XF-87 Blackhawk

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F-87 Blackhawk
Type Interceptor
Manufacturer Curtiss-Wright Corporation
Maiden flight 5 March 1948 in aviation
Status Cancelled 10 October 1948 in aviation
Number built 2
Unit cost US$11.3 million for the program[1]

The Curtiss-Wright XF-87 Blackhawk (formerly designated as the XP-87 and XA-43) was a prototype American all-weather jet interceptor fighter aircraft and the company's last aircraft project.[2] Designed as a replacement for the P-61 Black Widow, the XF-87 lost to the Northrop F-89 Scorpion. The loss of the contract was fatal; the Curtiss-Wright Corporation closed down its aviation division, selling its assets to North American Aviation.

Contents

[edit] Design and development

The aircraft started life as a project for an attack aircraft, designated XA-43. When a USAAF requirement for a jet-powered night and all-weather fighter was issued in 1945, the design was reworked for that requirement. The USAF at first favored Curtiss' proposal, for political reasons as much as technical.

The XP-87 as it was then designated was a large mid-wing aircraft with four engines paired in underwing pods, with a mid-mounted tailplane and tricycle undercarriage. Two crew members (pilot and radio operator) sat side by side under a single canopy. Armament was to be a nose-mounted powered turret containing four 20 mm cannon, but this was never fitted to the prototypes.

[edit] Testing

The first flight was on 5 March 1948. Although the top speed was slower than expected, the aircraft was otherwise acceptable, and orders for 57 F-87A fighters and 30 RF-87A reconnaissance planes were placed just over a month later. Since the performance problems were due to lack of power, the four Westinghouse XJ34-WE-7 turbojets of the prototypes were to be replaced by two General Electric J47-GE-7 jets in production models. One of the two XF-87 prototypes was to be converted to the new powerplants for test purposes.

It was at this point that the USAF decided that - as much as it wished, politically, to keep Curtiss alive - the Northrop F-89 Scorpion was a much more promising aircraft. The F-87 contract was cancelled on 10 October 1948, and both prototypes were scrapped.

[edit] Specifications (Curtiss XF-87 Blackhawk)

General characteristics

  • Crew: two - pilot, radio operator
  • Length: 62 ft (18.9 m)
  • Wingspan: 60 ft (18.3 m)
  • Height: 20 ft 4 in (6.2 m)
  • Wing area: 600 ft² (55.7 m²)
  • Empty weight: 25,930 lb (11,760 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 49,900 lb (22,600 kg)
  • Powerplant: 4× Westinghouse XJ34-WE-7 turbojets, 3,000 lbf (13 kN) each

Performance

Armament

  • 4 x 20 mm cannon in nose turret (never fitted)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Knaack, Marcelle Size. Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems: Volume 1 Post-World War II Fighters 1945-1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1978. ISBN 0-912799-59-5.
  2. ^ Winchester 2005, p. 72-73. Note: A further aircraft project, the experimental X-19 tilt-rotor was built by a latter-day Curtiss-Wright company.
  • Winchester, Jim. Concept Aircraft: Prototypes, X-Planes and Experimental Aircraft. Rochester, Kent, UK: Grange books plc, 2005. ISBN 1-84013-809-2.

[edit] External links

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