The Douglas XFD was a

carrier-based Carrier-based aircraft, sometimes known as carrier-capable aircraft or carrier-borne aircraft, are naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy enough to withstand ...

biplane

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

designed for the United States Navy, and the first fighter to be built by the

Douglas Aircraft Company The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

. A victim of changing requirements, no production was undertaken.

Design and development

The XFD was designed to the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) Specification No. 311, requesting a carrier-based two-seater biplane fighter. On June 30, 1932, the Navy ordered the XFD,

Vought XF3U The Vought XF3U was the prototype of a two-seat, all-metal biplane Fighter aircraft, fighter, built by Vought Aircraft Company of Dallas, Texas for the United States Navy. Development and design The XF3U was designed to meet the Bureau of Aerona ...

, and

Curtiss XF12C The Curtiss SBC Helldiver was a two-seat scout bomber and dive bomber built by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. It was the last military biplane procured by the United States Navy. Delivered in 1937, it became obsolete even before World War II a ...

for testing.Angelucci, 1987. pp. 182-183. The first naval fighter designed by Douglas Aircraft,Pattillo 2001, p. 111. the XFD was constructed of metal, with a fabric outer covering. The crew sat in tandem in a single bay, enclosed by a long canopy. The aircraft had fixed conventional landing gear, and was designed to be armed with two machine guns, one fixed in the cowling and the other on a flexible mount for the observer. A bomb load could be carried.Johnson 2011, p. 84. Powered was supplied by a

Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior The Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior was an engine used in American aircraft in the 1930s. The engine was introduced in 1932 as a 14-cylinder version of the 9-cylinder R-985. It was a two-row, air-cooled radial design. Displacement was ; ...

radial engine.

Operational history

The XFD-1 prototype first flew in January 1933; it was delivered to the U.S. Navy for trials at Naval Air Station Anacostia in June 1933, within four days of the delivery of the Vought XF3U-1; evaluations of the types were undertaken between June 18, 1933 and August 14, 1934. While the XFD-1's performance was considered to be acceptable, the U.S. Navy's operational requirements were already changing to see the two-seat fighter concept falling out of favor, the scout bomber being considered more useful for the Navy's needs, and accordingly after the end of the XFD-1's flight trials no further orders were placed for the type.

Specifications

Douglas XFD-1 running up on 26 June 1933

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{USN fighters Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States F01D 1930s United States fighter aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Carrier-based aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1933