Another AF Materiel Comd Design?

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Clioman

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Very nice. The jet engine arrangement and housings remind one of the Curtiss-Wright XP-87 Blackhawk. Given the year, this makes me think it could be either a competing design, or perhaps a basic draft which Curtiss and others might have had to work from. Just my two cents!
 
this makes me think it could be either a competing design, or perhaps a basic draft which Curtiss and others might have had to work from.
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Stargazer, I think that your latter idea is correct. The US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics had engineers in its various divisions (they designed their own catapaults and arresting gear, they also ran the Naval Aircraft Factory) and I suspect that the USAAF's MCD had them as well.

There is a very good chance that the USAAF and USN developed preliminary specifications for aircraft proposals, then sent those proposals to their in-house engineers. The engineers would then determine whether the specifications were practical as well as the approximate size, weight and cost of designs. If the specifications were practical, they could then be issued to aircraft manufacturers or revised and the process would be repeated as necessary. If issued, the in-house drafts might be included with the specifications to give the aircraft manufacturers an idea of what was wanted.
 
Stargazer2006 said:
Very nice. The jet engine arrangement and housings remind one of the Curtiss-Wright XP-87 Blackhawk. Given the year, this makes me think it could be either a competing design, or perhaps a basic draft which Curtiss and others might have had to work from. Just my two cents!
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Agree!!!

Regards
Pioneer
 
Stargazer2006 said:
Very nice. The jet engine arrangement and housings remind one of the Curtiss-Wright XP-87 Blackhawk. Given the year, this makes me think it could be either a competing design, or perhaps a basic draft which Curtiss and others might have had to work from. Just my two cents!
Click to expand...


I agree with you Stargazer,I think it was from the competitors to Northrop XP-89
and Curtiss-Wright XP-87,we know the other tenders were from; Bell,Consolidated
(Convair),Douglas and Goodyear.


But I have a feeling that; it was from Consolidated company.
 
I'm almost certain that this design was not the product of a contractor, but rather something generated by the design staff working within the AAF's Air Materiel Command at Wright Field. Like the Naval Aircraft Factory's design team, the AMC designers were tasked with creating 'benchmark' studies that AMC could use in evaluating industry efforts, or to suggest to potential bidders what the AAF believed to be doable in response to an AAF specification. I say that because there are some similarities between the forward fuselage of this airplane and another AMC in-house project, MCD 391: see http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,11151.msg105358.html#msg105358

Moreover, the article from which I copied this illustration (Aviation Week, September 13, 1948), is titled "USAF 'Unveils' Speed Designs," and begins with the words "Celebrating its first anniversary, U.S. Air Force is releasing today engineering sketches..." and goes on to describe the image thusly: "Jet Bomber: An early product of joint Air Force-NACA high speed bomber project was the complex configuration representing 1945 aerodynamic and tactical thinking--since vastly improved...Dual turbojet engine nacelle installation has been preserved closely in later designs, but awkward fuselage nose and tail configuration has been outmoded." That said, the article does include another illustration of what the magazine calls "an early design of a four-jet all-weather fighter culminated in the Curtiss XF-87 Blackhawk." It's ambiguous whether that design was an AMC product or a Curtiss product. Will post if there's an interest.
 
Clioman said:
the article does include another illustration of what the magazine calls "an early design of a four-jet all-weather fighter culminated in the Curtiss XF-87 Blackhawk. It's ambiguous whether that design was an AMC product or a Curtiss product. Will post if there's an interest.
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Of course there's an interest! Thanks Clioman.
 
See this is the 40's concept stuff just love. It's like that weird twin-boom design from the XB-35 Design thread and the Tremulis rocket fighter. Keep it comin!
 

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