The Lockheed XPB-3, later designated XFM-2 (PB - Pursuit, Biplace / FM - Fighter, Multi-seat), was a proposed
American heavy
fighter aircraft, developed by the
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but ot ...
during the mid-1930s. Intended as a heavy fighter and bomber destroyer for operation by the
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
, it failed to win a contract for construction of a prototype, the
Bell YFM-1 Airacuda
The Bell YFM-1 Airacuda was an American heavy fighter aircraft, developed by the Bell Aircraft Corporation during the mid-1930s. It was the first military aircraft produced by Bell. Originally designated the Bell Model 1, the Airacuda first fle ...
being preferred.
Design and development
Given the Lockheed designation Model 11, the XFM-2 was developed in response to a United States Army Air Corps requirement for a heavy, twin-engined "bomber destroyer". Originally designated XPB-3 in the 'pursuit, biplace' category, it was redesignated 'XFM-2', for 'fighter, multiplace' early in development. Intended to be powered by two
Allison V-1710 supercharged engines, the aircraft was designed for an armament of two 37mm cannon, one mounted in a nose turret and the other in a dorsal turret behind the cockpit.
The XFM-2 featured a
tricycle landing gear
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 g ...
configuration, and was a mid-wing
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
of nearly
medium bomber
A medium bomber is a military bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized bombloads over medium range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers. Mediums generally carrie ...
size. The
empennage
The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...
featured a twin-tail arrangement.
[''Airpower''. March 1989. Vol. 19, no. 2, p.16.] Although the XFM-2 design was evaluated favorably by the Air Corps, the Bell YFM-1 Airacuda was selected to fill the bomber destroyer requirement, and further work on the XFM-2 was abandoned.
[Francillon 1987, p.161.]
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
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{{USAF fighters
FM-002
Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States
Mid-wing aircraft
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft