Lockheed XP-49
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The Lockheed XP-49 (company Model 522) was an advancement on the P-38 Lightning for a fighter in response to U.S. Army Air Corps proposal 39-775. Intended to use the new 24-cylinder Pratt & Whitney X-1800 engine, this proposal, which was for an aircraft substantially similar to the P-38, was assigned the designation XP-49, while the competing Grumman Model G-46 was awarded second place and designated XP-50.
History
Ordered in October 1939 and approved on January 8, 1940, the XP-49 was to feature a pressurized cockpit and armament of two 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon and four .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. Two months into the contract, a decision was made to substitute the Continental XI-1430-1 (or IV-1430) for the X-1800. The XP-49, 40-3055, first flew on 11 November 1942. The prototype force-landed on 1 January 1943, when the port landing gear failed to lock down due to combined hydraulic and electrical system failures.[1] The XP-49 next flew 16 February 1943, after repairs were made. Preliminary flight data showed performance was not sufficiently better than the production P-38, especially given the questionable future of the XI-1430 engine, to warrant disruption of the production line to introduce the new model aircraft.[citation needed] Consideration of quantity production was therefore abandoned.
The aircraft was flown to Wright Field, and after various problems, further work on the XP-49 was halted, and Lockheed focused their energies on improving the P-38 instead.
Specifications (XP-49)
General characteristics
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Armament
- 2 × 20 mm (.79 in) cannons
- 4 × 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
Citations
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."January 1943 USAAF Stateside Accident Reports". Archived from the original on 2022-04-15. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
Bibliography
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- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Buttler, Tony (2024). American Experimental Fighters of WWII: The Pursuit of Excellence. Crécy Publishing. ISBN 978-1-80035-310-7.
- Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Four: Fighters. London: MacDonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1961 (Sixth impression 1969). Template:ISBN.
- Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: US Army Air Force Fighters, Part 2. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1978. Template:ISBN.
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