| XP-52 | |
|---|---|
 A wind tunnel model of the XP-59 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Bell Aircraft Corporation |
| Status | Canceled October 1940 (XP-52) Canceled 25 November 1941 (XP-59) |
| Number built | None |
TheBell XP-52 and subsequentXP-59 were World War IIfighter aircraft design projects by the AmericanBell Aircraft Corporation.
Both projects featured atwin-boom layout with a rear-mounted engine drivingpushercontra-rotating propellers.
When the XP-59 project was canceled the designation XP-59A was used as a cover for a secret jet fighter prototype, which would enter production as theP-59 Airacomet.
The XP-52 design was begun by the Bell Company in 1940, separate from the R-40C competition, under the Air Material Command designatorMX-3.
The shortfuselage carried apiston engine in the rear, driving a pair of contra-rotatingpropellers in apusher configuration. The wings were swept back at an angle of 20 degrees, with ahorizontal stabilizer mounted behind the propeller ontwin booms running back from the wings. The fuselage was unusually streamlined, being round and barrel-shaped, with the forward-located pilot's cockpit fully faired-in to its lines and the nose ending in a round air intake which was ducted back internally to the engine.[1] Theundercarriage was a tricycle arrangement, with the main wheels retracting into the tailbooms. Propulsion was to be provided by the experimentalContinental XIV-1430-3 inverted V-12 engine.[2]
The XP-52 was canceled in October 1940 because the XIV-1430 engine ran into technical difficulties. Bell submitted a similar design to the US Navy as the Model 19, but this too was never built.[3]
Although generally similar in layout to the XP-52, the XP-59 was slightly larger and heavier, and was to be powered by a Pratt and Whitney R-2800-23 engine of 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW).[1] Two prototypes were ordered in February 1941.[3]
On 3 October 1941 the contract for Bell's first jet fighter was signed. The prototype was designated the XP-59A and it would enter production as theP-59 Airacomet. The original XP-59 was canceled on November 25, 1941 because Bell itself was pre-occupied with development of theBell P-63 Kingcobra.[1][3]
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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