Curtiss XA-40

History

Beginning in the late 1930s, the USAAC (which became USAAF during WWII) had been searching for a new tactical fighter that would be able to fly at range. This resulted in the creation of a set of specifications around changing requirements, prompting the various aircraft manufacturers of the time to pursue their industries and come up with a plethora of proposals - many of which had never been seen before and during the world.

WWII.

For Curtiss, this led to a short-lived design called the XA-40, which focused on a single-seat, single-engine light bomber with a more traditional overall configuration. The XA-40 exists as an offshoot of the "XBTC" program (detailed elsewhere on this page), in which two prototypes were built and eventually sold to the U.S. Navy.

The XA-40 is designed to be an Army product built for land-based service.

The aircraft will have the engines mounted in the nose in the usual manner and a crew member under the framed canopy at the tail. The smoothly contoured fuselage tapers to the empennage, covered by a single vertical fin and a low horizontal plane - all fin surfaces are rounded at their tips.

The main aircraft will be located under the cockpit floor close to the midship, and the typical trailing undercarriage is designed to provide the functions required for ground operations.

Structural dimensions include a wingspan of 48 feet and a total barrel length of 36.3 feet.

Power comes from an air-cooled Wright R-3350-8 "Twin Cyclone" radial piston engine producing between 2,200 and 3,200 hp while driving a four-bladed propeller assembly behind a large spinner assembly. Estimated performance figures include a top speed of 358 mph (under 20,000 feet).

The proposed standard stationary armament is a 6 x .50 caliber Browning M2 heavy machine gun or a 4 x 20mm automatic cannon. In addition, the aircraft is rated for a wartime load of 2,000 pounds and can carry aerial torpedoes and conventionally dropped bombs.

The XA-40 never made it past the model stage and ended up in aviation history - it disappeared in October 1943 as wartime demands changed and interest shifted to other, more powerful products.

Specification

Basics

Year of Service

1943

Origins

United States

Status

Cancel

Development ended.

Crew

1

Production

0

Manufacturer

Curtis Aircraft Company - USA

Carrier

US (obsolete)

Roles

Ground attack (bombing, strafing)

The ability to conduct air strikes against ground targets using (but not limited to) artillery, bombs, rockets, rockets, etc.

Disable support (CAS)

Designed to operate near active ground elements with a wide range of air-to-surface weapon and ammunition options.

X-Plane (development, prototyping, tech demos)

Aircraft designed for prototyping, technology demonstration, or research/data collection.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

36.3 feet

(11.05m)

Width/span

48. 1 ft

(14.65m)

Height

13. 0 feet

(3.95m)

Cured weight

12,125 lbs

(5,500 kg)

MTOW

17,119 lbs

(7,765 kg)

Wgt Difference

+?4,993

(+2,265 kg)

Performance

Installed:

1 x Wright R-3350-8 "Duplex Cyclone" air-cooled radial piston engine developing between 2,200 and 3,200 hp while driving a four-bladed propeller unit on the nose.

Maximum speed

357 km/h

(575 km/h | 310 knots)

Maximum

26,247 feet

(8,000 m | 5 km)

Area

1,864 km

(3,000 km | 5,556 nautical miles)

rate of climb

2,200 ft/min

(671 m/min)

Range (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: > 19030

Weapons

Recommended, Fixed, Default: 6 x .50 caliber Browning M2 Heavy Machine Guns (HMG) or 4 x 20mm Autocannons (believed to be mounted in the wings). Proposed options: Up to 2,000 pounds of ordnance in the form of aerial torpedoes or conventionally dropped bombs.