Editing Consolidated B-32 Dominator (section)

==Operational history==
The first assignment of the B-32 began when General [[George Kenney]], the commander of Allied air forces in the [[South West Pacific Area]] and commander of the U.S. [[Fifth Air Force]], traveled to [[Washington D.C.]] to request B-29s. Since priority had been given to [[strategic bombing]] by the B-29, Kenney's request was denied, after which he then requested the B-32.

Following a demonstration, the Army General Staff agreed that Kenney could conduct a combat evaluation, and a test schedule of 11 missions was set up, followed by a plan to re-equip two of the [[312th Aeronautical Systems Group|312th Bomb Group]]'s four [[Douglas A-20 Havoc]] squadrons with the B-32. Project crews took three B-32s to [[Clark Air Base|Clark Field]], Luzon, [[Philippine Islands]], in mid-May 1945 for a series of test flights completed on 17 June.

The three test B-32s were assigned to the 312th BG's [[386th Bombardment Squadron]]. On 29 May 1945, the first of four combat missions by the B-32 was flown against a supply depot at [[Luna, Isabela|Antatet]] in the [[Philippines]], followed by two B-32s dropping 16 {{convert|2000|lb|adj=on|abbr=on}} bombs on a [[sugar mill]] at Taito, [[Taiwan|Formosa]], on 15 June. On 22 June, a B-32 bombed an alcohol plant at Heito, Formosa, with {{convert|500|lb|adj=on|abbr=on}} bombs, but a second B-32 missed flak positions with its {{convert|260|lb|adj=on|abbr=on}} fragmentation bombs. The last mission was flown on 25 June against bridges near [[Keelung|Kiirun]] on Formosa.

The test crews were impressed with its unique reversible-pitch inboard propellers and the Davis wing, which gave it excellent landing performance. However, they found a number of faults: the cockpit was noisy and had a poor instrument layout, the bombardier's vision was limited, the aircraft was overweight, and the nacelle design resulted in frequent engine fires (a deficiency shared with the B-29 Superfortress). However, the testing missions were mostly successful.

In July 1945, the 386th Bomb Squadron completed its transition to the B-32, flying six more combat missions before the war ended. On 13 August, the 386th BS moved from Luzon to Yontan Airfield on [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]] and flew mostly photographic [[reconnaissance]] missions. On 15 August, [[Victory over Japan Day|Japan surrendered]] (documents signed 2 September), and the 386th's missions were intended to monitor Japan's compliance with the ceasefire and to gather information such as possible routes occupation forces could take into Tokyo. On 17 August, the B-32s were intercepted by Japanese fighters. During the two-hour engagement, the Dominators suffered only minor damage and none of their crew was injured. "Though the B-32 gunners later claimed to have damaged one fighter and 'probably destroyed' two others, surviving Japanese records list no losses for that day or next."<ref name="Harding 2008, p. 69">Harding 2008, p. 69.</ref> Based on the Japanese action on 17 August, U.S. commanders felt that it was important to continue the reconnaissance missions over Tokyo so they could determine if it was an isolated incident or an indication that Japan would reject the ceasefire and continue fighting.<ref name="Harding 2008, p. 69"/>

On 18 August 1945, four Dominators were given the task of photographing many of the targets covered on the previous day; however, mechanical problems caused two to be pulled from the flight.<ref name="Harding 2008, p. 69"/> Over Japan, a formation of 14 [[A6M Zero]]s and three [[Kawanishi N1K|N1K2-J Shiden-Kai (George)]] fighters (apparently mis-identified as [[Nakajima Ki-44|Ki-44 Tojo]]s by the American crews<ref name="Sakai">[[Saburō Sakai|Sakai, Saburo]]. ''The Last of Zero Fighters (零戦uの最期)''(in Japanese). Bunkyo, Tokyo: Kodansya, 2003 (Paperback edition). {{ISBN|978-4-06-256806-7}}.</ref><ref name="j-aircraft.com">Takeuchi, Hiroyuki. [http://www.j-aircraft.com/research/stories/b32.html Saburo Sakai's Last Battle abstract description in English."] ''j-aircraft.com,'' 1995. Retrieved: 17 May 2012.</ref>) attacked the remaining two U.S. aircraft. [[Saburō Sakai]], a Japanese ace, said later that there was concern that the Dominators were attacking.<ref name="j-aircraft.com"/> Another Japanese ace, [[Sadamu Komachi]], stated in a 1978 Japanese magazine article that the fighter pilots could not bear to see American bombers flying serenely over a devastated Tokyo.<ref name="Harding 2008, p. 70">Harding 2008, p. 70.</ref>

The B-32 Dominator ''Hobo Queen II'' (s/n 42-108532) was flying at {{convert|20000|ft|abbr=on}} when the Japanese fighters took off<ref name="Harding 2008, p. 70"/> and received no significant damage.<ref name="Harding 2008, p. 71">Harding 2008, p. 71.</ref> ''Hobo Queen II'' [[Confirmation and overclaiming of aerial victories during World War II|claimed two Zeros destroyed in the action as well as a probable Shiden-Kai]] (though the Japanese lost no aircraft).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Last to Die |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-last-to-die-10099776/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> The other Dominator was flying {{convert|10000|ft|abbr=on}} below ''Hobo Queen II'' when the fighters took off.<ref name="Harding 2008, p. 70"/> The fighters heavily damaged that Dominator, initially wounding the dorsal gunner and then seriously wounding two other members. Photographer Staff Sergeant Joseph Lacharite was wounded in the legs (his recovery spanned several years).<ref name="Harding 2008, p. 71"/> Sergeant Anthony Marchione, a photographer's assistant, helped Lacharite and then was fatally wounded himself.<ref name="Harding 2008, p. 71">Harding 2008, p. 71.</ref>  Marchione was the last American to die in air combat in World War II.<ref name="Harding 2008, p. 71"/>  Despite the damage, the Dominator returned to Okinawa. However, the incident precipitated the removal of propellers from all Japanese fighters as per the terms of the ceasefire agreement, beginning 19 August 1945. The last B-32 combat photo reconnaissance mission was completed on 28 August, during which two B-32s were destroyed in separate accidents, with 15 of the 26 crewmen killed. On 30 August, the 386th Bomb Squadron stood down from operations.<ref name="Roblin">{{cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/49342fa1-17bd-3ba8-b4c2-570374491d43/ss_the-b-32-waged-america%E2%80%99s-last.html |title=The B-32 Waged America's Last Air Battle in World War II (After the War Ended) |work=[[The National Interest]] |date=10 February 2018 |last1=Roblin |first1=Sébastien |via=[[Yahoo.com]] |access-date=11 February 2018 |archive-date=11 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211190446/https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/49342fa1-17bd-3ba8-b4c2-570374491d43/ss_the-b-32-waged-america%E2%80%99s-last.html |url-status=dead }} <!-- blog is reuse of https://warisboring.com/the-dominator-was-the-b-29-bombers-bizarre-competitor/ --></ref>

Production contracts of the B-32 were cancelled on 8 September 1945, with production ceased by 12 October. Many B-32s ended up being salvaged at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas with a total of 38 flown to [[Kingman Army Airfield]] for disposal. {{citation needed span|The large club pip of the 386th is visible in a photo of one B-32 awaiting reclamation. Five of the Dominators taken to Kingman were from the 386th Bomb Squadron, 312th Bomb Group's overseas assignment.|date=October 2022}} Along with several other noteworthy aircraft on temporary display at Davis Monthan AFB after World War II, the last surviving Dominator, B-32-1-CF #42-108474, was written off and destroyed in 1949.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}