B-32 Dominator, the other Very Heavy Bomber of WW2

Greg is spoiling us

Many components and sub-assemblies for the Dominator (and Liberator, Catalina, etc.) were manufactured by Rohr Industries in Chula Vista, just south of San Diego. While clearing out an abandoned Rohr building a few years back, I found a B-32 pilot/copilot instrument panel which was earmarked for disposal. Being a longtime member of the International B-24 Club, I recognized what a rare item it was. I now have it mounted in my garage and am thinking of donating it to the San Diego Aerospace Museum. Keep up the outstanding work on these videos!

Pretty amazingly- that company made the Liberator, the Dominator and the Peacemaker- all within a few short years. Then they made twin engine turboprop airliners that were extremely successful for decades.

This must be the most attention anyone has paid to the B-32 since the 1940s, well done, Greg.

I love the in-depth review of the various systems. I spent 20 years on the C-130 as a crew chief/maintainer and a flight engineer, and it was fascinating to learn what had changed in the systems and what hadn't. This is the kind of nuts 'n' bolts content that makes an old dinosaur of an FE happy.

The AC is probably to simplify the electronics. Fluorescent lights need AC, and by having AC, all you need is a ballasted transformer. Likewise for anything generating radio waves. Remember vacuum tube electronics back then, so the 26VAC can be fed into a simple transformer, to simply bump it up to the higher voltage for optimum operation of the electronics. Probably 400Hz, too, to keep the transformers small. Note, that the "inverter" was a DC motor coupled to an AC generator ("alternator" wasn't used as a term, back then). Old cars, before alternators (with internal semiconductor rectifiers), had "cut-offs", that disconnected the generator, when the engine speed, was at idle. Actually, we usually don't say either "generator", or "motor". We call them a "machine", because many can act as both.

Greg, your longer format is much appreciated. It's not hard to find a short synopsis on youtube covering virtually any subject (we won't touch on the topic of accuracy here), but it's refreshing to be able to get into a detailed explanation of some of the slightly more esoteric topics. Cheers, mate. 👍

The tail of the B-32 was a scaled-up version of the tail used by the PB4Y-2 Privateer, not coincidentally another Consolidated product.

Very enjoyable. My dad always told me he was radar counter measures on the B32 Dominator. He also said that he was bumped from the recon flight of 8/28/1945 because his position was not necessary for the mission. He then saw his plane crash on take off, all 13 crew members were killed. He never liked to talk about this very much. Your video was very informative. Thanks

Greg is surpassing himself by going even deeper into detail in obscure propeller planes mechanics. Today: how does the electrical system work on the obscure and nearly forgotten B-32

I am not a historian. I was a kid in the 70's that spent most evenings making, painting and thinking about WWII planes. So the Rusky planes, the more obscure Jap planes, they were not as well known to me. There were few decent models. But until today, I thought I knew most every USAAF planes. I've never heard of the B32. It is great to get that thrill of finding something new again. Thanks for that alone.

Fun fact. If you pee on a magnesium fire, it explodes. Knowing is half the battle!

Wow, the B-32. Now that's an airplane sorely under-discussed. After VE day my father was scheduled to be rotated into the Pacific along with the rest of the Eight Air Force. But thankfully VJ day happened and that never happened. That's as he always told it although I do not know how production of the bomber would have ramped up to accommodate it. Thanks for covering this aircraft.

Now here's an interesting what if - how about if the US supplied the RAF with B-32s rather than B-29s after the war. Something a little smaller and less complex (and cheaper?) may have suited them. The picture of B-36 next to the B-29 is mind bending.

"Lightly armed bombers operated mostly at night." Yes, Lancaster, I'm lookin' at you. 🤣

Thank you, Greg. I just wanted to say that I generally prefer reading over videos. Your videos are an exception for me due to the density of information presented. No fluff, no filler, no melodrama. I'm very happy to be a Patreon and to support your work on these videos.

Perhaps famously, Joe Kennedy Jr died while piloting an operation Aphrodite type plane. In his case it was a converted Navy B-24. I love the long format. It starts on a topic and comfortably covers it until it's complete. What could be better than that?

If you need fluorescent lighting, then I can see why you'd want AC, especially back then. To strike the initial arc inside the tube you need high voltage, 600 V or so, which the fluorescent ballast provides (in addition to current limiting). AC voltage is much easier to step up or down than DC; you just need a transformer with a different number of windings on each side. Doing the same with DC back in WWII usually took a mechanical motor generator pair where you'd, for example, run a 28 V DC motor to spin a 600 V DC generator.

My grandfather was trained to be a flight engineer for this aircraft. He was held back as an instructor for B-29s. Till his dying day, he regretted not flying combat missions. Truly a different generation, and breed.

"If you're down to one engine in a B-32, and that one is on fire, you're having a really bad day." 😅 Understatement of the century!