Like the B-18 the B-23 Dragon was based on a successful Douglas airliner design. This time it was the DC-3 that served as the basis for the new bomber. Designed in 1939 to replace the B-18 the Dragon was significantly faster than the earlier design and was slightly better armed as for the first time in an American bomber it was fitted with a tail gun. Despite these improvements, the B-23 was still not up to the standards of bombers in use by the European powers. Only 38 Dragons were built and none of them ever entered combat. By mid-1942 all the Dragons had been relegated to training, or transport duties. However, after the war the relatively high speed of the B-23 made it popular for conversion to executive transports and small airliners.
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