Crosby CIP-5 lightweight interceptor for the U.S. Army Air Corps

[Stargazer]

From Race with the Wind: How Air Racing Advanced Aviation, by Birch Matthews (MBI, 2001):

"With the war already waging in Europe, race pilot Harry Crosby turned his attentions to a lightweight interceptor for the Air Corps. The design was influenced by his CR-4 race plane. Unlike the all-metal CR-4, however, Crosby's CIP-5 proposal was based upon wood, a nonstrategic material. The CIP-5 was to be powered by an air-cooled Ranger V-770. The Air Corps was not interested."

Another source states that Mattson Compton helped Crosby with the design.


Non-strategic materials, Ranger V-770... This seems like an obvious contender for the Bell XP-77 to me!

 

[lark]

Unknown beauty.. thanks so much !

 

[Jos Heyman]

Crosby operated from Burbank. He was also responsible for the CR-3 racer. Only one CR3 was built and nly one CR-4 was built. (source: Aerofiles).
I can kind of understand that USAAC was not interested in his CIP-5. But I love the find!

 

[hesham]

Great find Skyblazer,


and may be it submitted to Circular 39/770.

 

[Stargazer]

I can kind of understand that USAAC was not interested in his CIP-5. But I love the find!

Except it may well have outperformed the Bell XP-77 of similar configuration! What the text doesn't say is whether the design was rejected straight away or if it was rejected after thorough examination of estimated performance.

 

[Jos Heyman]

My reason for suggesting that the USAAC might not have been interested is based on my own perception that Crosby had just experience with only two aircraft and that Crosby had, possibly, no production capacity so that production might have to be gone to some other company.

Having said all that, and I am sure everybody agrees with that, we will not know the answer until we find, somehow, some more details about this interesting project.
May be Crosby's design somehow filtered through to Bell? Just an idea....... Perhaps we should look at the development history that led up to the XP-77. (Unfortunately I am away from my library, so I cannot check my resources).

 

[hesham]

No my dear Jos,


the Bell XP-77 was created by company's Chief designer, Robert J. Woods,who inspired his
idea from Italian SAI-207,Great Breatain Miles M.20 and France MB.700,the drawing given
provisional designation Tri-4.