Curtiss XP-62 - Misplaced Pages

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (August 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Prototype fighter aircraft

XP-62
A Curtiss XP-62 on the tarmac
General information
Type	Fighter interceptor
Manufacturer	Curtiss-Wright
Status	Cancelled 21 September 1943
Primary user	United States Army Air Forces
Number built	1
History
Manufactured	1943
First flight	21 July 1943

The Curtiss XP-62 was a prototype single-engine interceptor aircraft, that was built for the United States Army Air Forces, by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. It first flew in 1943.

The design sought to have an improved high-altitude performance and higher speeds, at all altitudes, which was to be assisted by the 18-cylinder Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone engine. It was to be armed with four 20 mm (0.79 in) autocannons, a heavier armament than contemporary USAAF fighter aircraft, and was fitted with a pressurized cockpit.

Design and development

The terms of the contract proposal of 29 April 1941 called for the first flight within fifteen months of the award and meet the following objectives.

Maximum level flight speed at 27,000 ft (8,200 m) had to exceed 468 mph (753 km/h).
It was to feature an air-conditioned pressurized cockpit.
Armament to be either eight 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons or twelve 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, mounted in the wings.

Two prototypes were ordered; the first designated XP-62 and the second designated XP-62A.

On 2 August 1941, the specifications were amended for the XP-62, reducing the maximum speed to 448 mph (721 km/h) with eight 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons, and increasing the loaded weight by 1,537 lb (697 kg).

During a project review of 1 January 1942, the specification was again revised, with the loaded weight reduced by eliminating four cannons and removing the propeller de-icing equipment.

On 25 May 1942 a contract for 100 P-62 fighters was awarded. However, on 27 July 1942, before production could begin, the contract for the P-62 was terminated by the USAAF because of the effect on deliveries of Curtiss-built Republic P-47G-CU Thunderbolts.

While work on the XP-62A continued, it progressed slowly, owing to its low priority. Delays in delivery of the pressure-cabin supercharger and engine modifications delayed the first flight until 21 July 1943. Only a limited amount of flight testing was carried out before the XP-62A was canceled on 21 September 1943 and full performance characteristics were not obtained. The prototype was scrapped in early 1944.

Variants

XP-62: Prototype, 8 x 20 mm cannons
P-62A: Planned initial production version, 100-aircraft contract cancelled

Specifications (XP-62)

Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 39 ft 6 in (12.04 m)
Wingspan: 53 ft 8 in (16.36 m)
Height: 16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
Wing area: 420 sq ft (39 m)
Airfoil: root: NACA 66-118; tip: NACA 66-113
Empty weight: 11,775 lb (5,341 kg)
Gross weight: 16,650 lb (7,552 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-3350-17 Duplex Cyclone 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 2,300 hp (1,700 kW)
Propellers: 6-bladed contra-rotating constant-speed propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 448 mph (721 km/h, 389 kn) at 27,000 ft (8,200 m)
Range: 1,300 mi (2,100 km, 1,100 nmi)
Service ceiling: 37,500 ft (11,400 m)
Time to altitude: 15,000 ft (4,600 m) in 6.9 minutes
Wing loading: 35 lb/sq ft (170 kg/m)
Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.26 kW/kg)

Armament

Guns: 8 x 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon

References

^ "Curtiss XP-62". National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. 2009. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
Bowers, Peter M. (1979). Curtiss aircraft, 1907-1947. London: Putnam. pp. 327–331. ISBN 0370100298.
Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War – Fighters, Volume 4. London: Macdonald. 1961.

External links

Curtis XP-62 – National Museum of the USAF
Wind-Tunnel Tests Of The 1/9-Scale Model Of The Curtiss XP-62 Airplane With Various Vertical Tail Arrangements – DTIC

Curtiss and Curtiss-Wright aircraft

Manufacturer
designations

Early types	Golden Flier Reims Racer Beachey Special
Model letters	C D E F FL GS H HA HS J JN -5 -6H K L MF N NC O R S T
Model numbers	1 B F 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 (I) 18 (II) 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 K/P 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 A B 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 I P S 76 A 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
"L" series	L-17 L-18 L-19 L-22 L-41 L-44 L-72 L-79 L-85 L-115 L-117 L-710
"CA" series	CA-1
"CR" series	CR-1 CR-2
"CW" series	CW-1 CW-2 CW-3 CW-4 CW-5 CW-6 CW-8 CW-9 CW-10 CW-11 CW-12 CW-14 CW-15 CW-16 CW-17 CW-18 CW-19 CW-20 CW-21 CW-22 CW-23 CW-24 CW-25 CW-26 CW-27 CW-28 CW-29 CW-32 CW-33 CW-40
"P" series	P-200 P-202 P-212 P-218 P-219 P-222 P-223 P-224 P-225 P-227 P-228 P-229 P-232 P-235 P-238 P-239 P-240 P-241 P-243 P-244 P-245 P-247 P-248 P-249 P-250 P-251 P-252 P-253 P-254 P-255 P-256 P-257 P-259 P-261 P-264 P-268 P-269 P-272 P-273 P-274 P-275 P-276 P-277 P-278 P-279 P-280 P-282 P-283 P-291 P-292 P-293 P-295 P-296 P-297 P-298 P-299 P-302 P-303 P-304 P-305 P-306 P-307 P-509 P-517 P-518 P-538 P-539 P-541 P-545 P-551 P-558 P-565 P-586 P-588 P-592
"X" series	X-100 X-200 X-300 X-410 X-425

Operator and role

Civil

Experimental	No. 1 Model C SX-5-1 Tanager
Racers and record	No. 2 Cox Racer CW-B-14R
Airliners	Eagle Condor 18 Condor II Kingbird Thrush Commando
Utility	Model D Model E Model F Carrier Pigeon Falcon Robin Lark 6B CW-12 CW-14 Sportsman CW-15 Sedan CW-16 CW-19W

Army

Ground attack	A-3 A-4 A-5 A-6 A-8 YA-10 A-12 YA-14 A-18 A-25 A-40 XA-43
Bombers	NBS-1 B-2 XNBS-4
Transports	XC-10 C-30 Condor C-46 Commando C-55 Commando C-76 C-113 Commando
Fighters	S 18 PN-1 PW-8 P-1 to P-5 P-6 XP-10 P-11 P-14 P-17 XP-18 XP-19 YP-20 XP-21 XP-22 XP-23 XP-31 P-36 YP-37 P-40 XP-42 XP-46 XP-53 XP-55 YP-60 XP-62 XP-71 XP-87
Observation	O-1 O-11 O-12 O-13 O-16 O-18 O-24 O-26 XO-30 O-39 O-40 O-52
Racers	R-6 R-8
Trainers	J L JN Fledgling AT-4 Hawk AT-5 Hawk BT-4 AT-9 Jeep
Experimental	X-19
Licensed	USAO-1 NBS-1/Model 30

Navy

Bombers	CT BFC BF2C SBC SB2C XSB3C XBTC XBT2C
Fighters	HA GS TS-1 FC F2C F3C F4C F5C F6C F7C F8C F9C F10C F11C XF12C F13C XF14C XF15C
Observation/scout	CS/SC S2C XS3C S4C SC OC O2C O3C SOC SO2C SO3C
Trainers	N-9 N2C SNC
Transports	RC R4C R5C
Maritime patrol	H-16 F5L HS-1L & HS-2L
Racers and record	NC CR R2C R3C

Export

Bombers	Canada CW-14 Osprey
Maritime patrol	H-2, H-4, H-8 and H-16 F5L HS-2L
Fighters	CW-17 Pursuit Osprey CW-21 Demon
Trainers	Canuck CW-14 Osprey CW-16 CW-18 CW-22

Designation skipped Not built

USAAS/USAAC/USAAF/USAF fighter designations 1924–1962, and Tri-Service post-1962 systems

1924 sequences
(1924–1962)

Pursuit (1924–1948)	P-1 P-2 P-3 P-4 Curtiss P-4 Boeing P-4 P-5 P-6 P-7 P-8 P-9 P-10 P-11 P-12 P-13 P-14 P-15 P-16 P-17 P-18 P-19 P-20 P-21 P-22 P-23 P-24 P-25 P-26 P-27 P-28 P-29 P-30 P-31 P-32 P-33 P-34 P-35 P-36 P-37 P-38 P-39 P-39E P-40 P-41 P-42 P-43 P-44 P-45 P-46 P-47 P-48 P-49 P-50 P-51 P-52 P-53 P-54 P-55 P-56 P-57 P-58 P-59 XP-59 P-59 P-60 P-61 P-62 P-63 P-64 P-65 P-66 P-67 P-68 P-69 P-70 P-71 P-72 P-73 P-74 P-75 P-76 P-77 P-78 P-79 P-80 P-81 P-82 P-83 P-84 P-85 P-86 P-87 P-88 P-89 P-90 P-91 P-92
Fighter (1948–1962)	F-38 F-39 F-40 F-47 F-51 F-59 F-61 RF-61C F-63 F-80 F-81 F-82 F-83 F-84 F-84F/J F-84H F-85 F-86 F-86C F-86D/G/K/L F-87 F-88 F-89 F-90 F-91 F-92 F-93 F-94 F-95 F-96 F-97 F-98 F-99 F-100 F-100B F-101 F-102 F-102B F-103 F-104 XF-104 F-104S NF-104A F-105 F-106 XF-106 F-106 F-107 F-108 F-109 F-110 F-111 F-111B F-111C F-111K AFTI/F-111A EF-111A
Pursuit, biplace	PB-1 PB-2 PB-3
Fighter, multiplace	FM-1 FM-2
Non-sequential	F-24 P-322 P-400

Tri-service sequence
(1962–present)

Main sequence	F-1 F-1C/D F-1E/F F-2 F-3 F-4 F-4K/M F-5 G F-6 F-7 F-8 F-9 F-9F–J F-10 F-11 F-12 F-12C F-13 F-14 F-15 F-15E F-15EX F-15J F-15 STOL/MTD F-16 F-16XL NF-16D F-17 F/A-18 F/A-18E/F EA-18G F-19 F-20 F-21 F-22 YF-22 FB-22 F-23
Non-sequential	F-35 F-35I X-35 F-117

Covert designations

Related designations

FV-12

Not assigned • Unofficial • Assigned to multiple types
See also: "F-19" • 1919–1924 sequence

Categories: