The Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum is the sole owner of any copyright
on the pictures of Martin XB-48 and Martin XB-51, digitized by Archivist Stan Piet that kindly authorized their publication on this website.
If you decide to re-publish these pictures, please credit «GLMMAM Collection».

Il Museo dell'Aviazione del Maryland «Glenn L. Martin» é il solo proprietario di qualsiasi diritto di riproduzione sulle immagini
del Martin XB-48 a del Martin XB-51, digitalizzate dall'Archivista Stan Piet che ne ha gentilmente autorizzato la pubblicazione su questo sito Web.
Se decidete di ripubblicare tali immagini, per favore riportate il credit «GLMMAM Collection».

(Above) 27 Oct 1949 - Orville Edward "Pat" Tibbs poses in front of the XB-51 before the first flight	(Above) Martin XB-51, Front right view in color
(Above) Caption	(Above) Pilot's right-hand console contains the engine starting panel and the radio and lighting panels. The three large levers on the right are the control surface locks
(Above) Pilot's left-hand console, detail of the throttle levers and engine-related controls	(Above) Right side of the pilot's forward cockpit, with engine gauges and radio controls. On the bottom, the right rudder pedal.
(Above) View of the pilot's instrument panel through the small bubble canopy	(Above) Left-hand pilot's console aft of the throttles, which contains circuit breakers, air conditioning, bombing & gunnery panel, dive brake & flap controls
(Above) Pilot's left-hand console, with the fuel management panel just foward of the throttle quadrants. The lower indicator lights are for the two 375 gallon ferry tanks when installed.	(Above) Pilot's right-hand console - the picture was registered under two different numbers, see caption a few pictures above.
(Above) Detail of the fuel controls immediately in front of the throttle	(Above) Pilot's right-hand console vertical or lower portion contains the radio and interphone controls. All the cockpit photos are from the second XB-51, as indicated by the taped-on note above the radio which states "RADIO CALL 6686"
(Above) The pilot's right-hand circuit breaker panel is located just to the right of the control panel locks	(Above) Left-hand side of the Shoran operator's compartment showing the circuit breakers, lighting controls and flying suit heater control
(Above) Left-hand pilot's console aft of the throttles - the picture was registered under two different numbers, see caption a few pictures above.	(Above) Another look at the pilot's instrumentation - see the other pictures for more details.
(Above) This picture of the prototype in the assembly phase shows clearly both the left wing's leading edge slat and the wingtip with the outrigger wheel	(Above) The competitors: XB-51 and Canberra
(Above) 6685 tail with rear engine maintenance doors unlocked	(Above) Late in the test program, 6685 sported day-glo red high visibility markings on lower wing and front fuselage, that can be easily appreciated in this photo
(Above) Two 2,000 lb bombs mounted externally	(Above) The first ship at rollout - the World War two camouflage is still evident on the Martin factory buildings in the background
(Above) 17 Apr 1950 - The second XB-51 is prepped for its first flight. Compare the flap down and the flap up position between the two aircraft. The bullet fairing was added to the T-tail before its fiorst flight	(Above) The number two XB-51 poses for a PR shot with many of its potential weapons. Shown are: 5" HVAR rockets, 500 lb bombs, 750 lb. bombs, 1,000 lb. bombs and a 4,000 lb. bomb.
(Above) Ship number one as a movie star: the XF-120 Gilbert fighter in "Towards the unknown" with William Holden. Doing the stunt flying was Air Force Major Pete Everest, famous also for his role in the X-2 programme.	(Above) Another shot of the "Gilbert XF-120"
(Above) Ship two with slats and flaps fully lowered	(Above) Ship one during the filming of "Towards the unknown"
(Above) Ship one at the beginning of a takeoff	(Above) the door for drag chute release and maintenance opened on the left just under the rudder
(Above) 4 Sep 1949 - Prototype 6685 roll-out. The left side of the fuselage was not painted with the XB-51 designation.	(Above) 4 Sep 1949 - Prototype 6685 roll-out. Good view of the black wing and fguselage walk areas and T-tail upper surfaces. The upper fuselage intake door for the number 2 engine is rotated closed. Aircraft was nicknamed "flying cigar" because of its elongated fuselage and abbreviated wings.
(Above) 4 Sep 1949 - Head-on view. The original T-tail was later modified with a bullet fairing at the junction of the vertical fin and horizontal tail-planes. A small, flat-black anti-glare panel was painted in front of the pilot's windscreen.	(Above) 4 Sep 1949 - 6685 showing the Martin and XB-51 on the forward fuselage painted in red and bordered in white. Before the first flight, the square block script on the XB-51 was repainted in italics to give the impression of speed. The extremely long tow bar can be observed.
(Above) 4 Sep 1949 - The porthole for the Shoran operator is visible on the fuselage side immediately behind the canopy	(Above) 19 Oct 1949 - The XB-51 being prepared for a tri-service inspection and taxi demonstration
(Above) 19 Oct 1949 - The XB-51 during the taxi demonstration. It is unknown what purpose the cord exiting the Shoran operator window was used for	(Above) 27 Oct 1949 - Ship one with a single JATO bottle at the side of the fuselage. Also during the first flight a single JATO bottle on each side was used on take-off
(Above) 14 Nov 1949 - The XB-51 in flight.	(Above) 28 Feb 1950 - 6685 is prepared for a test flight. Another version of this photo exists, with the 6686 taking off in the background.
(Above) 8 May 1950 - Take off with two JATO bottles.	(Above) 19 May 1950 - Take off with two JATO bottles.
(Above) 19 May 1950 -	(Above) 21 Oct 1951 - 6686 with opened gun ports. This view of the nose illustrates the flat nose glass of the forward firing strike camera.
(Above) 16 Jun 1952 - 6685 returns to plant after a rough landing with gear collapse on 28 Feb 1952 at Wright-Patterson AFB. During the landing approach, the Air Force pilot flared too late. The airplane made a hard landing short of the approach end of the runway, tearing off the front landing gear wheels and damaging the lower-forward section of the airframe. Damage was so extensive that the aircraft had to be disassembled and transported by truck back to Martin for repairs, whose cost reached $408,000.
Selected pictures from the AAFC collection Immagini dalla collezione AAFC

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