The Grumman XP-50 was a land-based development of the shipboard XF5F-1 Skyrocket fighter, entered into a

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 ...

(USAAC) contest for a twin-engine heavy

interceptor aircraft An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are c ...

. The USAAC placed an order for a prototype on 25 November 1939, designating it XP-50, but it lost the competition to the

Lockheed XP-49 The Lockheed XP-49 (company Model 522) was an advancement on the P-38 Lightning for a fighter in response to U.S. Army Air Corps proposal 39-775. Intended to use the new 24-cylinder Pratt & Whitney X-1800 engine, this proposal, which was for an ...

Design and development

First assigned Design 34, later G-41 by the builder,

Grumman The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 ...

, the design was entered into competition alongside proposals from Bell, Brewster, Curtiss, Lockheed, and Vought.Baugher, Joe
"Grumman XP-50."
''USAAC/USAAF/USAF Fighter Aircraft'', 2 August 1999. Retrieved: 2 April 2010. The XP-50 design was similar to that of the XF5F-1 with modifications to the fuselage nose to house the nose-wheel of the tricycle landing gear and provisions for

self-sealing fuel tank A self-sealing fuel tank is a type of fuel tank, typically used in aircraft fuel tanks or fuel bladders, that prevents them from leaking fuel and igniting after being damaged. Typical self-sealing tanks have multiple layers of rubber and reinfo ...

s and pilot armor. The planned armament was two 20 mm (.79 in) cannon and two .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns.Dorr and Donald 1990, p. 119.

Testing

During testing, the XP-50 prototype (39-2517) was lost on 14 May 1941, falling victim to a turbo-supercharger explosion that destroyed the aircraft. The test pilot Robert Hall bailed out while the XP-50 plunged into Smithtown Bay in Long Island Sound.Dorr and Donald 1990, p. 97. Based upon experience with the XF5F-1 and the XP-50, Grumman had begun work on a more advanced fighter, designated model G-51. Thus, the USAAC decided to replace the XP-50 with the newer design and recommended procurement of two G-51s, designated XP-65, using the original XP-50 expenditure order to cover the development. Consideration was given to combining the Air Corps and Navy requirements into a common design, but the weight and performance penalties inherent in conflicting requirements were considered great enough that separate designs would be needed. Since the U.S. Navy considered Grumman one of its major production sources and that producing two different model aircraft by Grumman would impede manufacture of aircraft types the U.S. Navy needed, it was decided that development of the XF7F-1 would continue, and the XP-65 as a parallel development was abandoned.

Variants

;XP-50 :Version of the XF5F for the

with two 1,200 hp (895 kW)

Wright R-1820 The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright, widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. It was produced under license in France as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V, and in the Soviet Un ...

-67/69 engines, one built. ;XP-65 :Improved version of the XP-50 with two R-2600-10 engines; none built—project only.

Specifications (XP-50, estimated)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Dorr, Robert F. and David Donald. ''Fighters of the United States Air Force''. London: Temple, 1990. . * Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Four: Fighters''. London: MacDonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1961 (Sixth impression 1969). . * Lucabaugh, David and Bob Martin. ''Grumman XF5F-1 & XP-50 Skyrocket, Naval Fighters Number Thirty-one''. Simi Valley, California: Ginter Books, 1995. .

External links

Joseph F. Baugher – Grumman XP-50

Grumman XP-50 Skyrocket
{{USAF fighters P-050 Grumman P-50 Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1941 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft