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Naval Aircraft Factory Model B

1941 WORLD WAR 2 X-PLANE

History of the Naval Aircraft Factory Model B

The Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) was established by the United States Navy (USN) in 1918 to ensure American participation in World War I (1914-1918). Services Use fighter jets. The facility existed throughout World War II (1939-1945) before disbanding in 1945.

Before the United States could formally engage in a second global conflict, the service required fighter jets of the most modern designs, and two types were finalized, the Brewster Buffalo and the Grumman Wildcat.

However, NAF also advocates two forms of its own through "Type A" and "Type B" (the focus of this article). The Type A was based on a traditional single-seat, single-engine layout and was designed to carry machine gun weapons on its wings.

The wings are especially important because they use an inverted "gull-wing" shape, unlike the upcoming Vought F4U "Corsair" naval fighter.

The Model B was a completely different approach to USN requirements, relying instead on a twin-engine layout, one at the nose and the other at the end of the central fuselage. As a two-armed fighter, the aircraft can house all relevant systems in the fuselage, while also carrying two engines, rather than hoisting them under each wing as is typical.

The cockpit is located behind the front engine unit, and a flat bubble roof is planned. The ridge is slightly raised, which reduces rear visibility (i.e. due to the placement of the second engine and the required fuel supply).

The general shape of the wing main aircraft is straight with a slight taper on the trailing edge. Extending through each limb is a cantilevered structure, connected at the rear by a common horizontal plane. The outriggers are covered by rounded rudder fins.

Like the Type A, the Type B is designed to include a fully retractable, forward-looking tricycle arrangement to make the ground safer for pilots on the carrier deck. The bow legs are located under and forward of the cockpit floor, and the main legs are located under each tail boom assembly.

In terms of armament, the B model should also have six air-cooled/belt machine guns buried near the wing roots.

By design, the fighter should have a barrel length of 40.5 feet and a wingspan of 46 feet. Power comes from 2 Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled inline piston engines, each producing 1,150 horsepower, driving a three-bladed propeller unit in a "push-pull" configuration.

Estimated performance specs include a top speed of 462 mph (at altitudes over 22,000 feet), a service ceiling of up to 41,000 feet and a range of up to 1,315 miles.

In any case, the Type B was not selected for further work, but joined its proposed Type A counterpart as a mere footnote in the history of U.S. naval aviation.