Vultee P-66

Vultee P-66 Vanguard
Type:	Fighter plane
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Vultee Aircraft
First flight:	September 1939

The Vultee P-66 Vanguard was originally designed for the Swedish Air Force provided fighter aircraft of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the Second World War .

development

The Vultee Vanguard is based on an idea of Vultee Aircraft, which emerged from the "Aviation Manufacturing Corporation" in the late 1930s. At that time, four aircraft for different tasks were developed from a common set of wings, fuselage ends and tail units:

• a single-seat fighter named V-48
• a fighter jet trainer (basic combat trainer) named BC-51 , which later became the BC-3 for the United States Army Air Corps was
• an advanced trainer aircraft with the designation BC-54 and
• a training aircraft for beginners (basic combat trainer) with the designation BC-54D , from which the BT-13 was later developed

Richard W. Palmer began working on the V-48 fighter in 1938. The air-cooled with a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 - radial engine equipped aircraft had a half-shell metallbeplankten hull (semi-monocoque) and a fully retractable landing gear. During the construction of the first prototype , it was decided to lengthen the propeller shaft and use a conical bonnet to reduce drag. The first aircraft with the registration number NX21755 took off for the first time in September 1939. This fighter was given the designation "Vanguard".

The flight tests showed problems due to insufficient engine cooling. Attempts to modify the air inlets hardly helped. A re-evaluation of the design concluded that the negligible drag reduction due to the tapered hood was not worth the extra weight and cooling problems. So the second prototype with the registration number NX19999 received a conventional hood and the model name V-48X . The first prototype was also modified accordingly. The second prototype made its maiden flight on February 11, 1940. As a result of the test flights, a number of changes were made, including the areas of the horizontal and vertical fins significantly increased.

Usage history

The Swedish government ordered 144 Vanguards on February 6, 1940 under the designation V-49C . The first production aircraft took off on its maiden flight on September 6, 1940. The C-49C model was essentially the same as the V-48X - with the exception of the engine, which has since been replaced by a newer version of the R-1830 with better altitude performance, and the option of installing four 0.3-inch MGs in the wings and two 0.5-inch machine guns in the fuselage.

When the series aircraft were ready for delivery in September 1941, the US government imposed an export embargo on aircraft to Sweden. After the attack on Pearl Harbor , all Vanguards were given the type designation P-66 . Production ceased in April 1942. The USAAF kept about 50 machines and used them primarily for training purposes in the western United States and at the 14th Pursuit Group for defense purposes. The pilots were impressed by the flight performance of the P-66, but the aircraft was not considered very robust. A tendency for aircraft to roll over on the ground also resulted in 15 aircraft being lost in landing accidents.

Great Britain took over 100 P-66s as Vanguard I to be used in Canada as an advanced training aircraft. After successful test flights, however, the aircraft were handed over to China, where a total of 104 aircraft of this type were delivered as part of the lend lease program (including some copies of the USAAF). There they should be assigned to a squadron of American volunteers - the 3rd American Volunteer Group  . However, this additional group was abandoned after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1942 the planes arrived in China via India. The Chinese Vanguards bore both USAAF insignia and serial numbers as well as Chinese markings and Vultee's serial numbers. During the transit of the aircraft, however, numerous Vanguards were destroyed during test flights in India or were lost during the transfer to China. Some assembled P-66s were declared unfit to fly and abandoned in Karachi , so that ultimately only twelve Vanguards were stationed in the 7th Squadron of the 23rd Fighter Group in Kunming , where they were rarely used. Two Chinese squadrons of the 3rd and 5th groups in An-Su flew missions with Vanguards from August 1943. However, numerous P-66s were devastated by attacks by the Japanese. Others were mistakenly mistaken for Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 and Ki-44 and shot down. Although the Vanguard flew up to 550 km / h, it was not up to the agile Japanese hunters in cornering and had to be content with a hit-and-run tactic.

The P-66 was finally largely replaced by the Curtiss P-40 in China in 1943 . Some of the remaining P-66s were stored in caves in Chongqing for later use against Mao Zedong's troops in the civil war . In 1947 many of them are said to have been lying in their wooden boxes.

production

Approval of the P-66 by the USAAF:

Manufacturer	1941	1942	1943	TOTAL
Consolidated, Downey	71	73	1	145

operator

•  China
  • 3rd group
  • 5th group

•  United States United States Army Air Forces

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	1
length	8.64 m
span	10.98 m
Wing area	18.3 m²
Max. Wing loading	150 kg / m²
Empty mass	2117 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	2740 kg
Top speed	340  mph (547  km / h )
Service ceiling	8958 m
Rate of climb	10.4 m / s
Range	1360 km
Engines	1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830 -S3C4-G with 1,200  PS (883  kW )
Power / weight ratio	0.33 kW / kg
Armament	four 0.30 cal (7.62 mm) MGs two 0.50 cal (12.7 mm) MGs

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Thompson 1992, p. 56.
2. ↑ Joe Baugher: Vultee P-66. Vultee P-66
3. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1946 , p. 100 ff.

literature

• Jonathan Thompson: Vultee Aircraft 1932-1947. Narkiewicz / Thompson, Santa Ana, CA 1992, ISBN 0-913322-02-4 .

Web links

Commons : Vultee P-66  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/p66.html Vultee P-66