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Consolidated XP4Y Corregidor

1939 WORLD WAR 2

History

Before the United States entered World War II (1939-1945), the United States Navy (USN) attempted to meet the needs of maritime reconnaissance aircraft centered on airship design. United Aircraft responded with their XP4Y "Corregidor" and made its maiden flight on May 5, 1939.

Due to wartime needs, despite a hundredfold production order, the design was cancelled and only one flying prototype was completed.

Consolidated developed the XP4Y, internally codenamed "Type 31", and began work in 1938. The aircraft features a sleek, all-modern/all-metal, aerodynamically refined design with a high-mounted wing main aircraft component integrated into the fuselage for naturally good lift performance and keeping the engines away from the waves.

Each main aircraft carries an engine unit with a nacelle on its leading edge, and retractable water-based balance buoys. The nose section is stepped so that the pilots (sitting side by side) have a good view of the nose, and the lower part of the fuselage is designed with a boat-like fuselage for water landing and take-off.

The tail consists of a common horizontal plane spanned by the vertical tail.

Two of its features -- dual rudders and high-winged wings -- were later used in Consolidated's classic WWII heavy bomber, the B-24 Liberator, detailed elsewhere on this page.

As planned, the aircraft had a barrel length of 74 feet, a wingspan of 110 feet, and an overall height of 25.1 feet. Total weight reaches 48,000 lbs. The suggested power comes from 2 x Wright R-3350-8 "Cyclone 18" series air-cooled radials, each unit producing 2,300 horsepower.

Performance specs include a top speed of nearly 250 mph and a range of nearly 135 mph. Range is 3,300 miles and service is capped at 21,400 feet. The climb rate is 1,230 feet per minute.

The proposed weapons focus on a bow-mounted 37mm autocannon with a turret. One rear and one aft turret location each received 2 x .50 caliber Browning M2 heavy machine guns, and the aircraft would carry typical USN drop bombs and depth charges of the day for the attack.

In addition to military value, the Model 31 was developed for possible civilian market operation. In this form, the plane would be adapted to comfortably carry more than 50 passengers - after all, this was the golden age of long-haul ships for passenger air travel.

The

Type 31's maiden flight in May 1939 demonstrated a powerful and easy-to-operate aircraft in its class. USN authorities liked what they saw and committed to naming it "XP4Y-1" while continuing to develop it into 1940.

A production contract was subsequently signed to produce 200 prototypes of this type at a brand new integrated plant in New Orleans, Louisiana.

However, the entry of the United States into World War II in December 1941and the Wright engines, war materiel, and manpower that had to be deployed elsewheremeant that there was little interest in continuing the XP4Y-1 program. So events led to its cancellation, and Consolidated began building its famous PBY "Catalina" series of airships in the same factory that made the XP4Y (detailed elsewhere on this site) - leaving "Corregidor" as little more than a footnote in US military aviation history.