Budd RB-1 Conestoga
Here is quite an unusual model — a Budd RB-1 Conestoga cargo aircraft. It was constructed primarily of stainless steel due to the expected shortage of aluminum during World War II. Working with the War Department and the Navy, Budd used construction techniques they had developed for manufacturing stainless steel railroad cars in order to construct the RB-1. The fuselage and part of the wings were made with thin-gauge stainless steel but trailing surfaces and the control services were fabric covered. However, the expected aluminum shortage never developed, then cost increases and production delays resulted in all but 25 aircraft for the Navy being canceled. In the end only 17 were built and all but one went straight from the factory to storage and sale as surplus. You might notice in the photo that the engines are missing as well as parts of the wing. I don't this bird will be flying anytime soon.
Size: 6242px × 4161px
Location: Tucson, AZ
Photo credit: © B. David Cathell / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: air, aircraft, airplane, arizona, az, bdavid, budd, cargo, conestoga, museum, navy, pima, rb-1, space, stainless, steel, tucson, usn
