Curtiss XF15C

History of the Curtis XF15C

World War II (1939-1945) saw the pinnacle of propeller aircraft design and the rise of jet aircraft. The former was replaced by aircraft such as the American Grumman F8F "Panda".

Late in the war for the Navy (USN), and the latter emerged through several advanced types that eventually became combat forms - the British "Gloucester Meteor", the German Messerschmitt Me 262 "Schwalbe" and the American Lockheed P-80 "Meteor".

The road to purpose-built turbojets was a long and arduous journey in itself, claiming the lives of many and advancing the causes of the few. There is a bridge design between the piston-powered forms that dominate air combat of war and true turbojet-powered designshybrid or compound fighter jets.

The first flight of the XF15C prototype took place on 28 February 1945, although this did not use the required turbojet and the expected Pratt & Whitney 34W engine - instead it used a Pratt & Whitney 22W radial engine. The plane was not flown on a turbojet engine until early May, although it disappeared in a crash later that month.

During the brief flight phase, some handling and control issues became apparent and attempts were made to correct them.

Despite program setbacks (the test pilot was killed in the crash), the program continued, with a second prototype making its first test flight on July 9, 1945 - this time containing the two intended engines and eventually It's more about the look and feel of the plane that is sure. Handling issues remained, and additional engineering was put in place, leading to the installation of a new rear wing - this one with a T-shaped arrangement and a section of the rear wing that ran along the bottom of the vertical rear wing.

The war in Europe had ended in May 1945, forcing a scrutiny of many aircraft in development, some inevitably yielding, while others were allowed to mature a little more. The latter demonstrated this with the XFC15-1, as the US commitment to the Pacific War was still in progress. However, as this phase of the war drew to a close in late August and the U.S. Navy began to focus more on dedicated turbojet-powered forms, there were no buyers for the Curtiss.

The project's final breath was briefly seen when the U.S. Army moved into evaluating the larger aircraft, but the initiative was eventually abandoned. The XF15C was officially cancelled in October 1946 with three prototypes.

The XF15C's well-known performance specs include a top speed of 470 mph, a range of up to 1,385 miles, and a climb rate of nearly 5,020 feet per minute.

Specification

Basic

Production

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Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes