rudder and two 525 hp Wright R-1750E engines. Delivered to Wright Field on 7 July 1929, it was wrecked on 12 November 1929. ;LB-10A :This version used Pratt and Whitney R-1690-3 Hornet engines and was slightly smaller, in both wingspan and fuselage. A total of 63 were ordered (S/N 30-281/343). All were re-designated as the B-3A before any deliveries were made, with the final 27 built as B-5A with Wright engines. ;B-3A :Ordered as LB-10A, 36 delivered as B-3A (S/N 30-281/316). The first aircraft was delivered in October 1930. ;B-5A :Ordered as B-3A, re-engined with

Wright R-1750 Wright Cyclone was the name given to a family of air-cooled radial piston engines designed by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation and used in numerous American aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. Background The Wright Aeronautical Corporation was f ...

-3 Cyclone engines, 27 built (S/N 30-317/343).

Operators

; *

** 2d Bombardment Group,

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

*** 20th Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A and B-5A 1931–1932 *** 49th Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A and B-5A 1931–1932 ***

96th Bomb Squadron The 96th Bomb Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 2d Operations Group located at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The 96th is equipped with the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress. Formed in August 1917, the 96 BS saw combat on the Wor ...

– operated B-3A and B-5A 1931–1932 **

4th Composite Group The 4th Composite Group is an inactive United States Army Air Corps unit. It was last was assigned to the United States Army Philippine Department at Nichols Field, Commonwealth of the Philippines. It was disbanded on 1 November 1941.4th Composi ...

, Nichols Field,

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

***

28th Bomb Squadron The 28th Bomb Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 7th Operations Group, Global Strike Command, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. The squadron is equipped with the Rockwell B-1B Lancer. The 28th i ...

– operated B-3A 1932–1937 *** 2nd Observation Squadron- operated B-3A 1938–1940"Fact Sheet – Keystone B-3A."
National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 14 July 2017. **

5th Composite Group ''005'' (pronounced "''double-o five''") is a 1981 arcade video game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings" ...

, Luke Field,

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Ap ...

*** 23d Bomb Squadron – operated B-5A 1932–1937 *** 72d Bomb Squadron – operated B-5A 1932–1936 ** 6th Composite Group, France Field,

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

*** 25th Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A 1932–1936 ** 7th Bombardment Group, March Field,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

***

9th Bomb Squadron The 9th Bomb Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 7th Operations Group, Global Strike Command, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. The squadron is equipped with the Rockwell B-1B Lancer bomber. F ...

– operated B-3A 1931–1934 *** 11th Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A 1931–1934 ***

31st Bomb Squadron The 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 753d Test and Evaluation Group, stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, California as a geographically separated unit of the 53rd Wing. The 31 TES is an Air ...

– operated B-3A 1931–1934 **

19th Bombardment Group 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full ...

Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...

***

30th Bomb Squadron : ''See United States Air Force Thunderbirds for the squadron's successor unit'' The 30th Bombardment Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. On 19 September 1985 it was consolidated with the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, also known as ...

– operated B-3A 1932–1936 *** 32d Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A 1932–1935 **

Air Corps Advanced Flying School The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet ...

Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. I ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

*** 42d Bomb Squadron – operated B-3A and B-5A 1935–1936 ; * Philippine Army Air Corps **10th Bombardment Squadron

Specifications (B-3A)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Andrade, John. ''U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909.'' Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979, pp. 43, 135. . * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985)''. London: Orbis Publishing, 1985, p. 2255. * Maurer, Maurer. ''Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II.'' Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Air Force Historical Studies Office, 1982. .

External links

Encyclopedia of American AircraftPhotograph of B-3 landingUSAF Museum article on LB-10USAF Museum article on B-3
{{Authority control B-3 Light bombers Keystone B-03 Biplanes Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft