The Lockheed XP-49 (company Model 522) was an advancement on the

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

for a fighter in response to

U.S. 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 ri ...

proposal 39-775. Intended to use the new 24-cylinder

Pratt & Whitney X-1800 The Pratt & Whitney X-1800 (later enlarged as the XH-2600) was an H-block aircraft engine project developed between 1938 and 1940, which was cancelled with only one example being built. Design and development The X-1800 was a watercooled 24-cy ...

engine, this proposal, which was for an aircraft substantially similar to the P-38, was assigned the designation XP-49, while the competing Grumman Model G-46 was awarded second place and designated XP-50.

History

Ordered in October 1939 and approved on January 8, 1940, the XP-49 was to feature a pressurized cockpit and armament of two cannon and four machine guns. Two months into the contract, a decision was made to substitute the

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

XI-1430-1 (or IV-1430) for the X-1800. The XP-49, ''40-3055'', first flew on 11 November 1942. The prototype force-landed on 1 January 1943, when the port landing gear failed to lock down due to combined hydraulic and electrical system failures. The XP-49 next flew 16 February 1943, after repairs were made. Preliminary flight data showed performance was not sufficiently better than the production P-38, especially given the questionable future of the XI-1430 engine, to warrant disruption of the production line to introduce the new model aircraft. Consideration of quantity production was therefore abandoned. The aircraft was flown to

Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...

, and after various problems, further work on the XP-49 was halted, and Lockheed focused their energies on improving the P-38 instead.

Specifications (XP-49)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Four: Fighters''. London: MacDonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1961 (Sixth impression 1969). . * Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. ''WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: US Army Air Force Fighters, Part 2''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1978. .

External links