BILLION FARM BILL PASSED BY SENATE; ECONOMY IN PERIL (3/23/40)

Microfiche-New York Times archives, Cabrillo College Library | 3/23/40 | Charles W. Hurd, Frank L. Kluckhohn, James MacDonald, Herbert L. Matthews, G.H. Archambault

[PAR35]

Good stuff on the 19 here:

http://www.air-and-space.com/Douglas%20XB-19.htm

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/

Day 205 March 23, 1940

The British Malaya Force is formed to watch German merchant ships in Dutch East Indies, including destroyers HMS Stronghold and HMS Tenedos, cruisers HMS HMS Dauntless, HMS Danae and HMS Durban, sloop HMS Falmouth and submarines HMS Perseus and HMS Rainbow.

At 11.30 PM, a British submarine (either HMS Truant or HMS Trident) intercepts German merchant Edmund Hugo Stinnes IV, en route to Copenhagen, and fires five warning shots 6 miles off the West coast of Denmark. As expected, the steamer heads for shore and is scuttled. The submarine applies a coup de grâce with two torpedoes to prevent salvage.
http://home.cogeco.ca/~gchalcraft/sm/truant.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Trident_(N52)

[BroJoeK]

"Good stuff on the 19 here:"

Thanks for the tip.
For the first and probably last time, here is my effort to post a table on FR.
I think the comparisons are pretty interesting, and clearly show the B-19 was a "big deal" at the time.
The sort sequence is by date, oldest at bottom.

Pre-World War II Giant Airplanes

First Flight	Wing Span	Length	Wing Area	Gross Weight	Engines
Douglas XB-19 1941	212ft,00in	132ft,00in	4,492	164,000	4 x 2,000 hp R3350
Tupolev Ant-20bis 1940	206ft,08in	111ft,11in	5,231	99,200	6 x 1,200 hp M-34FRNV
Martin PBM Mariner 1939	118ft,00in	79ft,00in	1,408	41,000	4 x 1,700 hp R2800
Boeing 314 1938	152ft,00in	106ft,00in	2,607	82,000	4 x 1,200 hp R2,600
Boeing 307 Stratoliner 1938	107ft,03in	74ft,04in	1,486	42,000	4 x 900 hp R1820
Convair PB2Y Coronado 1937	115ft,00in	79ft,00in	1,780	63,000	4 x 1,000 hp R1830
Boeing XB-15 1937	149ft,00in	87ft,07in	2,780	70,700	4 x 1,000 hp R1830
Boeing Model 299 1935	103ft,09in	68ft,09in	1,420	38,000	4 x 750 hp R1690
Tupolev Maxxim Gorky 1934	206ft,08in	107ft,11in	5,231	92,600	8 x 900 hp M-34FRN

Tupolev ANT-20bis:

Martin PBM Mariner:

Boeing 314 Clipper:

Boing 307 Stratto Liner:

Convair PBY2 Coronado:

My point here is that there were a lot of large planes being built and in operation by 1940, especially from Boeing.