I found this plane while mindlessly wandering around on the web, and thought, "hey, that's neat lookin'. AH should have one!"
In November of 1939, the US Army Air Corps issued a requirement and specification for a single seat interceptor that was to be powered by the Pratt & Whitney X-1800-A3G engine. Manufacturers were also encouraged to submit designs that were advanced or utilized new technology. The designs would be required to have excellent outward visibility, heavy armament and very low drag. Curtiss then submitted their proposal (CW-24). The Army took one quick look at the Curtiss concept and promptly lost any interest. It was far too radical for Army minds, always overly conservative, to bear.
Curtiss, not yet discouraged, then elected to build a full scale flying mock-up. Designated the CW-24B, the demonstrator logged 160 flights powered by a 275 hp Menasco engine. Stability left something to be desired, and several modifications were made in the course of testing. Ultimately, the Army regained interest and issued a contract for three prototypes designated the XP-55. These aircraft would be powered by an Allison V-1710 engine as the X-1800-A3G never materialized.
The XP-55 was a tailless design low wing monoplane. The wings were sharply swept back (about 30 degrees). The wing incorporated ailerons, trailing edge flaps and small vertical stabilizers near the wing tips. A canard elevator was mounted at the nose with the elevator being a conventional hinged type. The aircraft made it's first flight in July 1943. This aircraft was lost several months later during stall testing. A result of the crash, was that all future testing would stay away from stall speeds until the third prototype could be modified to overcome the stall instability. Once the solution was incorporated on the 2nd prototype, the two aircraft were turned over to the Army for further evaluation.
The Army test program showed that while the XP-55 was a pleasant aircraft in level flight, its slow speed handling was still not very good and it's overall performance was well below the standard of newer fighter designs. As a result, the design was abandoned in late 1944.
SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 40 ft. 7 in. (later 44 ft. 6 ft.)
Length: 29 ft. 7 in.
Height: 10 ft. 0 in.
Weight: 6,354 lbs. empty/7,710 lbs. gross
Armament: Four .50-cal. machine guns
Engine: Allison V-1710-95 of 1,275 hp driving a pusher propeller
PERFORMANCE Maximum speed: 390 mph. at 19,300 ft.
Service ceiling: 34,600 ft.
Cruising speed: 296 mph.
Climb: 7.1 minutes to 20,000 feet.
Armament: Four .50 cal. machine guns in the nose.
Any other cool looking, but reletively useless planes out there you'd like to see?
SOB
I found it with a list of other curtiss "not ready for prime-time" aircraft...
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/9485/Curtiss.html [This message has been edited by SOB (edited 09-22-2000).]
