Robert C. Stroop is one of the many obscure Depression-era aeronautical inventors who created innovative if somewhat impractical designs that, for various reasons, never saw their full potential. The author has unable to uncover much about the background of Mr. Stroop apart from a few interesting facts. In surviving correspondence with the Army Air Corps, [...]
In our final article in a series* on the Bell D188A/Model 2000 (a.k.a. XF-109 / XF3L—both spurious designations invented by the Bell marketing department) supersonic VTOL fighter of the late 1950s, we present a brochure and mock-up inspection guide dating from February 1959. A preview of the brochure is shown to the left; it is remarkable for [...]
In our latest article in a series on the Bell D188A/Model 2000 (a.k.a. XF-109 / XF3L—both spurious designations invented by the Bell marketing department) supersonic VTOL fighter of the late 1950s, we present this huge, heavily illustrated mock-up report dating from February 6, 1959. By this time, the Air Force had become a significant partner in the program, [...]
The Curtiss-Wright XF-87 Blackhawk was a prototype all-weather jet interceptor designed as a replacement for the Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter. It was a large mid-wing aircraft with four Westinghouse XJ34-WE-7 turbojets paired in underwing pods, with a mid-mounted tailplane and tricycle undercarriage. Two crew members sat side-by-side under a spacious single canopy. The [...]
The gallery above reproduces “The XP-77 Airplane,” a report by Bell Aircraft Corporation dating from around June 1944 found in US Army Air Force (USAAF) files held in National Archives II in College Park, Maryland. The report is both a review of the development work done on the Bell XP-77 wooden light weight fighter and [...]
The gallery above reproduces “Flash Performance of the P-51D Airplane Equipped with Acid Aniline Rocket Motor,” a test report of The Air Proving Ground Command at Eglin Field, Florida dated October 3, 1946. The object of the tests was to determine the operational suitability of the P-51D airplane equipped with an acid-aniline rocket motor. Two [...]
The Lockheed XF-90 was built in response to a 1945 Air Force requirement for a long range penetration fighter and bomber escort. It was an attractive aircraft heavily influenced by the company’s experience with the P-80, sharing a similar intake and low wing configuration. However, it was designed to operate at higher speeds, with [...]
Fragment of the cover to Vought’s V-383/-384 proposal to the OS-130 day fighter competition of 1953, one of several studies submitted by a multitude of manufacturers. The V-383 would ultimately be judged the winner, eventually becoming the famed F8U (later F-8) Crusader. OS-130 was a specification for a supersonic single-seat carrier-based day fighter designed for [...]
