What mountain range could the Barling bomber not cross?

Short answer

Not a single peak but a range: on a flight from Dayton, Ohio, toward an air show scheduled in Washington, D.C., the Barling bomber failed to gain enough altitude to clear the Appalachian Mountains and had to turn back. It was a six-engined triplane.

Published: November 4, 2026 · Updated: November 4, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What mountain range could the Barling bomber not cross?

Appalachian Front & Valley and Ridge (Little Mountain & Great Knobs & River Knobs, Washington County, Virginia, USA)James St. John (CC BY), vía commons

The failed flight to Washington

On a flight meant to take it from Dayton, Ohio, to an air show scheduled in Washington, D.C., the Barling bomber failed to gain the altitude needed to clear the Appalachian Mountains and had to turn back.

A six-Liberty-engine triplane

Like the Tabor, the Barling bomber was a large six-engined triplane with a circular-section fuselage. It was powered by six Liberty L-12 A engines of 420 hp (313 kW) each. It was the largest aircraft built in the United States until the Boeing XB-15 of 1935. On October 3, 1924, the aircraft logged a duration of 1 hour 47 minutes.