Consolidated Vultee Downey

The Comprehensive Story of Vultee Downey

World War II (1939-1945) showed American war planners the need to invest in the "penetrating fighter" type - their value was proven by the excellent North American P-51 Mustang fighter, which served as An escort service bomber type for larger, slower aircraft. Before the war was over, the turbojet's future as military flight made headlines, and it seemed natural that future penetration fighter programs would focus on this propulsion scheme. There have been many attempts to meet the category, but none have created a future beyond the "X-" and "Y-" designations of prototype and model aircraft.

Ultimately, the penetration fighter doctrine for escorting bomber formations was eliminated from the United States Air Force (USAF) strategy as the focus shifted to specialized interceptors, high-altitude strategic bombers, and advanced technologies for launching missiles from the ground or under water.

In late August 1945, with the surrender of Japan and the official end of World War II, the USAAF (United States Army Air Force) looked to the postwar future as it made new demands for penetration fighters. The specification calls for large (for fighter jets) twin-engine jet-powered platforms to be used in conjunction with a new generation of long-range high-altitude bombers. The choice of two engines demonstrated an inherent limitation of the current turbojet technology at the time - fuel consumption, as engines limited the operating range of any single-engine aircraft. In addition to this requirement, the new aircraft will use the latest aerodynamic data, either developed in the United States or information gathered by the Germans in Europe at the end of the war. Therefore, the main wing aircraft should be swept over and all tail surfaces will follow.

The altitude in question requires cabin pressurization.

The design team estimated their aircraft would have a top speed of 657 mph, a combat radius of 1,000 miles, and a service ceiling of 47,000 feet. Both versions shown have roughly the same performance values.

In any case, the Downey Penetrating Fighter did not pass this planning stage because it was not accepted by the US Air Force authorities. Upon review, it was believed that the design also grew with its three engines, which also increased the need for maintenance and complex repairs.

Estimated performance figures are undeniable, with critics applauding the pilot's excellent visibility, but with some additional maneuverability issues for such a large aircraft - a key quality for the fighter type.

Opted to move to a few different designs from competing sources - McDonnell XP-88/XF-88 "Voodoo", Lockheed XP-90/XF-90 and North American YF-93 - but none of these were built Forms of competition to fly beyond the idea of ??"as penetrators" quickly became a thing of the past, along with the idea of ??dedicated penetrators. Bombing enemy targets on their own territory took a back seat to intercepting incoming Soviet nuclear bomber formations .

Aircraft like the supersonic Convair F-102 "Triangle Dagger" were mandated as dedicated interceptors, while the XP-88 underwent its own ultimate evolution as the McDonnell F-101 "Voodoo" fighter - these products It is described in detail elsewhere. Place.

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