[1] The B-32 reached units in the Pacific only in mid-May 1945, and subsequently saw only limited combat operations against Japanese targets before the end of the war on 2 September 1945.

Like the B-24 it was originally designed with a twin tail and a large Davis wing, but with a longer, rounder fuselage and a rounded nose.

The Consolidated Vultee Bomber Plant assembly line was six months behind schedule, the aircraft making its first flight on 7 September 1942.

Due to problems with the pressurization system, the gun turrets and landing gear doors, these items were omitted on the first prototype.

Originally, the Army Air Forces intended the B-32 as a "fallback" design to be used only if the B-29 program fell significantly behind in its development schedule.

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 Bomb Group's four Douglas A-20 Havoc squadrons with the B-32.

Project crews took three B-32s to Clark Field, Luzon, Philippine Islands, in mid-May 1945 for a series of test flights completed on 17 June.

On 29 May 1945, the first of four combat missions by the B-32 was flown against a supply depot at Antatet in the Philippines, followed by two B-32s dropping 16 2,000 lb (910 kg) bombs on a sugar mill at Taito, Formosa, on 15 June.

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).

"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.

[3] 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.

[3] Over Japan, a formation of 14 A6M Zeros and three N1K2-J Shiden-Kai (George) fighters (apparently mis-identified as Ki-44 Tojos by the American crews[4][5]) attacked the remaining two U.S. aircraft.

[6] The B-32 Dominator Hobo Queen II (s/n 42-108532) was flying at 20,000 ft (6,100 m) when the Japanese fighters took off[6] and received no significant damage.

However, the incident precipitated the removal of propellers from all Japanese fighters as per the terms of the ceasefire agreement, beginning 19 August 1945.

[citation needed] 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.

41-18336) survived until 1952 as a ground instructional airframe for fire fighting training at McClellan Air Force Base.

[citation needed] One of the few portions of a B-32 surviving is a wing panel removed from a static test model and erected at the Montgomery Memorial near San Diego, California as a monument to aviation pioneer John J.