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Author Topic: Contest with no prize: two airplanes to indentify  (Read 1725 times)
Skybolt
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« on: February 11, 2008, 11:27:51 am »

Actually they are three, but number 2 has already a name: it is the Curtiss-Wright XA-43 attack aircraft. All three are from 1946-1947 and are American. SInce they come from an early-1947 Italian magazine ("L'ala") that used extensively foreign publications (US and British) w/o unknowledging, it is very probable that the three small 3-views had been published in late-46, early-47 in The Aeroplane or less likely Aviation. I checked Flight but didn't find anything similar (Flight used German wartime project to illustrate probable future aircraft shapes, funny thing that Luft '46 mania was already raging... in 1946). Anyway, behold the mistery projects. Only additional info is that n.1 is an high speed fighter and n.3 is a long range fighter with two internal turbojets and a fuel reservoir of 4500 Kgs. N.3 could be one of the competitors to the long-range fighter contest of 1945. Only Bell's and Goodyear's proposal for that competition are not documented yet. Or it could be a wartime early jet project not linked to any post-war contest (the straight wing could be a hint).
« Last Edit: February 11, 2008, 11:31:49 am by Skybolt » Logged
lark
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« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2008, 08:37:19 pm »

This will be a very hard nut to crack...
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overscan
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« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2008, 08:57:13 pm »

I reckon they are all Curtiss designs.

The third one has some similarity with other curtiss designs

« Last Edit: February 11, 2008, 09:03:01 pm by overscan » Logged
MIRAGE 4000
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« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2008, 09:46:31 pm »

 Grin ;DThe Mirage 7000!!! Grin Grin Shocked Roll Eyes Grin
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Skybolt
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« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2008, 11:23:07 am »

Ahah, great find Paul Overscan, but, what is the Curtiss design represented by the model (I guess a company's one) ?
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starviking
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« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2008, 11:48:52 am »

Hmmm...

3 seems to have a bit of a 'Supermarine look to it', maybe it was on the evolution path to the Type 508?

http://www.vickerssupermarine.org.uk/508.html

Starviking

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archipeppe
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« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2008, 12:07:37 pm »

The second one is, for sure, the Curtiss XP 87 "Blackhawk", it was the last of Curtiss fighters and it was a looser (against Northrop XP 89 "Scorpion") in the two-seats, radar, interceptor of very early '50s (considering that, at that times, the worst soviet threat was the Tupolev Tu 4 "Bull" in NATO code, that was a merely copy of the Boeing B 29).
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pometablava
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« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2008, 03:28:35 pm »

Quote
The second one is, for sure, the Curtiss XP 87 "Blackhawk",

The XP-87 was an XA-43 derivative.

Drawing Number 3, in my opinion, has a family reminiscence to Vought's long range USN fighter design competition submission (see American Secret Projects: Fighters)
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Skybolt
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« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2008, 03:42:02 pm »

To: Peppe
Quote
but number 2 has already a name: it is the Curtiss-Wright XA-43 attack aircraft.
Starviking: I'm sure they are US. Thanks the same.
Pome: interesting.

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archipeppe
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« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2008, 03:53:46 pm »

The XP-87 was an XA-43 derivative. 

Aha...this make sense, I really didn't know.

But it is not the first time, nor the last for sure, that a project is "recycled" in something else, an interceptor in this particular case.
Thanks for the note.
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starviking
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« Reply #10 on: February 13, 2008, 10:27:49 am »

Starviking: I'm sure they are US. Thanks the same.

Apologies, I've been channelling Homer Simpson of late... Tongue

Starviking
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Skybolt
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« Reply #11 on: February 13, 2008, 10:48:03 am »

 Cheesy
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