Curtiss-Wright XP-71

History of Curtiss-Wright XP-71

Before the United States entered World War II in 1941 (1939-1945), war was viewed from an "outside-in" perspective. Observations focus primarily on the developing (and deteriorating) situation in Europe, where rapid bombing raids are weakening troops and populations. Germany and the Axis powers, through Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, and finally France, really increased the threat of attacks on American soil after the fall of Britain.

This idea then drove the development of a heavy fighter type designed to confront the threat of bomber formations head-on, and one such acceptance by the U.S. Army came from Curtis Wright, who convinced them of his two-seat XP-71 heavy concept.

The main mission of the new aircraft is to intercept bomber formations, disrupting their ranks with artillery fire, while dodging enemy guns and escorting fighter jets??. In its secondary role, the mount will in turn provide escort for Allied bombers if the fight turns against invaders. The design needs to have the necessary speed, agility, firepower and range to meet the challenges it will eventually face. As good practice during the war, the Army commissioned two working prototypes in the XP-71 form based on the company's "CW-29" proposal.

The treaty was announced on October 28, 1941just a few months before Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

A model of the XP-71 was completed and reviewed in November 1942, and an interesting design decision was to make the XP-71 a single-seat heavy fighter. This allows more interior space to be maximized for components such as avionics, fuel and electronics, but also increases the pilot's flight workload. The overall dimensions show a very large fighter, with a wingspan of 82.25 feet, a length of 61.8 feet and a height of 19 feet.

Engineers opted for a traditional layout, with the fuselage making up most of the continuous length of the plane. The wings are mounted on the shoulders amidships, each wing supporting an engine nacelle that extends forward from the leading edge and across the trailing edge. The cockpit is located directly in front of the main wing and thanks to the light-frame bubble canopy provides excellent forward, lateral and rearward visibility. The cockpit is located aft of the nose cone assembly, which is designed to accommodate powerful artillery weapons.

The fuselage then tapers at the tail, covered by a circular single vertical tail and a low level. The landing gear is in a tricycle arrangement to make it easier for the pilot to walk on the ground while providing the necessary clearance for the selected rotating propeller blades.

The first flight was planned in June 1944.

The XP-71 is powered by two large, powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360-13 "Wasp Major" radial piston engines, each producing 3,450 horsepower when paired with General Electric turbochargers. The combined power is 6,900 horsepower and requires a rigid mounting structure and large propeller blades for optimal thrust. Therefore, Hamilton's standard 13.5-foot diameter blades were installed, each motor driving them set in a "slider" arrangement in a counter-rotating configuration.

That is, the propellers are mounted on the trailing edge of the wing, not in front of the leading edge of the wing - which is common on many other aircraft. In this way, the engine "pushes" the plane into the air, rather than "pulls" it.

Without a doubt, this is one of the unique design qualities of Curtiss design. The twin-engine setup gave the airframe a top speed of 430 mph and a range of up to 3,000 miles. Service is capped at 40,000 feet and requires a fully pressurized cockpit for the pilot.

The heart of this "bomber destroyer" is its weaponry - spearheaded by a 75mm gun in the nose. In addition, the nose mounted 2 x 37mm cannons, giving the XP-71 a powerful "double-whammy" capability against all known Axis bomber targets - mainly German bomber targets. The 75mm guns are fed by an automatic feeder that fires 20 rounds, while the 37mm guns can receive 60 rounds each.

This ammunition has a very limited supply and requires the pilot to use short, controlled bursts that work well.

Work on the Curtiss aircraft continued until 1943, and its technological leadership became a bigger problem for engineers than initially anticipated. During tests in February 1943, the placement of the nose gun proved problematic, and the applicable artillery system presented its own problems. Combined with the changing face of the war in 1943, there were not many German bombers, but long-range Allied bomber formations in returnlimiting the XP's potential tactical appeal.

The 71 served in a heavy fighter/bomber escort role, especially when other fighters like the North American P-51 and Republican P-47 Thunderbolt were equally up to the task.

Consequently, the XP-71 program - as promising as heavy fighters - was officially cancelled in October 1943. The Army briefly considered the idea of ??converting the XP-71 into a reconnaissance platform, but the effort was unsuccessful, and the other services did not seriously consider the XP-71.

As such, it joined many other American efforts to produce the perfect aircraft for the job during WWII.

The Curtis factory continued to support the war by producing other types of aircraft.

Specification

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