HUFF-DALAND/KEYSTONE B4A LIGHT BOMBER

The Keystone B-4A was an American interwar light bomber. The machine was built in a biplane with a fixed undercarriage in the classic configuration. The plane was 14.9 meters long with a wingspan of 22.8 meters. The drive was provided by two Pratt and Whitney R-1860-7 engines with 575 HP each. The deck armament included three 7.62 mm Browning machine guns. In addition, the machine could take a load of bombs weighing up to 1,800 kilograms. The Keystone B-4A bomber was ordered by the American Air Force under the original designation LB-13, which was later changed to Y1B-4, and finally - after the machine entered the line - to B-4A. The new bomber was created on the basis of the Keystone B-3A aircraft, and compared to its predecessor, it differed only in the use of other engines and a reinforced wing structure. All 25 Keystone B-4As were delivered to the Air Force in 1932. Machines of this type were the last light bombers operated by the US Air Force. As early as 1934, they began to be assigned to perform surveillance and reconnaissance tasks.