Curtiss XF-87

Curtiss XF-87 Blackhawk
Curtiss XF-87
Type:	All-weather interceptor
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Curtiss
First flight:	March 5, 1948
Commissioning:	Trials canceled in 1948
Production time:	Was never mass-produced
Number of pieces:	2

The Curtiss XF-87 Blackhawk was the prototype of an American all-weather fighter in the late 1940s . The United States Air Force (USAF) finally accepted only two prototypes , these were the last fighter aircraft produced by Curtiss-Wright .

history

In August 1945, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) announced a competition for a new fighter aircraft. It should be able to detect and attack both enemy aircraft and ground targets. After the experiences of the Second World War, the USAAF also attached great importance to operational readiness in bad weather, later also at night. The required performance data envisaged a top speed of 845 km / h at an altitude of 10,700 meters and a deployment radius of 1000 kilometers. Armament should consist of at least four built-in machine guns and free-fall bombs weighing up to 454 kilograms (1000 pounds ) on external mounts. Several companies submitted proposals including Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation , Douglas, and Northrop .

Curtiss offered the XP-87 for this order on March 15, 1945, a middle-decker with unswept wings and General Electric TG-180 engines in suspended nacelles. However, the Air Technical Service Command rejected the design as too large and heavy for a fighter-bomber.

Despite the obvious weaknesses, Curtiss still managed to get a contract worth 5.8 million US dollars for the design of a pure ground attack aircraft for the USAAF, the XA-43 based on the XP-87. So the manufacturer practically gave up this development at the end of 1945 and took over the contract and a serial number for the XA-43 (45-59600) for a design of the desired fighter aircraft. On November 21, 1945, Curtiss was able to change the order so that a second prototype was also planned for reasons that are still unclear today. In the meantime, the design had now been reworked under the designation CWA-29A "Bat" in such a way that four Westinghouse engines attached in pairs were supposed to power the aircraft. Instead of normal JP-2 fuel, these required light petrol, which limited the range. In January 1946, the Luftwaffe officially ordered the second prototype (46-522).

The XP-87 was a two-seat, all-metal mid- wing aircraft with unswept wings. The seats for the pilot and radar officer were arranged side by side in the spacious cockpit. With a length of 20 meters and a wingspan of 18 meters, the XP-87 turned out to be large for a fighter aircraft. As drive Curtiss had four Turbojettriebwerke type Westinghouse J34 7--WE each with 13.3 kN power provided which were mounted in pairs in fairings underneath the wing. These also contained the main landing gear with double tires. In May 1946 Curtiss proposed a variant with more powerful engines, including two General Electric J47 -GE-7 or Allison J33 -A-29 with afterburner and 33.4 kN each. This new version was named XP-87A '. The nickname for the whole series was Blackhawk from autumn 1946 . The armament was a weapon stand developed by Glenn L. Martin in the bow with four 20 mm automatic cannons that could be swiveled by 60 ° in each direction and an internal bomb bay (unusual for a fighter).

The first inspection of the mockup took place on May 14, 1946. The rollout of the first prototype at the company's Columbus (Ohio) site took place on August 22, 1947 - almost half a year later than planned. As the first competitor, the XP-87 completed its maiden flight on March 5, 1948 (according to other information on March 1 or February 15), making it the first Curtiss with jet propulsion. A few days earlier, the prototype had been slightly damaged in the high-speed roll test because the tires had burst. When the Air Force changed the P designation of their aircraft to F designation in June 1948, the XP-87 became the XF-87 and the XP-87A became the XF-87A. In the following flight tests, some aerodynamic weaknesses came to light. Initially, the landing gear flaps did not close and, with higher thrust, strong knocks of unknown cause occurred. On July 21, 1948, a nose landing gear also broke during the landing, which led to severe damage to the machine. Nevertheless, on September 7, 1948, the USAF ordered 58 F-87A and 30 reconnaissance versions RF-87A and RP-87A with a total value of 55.4 million US dollars.

In October 1948, the Air Force subjected the candidates to an evaluation in which Northrop's competitor XF-89 Scorpion and Lockheed's F-94 performed better. As a result, the USAF immediately canceled orders from Curtiss and had the competition winner F-89 mass-produced. In the end, only the first prototype of the F-87 flew, which was scrapped after just 66 hours of flight; the second was never fully completed. In total, the project cost $ 11.3 million in development and testing.

After this failure, Curtiss-Wright ceased production of aircraft and sold the Curtiss Airplane Division to North American Aviation in 1951 . It was not until the early 1960s that Curtiss-Wright built individual prototypes again, including the X-19 .

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	2 (pilot, radar officer)
length	19.15 m
span	18.3 m
height	6.1 m
Wing area	55.7 m²
Wing extension	6.0
Empty mass	11.76 t
Max. Takeoff mass	22.64 t
Top speed	938 km / h
Summit height	12,500 m
Operational range	1600 km
Engines	4 turbojets Westinghouse J34-WE-7 with around 13.3 kN each
Armament (planned)	4 × 20 mm guns, bombs up to 454 kg at external load stations

literature

• Anthony L. Buttler: American Secret Projects: Fighters & Interceptors 1945–1978. Midland Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1-85780-264-0
• AIR International, Vol. 12 No. 1, January 1977, Fighter A-Z

Web links

Commons : Curtiss XF-87 Blackhawk  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• USAF Museum about the XF-87

Individual evidence

1. ↑ FlugRevue April 2009, pp. 92-95, Curtiss XP-87 Blackhawk - Schwarzer Falke