On September 7, 1942, the Consolidated B-32 Dominator strategic bomber made its first flight. Only developed as a fallback in case the Boeing B-29 Superfortress was not successful, the B-32 could not hold its own, and only 118 were built. Over the years, many weapons or weapons systems have proven themselves to be disappointments. Here 10 of those are listed, in no particular order. (Please also see the similarly-themed History and Headlines articles: “10 Weapons and Weapons Systems that Flopped” and “10 Weapons That Never (Or Barely) Went into Service.”) Can you think of any weapons that fall into these categories?
Digging Deeper
10. Consolidated B-32 Dominator.
As mentioned in the introduction, this large 4 engine bomber was supposed to be able to fill in for the B-29, though problems with its pressurization system were never rectified, and the plane was limited to low- and medium-altitude bombing. History and Headlines Fact: The last combat mission of World War II was flown with B-32s. Despite 1,500 of the bombers being ordered, the superiority of the B-29 caused the order to be stopped at only 118 airplanes. Its service life was only 8 months.
