In the late 1930s Douglas developed the B-18 to replace the Martin B-10 as the US Army Air Corps' standard bomber, but by 1942 superior designs such as Boeing's B-17 had supplanted it, many being relegated to transport or anti-submarine work. This example was redesignated as an RB-18A in 1942 and after being used for utility duties, was operated post-war as a crop duster registered N56847. It was ferried to the USAFM in 1971

Delivered to the USAAF as 37-29. To civil registry as NC52056 in 1945 then N52056 after 1948. Converted to a sprayer around 1956 then to a firebomber in 1960. Operated by Hawkins and Powers Aviation from 1969. Last flight from Greybull, WY to Castle AFB in 1981.

Dnd photo.

Correct serial is 39-25. Delivered the USAAF in 1939. Sold as NC62477 in 1945 and fitted with a freight door in 1946. Converted to a sprayer in 1951. Impounded for gun running at Miami in 1960 and transferred to the USAF museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. Flown to Cannon AFB in a C-5A Galaxy in 1980 and placed on display there. Flown to Lowry AFB, CO in a C-5A in 1988 and preserved at the Wings Over The Rockies Air and Space Museum there.

The B-18 Bolo on display at Wings (one of the five remaining B-18s in the world) has a colorful history. After training bombardiers during World War II, civilian owners used it as a cargo aircraft, aerial sprayer, and survey aircraft. In 1959 it was caught running guns to Fidel Castro for the Cuban revolution and confiscated by the US Border Patrol. The National Museum of the US Air Force loaned the B-18 to Wings Over the Rockies in 1990, and the Restorations team has restored it to its prewar bomber configuration. (from the museum's website)

Delivered to the USAAF as B-18A 38-593 in 1939. Converted to a B-18B in 1942. Sold as N66267 in 1946. To Roberts Aircraft in 1951. Used as a crop sprayer and a fire bomber. Stored at Litchfield Park, AZ in 1969. Transported by road to the museum in 1976. Restored and repainted in USAAF colours as 8593 by 1997.

The Bolo was the USAAC's standard bomber in pre-war years and was based on the DC-2. Obsolete by the time the US entered the war in December 1941, several were modified as B-18B sub hunters. The last time I'd photographed this aircraft was in 1979, well before it was restored to USAAF colours. At that time it was under civil registration N66267 with scrubbed "Roberts Aircraft - Dusting Spraying - Boise Idaho" titles still visible on the natural metal fuselage. Now displayed in the 1942 marks of 25th Antisubmarine Wing, 4th Antisubmarine Sqdn, Langley AAF, VA

Ex Army Air Corps 38-593, and later preserved at Pima as such.

B-18Bs were equipped for anti-submarine patrols. They operated across the whole Caribbean from the US to South America. Photo from: National Archives at College Park, Maryland

1939: TOS USAAC. 1945: Purchased by an unknown aircraft dealer, registered NC62477. Over the years through several owners it was used to haul cargo, for oil exploration, and agricultural spraying. October/58: Roger Stedman, Miami, FL; sold it to Cuban revolutionaries who were caught using it for gun-running from Florida. November/58: Impounded in Miami. December/60: Stored at Cannon AFB, NM. January/61: F. Daniel Bennett, who sold it to the Air Force Museum. 1980: Flown by C-5A to Cannon AFB for display. August/88: C-5A ride to Lowry AFB, CO for the Wings Over the Rockies Museum. Restored as 39-522.

1938: TOS USAAC, assigned to Wright Field, Dayton, OH and used for evaluation testing. 10/1942: Declared restricted and relegated to utility work. 1946: G.H. Baldwin with c/r NC56847. 1954: Two owners operated it for crop dusting. 1965: WFU, stored at Tucson, AZ.. 3/71: Ferried from Albuquerque to the Air Force Museum. 1980 to 1982: Restored and marked as a plane with the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron in 1939. Rare retractable turret was recovered by Darryl Greenamyer from a belly-landed B-18 high atop a Hawaiian mountain.

1938: TOS USAAC, assigned to Wright Field, Dayton, OH and used for evaluation testing. 10/1942: Declared restricted and relegated to utility work. 1946: G.H. Baldwin with c/r NC56847. 1954: Two owners operated it for crop dusting. 1965: WFU, stored at Tucson, AZ.. 3/71: Ferried from Albuquerque to the Air Force Museum. 1980 to 1982: Restored and marked as a plane with the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron in 1939. Rare retractable turret was recovered by Darryl Greenamyer from a belly-landed B-18 high atop a Hawaiian mountain.

1938: TOS USAAC, assigned to Wright Field, Dayton, OH and used for evaluation testing. 10/1942: Declared restricted and relegated to utility work. 1946: G.H. Baldwin with c/r NC56847. 1954: Two owners operated it for crop dusting. 1965: WFU, stored at Tucson, AZ.. 3/71: Ferried from Albuquerque to the Air Force Museum. 1980 to 1982: Restored and marked as a plane with the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron in 1939. Rare retractable turret was recovered by Darryl Greenamyer from a belly-landed B-18 high atop a Hawaiian mountain.

1938: TOS USAAC, assigned to Wright Field, Dayton, OH and used for evaluation testing. 10/1942: Declared restricted and relegated to utility work. 1946: G.H. Baldwin with c/r NC56847. 1954: Two owners operated it for crop dusting. 1965: WFU, stored at Tucson, AZ.. 3/71: Ferried from Albuquerque to the Air Force Museum. 1980 to 1982: Restored and marked as a plane with the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron in 1939. Rare retractable turret was recovered by Darryl Greenamyer from a belly-landed B-18 high atop a Hawaiian mountain.

1938: TOS USAAC, assigned to Wright Field, Dayton, OH and used for evaluation testing. 10/1942: Declared restricted and relegated to utility work. 1946: G.H. Baldwin with c/r NC56847. 1954: Two owners operated it for crop dusting. 1965: WFU, stored at Tucson, AZ.. 3/71: Ferried from Albuquerque to the Air Force Museum. 1980 to 1982: Restored and marked as a plane with the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron in 1939. Rare retractable turret was recovered by Darryl Greenamyer from a belly-landed B-18 high atop a Hawaiian mountain.