Douglas XB-19 United States Army Air Corps

These are 1/72 scale decals for the Douglas XB-19 in its rollout configuration, United States Army Air Corps — capturing the largest bomber ever built in the United States at the moment it first emerged from the Douglas factory at Clover Field, Santa Monica, California.

The rollout of the XB-19 in May 1941 was a spectacular public event — the sheer scale of the aircraft was unlike anything most observers had ever seen, with its 212-foot wingspan and massive fuselage dominating the airfield. The rollout scheme differed in detail from the markings the aircraft would later carry in operational service with the 20th Bombardment Squadron, making this a distinct and historically specific modeling subject that captures a unique moment in American aviation history.

Years in the making and beset by delays and funding struggles throughout its development, the XB-19 represented the USAAC's most ambitious attempt to define the future of very long-range strategic bombing. Its rollout — coming just months before Pearl Harbor would transform American airpower priorities overnight — marked both the culmination of that prewar vision and, in many ways, its swan song.

A companion piece to the 20th Bombardment Squadron XB-19 (38-471), together the two decal sets document the full arc of this remarkable aircraft from its factory debut to operational service. Please allow some time for decal printing and shipping.