B-32

Dominator

Relics

One of only five known survivors, this gorgeous,
unused A-17 Turret didn't come from Kingman, but the broken and partially-corroded artifact below did:

This aluminum & steel assembly is a rear machine

gun support from the Sperry A-17 of a Kingman

Dominator and aside from its rough & weathered condition, it identically matches the NOS assembly

inside the turret above. As you can see to the lower

left, the rusted recoil mounts are side by side and for

a long time it wasn't known whether this piece came

from the Emerson A-31 of a Kingman B-24N
or the Sperry A-17 of a B-32
the only USAAF turrets with this unusual characteristic.
Not until Depot 41's acquisition of the complete turret
was the latter confirmed.

The Turret is in remarkable condition but its 24" oval, Bulletproof Glass Assembly and Gun Camera were removed somewhere along the line and are missing. The B-7 Extension Lamp was also appropriated, but we're in luck with that item: since there were 2 different styles of B-7 Lamps used during WWII (aluminum and the late-War black plastic) it took an examination of the Kingman B-32 turret junkyard artifact to reveal the plastic version to be the correct type for this turret.

The red arrow points to one of two screws - used to secure the Extension Lamp to the bracket - still attached to a fragment of the original B-7:

...and below that is the NOS B-7 Extension Lamp which will replace the original in the B-32 Turret.

The Kingman Dominators

What may well be its first time in print anywhere, the following is a list of the 38 Dominators sent to

Kingman for storage at the end of the War. They represent nearly 1/3 of the B-32s built and flown

away from both factories:

B-32-1-CF #42-108471
- perhaps the most-photographed of all Dominators,

this is 471 in flight:

B-32-1-CF #42-108478 *

B-32-1-CF #42-108480 *

B-32-5-CF #42-108481 *

TB-32-5-CF #42-108485 *

TB-32-5-CF #42-108486

TB-32-5-CF #42-108493 *

TB-32-5-CF #42-108494, 2519th AAFBU field code "OM29"
- image of 494 from the Training Manual:

TB-32-10-CF #42-108500 *

TB-32-10-CF #42-108513 *

B-32-21-CF #42-108527 *^

B-32-20-CF #42-108529 + "The Lady is Fresh"

- rare color shot of 529 in the combat zone:

B-32-20-CF #42-108530 + "DIRECT FROM TOKYO"

B-32-20-CF #42-108531 *+

B-32-20-CF #42-108533 *

B-32-20-CF #42-108534 *

B-32-20-CF #42-108536 *

B-32-20-CF #42-108537 *

B-32-20-CF #42-108538 *

B-32-20-CF #42-108541{}*

B-32-20-CF #42-108542 *

B-32-20-CF #42-108543 + "HARRIET'S CHARIOT"

July 2010 - HARRIET'S CHARIOT pilot Lyman Combs, his gracious wife Harriet (after whom the bomber was named) ...and yours truly with a Kingman B-32 aluminum Access Plate that was just autographed by Lyman. One of my newest friend's, I'm sorry to report that Lyman passed away in December of that same year. More on him later...

B-32-25-CF #42-108546 *

B-32-25-CF #42-108547

B-32-30-CF #42-108571

B-32-30-CF #42-108572 *

B-32-30-CF #42-108573

B-32-30-CF #42-108574 *

B-32-30-CF #42-108575 *~

B-32-30-CF #42-108576 *

B-32-30-CF #42-108577 *

B-32-35-CF #42-108578 +

B-32-35-CF #42-108579 *~

B-32-35-CF #42-108580 *~

B-32-35-CF #42-108581 *~

B-32-35-CF #42-108582 *~

B-32-35-CF #42-108583 ~

B-32-35-CF #42-108584 *~#

KEY TO SYMBOLS

* = Load Adjuster in the Depot 41 Museum Collection

{} = Pilot's Instrument Panel in the Depot 41 Museum Collection

+ = Part of group sent overseas for combat deployment; these five ships were the only Dominators that made it

back to the U.S.

^ = One-only bomber modified to experimental paratroop carrier

~ = Immediately declared excess upon delivery to USAAF, and therefore spanking-new upon arrival at Kingman

# = Last B-32 to be accepted by USAAF; 2 additional unaccepted San Diego-built ships and 10 unaccepted

Ft. Worth-built ships were completed only enough to be flyable and they were subsequently sent to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas (along with dozens of other USAAF-accepted Dominators)

To place their monetary value in perspective, these

38 bombers at Kingman alone represented approximately 30 million dollars of taxpayers' investment in the Forties, roughly 300 million in today's currency.

In the early 90s and while he was still the Director of the Air Force Museum in Dayton, I made Col. Richard Uppstrom a gift of this 9" Bracket from a Kingman B-32:

Heavy chisel marks indicated a hasty removal and its unique part number revealed it was once part of the giant bomber's fuel system.

RECENT UPDATE !

On February 6, 2011, totally unplanned, but precisely

64 years to the day from when he took his now-famous and historic series of Kingman photographs in 1947,

Bill Larkins autographed a

Kingman B-32 aluminum Access Plate:

(L to R) My long-time benefactor & dear friends Bill Larkins &

his charming wife Tillie with yours truly holding a photo of

the exact Dominator from whence this Plate came...

Stay tuned...

The fascinating Kingman Dominators have been the subject of intensive research and exhaustive field work

over the past 25 years, resulting in what is probably

the largest concentration of B-32 artifacts

anywhere in the world.

As a matter of fact, it's believed the
Depot 41 Museum Collection houses something from

each & every Kingman Dominator! - JCS

REWARD!!!

I pay $$ for vintage

B-32 Dominator photographs...

CONTACT:

B32Dominator@Depot41.com