The Curtiss-Wright XF-87 Blackhawk (previously designated the XP-87) was a prototype American all-weather jet fighter-interceptor, and the company's last aircraft project. Designed as a replacement for the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

–era propeller-driven P-61 Black Widow night/interceptor aircraft, the XF-87 lost in government procurement competition to the

Northrop F-89 Scorpion The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an American all-weather, twin-engined interceptor aircraft built during the 1950s, the first jet-powered aircraft designed for that role from the outset to enter service. Though its straight wings limited its per ...

. The loss of the contract was fatal to the company; the

Curtiss-Wright Corporation The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...

closed down its aviation division, selling its assets to

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the ...

Design and development

The aircraft started life as a project for an

attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pre ...

, designated XA-43. When the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

issued a requirement for a jet-powered all-weather fighter in 1945, the design was reworked for that request. The XP-87 was a large mid-wing aircraft with four engines paired in underwing pods, with a mid-mounted tailplane and

tricycle undercarriage Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle ...

. Two crew members (pilot and radar operator) sat side by side under a single

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

. Armament was to be a nose-mounted, powered turret containing four 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon, but this was never fitted to the prototypes. Instead the aircraft was armed with four fixed forward firing 20mm cannon.

Operational history

The first flight of the XF-87 Blackhawk was on 5 March 1948.Associated Press, "Four-Jet Fighter, Weighing as Much As B-17, Tested", ''San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Tuesday 2 March 1948, Volume LIV, Number 158, page 1. Although the top speed was slower than expected, the aircraft was otherwise acceptable, and the newly formed (in September 1947)

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

placed orders for 57 F-87A fighters and 30 RF-87A reconnaissance aircraft just over a month later. Since the performance problems were due to lack of power, the four

Westinghouse XJ34-WE-7 The Westinghouse J34, company designation Westinghouse 24C, was a turbojet engine developed by Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division in the late 1940s. Essentially an enlarged version of the earlier Westinghouse J30, the J34 produced 3,000 ...

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, a ...

s of the prototypes were to be substituted for two

General Electric J47 The General Electric J47 turbojet (GE company designation TG-190) was developed by General Electric from its earlier J35. It first flew in May 1948. The J47 was the first axial-flow turbojet approved for commercial use in the United States. It ...

jets in production models. One of the two XF-87 prototypes was to be modified as a test bed for the new engines. At this point, the USAF decided that the

was a more promising aircraft. The F-87 contract was cancelled on 10 October 1948, and both prototypes were scrapped.

Variants

; XP-87 : First flight was March 5, 1948 ; XF-87 : Redesignated XP-87 ; F-87A : Production fighter version (canceled) ; RF-87A : Reconnaissance variant (canceled)

Specifications (XF-87 No.1)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Angelucci, Enzo and Peter Bowers. ''The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide To American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 To The Present''. New York: Orion Books, 1987. . * Bowers, Peter M. ''Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947''. London: Putnam, 1979. . * Buttler, Tony. ''American Secret Projects: Fighters & Interceptors 1945–1978''. Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing, 2008, First edition, 2007. . * Jenkins, Dennis R. and Tony R. Landis. ''Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters''. North Branch, Minnesota, USA: Specialty Press, 2008. . * Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Great Book Of Fighters: An encyclopedia of every fighter aircraft built and flown''. Osceola, WI, USA: MBI Publishing Company, 2001. . * Knaack, Marcelle Size. ''Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems: Volume 1 Post-World War II Fighters 1945–1973''. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1978. . * Pace, Steve. ''X-Fighters: USAF Experimental and Prototype Fighters, XP-59 to YF-23''. St. Paul, Minnesota, USA: Motorbooks International, 1991. . * Winchester, Jim. ''Concept Aircraft: Prototypes, X-Planes and Experimental Aircraft''. Rochester, Kent, UK: Grange books plc, 2005. .

External links

Curtiss XP-87/XF-87 Blackhawk

{{Authority control F-087 Blackhawk Curtiss F-87 Quadjets Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1948