1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Douglas Y1B-7 on the ground: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
what is it?
The Douglas Y1B-7 was a 1930s American bomber aircraft. It was the first US monoplane given the B- 'bomber' designation. The monoplane was more practical and less expensive than the biplane, and the United States Army Air Corps chose to experiment with monoplanes for this reason.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 19.8 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 95 years ago, in 1931.
- Top speed is 2.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 19.8 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1931
- retired
- 1939
- status
- retired
- number built
- 14
- role
- bomber/observation aircraft
- makers
- Douglas
- engines
- 2× Curtiss V-1570-53 Conqueror
- length
- 14 m
- wingspan
- 19.8 m
- height
- 3.5 m
- max take-off weight
- 5,070 kg
- top speed
- 293 km/h
- cruise speed
- 254 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 6,218 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q637929, Wikipedia: Douglas Y1B-7 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.