Boeing XB-24V Barbican

The Barbican (based on the design of the B-24 pictured above) is currently the team vehicle of the New Champions.

Character Sheet

Design and Construction

Built in 1942 at Ford Motor Company's Greenfield factory near Detroit, for the Defenders of Justice, the XB-24V constituted a radical redesign of the B-24 Bomber. The plane was built to specifications under the design and direction of the Arsenal, a cadre of government-employed super-scientists whose identities are still classified.

Although based on the B-24 series long range heavy bomber, unlike the B-24, the Barbican was constructed with experimental jet engines in place of radial engines. More groundbreaking was its powersource, a fission reactor. The Barbican does not require liquid fuel, but its jets can overheat after ten hours of continous use. Traveling at below 200 mph with occasional rest stops allows the bomber to travel for 40 hours without incident.

The XB-24V is also capable of vertical take off and landing (VTOL). The jet engines can be reoriented and pointed downwards, allowing the Barbican to take off without a runway (though it still needs a flat area of approximately 160 feet).

Used as a transport for superhuman combatants rather than as a fighter or bomber, the XB-24V had only defensive weapons, an array of .50 caliber machinegunes in the tail, belly, top, sides and nose to defend it from attacking enemy fighers. It also included a retractable ball turret.

History

The Barbican served as the team transport for the Defenders of Justice until the team dispanded shortly after WWII. The vehicle was first in involved in combat during the invasion of Japan in 1945. It sustained heavy damage from flak, fighters, and Japanese supers. Still, it carried the DoJ home after the operation.

Upon the disbanding of the DoJ, the badly damaged Barbican passed in to the hands of the U.S. Army. Shortly after purchasing Ravenswood Academy, Miss Victory urged Captain Freedom to use his influence in the government and armed forces to arrange to have the vehicle decommissioned and placed under their shared control as former members of the Freedom Battallion. Captain Freedom was successful and since 1959 the Barbican has been gathering dust in a cave-hangar beneath the academy (it's machineguns, however, were removed).

It has recently been repaired by Cypher of the New Champions; the team has adopted it as their team vehicle.

Barbican Cockpit

Appearance

About the size of a barn, the Barbican has a heavy body and slim outstretched wings. It looks somewhat awkward despite the sleek jet engines mounted on the wings. At the back of the body are two fins and rudders. The side of the craft and wings bear the insignia of the Defenders of Justice. The glass encased the cockpit sits back and above the nose of the plane, which ends in a glass-encased turret.

The nose of the Barbican is painted with the image of a blonde pin-up girl with a banner at her feet that says “Lady Luck.” She holds a small shield in one hand and a shamrock in the other. She is bare except that her breasts are covered with large 8 balls and hips are draped with a kerchief bearing black clubs and red diamonds. The image was painted by a youthful Thomas Quinn (Arrow I (later Bowman II).

Specifications

Crew: 7 (with gunners)

Length: 67 ft 8 in (20.6m)

Wingspan: 110 (33.5 m)

Height: 18 ft. (5.5 m)

Empty Weight: 36,500 lbs. (16,590 kg)

Power Plant:

Performance

Maximum Speed: 800 mph (1,280 km)

Stall Speed: 160 mph 9256 km)

Service Ceiling: 40,000 ft

Armament: Browning Machine Guns