This book presents the original proposal for the Lockheed Model L-200 Convoy Fighter of 1950, which led to the XFV-1 Salmon turboprop tailsitter naval aircraft. It was one of five submissions to the US Navy’s Convoy Fighter competition, which called for a high performance turboprop VTOL fighter to protect convoy vessels from attack by enemy […]
The Martin Model 262 was an unconventional turboprop VTOL aircraft proposal submitted to the US Navy’s convoy fighter competition of 1950, which ultimately produced the Convair XFY-1 Pogo and Lockheed XFV-1 Salmon. It was a swept-wing aircraft with triple vertical tails powered by an Allison XT-40-A-8 turboprop engine driving 16 ft contra-rotating propellers. The launch […]
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 being […]
Avid students of the history of jet propulsion may be aware of “Jake’s Jeep,” a ducted-fan engine similar to the Campini design that was developed at NACA Langley by Eastman Jacobs and Albert E. Sherman from 1941 to 1943 before being abandoned in favor of superior turbojet technology imported from England. Even a dedicated research […]
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 a letter from Republic Aviation Corporation to the Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics dated September 16, 1948 enclosing revised drawings of the Republic AP-47 mixed-power ground support airplane proposal. The letter was found in USAF files (which may have been those of the Colonel J.S. Holtoner also referenced in the […]
In our latest article in a series on the Bell D188A/Model 2000 (a.k.a. XF-109 / XF3L) supersonic VTOL fighter of the late 1950s, we present a pair of Bell reports from early 1959—a Progress Report from January and a report on Experimental Model Programs dating from February 6. In the abstract to the Progress Report, Bell notes that […]
The gallery above reproduces an Intelligence Report from the U.S. Military Attache, London dated December 12, 1947 which was found in the files of the U.S. Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff, Development, Director of Research and Development, Aircraft Division, Airplane Branch, RG 341 at National Archives II in College Park, Maryland. The report describes the […]
In our latest article in a series on the Bell D188A/Model 2000 supersonic VTOL fighter of the late 1950s, we present more primary documents concerning this aircraft in a chronological sequence, specifically Bell progress reports and correspondence in the September—December 1958 period. In the paragraphs below, we reproduce the abstracts of each report, which can be read […]
In our latest article in a series on the Bell D188A (a.k.a. XF-109 / XF3L) supersonic VTOL fighter of the late 1950s, we present more primary documents concerning this aircraft in a chronological sequence, specifically Bell progress reports and correspondence in the April—August 1958 period. First we have a Bell Progress Summary from April 11. Since the […]
