Douglas XFD
XFD | |
---|---|
Role | Fighter |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
First flight | January 1933 |
Primary user | United States Navy |
Number built | 1 |
TheDouglas XFDwas acarrier-basedbiplanefighter aircraftdesigned for theUnited States Navy,and the first fighter to be built by theDouglas Aircraft Company.A victim of changing requirements, no production was undertaken.
Design and development
[edit]The XFD was designed to the U.S. Navy'sBureau of Aeronautics(BuAer) Specification No. 311, requesting a carrier-based two-seater biplane fighter.[1]On June 30, 1932, the Navy ordered the XFD,Vought XF3U,andCurtiss XF12Cfor testing.[2]
The first naval fighter designed by Douglas Aircraft,[3]the XFD was constructed of metal, with a fabric outer covering. The crew sat in tandem in a single bay, enclosed by a long canopy. The aircraft had fixedconventional landing gear,and was designed to be armed with two.30 in (7.6 mm)machine guns,one fixed in thecowlingand the other on a flexible mount for the observer. A 500-pound (230 kg) bomb load could be carried.[4]Powered was supplied by aPratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Juniorradial engine.[4]
Operational history
[edit]The XFD-1[N 1]prototype first flew in January 1933;[2]it was delivered to the U.S. Navy for trials atNaval Air Station Anacostiain June 1933, within four days of the delivery of the Vought XF3U-1;[4]evaluations of the types were undertaken between June 18, 1933 and August 14, 1934.[2]While the XFD-1's performance was considered to be acceptable, the U.S. Navy's operational requirements were already changing to see the two-seat fighter concept falling out of favor, thescout bomberbeing considered more useful for the Navy's needs, and accordingly after the end of the XFD-1's flight trials no further orders were placed for the type.[4]
Specifications
[edit]Data fromAngelucci 1987,[2]Johnson 2011[4]
General characteristics
- Crew:Two (pilot and observer)
- Length:25 ft 4 in (7.72 m)
- Wingspan:31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
- Height:25 ft 4 in (7.72 m)
- Wing area:295 sq ft (27.4 m2)
- Empty weight:3,227 lb (1,464 kg)
- Gross weight:5,000 lb (2,268 kg)
- Powerplant:1 ×Pratt & Whitney R-1535-6414-cylinder air-cooledradial engine,700 hp (520 kW)
- Propellers:2-bladed Hamilton Standard
Performance
- Maximum speed:204 mph (328 km/h, 177 kn)
- Cruise speed:170 mph (270 km/h, 150 kn)
- Combat range:576 mi (927 km, 501 nmi)
- Service ceiling:23,700 ft (7,200 m)
- Rate of climb:1,670 ft/min (8.5 m/s)
Armament
- Guns:1 x.30-calibermachine gun,fixed forwards-firing cowl mounting
1 x.30-caliber machine gun, flexible mounting in rear cockpit - Bombs:500 pounds (230 kg) external
See also
[edit]Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^The XFD-1 designation was later reused by the U.S. Navy for the prototype of theMcDonnell FH Phantomjet fighter.
Citations
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Angelucci, Enzo (1987).The American Fighter from 1917 to the present.New York: Orion Books.
- Johnson, E.R. (2011).United States Naval Aviation, 1919-1941.Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.ISBN978-0-7864-4550-9.
- Pattillo, Donald (2001).Pushing the Envelope: The American Aircraft Industry.Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.ISBN0-472-10869-7.
- Yenne, Bill (1985).McDonnell Douglas: Tale of Two Giants.New York: Crescent Books.ISBN978-0-5174-4287-6.