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American Combat Planes of the 20th Century is an incredible reference for anyone who is interested in any American Combat Plane History. There are 758 pages and 1700 b/w photos in this substantial labor of love by Ray Wagner, who has been passionately researching and writing about aircraft for over 50 years. Whether you are already familiar with his past works, or just discovering this accomplished author for the first time... This is the book that you've been waiting for!

If you'd like to see the book's Table of Contents ... Click here. You can also browse the entire Index Section to get an idea of the extensive amount of information that is covered within this book.

Search our site for other combat planes. A- 1 Eaton A- 4 Skyhawk A- 6 & A- 7 Air Weapons AV- 8 to A- 10 A- 20 Havoc A- 22 Martin Maryland A- 23 Martin Baltimore A- 24 Douglas A- 26 Douglas Invader Attack Planes B- 2A, F-111, F-117 Stealth B- 17 Flying Fortress B- 24 Liberator B- 25 North American B- 26 Marauder B- 29 Superfortress B- 32 Dominator B- 35 Flying Wing B- 36 B- 47 Stratojet B- 50 Boeing B- 52 Stratofortress B- 57 Canberra B- 58 Hustler Biplanes Biplanes, Army Pursuits Bombers, B- 70 to Stealth Bombers, First Big Curtiss Falcon CO- 1 DH- 4 De Havilland F3D- Douglas Skyknight F3H- McDonnell Demon F4D- 1 Skyray F4F Grumman Wildcats F- 4U Corsair F6F Grumman F7F Grumman F7U Vought F9F G. Cougar F9F G. Panther F- 16 Fighting Falcon F- 84 F- 86 Sabre F- 89 to F-94 F- 100 to F-108 First Fighters Flying Boats GAX Iraq to Afghanistan Martin Bombers Missile Era Fighters Navy Fighers Navy Flying Boats O- 2 Douglas P- 35 Seversky P- 36 to 42 Curtiss P- 38 Lightning P- 39 Airacobra P- 40 Line P- 47 Thunderbolt P- 51 Mustang Fighter P- 61 Black Widow P- 63 Kingcobra P- 79 to P-81 P- 82 Twin Mustang SB2C Helldiver TBF-TBM Avenger Thomas-Morse Torpedo Planes V- 11 Vultee XB -28 XP -48 / 77

CRISIS-BORN FIGHTER PROJECTS, XP-48 TO XP-77

P-63

Page 8

Later Wartime Prototypes
Bell P-63F Experimental fighters described so far have been those ordered by the end of fiscal 1941 (June 30, 1941), the federal fiscal year in which Air Force expansion gathered impetus toward wartime goals. Although the 1942 fiscal year added more fighter projects, production programs received higher priorities, and experimental ships lagged. After the Pearl Harbor attack only unusually high priority prototypes like the XP-59A jet and XP-61 night fighter were finished in less than 18 months. Other projects drifted for two or three years, with the longest gestation being the XP-58’s four years.

An example of this delay is the twin-engine single-seat monoplane that began the career of the now well-known McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis. The company begun by James S. McDonnell (1899-1980) had offered a fighter design for the R40-C competition in April 1940. Twin pusher propellers behind the wings were to be driven by an Allison V-3420 engine in the fuselage.

That proposal was rejected, but a new long-range fighter design was assigned the XP-67 designation on July 29,1941, and a contract was approved October 29, 1941, for two prototypes, the first to be delivered in 18 months. A fuselage, center section, and engine nacelles shaped to blend with the wing’s laminar flow airfoil gave the XP-67 a unique appearance, and contained large fuel tanks, pressurized cockpit, tricycle landing gear, and six 37-mm fixed guns with 45 rpg. Two turbosupercharged Continental XIV-1430s drove four-bladed propellers and used their exhausts for extra thrust. McDONNELL XP-67

The XP-67 was first flown on January 6 , 1944, by Ed Elliot, but engine performance was unsatisfactory. In 1941, a 472-mph top speed with an 18,600-pound gross weight had been guaranteed. By 1944, the weight was 22,000 pounds and the speed estimated at 448 mph at 25,000 feet and 367 mph at sea level. But tests limited actual top speed to only 405 mph. After an engine fire on September 6 ended 43 hours of flight tests, the second example was canceled and the XP-67 abandoned.

The next two single-seat fighter designs were begun in September 1941 around the proposed 2,350-hp Wright R-2160 Tornado, a 42-cylinder, liquid-cooled six-row radial with contra rotating propellers. Vultee’s XP-68 was similar to their XP-54 pusher, but the XP-69, begun as Republic’s Model AP-18, had the engine behind the pilot with an extension shaft to the nose.

An air intake for cooling was placed under the XP-69’s fuselage, and a pressurized cockpit and laminar wing were planned. Proposed armament was two 37-mm and four 50-caliber wing guns. Neither type was completed, as the XP-68 was canceled November 22, 1941, and while the XP-69 reached mockup inspection in June 1942, it was canceled May 11, 1943, when the engine program died.

The Curtiss-Wright XP-71 would have been the largest fighter plane built in America, if it had ever been finished. The idea of firing a 75-mm cannon from a plane had been proven on a B-18 bomber in 1940 and the Curtiss-Wright Corporation of St. Louis submitted fighter design studies in April 1941. By October a detailed prototype proposal was ready and designated XP-71 on October 28, 1941. REPUBLIC XP-69 (Mockup)

Uncertainty about delivery of the fire-control system delayed approval of the contract for two prototypes until March 6, 1942. When the mockup was inspected at St. Louis on November 16, 1942, the XP-71 was to have two 3,450-hp turbosupercharged R-4360-13 Wasp Majors turning contra rotating pusher propellers, a pressurized cockpit for two, a 75-mm gun in the nose with 20 rounds for automatic feed, and two 37-mm weapons with 60 rpg.

The 1942 specification proposed a 35,670-pound gross weight, a wing span of 77 feet and a top speed of 428 mph at 25,000 feet, but the size grew to 39,950 pounds and 82 feet. By August 26, 1943, Air Force leaders realized that long-range enemy bombers were no longer a threat, but our own bombers needed protection. Enemy fighters would never stand still long enough to be hit by slow-firing guns on a plane as big as the XP-71. The cannon could best be used against enemy shipping, a mission more suitable for low-altitude attack planes rather than a high-altitude fighters.

Only 21% complete, the XP-71 was finally canceled October 23, 1943, but a photo of the wind tunnel model is included to show what the largest American fighter would have looked like.

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