Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster

Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster			Photo Gallery
The Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster was an experimental bomber aircraft that became the fastest piston engine of WW II. It was as fast as the de Havilland Mosquito but carried twice the bomb load. Additionally, the Mixmaster was armed with four 0.50 caliber machine guns whereas the Mosquito carried no armament. The unconventional approach was to mount the two engines within the fuselage driving a pair of contra-rotating propellers mounted at the tail in a pusher configuration, leaving the wing and fuselage clean and free of drag-inducing protrusions. Two prototype aircraft were built, but at the end of World War II priorities changed with the advent of the jet engine. The second prototype was used in flight test programs and fitted with underwing Westinghouse 19XB-2A axial-flow turbojets and designated as the XB-42A. Number built 2. First flight 6 May 1944.